News In Brief

NIST issues interim WTC report

A progress report on the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) World Trade Center (WTC) building and fire safety investigation released in May did not offer any specific conclusions or recommendations, because the agency still considers the investigation to be in its early stages. NIST Director Arden Bement Jr., however, “reported solid progress by the investigation team at the one-third mark of the ongoing 24-month effort.” The report focused on the floor system and its fireproofing.

Dr. Shyam Sunder, lead investigator, however, says that the investigation to date has not determined that the floor trusses played a critical role in the collapse of the WTC towers. However, NIST has not been able to locate any information pertaining to fire endurance tests on the WTC floor system. The architect and the structural engineer of record stated in 1966 and 1975, respectively, that the fire rating of the floor system of the WTC towers could not be determined without testing.

According to a report by James Glanz in The New York Times, the Port Authority apparently did not test the truss-constructed floors in the WTC for performance in a fire, and NIST investigators say that without such test results, they could not determine whether the WTC towers performed as expected in the building plans, as is required by the city codes for similarly constructed buildings. The Times report noted that a former member of the Port Authority who served at the time the WTC was built and who oversaw all major aspects of the construction said that “full-scale tests on the floors and their supports most likely had not been done.” (“Towers’ Strength Not Tested for a Fire, Inquiry Suggests,” James Glanz, www.nytimes.com, May 8, 2003.)

NIST’s Sunder said the floor’s fireproofing is a key component of the ongoing NIST investigation. Among the findings included in the report are the following:

• The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey decided to comply with the New York City building code (the 1961-1962 revision of the NYC building code was in effect at the time) early in the design phase of the WTC towers,
• The Port Authority, in 1965, revised its plans to comply with the second and third drafts of what became the 1968 edition of the NYC building code. This code required a two-hour fire rating (the length of time that a structural element can withstand a standard fire in a test) for the floor system.
• Limited information (all from the first 38 floors of WTC 1) from surveys conducted in 1990 as part of an asbestos-related litigation and subsequent measurements made in 1993 reported that the fireproofing thickness on the floor joists (the supports for the floors of WTC 1 and 2) was consistently about one-half inch or more; the average was about three-quarters of an inch.
• Both WTC towers were retrofitted with sprinkler systems by the early 1990s.
• Based on a 1995 study, guidelines were issued in 1999 to upgrade the fireproofing requirements for floors undergoing construction or renovation.
• By 2000, the floor joists of about 30 floors in the two towers had been upgraded to 11/2-inch thickness; construction audit reports suggest that these minimum requirements were met.
• There were problems with the original spray-on fireproofing remaining in place; it was found that it would be more effective to replace it with new fireproofing material than to patch it.
• Construction audit reports associated with the fireproofing upgrade to 11/2 inch suggest that the minimum bond strength requirement for the spray-on fireproofing was met. It was not known how well the fireproofing materials used in the WTC towers could withstand shock, vibration, and impact.
• Based on existing fireproofing conditions, a property condition assessment in 2000 stated that “the rating of the structural fireproofing in the towers and subgrade has been judged to be an adequate one-hour rating, considering the fact that all tower floors are now sprinklered,” and noted that at that time a program to upgrade the fireproofing thickness to 11/2 inches to achieve a two-hour rating was ongoing.
• From the documents reviewed, NIST has not been able to determine the technical basis for selecting the fireproofing material for the joists and determining the thickness of fireproofing to achieve a two-hour rating.
• Preliminary results of numerous chemical and mechanical analyses conducted on the steel recovered from the WTC indicate that the yield strength (ability to resist stress) of the different steel types satisfied applicable specifications and that most of the structural elements were made from steel with higher-than-required yield strengths.

NIST plans fire endurance tests of a typical WTC steel-concrete composite floor system and individual steel members under the fire conditions prescribed by current ASTM E 119 standards.

NIST has set up a special Web site, http://wtc.nist.gov/media/provide_info.htm/, for those who want to participate in interviews or provide photos, videos, or documents detailing the WTC disaster. Individuals can also contact the WTC Investigation Team by writing to NIST, 100 Bureau Dr., Stop 8610, Gaithersburg, MD 20899-8610; by e-mailing wtc@nist.gov; or by faxing (301) 975-6122.

Ridge keynote speaker at CFSI Fire and Emergency Services Dinner

Nearly 2,000 attended the Congressional Fire Services Institute (CFSI) 15th Annual Fire and Emergency Services Dinner in April. Senator John McCain (R-AZ), chairman of the Congressional Fire Caucus, delivered the opening remarks. Tom Ridge, head of the Department of Homeland Security, delivered the keynote address.

