NEWS IN BRIEF

NEWS IN BRIEF

Rail-crossing danger stressed

Eleven firefighters have died in eight grade-crossing accidents throughout the United States from 1977 through 1989. The most recent accident, in which two firefighters were fatally injured, occurred in September 1989 one mile south of Catlett, Virginia.

These incidents prompted the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) to recommend that the IJ.S. Eire Administration “…urge [fire companies! B> develop, implement, and periodically review and practice plans to cross railroad grade crossings safely during an emergency response. Any plans should emphasize that the safe arrival of the apparatus at the scene of the emergency is the first priority.” (Class II, Priority Action) (11-90-112). The NI’SB forwarded this directive and accompanying safety recommendations to the National Fire Protection Association (11-90-113) and Operation Lifesaver (11-90-114).

Among the recommendations made are the following:

• Planning how to safely traverse grade crossings encountered en route to a fire should he a necessary part of any lire company’s emergency response plan.
• l ire personnel assigned to any large fire apparatus should visually determine that it is safe to proceed over a grade crossing, since a train’s crew may fail to sound a locomotive’s horn at certain crossings despite railroad operating rules that require it to do so. Even if the locomotive’s horn is sounded and warning devices such as sirens and air horns are deactivated as a lire apparatus approaches a crossing, ambient noise levels in the cab still may mask the sound of an approaching train’s horn.
• Where vision may be obstructed or where the crossing has more than one set of tracks and the presence of one train may obscure the approach of another, one or more members of
• the crew might cross the tracks on foot and look for approaching trains.
• Responsibility for compliance with any grade-crossing plans must be apportioned between the driver of the apparatus and another crew member who can communicate face-to-
• face with the driver while en route.

LAFD responds to drought

On the brink of a dire water emergency (the state already has experienced five dry years), California officials have issued directives forcing residents to conserve water. Los Angeles residents, ordered to cut water use by 10 percent, are experiencing the first water rationing since 1977.

Fire departments want more easyto-understand information about protective clothing, survey says

Decision makers in municipal and volunteer fire departments should know more about the materials used in firefighting apparel, a recent Du Pont Thermal Resistant Systems (TRS) pre-show survey indicated. Close to 97 percent of the 200 respondents—fire chiefs/captains/assistant chiefs (68 percent), fire safety instructors (21 percent), and firefighters (6 percent) attending the Fire Department Instructors Conference in March—shared this opinion. Participants represented volunteer (21 percent), paid (38 percent), and combination (41 percent) departments.

In addition, nearly eight in 10 believe that confusion about how to convert current clothing standards into purchasing specifications is a common problem.

Close to 79 percent of respondents said that a fabric with higher thermal damage tolerance provides better protection for firefighters. Actually, points out Thad Masters, Du Pont account manager, a fabric’s thermal damage tolerance measures only its decomposition temperature in a controlled lab test.

“ The real measure of protection is the thermal protective performance (TPP) of the fabric. TPP measures the insulative properties of a fabric or system, and it is the basis of the NFPA standard for firefighter turnout gear,” Masters explains. Although TPP levels

of the materials used in today’s turnout gear differ, Masters adds, as long as the systems meet the NFPA standard, they offer the same protection for firefighters.

Among other survey results were the following:

• A majority of respondents (71 percent—39 5 percent “somewhat” and 31.5 percent “strongly”) disagreed that protective clothing standards are trying to create an ideal that is impractical.
• Sixty percent (25 percent “strongly” and 35 percent “somewhat”) agreed that protective clothing that complies with current standards may make firefighters overconfident and cause them to enter situations they should avoid.
• Close to 65 percent (35 percent “strongly” and 29.5 percent “somewhat”) agreed that stationwear that provides secondary protection is crucial for the safety of today’s firefighter and favored protective stationwear that provides a secondary layer of safety.
• Close to eight out of 10 (38.5 percent “somewhat” and 37.5 percent “strongly”) disagreed that firefighters are more likely to get injured because of failure of protective clothing or equipment than because of a lack of training or experience.
• About half (54 percent) of the survey respondents said that reducing the thermal liner weight is a more effective way to reduce system weight than reducing outer shell weight.

The Los Angeles Fire Department, however, began to take water-conservation actions “better than a year ago,” reports Chief David Badgett, the department’s community liaison officer. Two were undertaken with the cooperation of the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power.

