The nation made it through Election Day without incident. Hopefully, the weapons of mass destruction (WMD) threats were without merit and the efforts of law enforcement were successful in deterring any attacks. An exit poll in New Jersey described voters as still worried about impending terrorist attacks and they also believed that the state wasn’t as prepared as it could have been. The facts are indisputable: there is still a lot to be done with training, interagency cooperation, purchasing of equipment and supplies, and response procedures. We may have moved forward as an emergency service since 9/11, but we still have a long way to go. The recent flu vaccine shortage and the long lines for inoculations may have brought scenarios for other types of emergency drug treatment to light.
Hazardous materials and related operations are the focus of this issue. Speaking of terrorism and WMD, Contributing Editor Mike Smith recently visited Iraq to provide U.S. troops with hazardous materials training. Before getting into the actual training, he notes that conditions for our troops are pretty tough. They must endure temperatures of 130 degrees and occasional sandstorms. Mortar and rocket attacks and gunfire are real threats every day – and then the classroom sessions begin. See page 56 for Chief Smith’s interesting account of his trip abroad to teach our troops about hazardous materials.
Contributing Editor Robert Burke describes one of the fastest-growing areas of hazardous materials transportation is the use of intermodal containers. These containers utilize more than one type of transportation, highway, rail or water. Officials estimate that transportation of hazardous materials goods will increase by 2% and the use of intermodal containers will increase three times faster. Every firefighter needs to be aware of this type of hazardous materials transportation. See page 52 for this timely information.
Also in this issue, we highlight our 2005 Buyer’s Guide, updated to present our readers with an extensive reference list to review for making purchases and selecting services and equipment.
In this month’s installment of Close Calls, Chief Billy Goldfeder comments on a collapse at a garage/house fire that nearly led to four funerals. See page 28 for the description of the circumstances and the conditions during an aggressive fire attack and comments that reinforce firefighting tactics and strategy follow.
Close calls are just that. You never know what is going to happen at an incident. The more training and education we can provide, along with experience, will help our operations to be as safe as possible. Firefighting is dangerous work. Even the brightest and most experienced firefighters come upon situations that are larger than life. Recently, Captain Ed Hadfield, who has started writing for us, was at an incident where his crew nearly suffered injuries after a partial collapse at a Southern California structure fire. Deputy Chief Jim Smith, a Firehouse® contributing editor, was in charge of an operation a few months ago where two firefighters were killed in a basement fire in Philadelphia. It is still undetermined what happened during the incident. Deputy Chief Bill Shouldis, who also writes and speaks for us, was in charge of the funeral arrangements. A traumatic event not only for the firefighters’ families and fire department, but for all who knew them.
This is the 120th issue since I became the editor-in-chief of Firehouse® Magazine. There are always too many firefighters killed in the line of duty to be mentioned in the dedication of each issue of the magazine. Since we don’t intend to ever leave anyone out, I dedicate this issue to all those firefighters who have given their lives in the line of duty. With the help of the National Fallen Firefighters Foundation, we can work together to reduce the number of line-of-duty deaths nationwide. With your help, we can all try.