Other speakers included Congressman Curt Weldon (R-PA), founder of the Congressional Fire Services Caucus; Senator Joseph Biden (D-DE); Congressman Steny Hoyer (D-MD); Congressman Sherwood Boehlert (R-NY); and Congressman Rob Andrews (D-NJ), all of whom are cochairs of the Congressional Fire Caucus. Congressman James Walsh (R-NY) received the CFSI Legislator of the Year Award for his tireless work to preserve the Assistance to Firefighters Grant Program.

Ridge commented on some of the issues causing concern among members of the fire service, including the following:

• The FIRE Act will be continued; funding proposed for Fiscal Year 2004 is $500 million. It was funded at $750 million in 2003 and originally was to be funded at $900 million.
• The U.S. Fire Administrator must continue to be a Presidential appointment. Ridge said he believes it is critical for the Department of Homeland Security “to understand the everyday challenges and pressures of the fire house before we make decisions that affect it.”
• The fire service will receive a portion of the $1.3 billion in emergency supplemental appropriations earmarked for counterterrorism planning, equipment, and training. Fire departments must apply for these funds through their state organizations.
• High-threat, high-priority cities will receive an additional $700 million. Another $165 million in Emergency Management Performance Grants and $60 million for 28 urban search and rescue teams will also be made available.
• A national incident management system that emphasizes mutual aid will be developed.

The following awards were presented at the dinner:

• The CFSI/Motorola Mason Lankford Fire Service Leadership Award was given to Chief Dennis Compton (ret.) of Mesa, Arizona.
• The National Fallen Firefighters Foundation received the CFSI Fire Service Organization of the Year Award.
• Lt. Bruce Young of the Palm Beach County (FL) Fire and Rescue Department was awarded the Safety Education Hero Award, presented by the Home Safety Council.

MSA’s FireSlayer® of the Year: Jacksonville Firefighters Murphy, Smith

Firefighters Rick Murphy and Phillip Smith of the Jacksonville (FL) Fire and Rescue Department were the recipients of this year’s MSA FireSlayerT of the Year (FOTY) award. Murphy and Smith rescued a family from their burning home in August 2002. The pair pried through burglar bars to reach the family members who were trapped in a raging fire. After rescuing the mother, Murphy and Smith went back into the intense flames and thick, black smoke to locate her son. When they found him, their escape was cut off by the heat and flames. They pulled him down a hallway as far from the flames as possible and covered him with their bodies and protective clothing. The two firefighters thought they were going to die. Fellow firefighters found them and rescued all three. The 12-year-old daughter suffered severe burns over 40 percent of her body. All family members suffered smoke inhalation.

The firefighters accepted the FOTY award at a ceremony during the Fire Department Instructors Conference in Indianapolis. In addition to the FOTY award, each firefighter received a traditional Leather New Yorker Cairns HELMETST fire helmet. In addition, MSA donated $5,000 on behalf of Smith and Murphy to the International Association of Fire Fighters Burn Foundation.

Firefighters Rick Murphy and Phillip Smith of the Jacksonville (FL) Fire and Rescue Department receive MSA’s FireSlayer® of the Year award.

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The FOTY program was created in 2000 to recognize firefighters who display selfless dedication in the line of duty. The 2002 recipients were selected by a panel of fire service experts from across the United States.

Fire service organizations voice concerns to congressional committee

While in Washington, D.C., for the Congressional Fire Services Institute dinner, heads of fire service organizations took the opportunity to meet with the Senate Committee on Science, Technology and Transportation, chaired by Sen. John McCain (R-AZ), who also chairs the Congressional Fire Caucus.

