The Apparatus Architects: Proper Maintenance and Operations for Emergency Vehicles
The Apparatus Architects focus on firefighter and emergency vehicle safety as they close out June and the Firefighter Safety, Health & Survival Week.
Tom Shand and Michael Wilbur look at a variety of NFPA Standards, including 1911, 1912, 1931 and 1962, and the 16 Life Safety Initiatives that form a baseline for annual vehicle inspections and safety checks. They break down each of these standards and how they relate to safer vehicle response and fireground operations.
The hosts also review several NIOSH reports involving firefighter deaths and injuries as a result of vehicle crashes during emergency responses. More than one-third of all fatal vehicle crashes involved personal owned vehicles (POVs) and 75 percent of the vehicle response LODDs involved personel who were not wearing seatbelts.
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Related Links
• NFPA 1911: Standard for the Inspection, Maintenance, Testing, and Retirement of In-Service Automotive Fire Apparatus
• NFPA 1912: Standard for Fire Apparatus Refurbishing
• NFPA 1932: Standard on Use, Maintenance, and Service Testing of In-Service Fire Department Ground Ladders
• NFPA 1962: Standard for the Inspection, Care, and Use of Fire Hose, Couplings, and Nozzles and the Service Testing of Fire Hose, 2008
• NIOSH Alert: Improper Set-up of Aerial Ladders with a Locking Waterway May Put Fire Fighters at Risk
• NIOSH Fire Fighter Fatality Investigation Reports Involving Vehicles
About the Author
Tom Shand
TOM SHAND, who is a Firehouse contributing editor, is a 36-year veteran of the fire service. He works with Michael Wilbur at Emergency Vehicle Response, consulting on a variety of fire apparatus and fire department master-planning issues. Shand is a member of the Firehouse Hall of Fame.
Michael Wilbur
MICHAEL WILBUR, who is a Firehouse contributing editor, retired as a lieutenant in FDNY, where he was last assigned to Ladder Company 27 in the Bronx. He has served on FDNY's Apparatus Purchasing Committee and consults on a variety of apparatus-related issues around the country. Wilbur is a member of the Firehouse Hall of Fame. For further information, access his website at www.emergencyvehicleresponse.com.