● FERRARA FIRE APPARATUS, INC. delivered the first of three Ferrara Strong Arm firefighting apparatus to the Istanbul Metropolitan Authority in Turkey. The Strong Arm was designed and engineered by Ferrara Fire Apparatus, Inc. in a joint venture with Gradall, a manufacturer of heavy-duty industrial telescopic hydraulic excavators. It features Ferrara’s Inferno custom fire chassis with independent front suspension, a heavy-duty extruded aluminum body, and Gradall’s FA-50 triangle-shaped hydraulic teleboom equipped with the Fifth Man nozzle.
● As part of its Home Heating Safety Campaign, the RICHMOND (VA) FIRE DEPARTMENT (RFD) offers a Safety Stick, a brightly colored square plastic walking stick the sides of which are embossed respectively with the department’s name, a fire safety message, contact information for the department’s home fire safety programs, and a yardstick. The fire safety slogan is “Portable Heaters Need Space-Keep Three Feet From Heat.” The Safety Stick helps residents ensure that there are no flammable materials within the critically important 36 inches of clearance between portable heaters and combustible materials, as recommended by the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA). It is available free to residents who work with the fire department to address their home fire safety issues.
The campaign originated with Richmond Chief Robert A. Creecy, who recognized that, with the higher heating costs resulting from Hurricane Katrina, residents would increasingly use alternative heating sources such as portable heaters. Especially among first-time users, there is the likelihood of additional tragedy. During the winter months, home heating consistently continues to be a leading cause of residential structure fires. Alternative heating sources such as portable kerosene, electric, and propane heaters, and wood and coal stoves caused only 25 percent of those home heating fires, according to the NFPA, but were responsible for 74 percent of the deaths.
In 2004, two Richmond residents died and numerous others were injured in residential incidents involving portable heating sources. The primary cause of these fires was human error in operating the portable heaters or in placing them too close to combustible materials. For more information about the Richmond Fire Department’s Home Heating Campaign, contact Lieutenant Keith Vida at (804) 646-6640.
● The INTERNATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF FIRE CHIEF’s (IAFC) National Fire Fighter Near-Miss Reporting System received the Award of Excellence in the first round of the judging for the 2006 Associations Advance America awards program, sponsored by the American Society of Association Executives and The Center for Association Leadership.
The National Fire Fighter Near-Miss Reporting System was created to turn near-miss experiences into lessons learned for the fire service community. The program collects, shares, and analyzes near-miss experiences to formulate strategies to reduce the number of firefighter injuries and fatalities. The reporting system is free, voluntary, confidential, nonpunitive, and secure. The project is funded by grants from the Department of Homeland Security’s Assistance to Firefighters Grant Program and Fireman’s Fund Insurance Company and is supported by FirefighterCloseCalls.com. For more information, visit www.firefighternearmiss.com.
● Now celebrating its 60th anniversary, PL CUSTOM EMERGENCY VEHICLES has been approved for a $76,584 Customized Training Grant from the New Jersey Department of Labor and Workforce Development. The ambulance and rescue vehicle manufacturer is matching the grant with a $117,515 contribution. Brookdale Community College is the training provider and will work closely with PL Custom over the next year to provide training in lean manufacturing, team building, and problem solving. This grant will provide staff training in methods that will enable PL Custom to contain costs and thereby increase value provided to its customers.
● The TEXAS ENGINEERING EXTENSION SERVICE (TEEX) in College Station broke ground on its two-story Henry D. Smith Operations Complex at the Brayton Fire Training Field, named for longtime Chief Henry D. Smith, who led TEEX’s former Fire Protection Training Division from 1957 to 1986. The new complex will include a welcome center, a communications center/scenario observation area, three large classrooms, and an assembly hall. The 14,000-square-foot building is the first major construction project at the Brayton Fire Training Field since the completion in 2000 of TEEX’s Emergency Operations Center.
The future facility is part of a $23 million infrastructure upgrade initiative at the Brayton Fire Training Field. Other projects in development include an enhanced chemical complex training prop, a two-story structural burn building, and a state-of-the-art water/wastewater treatment system.