National Volunteer Fire Council Chairman Chief Philip C. Stittleburg

• Assistance to Firefighters Grant program. He appealed to Congress to fund the Fiscal Year 2004 program at the originally authorized $900-million level and urged that the program continue to be a distinct program under the U.S Fire Administration (USFA) in the Emergency Preparedness and Response Directorate of the Department of Homeland Security.
• U.S. Fire Administrator position. Stittleburg said eliminating the position would hamper the fire service’s ability to carry its message to the President and the Secretary of Homeland Security.
• Terrorism funding. He relayed many of the NVFC’s concerns regarding this funding. As an example, he noted that the terrorism funding the Office for Domestic Preparedness (ODP) is sending to the states is not getting to the local fire departments, especially in smaller communities. Moreover, Stittleburg said that state fire training agencies, which play a key role by daily training the fire service, are not being used at all to deliver this new training. The Department of Homeland Security, he added, should encourage the states to ensure that the fire service is present when terrorism preparedness and response are being discussed. In many states, he said, law enforcement, the National Guard, and emergency management all receive higher priority than the fire service when it comes to receiving federal funds.
• Volunteer fire service. The NVFC is supporting federal funding for hiring firefighters and recruiting and retaining volunteer emergency personnel. He asked also that career firefighters have the right to volunteer in their local communities during off-duty hours if they choose to do so.
• Firefighting Research and Coordination Act. Stittleburg voiced support for this legislation, introduced by McCain. It would allow the U.S. Fire Administrator to develop voluntary consensus standards for evaluating the performance and compatibility of new firefighting technology and improve coordination among federal, state, and local fire officials in training for and responding to terrorist attacks and other national emergencies.

International Association of Fire Chiefs President Chief Randy R. Bruegman

• The FIRE Act. It is “a federal success story of which the taxpayers can be proud” and should not be moved from the U.S. Fire Administration (USFA) to the Office for Domestic Preparedness. Doing so “could effectively end the most phenomenally successful direct grant program America’s fire service has ever seen.”

The FIRE Act was not designed or intended for the sole purpose of enhancing terrorism response. It is structured to assist communities to better respond to all risks and all hazards—one of which could be an act of terrorism. Bruegman asked Committee Chairman McCain for his personal commitment to keep the FIRE Act at the USFA, “where it has been so successfully managed since its implementation in 2001.”

• A voice in DHS, USFA. Bruegman expressed the fire service’s concern over the reduction of its role within the new structure of the Department of Homeland Security, particularly the recent elimination of the U.S. Fire Administrator position and the cancellation of a significant number of classes at the National Fire Academy (Editor’s note: which have since been reinstituted). He asked the committee to “support our request for a voice in DHS that is appropriate and proportionate to the fire service’s contribution to homeland security.”
• Haz mat placarding. With regard to reports that the current placarding system for the transportation of hazardous materials may be substantially changed or reduced, Bruegman said, “in the absence of a proven replacement system, dismantling the current placarding system would be a significant mistake that would have serious ramifications for the safety of America’s communities.”
• Interoperability, SAFER Act. Bruegman referred to interoperability as “one of the most persistent problems that plagues large-scale emergency response.” Another critical issue, he added, is lack of adequate staffing in America’s fire departments because of local budget cuts and the military call-up for the war in Iraq. He asked that priority be given to the interoperability issue. He also asked for support for the Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response Firefighters Act (SAFER Act).

Weldon urges immediate funding for FIRESAT wildfire detection system

In a June press release entitled “Will We Be Unprepared for Another Fire Season?” Congressman Curt Weldon, founder of the Congressional Fire Services Institute and a founding member of the Congressional Fire Services Caucus, asked that the FIRESAT satellite-based technology system be “on line by August.” Weldon says it would cost “a mere $7.5 million, including activation and security costs, to accomplish this” and that it would be “penny-wise and pound-foolish” to squander the present opportunity to have the FIRESAT system on-line in time for use for the 2003 wildfire season.

In pressing for implementation of the FIRESAT system, Weldon explained that the federal government, with the help of Congress in 1997, developed the Hazard Support System, which fuses data from satellites and other sources for detection of wildland fires before they grow to an acre in size. This capability was recently moved to the new Department of Homeland Security and renamed FIRESAT. It leverages existing Department of Defense and civil weather satellites to provide near-real-time satellite data to firefighters, according to Weldon.

The system, Weldon says, is not in operation because of budget constraints. Failing to spend a few million dollars a year to operate the system, Weldon notes, has cost the U.S. Government billions of dollars to fight wildfires and provide emergency relief to the affected areas during the past few years.

In 2000 alone, Weldon points out, “more than 8 million acres of pristine wilderness burned, and federal agencies expended more than $1.3 billion for fire suppression. Wildfires scorched more than 7 million acres. Hundreds of homes were destroyed, and firefighters gave their lives.”

The picture looks bleak for this year as well. The National Interagency Coordination Center, Weldon points out, predicts that 2003 will be another above-normal wildfire season for many areas of the United States and that temperatures will be above normal and precipitation below normal.

