LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
DEPARTMENTS
Personal protection can help reduce severity of injuries
At a recent meeting, I and several others who read John Bowen’s fine article on “Backdraft” in FIRE ENGINEERING’S October 1986 issue had the same questions and comments:
Why are firefighters hurt?
The picture in the article shows the officer being carried out of the building. He has no boots or turnout pants on. Why?
His helmet is missing. Was it blown off or did it come off because he did not have a strap around his chin? Why?
No sign of a self-contained breathing apparatus (SCBA) either. Why?
If he would have had full turnout gear on and an SCBA, he probably would not have been burned near as bad. Maybe not at all.
Others in the pictures have gear on. Why didn’t they go in? The man backing up the line has on an SCBA and the two men at the opening have none. Why?
I have seen Baltimore, MD, firefighters in action on several occasions, both city and county. The city boys seem to have the idea that they need not wear turnouts and SCBA while the county firefighters wear everything. Whenever the city decides that firefighters need not be burned or otherwise injured and make their members wear gear, injuries will decrease.
We think that the use of personal protective equipment should have been brought out in the article. It probably is a more important lesson than the one about the backdraft.
By the way, on a recent visit to Hawaii, I noticed that they don’t believe in turnout gear either. I asked about it, and the fellow told me that it was too hot to wear, he would take his chances.
Yes sir, we have a long way to go in education.
Ray W. Rugh Milton, PA
Suggestion for additional research on sirens
I read with interest Laurence F. Hatton’s article “What Fire True…?” in the November 1986 issue of FIRE ENGINEERING. Chief Hatton addresses one of the most serious safety problems facing the fire service.
There is an area that I would like to suggest the Research and Development Unit of the New York City Fire Department (FDNY) look into:
- Air horns vs. electronic sirens.
- Electronic sirens vs. electro-mechanical sirens.
- Air horns vs. electro-mechanical siren.
- Use of two of the above together vs. single use of a siren or air horn.
In closing, I want to thank Chief Hatton and the FDNY for doing this much needed research and for sharing the results and information with others.
Gary E. Bohling
Fire Chief City of Whitehall Whitehall, Ml
A drug-free fire service is the right of all firefighters
I thoroughly and wholeheartedly agree with the editorial in the December 1986 issue on drug testing. But why stop with the driver? I realize that you have to start somewhere, but the driver is merely one link in the chain of providing fire protection.
Ensuring that the driver is drug free may protect the motoring public and help ensure proper pump pressures to firefighters, but what about firefighters who depend on each other in the fire building? Ensuring that they are drug free is just as important.
Certainly we all have individual rights, but not being able to do the job is not one of them. The 1980s will be remembered as the decade of personnel safety. Self-preservation and team effort are integral aspects of safety.
A. K. Rosenhan Consultant
A. K. Rosenhan Consulting Engineers, Ltd. Mississippi State, MS
“Residue” report questioned
I was happy to see the Dispatches item on “More Accurate Placarding” (December 1986). It is important for response personnel to understand the change for implementing the residue requirements. Unfortunately, the accuracy of the statements in the article is questionable.
The change in the regulations requires the deletion of the word “empty” (triangle on top) and the addition of the word “residue” in a triangle under the identification number block. Contrary to your statement in the third paragraph, the word “empty” did not replace the identification number on the placard. The word “residue” will not replace the identification number.
More accurate placarding, just as accurate reporting, is important.
C. J. Wright
Supervisor, Hazardous Materials Training Union Pacific Railroad Company Omaha, NE
Pre-incident data gathering beats information hunting during an emergency situation
In the December 1986 Letters to the Editor section, Assistant Chief Alan T. Price questioned the legalities of a “build your own” hazardous materials reference guide such as the one being done by Frank Fire in the pages of FIRE ENGINEERING. Chief Price’s reaction may be well founded and is something that needs to be considered, but I find myself 180° from his viewpoint.
I have been working on a hazardous materials program with other members of the Virginia Beach, VA, Fire Department for four years, and during the last three years on a reference data base. It is our belief that a well-developed program and thorough research of materials before an incident will produce far fewer errors and a smoother operation. Being able to sit back and research a product from as many sources as necessary and to have that information reviewed for mistakes or omissions is far better than trying to find the material under the pressure of an incident.
Anyone who has spent time doing material research can attest to the fact that many of the reference books do not agree. The CHRIS books only cover a small number of materials when compared to the total picture. Check the DOT numbers used in some reference books and they are NOS numbers. There are few places that you can find the DOT, STCC, and CAS numbers all together.
The DOT Guidebook is just that, a guide. It is very general, using 60 some odd guides for some 2,000 products. The Surface Transportation book put out by the Association of American Railroads is another good guide, but it also is limited to about 2,000 products. Most reference books are keyed to types of materials; flammable; explosive; pesticides. The CHEMTREC system is without question the best information source available to date. But the possibility of an error is still there, that misspelled word. Plus it takes times to start the flow of data—time that the incident commander may not have in a rescue situation.
One fact that must be kept in mind, even with a data base, you never stop looking for information about a product during an incident. The data base is just one tool and you use it in conjunction with other sources.
Alan E. Gumbs Master Firefighter Virginia Beach Fire Department Virginia Beach, VA
