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    More content from August 2013

    Photo courtesy of Mitchell Associates Architects
    Kaestle Boos Associates and Robert Mitchell Associates Inc. designed this apparatus bay for the Holden, MA, Fire Department.
    Fire stations are among the most complex, heavily used municipal buildings found anywhere. Simultaneously, they are garages housing millions of dollars’ worth of apparatus; they...
    Aug. 1, 2013
    Gary Ludwig 10976472
    I have been on several calls during my career where people were playing a game of Russian roulette. Usually, the people were young and drinking was involved. In Russian roulette...
    Aug. 1, 2013
    More must be done to develop the fire service's future leaders.
    Aug. 1, 2013
    Photos by Ron Moore
    Opening the rear hatchback on the Mitsubishi i-MiEV offered a degree of difficulty only because of a large, soft plastic rear bumper trim material that was beneath the latch mechanism.
    SUBJECT: Electric Plug-In VehiclesTOPIC: Extrication Challenges of Electric Plug-In VehiclesOBJECTIVE: Understand any unique procedural changes necessary when accomplishing vehicle...
    Aug. 1, 2013
    Dennis Compton 10979674
    There is always lots going on at the national, state and local levels of government that impact the fire service community. So far, this summer has been no exception. In researching...
    Aug. 1, 2013
    Fire departments are urged to educate first responders about how to best respond to an emergency situation involving an autistic individual.
    On March 20, 2013, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) released a report stating that one in 50 (more than 1 million) U.S. schoolchildren are diagnosed with...
    Aug. 1, 2013
    Photos courtesy of the author
    Determining the route ahead of the attack line's advance can have a major impact on a hose team's ability to quickly and safely extinguish a fire.
    The moment of truth has arrived. You are kneeling outside the attack entrance. Boiling, black and gray smoke pushes from the top of the door. Your hoseline stretch is complete...
    Aug. 1, 2013
    Brad Harvey 1107 10980392
    I am sure it has happened to your fire department. Two o’clock in the morning and the police want you to set up the aerial so they can get overhead photos of a crime scene or ...
    Aug. 1, 2013
    Scuttlebutt 8 13 Dover 1 10980552
    “Monster” Support for NFFFFor the past five years, the fall NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race at the “Monster Mile” (Dover International Speedway, Dover, DE) has been a day to show...
    Aug. 1, 2013
    Yarnell 10981345
    Nonresidential Building Fires (2009-2011)Last month we presented the findings of the U.S. Fire Administration (USFA) report on Residential Building Fires (2009-2011). Here are...
    Aug. 1, 2013
    Twenty-five U.S. firefighters recently died in the line of duty. Twenty-two career firefighters and three volunteer firefighters died in seven separate incidents. Twenty-one deaths...
    Aug. 1, 2013
    Photo from Paul Hashagen Collection
    A fire broke out in a room over a clothing store in Fredericktown, OH, at 1 P.M. on Aug. 29, 1913, and spread quickly. Firefighters and apparatus responded from nearby Mount Vernon and helped battle the flames. The fire spread from the clothing store to a five-and-10-cent store, two meat markets, two barbershops, a grocery store, a restaurant and a drug store before it was brought under control.
    BANGOR, ME: AUG. 1, 1913 – A nighttime fire that started in the business district in the manufacturing plant of the S. Flory Co. destroyed the entire structure and spread to several...
    Aug. 1, 2013
    Photo by Robert Burke
    Finding new ways to increase productivity and efficiency starts with an examination of existing operations. For example, does your fire department need a fully trained and fully equipped hazardous materials response team? In some cases, it may be appropriate to contract hazmat response to a statewide team or neighboring jurisdiction.
    The wording of this question may immediately lead the reader to presume that privatizing fire services will improve efficiencies. While privatization may produce improvements ...
    Aug. 1, 2013
    STREAMLIGHT INC. has introduced the E-Flood LiteBox HL rechargeable flood light.
    Rechargeable Flood LightSTREAMLIGHT INC. has introduced the E-Flood LiteBox HL, a rechargeable flood light that delivers maximum illumination at 3,600 lumens. The portable lantern...
    Aug. 1, 2013
    Photo by Keith D. Cullom/www.fire-image.com
    The 'Springs Fire' in Ventura County was the first major wildland fire in California. Beginning on May 2, 2013, the fire east of Camarillo burned toward Newbury Park. With humidity at 3%, multiple alarms and mutual aid strike teams were requested. It took 2,000 firefighters operating 247 engines to contain the 24,250-acre fire.
    Forecasts from the National Weather Service indicated temperatures into the upper 90s, humidity at 3% and Santa Ana winds gusting to 47 mph – and this was for the first day of...
    Aug. 1, 2013
    W. L. GORE & ASSOCIATES INC. has reported on new research that highlights the importance of moisture barriers in managing firefighter heat stress. Although firefighters need protection...
    Aug. 1, 2013
    Photos courtesy of the authors
    Photo 1. Cutting the front of the hood will facilitate its removal, expose the head harness and allow the provider to reposition his hands.
    Literature on the topic of rapid intervention, like many other subjects, began as individual articles, grew into larger chapters and has now evolved into entire textbooks. It ...
    Aug. 1, 2013
    Photos by Timothy Tonge/Castle Rock Fire & Rescue
    U.S. Forest Service personnel arrived to confer with Falcon Divison Chief Glenn Levy and Larkspur Chief Jamey Bumgarner as the smoke plume continues to grow to the east on the first day of the fire.
    The “Black Forest Fire” started on June 11, 2013, and grew to become what was being described as the most destructive wildfire in Colorado history in terms of number of homes ...
    Aug. 1, 2013
    Photo by Gene Blevins
    A flagpole has been placed at the Arizona site where 19 firefighters died. The site can be seen from an overlook adjacent to Highway 89 in Yarnell that has been named the Granite Mountain Hotshots Memorial Overlook.
    According to the latest complete statistics from the national Fire Protection Association (NFPA), in 2011, the U.S. fire service responded to 30,098,000 alarms. Divided by 365...
    Aug. 1, 2013
    Photos by Gene Blevins
    A memorial service was held in Prescott, AZ. Flags and the name of each of the 19 Hotshots were displayed outside. More than 30,000 were in attendance from around the world.
    On June 30, 2013, the worst tragedy to occur in 80 years in wildland firefighting claimed the lives of 19 Granite Mountain Hotshots in a fire near Yarnell, AZ. Another firefighter...
    Aug. 1, 2013
    Photo by Dennis Walus
    Chicago, IL: April 29, 2013- - A defensive attack was made on a fully involved one-story commercial building with a bowstring truss roof. Tower Ladders 34 and 37 and Squad 5A were set up. It took about two hours to control the 3-11 alarm fire.
    For the 32nd year, the career fire service takes to the pages of Firehouse® Magazine to share and compare statistics about company and department activity levels, funding, staffing...
    Aug. 1, 2013
    The AirVac system is completely automatic with no hoses to attach to apparatus.
    When the bricks-and-mortar phase of building a fire station has been completed, many items still must go into it. Beds, recliners, garage doors, engine exhaust systems, alert ...
    Aug. 1, 2013
    Hires 5689362440088 10948856
    The time has come to share an important educational principle with you: Knowledge does not float freely through the air in the world around you. You cannot take a deep breath ...
    July 1, 2013
    Photos by Barry Furey
    Facilities that have access to criminal history information must meet security standards set by the FBI and state law enforcement authorities.
    The fire service is no stranger to standards, and many of the more commonly known entities such as the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) and the Insurance Services Organizatio...
    June 1, 2013