Probably the most significant water-saving move was training firefighters at each of the city’s 104 fire stations to repair fire hydrants. An average of 26 hydrants a week are hit by cars, Badgett explains. Many of the hydrants are knocked off their bases, which results in a loss of 1,500 gallons of water a minute. Previously repairs were made by the Department of Water and Power, and the average response time was 20 minutes. Trained firefighters with the proper equipment (supplied by the Department of Water and Power) now in many cases can stop the flow of escaping water from damaged hydrants within three minutes. Millions of gallons of water have been preserved since this policy was instituted, Badgett says.

Among other actions taken by the LAFD are the following:

• Instead of discarding the water in apparatus needing repairs that mandate a “dry” truck, the water is removed to out-of-service 3,000-galloncapacity tank wagons loaned to the fire department by the Department of Water and Power. After the repairs to the apparatus are made, the water is then returned to the truck. It is estimated that this procedure saves a minimum of 7,000 gallons of water a week.
• At large fires a designated water officer monitors the water to make sure that it is being used appropriately and that unnecded lines are shut down.
• After consultation with commanders at the scenes of fires determined to be total losses, the decision to let the fire burn out an additional 20 minutes instead of using additional thousands of gallons of water has become a more commonly used option.
• The department has cut back on its routine water uses as well. Instead of washing apparatus and support vehicles in the usual way, buckets of water and chamois are used—and vehicles are cleaned only when necessary, not after every run. Also, dry drills have replaced those that use flowing water.
• A member at each station has been delegated to incorporate and enforce water-conservation measures such as installing water restrictors in the shower heads.

Products that break the surface tension of water and help penetration are water savers also, Badgett notes; the department uses these substances extensively for overhauls of structural fires and auto fires.

Study compares boots

The August 1989 research study “Physiological and Biomechanical Changes in Fire Fighters Due to Boot Design Modifications” recorded and analyzed changes including heart rate, exercise metabolism, blood lacticacid, body-core and skin temperatures, and thigh muscle fatigue that occurred in 10 professional firefighters while stairclimbing on a StairMaster model 6000 ergometer. The study was funded jointly by the International Association of Fire Fighters and the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

The subjects, employed by the City of Wilmington, Delaware, participated in three periods of stairclimbing (10 minutes of climbing followed by two minutes of rest ) at SO percent, 65 percent, and 80 percent of maximum workload levels, as determined by pretesting, while wearing sneakers (control), standard 14-inch rubber boots, and 14-inch leather boots. The tests were scheduled at intervals of two or more days to allow leg recoveryfrom localized fatigue. Laboratory room conditions were controlled relative to temperature and humidity.

The researchers concluded the following:

• The leather boots used in the study were significantly lighter in weight than the rubber boots.
• Firefighters required less oxygen (48.4 percent) during stairclimbing when wearing the leather boots.
• There was a -t().25 percent improvement in leg strength retention during periods of stairclimbing when wearing the leather boots.
• Significantly less mechanical work (4~.4 pecent) was required of the lower extremities during stairclimbing when wearing the leather boots.
• There was a 91.67 percent decrease in the amount of time required to complete the 30-foot agility run (obstacle course) when wearing the leather boots.
• The larger surface area of the heels on the leather boots tended to provide better ankle stability.

Fire education a family affair

The two-story “Down & Out House”—a relative newcomer to the fire education program offered by Steamer Company’ No. 5 Fire-History Museum in Richmond, Virginia — changes from a typical, safe home environment into a potential death trap in seconds.

The structure, which is on wheels, features two bedrooms, halls, stairs, doors, windows, a first-floor porch, and a second-floor balcony. An attached control room produces theatrical smoke and other simulated effects of a fire. A typical instructional session includes teaching two groups of 20 students (10 in each bedroom) how to escape from a burning or smoke-filled room through primary and secondary escape routes, to meet at the meeting place previously designated by the family, and to call 911 from pay phones away from the fire site. The calls, unbeknownst to the students, are monitored by the parents so that they can assess how their children will respond to a genuine emergency. The phone system, a replica of an advanced training system, incorporates the first Telecommunications Device for the Deaf pay phone system in the state and makes it possible to teach fire safety to hearing disabled children.