“We must make every effort to detect and combat forest fires before they grow into monsters that destroy so much of our national heritage,” Weldon stresses. A former fire chief, Weldon says that he knows from first-hand experience that “real-time detection of fires in their infancy can enormously benefit firefighting and evacuation efforts.” He added: “Continuously detecting and reporting of fires from space would be invaluable in improving response times and increasing the effectiveness of wildland fire suppression operations.”

With regard to the devastating 2002 wildfire season, Weldon says the Army Space Command was asked to employ some of the capability of the FIRESAT system, but “the inferno was already raging out of control.” If the FIRESAT system were in full operation during 2002 and provided early detection and additional real-time data, Weldon says that that information “would have contributed enormously to the effort; it could have provided real-time, continuous satellite-based fire data over the entire United States.”

NFPA releases 2002 firefighter deaths analysis

The National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) analysis of firefighter line-of-duty deaths (LODDs) that occurred in 2002 indicates that of the 97 LODDs, fewer than half occurred on the fireground. This has been the case for eight of the 10 past years, according to the NFPA.

The leading cause of death continues to be heart attacks. Thirty-seven on-duty firefighters died of heart attacks; 13 were on the fireground, eight were traveling to or from a fire or other emergency, seven were performing typical administrative activities, six were at nonfire emergencies, two were participating in training activities, and one was cleaning up after a tornado. Also, two firefighters suffered strokes during training activities, and one died of an aneurysm while at a medical call.

What’s most troubling about these statistics, notes NFPA President James M. Shannon, is that most of the firefighters whose deaths were related to heart problems suffered from known health problems. Shannon said that NFPA 1582, Requirements for Firefighters and Information for Fire Department Physicians, lists the medical conditions that should preclude an individual from working as a firefighter and should be more widely used.

On average, almost one-fifth of the deaths (22) occurred in motor vehicles crashes. Seven firefighters were struck by vehicles.

The report also noted the following:

• Twenty-two firefighters died while working at or responding to a wildland fire or a controlled burn.
• Two-fifths of the fatalities from 1998 to 2002 were over the age of 50 even though they constitute less than one-sixth of firefighters.
• The greatest number of deaths occurred in vacant structures and buildings under construction.

No career firefighters died while responding to or returning from emergencies.

Line-of-Duty Deaths

April 8. Deputy Chief Donald Maurice, 52, of the Wolcott (CT) Volunteer Fire Department, Co. #1: Collapsed and died in the apparatus bay from an apparent heart attack after being called into the fire station for an alarm.

April 10. Assistant Chief Vannie Duane Keever, 54, of the Gulfport/Gladstone (IL) Fire Police Department: Collapsed and died from an apparent heart attack at the scene of a vacant mobile home fire.

April 13. Chief Edward Weber, 56, of the Elkhart Lake (WI) Fire Department: A heart attack suffered at the fire station, where he collapsed after working his third fire of the day.

April 14. Lieutenant John Robert Patrick, 54, Gwinnett County Department of Fire & Emergency, Lawrenceville, Georgia: Collapsed and died after suffering a heart attack while ventilating the roof at a motorcycle repair shop fire.

April 19. Fire Police Captain Woodrow Pinkerton, 63, Union Fire Company, Station 251, Medford, New Jersey: Of injuries sustained as a result of being struck by a car while operating at the scene of a highway motor vehicle accident on February 23, 2003.

April 22. Firefighter & Department President Carl J. Mack, New Chester Fire Department, Grand Marsh, Wisconsin: Collapsed from an apparent heart attack at the scene of a structure fire.

April 26. Firefighter Bruce F. Spaulding, 49, Bourbonnais (IL) Fire Protection District: Of a head injury suffered in a fall while cutting the department’s lawn in an inclined area. An autopsy was pending.

May 5. Firefighter/Fire Police Wentzell Harding, 81, Mexico (ME) Fire Department: An apparent heart attack while traveling in his private vehicle to establish a nearby traffic control point after arriving at the scene of a residential kitchen fire.

Source: Department of Homeland Security/Federal Emergency Management Agency/U.S. Fire Administration database.

News Glimpses

• More airwaves for public safety. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has set aside for public safety organizations the 50 MHz of spectrum between 4940 MHz and 4990 MHz in the high-frequency bandwidth. FCC Chairman Michael K. Powell is urging state and local governments to work together and the critical infrastructure community to use this new spectrum opportunity fully to make all Americans safer.

• Legislation pending in Congress. The following legislation has been introduced in Congress.

