The DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY awarded WORCESTER POLYTECHNIC INSTITUTE $430,000 to continue to develop its own technology and to also conduct a national test of all existing indoor tracking and monitoring systems. The test will be administered by the U.S. Army Natick Soldier Research, Development, and Engineering Center in Natick, Massachusetts, spring 2009. Indoor location technology helps to quickly locate and rescue firefighters and other first responders who become lost, disabled, or trapped inside a building, while physiological monitoring systems alert incident commanders when firefighters are in distress.
The Florida Bureau of Fire Standards and Training has granted accreditation to FLAME-SIM, for use in a class titled “Fire Officer Virtual Experience Skills Training (VEST)”. The class is offered at the Florida State Fire College, the first fire training academy to offer course work using the training software. VEST is a three-day, 24-hour class that teaches strategies and tactics to company officers and chiefs. Program goals include improving the tracking and coordination skills of the on-scene fire officer and limiting micromanagement in real-time events. www.floridafireprograms.com. www.flame-sim.com. (877) FLAME-01.
FIRE 20/20 will make available its new targeted recruitment video Why I Chose Fire to fire departments and college fire science programs at no cost. The six-minute video is designed to educate, inspire, and motivate 15- to 21-year-old women of all cultures and men of color to explore a firefighting or paramedic career. Why I Chose Fire features animation, popular music, and interviews with diverse firefighters and paramedics talking about why they love their jobs. Fire departments can stream or fill out a form to download one copy of video and a user guide at www.fire2020.org.
The UNITED STATES FIRE ADMINISTRATION (USFA) has issued a report examining the causes and characteristics of fires occurring in residential structures and buildings. The report, Residential Structure and Building Fires, was developed by the National Fire Data Center and is based primarily on 2005 National Fire Incident Reporting System data and the 2005 National Fire Protection Association survey data. The report presents an overview of residential structure fires and trends for one-and two-family, multifamily, and other residential structures. These fires claimed the lives of 2,895 civilians and injured an additional 13,375 civilians. Download the report at www.usfa.dhs.gov/statistics/reports/index.shtm.
THE OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY AND HEALTH ADMINISTRATION (OSHA) and the AMERICAN FIRE SPRINKLER ASSOCIATION (AFSA) have formed an alliance to address reducing and preventing exposure to material handling, fall hazards, and motor vehicle safety issues. Through the alliance, employers and employees in the fire sprinkler and construction industries will receive guidance on material handling and fall hazards and on motor vehicle safety issues. The Alliance will develop training and educational programs addressing these hazards and communicate information through exhibits, conferences, and OSHA- and AFSA-developed Web sites. www.osha.gov.
The BOYNTON BEACH (FL) FIRE RESCUE DEPARTMENT has received the 2007 Life Safety Achievement Award from the RESIDENTIAL FIRE SAFETY INSTITUTE (RFSI). For 15 years, the award has recognized the local fire prevention activities that contributed to reducing the number of lives lost in residential fires. Boynton Fire Rescue qualified for this award because it recorded zero fire deaths in structures last year. The RFSI advocates the use of residential fire sprinklers, smoke alarms, carbon monoxide detectors and teaching people fire-safe behavior. www.firesafehome.org.