In addition to the “House,” the museum’s educational program includes a stage production aimed at children ages 5 through 11 and senior citizen fire safety’ classes.

IAFC promotes IMS education

The EMS Section of the International Association of Fire Chiefs has joined with Conference Management Corporation, producers of EMS Expo, to promote EMS education throughout the fire service. It is estimated that more than half of EMS operations in the United States are conducted under the auspices of the fire service.

The IAFC’S EMS chairperson. Chief Ricky Davidson, delivered the keynote address on safety in EMS, and the IAFC presented two workshops related to this area targeted to the fire service during the EMS Expo held in Dallas last month. The EMS Section Conference and the EMS Expo programs will be integrated in 1992.

The week of May 12-18 has been designated “National EMS Week.” Additional information concerning EMS and the fire service is available from the IAFC, 1329 18th St., NW, Washington, DC 20036, (202) 833-3420.

NFSA receives CFSI award

The 1991 Congressional Fire Services Institute Partnership Award was presented to the National Fire Sprinkler Association (NFSA) during the CFSI’s Third Annual National Fire and Emergency Services Dinner held in Washington, D.C., last mortfh.

The award, accepted by NFSA Chairman of the Board Kevin T. Fee, is given to a corporation or organization that makes the most significant contribution to the American fire service and the Congressional Fire Services Institute during that year. Among the criteria that merited NFSA the 1991 citation were the following: cosponsorship of Congressional Fire Services Caucus activities, assistance to Congressman Curt Weldon and his colleagues, support of the Hotel-Motel Fire Safety Act (now Public Law 101446), and full participation in CFSI fund-raising events.

Input requested for international fire study

Fire officers who have visited Hungary or Austria and who can share information about the approaches to fire prevention or resources to contact in these countries are invited to participate in a new fire protection study. The project, funded by a grant from the R. J. Reynolds Tobacco Company, will be undertaken by the TriData Corporation of Arlington, Virginia. It will examine fire protection methods used in Hungary, Austria, the Netherlands, and Great Britain. The study is planned for release during the latter part of this year.

Hungary, according to TriData, is the only industrialized country known to have a higher fire death rate per capita than the United States and Canada. Austria and the Netherlands are among the countries that have the lowest fire death rates per capita.

Contact Phil Schaenman, principal investigator, TriData, 1500 Wilson Boulevard, Arlington, VA 22209, (703) 351-8300 for more information.

UL updating pump standard

Underwriters Laboratories Inc. (UL) is proposing the updated Standard for Safety for Pumps for Fire-Protection Service, UL 448, as an American National Standard. It covers fire pumps intended for use in water-supply systems used by the fire service and which are to be installed and used in accordance with the Standard for the Installation of Centrifugal Fire Pumps, NFPA 20. The proposed standard is a revised version of ANSI/UL i48-1985, now recognized as an American National Standard.

To comment on or to obtain a free copy of UL 448-NR, contact Mavis Whitehead at UL, 333 Pfingsten Road, Northbrook, IL 60062-2096, (708) 272-8800, ext. 2988.

IAFC accepting award nominations

Nominations for the 1991 Chief Robert W. Little, Jr. Humanitarian Award, which is presented by the Foundation of the International Association of Fire Chiefs, will be accepted up to June 1.

The award, an engraved plaque and a cash gift of SI,000 —contributed by the Volunteer Firemen’s Insurance Services Inc. of York, Pennsylvania— will be presented at the 1991 annual conference of the IAFC in Toronto, Canada in August. Firefighters or friends of the fire service who have enhanced the fire service and community by their actions are eligible for the award.

Chief Little retired from the City of New York Fire Department in 1976— after 36 years of service—and was a pioneer in the areas of fire prevention, fire training, and fire suppression. He died in 1982.

Nomination forms and additional information are available from the IAFC Foundation Little Award, 1329 18th Street NW, Washington, DC 20036.

“Fire service prime emergency medical care provider”

The International Association of Fire Chiefs and the International Association of Fire Fighters have signed a joint resolution that recognizes the role of the fire service as the prime provider of emergency medical care.

“This joint resolution demonstrates our mutual recognition of the services fire departments are delivering and the need for our elected officials and the public to be cognizant of the lifesaving role we play,” states Chief Dave Hilton, president of the IAFC