• Hometown Heroes Survivor Benefit Act (H.R. 919/S. 459)—Would expand the Public Safety Officers Benefits (PSOB) program to include public safety officers (fire, police, EMS) who die as a result of a heart attack or stroke while on duty. It passed in the Senate and has 200 cosponsors in the House.
• Fire Sprinkler Incentive Act of 2003 (H.R. 1824)—Would provide tax incentives for the voluntary installation of automatic sprinklers in new construction and the retrofitting of existing buildings. It does not mandate the installation of automatic fire sprinklers.
• Rural Fire Department Equipment Priority Act (H.R.1311/S.64)—Rural departments and their cooperators would be given higher priority in the screening process for acquiring Department of Defense excess property.

• Six FDNY stations closed. On May 26, six Fire Department of New York stations were closed amid citizens’ protests, a radio and print ad campaign launched by FDNY’s two firefighter unions, a State Supreme Court decision not to grant an injunction against the closings, and efforts to raise private funding to keep the stations open (the money was returned to donors because Mayor Michael Bloomberg opposed accepting the private funds). Bloomberg had ordered the closings to help close a gap in the city’s budget. He originally had proposed closing eight stations but agreed to keep two open. The mayor said the closings would not jeopardize residents’ safety, since nearby stations could cover their response areas. Firefighters from the closed stations have been reassigned.

• Federal passenger preparedness campaign. The Federal Transit Administration Partners, the Transit Industry, the American Red Cross, and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security are jointly sponsoring the Emergency Preparedness Campaign. Its goals, according to Jennifer L. Dorn, administrator of the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Transit Administration (FTA), are (1) to train transit employees “to deter, detect, mitigate, and respond to a variety of emergency scenarios”; (2) to ensure that local agencies have emergency plans in place and routinely practice them; and (3) to increase awareness among passengers so they can recognize suspicious or unusual activity, communicate with transit officials, and exit the transit systems in an emergency. It is anticipated that the program will be initiated in all U.S. communities, large and small.

• NJ: college credits for fire academy courses? New Jersey Assembly Bill A-3323 proposes that firefighters receive college credits for courses taken at accredited county fire academies if the courses mirror the curriculum in a college fire science program. Firefighters would have to pass an examination in that discipline approved by the county college. The college would waive any credit-by-exam fee. The bill also would direct the county fire academies and the county colleges to work jointly to identify the courses that would qualify for the program. The proposal now goes to the Speaker, who will determine if and when the measure will be put to a floor vote.

• USFA program to prevent home injuries and deaths. The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and the United States Fire Administration (USFA) have instituted the Web-based independent study “Household Hazardous Materials: A Guide for Citizen’s Safety” course, designed to reduce deaths and injuries in the home. This interactive course is available at: http://training.fema.gov/emiweb/IS. Select “Our Courses” and then select “IS-55” from the list.

• USFA incident command course. More than 100 fire and law enforcement personnel attended a special two-day incident command system (ICS) course at the National Fire Academy (NFA) in Emmitsburg, Maryland, in April. Attendees were from Frederick, Carroll, and Washington counties in Maryland; Adams and Franklin counties in Pennsylvania; and Virginia and Delaware. The course is part of the NFA’s regular curriculum.

• FEMA and the NVFC partner in Citizens Corps. The National Volunteer Fire Council (NVFC) has signed an affiliate partnership with the Citizen Corps to work together to raise public awareness about emergency preparedness, fire hazards, and volunteer service programs and to develop fire safety training councils. Under the direction of the Department of Homeland Security’s Emergency Preparedness and Response Directorate, the Citizen Corps community-based initiative engages citizens in homeland security and community and family preparedness through public education and outreach, training opportunities, and volunteer programs. For more information on the Citizen Corps, visit www.citizencorps.gov/.

• FEMA’s instant messaging service. The Department of Homeland Security is urging first responders to use an instant messaging service available through the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). The site, Disasterhelp.gov, was designed by FEMA to help coordinate emergency workers and is said to be safe from hackers. Notes sent over the system are encrypted, and the service is compatible with firewalls to protect against viruses. FEMA will verify the potential user’s first responder status before allowing entry to the site. Registration information is in the upper right corner of the homepage. Eventually, emergency operations centers will be able to use the system to locate and talk to first responders in case of a terrorist attack or other emergency. Such technology, FEMA notes, would have helped to prevent the confusion that slowed rescue efforts during the September 11, 2001, attacks on the Pentagon and World Trade Center.