LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
Traffic cones safer than flares
I would like to comment on Captain Doug Leihbacher’s article, “Safe Placement of Apparatus on Roadways at Nonstructural Fires” (April 1994). He raises several excellent points. In addition, he refers twice to the use of road flares.
In my nine years as a police officer and 18 years as a member of a volunteer fire department, I have found that the advantages of using plastic traffic cones, properly marked with reflective bands, far outweigh the disadvantages and dangers associated with the typical road flare or fusee. The spitting and spattering of molten sulfur and the generation of an intolerable amount of noxious smoke are just two of the disadvantages hazards avoided through the use of the traffic cone. Moreover. the use of a flare would be inappropriate. if not hazardous, for some incidents. including those involving liquid spills and hazardous materials. In addition, the cones are economical: Their cost is minimal and they can be used repeatedly.
John I). Vannoni
Captain
Blackivood (NJ) Fire Company
New Jersey burn: instructors should know better
Regarding “New Jersey Bum: Real Life Lessons.” by George A. Wendt (March 19941.1 would like to continue w here the author stopped —that is. to publicly condemn the fire officers in command of this training exercise 1 hesitate to call this an accident because the results were predictable and should have been prevented.
first, they were training in a school bus. Steel plates were welded over the w indows to “keep the heat in.” Then a fire w as ignited in an upholstered couch (high fuel load) and was allowed to build up for approximately five to 10 minutes. After this, firefighters were sent in. without the benefit of a hoseline, and were expected to move from the rear of the bus to the front Then the officers were surprised and ill-prepared when flashover occurred. Given the oven-like conditions, high fuel load, and lack of ventilation, 1 would have been more surprised had flashover not occurred.
The fire service (paid and volunteer) cannot and should not allow unqualified instructors to injure and possibly kill firefighters through their own stupidity. Hie officers in command of the Parsippany-Troy Hills exercise are lucky they are not facing murder charges, let alonelesser criminal indictments. They should have known better!
Marv Walton
Assistant Chief
Stroud Township Volunteer Fire Department
Stroudsburg. Pennsyli an ia
PPV fan aid in car fires
To add to Brian G. Anderson’s article. “Car fngine Fires: Tactics for Quick Knockdowns” (February 1994), our engine company has used a PPV fan on some auto fires to improve visibility. On limitedaccess highways, where an upwind approach isn’t always possible, and under parking decks, where it can be difficult even to see the car, it has been quite successful. The smoke can be quickly directed out of the w ay, improving knockdown time and decreasing the chances of being struck by traffic.
Roger Flammond
Fire Apparatus Driver! Opera tor
Baltimore County (AID) Fire Department
NFPA 1999: an undue financial burden?
Phis letter is in response to “NFPA 1999: A Standard of Protective Clothing for EMS Operations” by Jeffrey O. Stull (March 1994).
As an infection-control practitioner for more than 20 years. 1 feel it is important to make several statements with regard to this article and the standard. First, it should be stated that there is no science to support the need for the high level of protective clothing set forth in this standard. Bloodborne diseases are not spread by clothing, and blood cannot seep through intact skin as chemical agents can. This is a very important and key point. If there were science to support the need for this level of protection for EMS personnel. 1 would be the first to support it.
Second, there are no data to support that this level of glove is needed for protection from bloodborne diseases. In fact, OSHA. the Centers for Disease Control. and the FDA state that vinyl and latex gloves offer equal protection. Do gloves have holes and sometimes leak? Yes. that is nothing new. Does this pose a risk? The study “Examination gloves as barriers to hand contamination in clinical practice,” published in the March 1994 issue of JAMA (the Journal of the American Medical Association). states that “when leaks w ere present, gloves prevented hand contamination in 77 percent of instances, and quantitative counts of microorganisms contaminating hands were two to four logs less than counts on external surfaces of the gloves.” The message is clear: Gloves offer protection, but their use should be followed by hand washing. This is why the OSHA standard states that EMS personnel should be furnished with waterless hand-wash solutions.
Third. EMS personnel should not need hair and shoe covers for infection control in the field situation. Again, we do not acquire bloodborne diseases from shoes and hair. Remember, blood-to-blood contact is needed along with dosage, virulence. and a susceptible host.
1 feel that NFPA 1999 puts an undue financial burden on fire/EMS and does not have the science to support the need. There were no medical or infection-control experts involved in the development of this standard. Had there been, it would not have been published in this form
Risk in fire/EMS centers around sharp injuries and cuts, not clothing issues. 1 ask readers to be informed buyers and look to science to support the need and not respond to fear. The lack of references to support many statements in this article is also a concern.
Katherine West, BSN, MSEd, CIC
Infection Control Consultant
Infection Control!Emerging Concepts
Inc.
Springfield, Virginia
Lolly column explosions not new
In Letters to the Editor in the February 1993 issue. Chief Art Donahue of Glenville Hills, New York, reported on a fire in which bally™ columns exploded. He noted that no one had ever heard of this before.
In the 19th century, this type of column was made of cast iron and filled with concrete. Early columns exploded when water (which is always present in concrete) was heated and turned to steam. The remedy was to drill holes in the column on the four quadrants.
In recent years, thin steel pipe columns filled with concrete have been used, notably in prepackaged “deck houses.” Building officials must learn the 19th-century lesson all over again—steam vents must be provided for such columns.
I noted this hazard in 1982 in the second edition of Building Construction for the Eire Service (p.273) and the third edition (p.329); but at that time, there was no experience to quote. We in the fire serviee must learn to discover potential hazards by analysis and not wait for “experience,” which too often is acquired through blood and tears.
Francis L. Brannigan Author
Building Construction for the Fire Service
Technology on the march
Since I wrote “Are We on the Low End of High-Tech?” (Speaking of Safety, April 1994), I have received encouraging information from Grace Products of Bowie, Maryland. The company is coming on line with transponders that will monitor the location and safety of each firefighter on the scene. The high-tech PASS device will not only give off the usual noise but also will send a signal to a computer in the command vehicles. A device that will monitor temperature and send warning signals when the temperature rises is also in the works.
William E. Clark
St. Petersburg. Florida
