Many fire departments all over the country, paid and volunteer, have instituted or are outlining procedures for using rapid intervention teams. Also known as firefighter assist teams, these are crews whose sole purpose is rescuing trapped firefighters. There have been many instances when these teams have proved that they are worth their weight in gold. In these cases, firefighters have been rescued from dangerous situations by rapid intervention teams standing by. If these teams had not been standing by, trained and equipped to go right in, the outcomes might have been very different.
In this issue, we provide further information on rescuing and accounting for trapped and missing firefighters. For example, on page 88, Mark McLees describes the Syracuse, NY, Fire Department's procedures to be followed when a MAYDAY is transmitted. Effective operating procedures are critical when a MAYDAY is received, as incident commanders not only must deal with controlling and extinguishing the fire but a more important and stressful issue of firefighter safety and accountability. In an upcoming issue, we will continue with this series by describing how to conduct on roll calls after significant factors occur, such as members missing or building collapse.
We're happy to announce that besides Garry Briese's column titled First Responder, we are adding material intended to educate firefighters who, in increasing numbers, are responding to EMS calls. On page 14, we begin a new series of columns, titled Firefighter EMS, by Decker Williams and Tim Simmons. These columns will describe what firefighters need to be aware of after the victim has been extricated or removed and must be treated for medical problems. This series will outline the important steps that firefighters must follow until additional qualified EMS personnel can arrive on the scene. To help fill the void left by the death of Contributing Editor Rich Adams, other EMS coverage will appear in the months to come.
On page 61, we provide a first look at the devastating accident that occurred in New Orleans when a freighter crashed into a pier that housed a hotel and shopping mall on the city's waterfront. New Orleans Fire Chief Warren McDaniels will provide an informative report on the incident at Firehouse Emergency Services Expo '97 in Baltimore in July.
We must remind our contributors that all articles and photos submitted for publication in Firehouse® must be exclusive to us. It causes problems for all of us if the same materials go to many sources. Again, if you have any questions, please call us.
We're pleased to let our readership know that we now have an e-mail address. You can contact us at: [email protected]. In the "subject" line, type in "Firehouse" and the name of the person you'd like to contact. We look forward to hearing from you soon.
