The INTERNATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF FIRE CHIEFS (IAFC) has releasesd the Officer Development Handbook, a professional development guide for current and aspiring chief fire officers. Published in partnership with the IAFC Foundation, the handbook is intended to help fire officers at all levels plan a systematic development program for their professional fire service careers. The handbook outlines four key elements of professional development—education, training, experience, and self-development. It discusses each element at different levels of a fire officer’s career—supervising fire officer, managing fire officer, administrative fire officer, and executive fire officer. Each section includes an overview of the corresponding section of National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) 1021, Standard for Fire Officer Professional Development. The Officer Development Handbook is available electronically at the IAFC Web site, www.iafc. org/downloads/index.shtml, or call (703) 273-0911.
To support local safety advocates’ public education outreach across America, the nonprofit HOME SAFETY COUNCIL (HSC) has launched the Home Safety Council Expert Network. The network offers safety experts access to a whole suite of safety education resources to promote home injury prevention in their local communities.
Among these is the new 30-minute home fire safety video A Burning Issue: Is Your Family Safe? Distributed in cooperation with the Wisconsin Alliance for Fire Safety, the video offers guidance on practical home fire safety.
Other items include The Great American Home Safety Check, a supply of HSC brochures and posters that provide a reality check on home safety preparedness; the Great Safety Adventure, which includes hand-out activities that teach children about home injury prevention in a fun and interactive way; and The State of Home Safety in America™, an HSC-sponsored national research report that offers the most comprehensive U.S. study of unintentional injuries in the home. Network members will receive the updated report this year.
Safety experts can join the Home Safety Council Expert Network online at www. homesafetycouncil.org/expertnetwork.
SCOTT HEALTH & SAFETY was recently awarded the Tyco International, Ltd. Chairman’s Award for Business Growth for Tyco’s 2003 fiscal year, which ended on September 30. John McStravick, vice president and general manager for Scott Health & Safety, received the Business Growth award from Tyco Chairman and CEO Ed Breen, who cited Scott Health & Safety’s year over year sales growth of 30 percent and its sustained double-digit annual growth for eight consecutive years. McStravick stressed the contributions of Scott’s employees. “Our business continues to grow because of our employees’ unrelenting commitment to excellence,” he stated.
RAE SYSTEMS INC. provided integrated hazardous environment monitoring for the 115th Tournament of Roses Parade and the football game in Pasadena, California, on New Year’s Day. Local police, fire, and public safety organizations played leading roles in ensuring the safety of the estimated one million attendees at the parade and relied on RAE Systems’ wirelessly networked multigas monitors to provide real-time data on air quality along the parade route. Monitors were also strategically placed in and around the Rose Bowl Stadium to provide protection for the football game.
The BP EMPLOYEE DISASTER RELIEF FUND donated $600,000 to the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to develop pamphlets and video training materials to support FEMA’s Community Emergency Response Teams (CERT) and family preparedness programs. The donation was made through the Congressional Fire Services Institute. The fund was established for company employees worldwide who wanted to assist those affected by the 9-11 terrorist attacks. BP matched employee donations on a three to one basis, donating a total of $10 million on behalf of BP, its employees, and retail marketers.
PIERCE MANUFACTURING INC.‘s custom fire chassis, the Arrow XT™, has met and exceeded one of the world’s most stringent crashworthiness standards—the European Occupant Protection Standard ECE Regulation No. 29. The standard’s tests evaluate the cab’s structural integrity and verify its ability to maintain a clear area around occupants, called the survival space, during collisions and crashes. Pierce carried out the tests according to the regulation’s standards at its Appleton Wisconsin headquarters.
In the frontal impact test, a 13,275-pound barrier was slammed with a linear motion into the front of the cab, imparting 32,600 ft.-lbs. of energy. Then, the cab was struck a second time at a higher speed, delivering 65,200 ft.-lbs. into the front of the cab, more than twice the ECE 29 requirement. In both cases, the front of the cab sustained only minimal damage and did not intrude into occupant survival space.
In the roof crush test, the cab roof was first loaded with 22,050 pounds to determine its integrity according to ECE 29 criteria. When the vehicle passed this test, the cab roof was loaded with a total load of 100,000 pounds, more than 4.5 times the ECE requirement. The Arrow XT withstood this roof test without any measurable intrusion into the occupant survival space.
In the side strike test, designed to simulate the forces most commonly found in a rollover incident, a 13,275-pound barrier is slammed into the cab, applying 13,000 ft.- lbs. of energy to the cab side. The cab withstood this impact with only minor deformation and no measurable intrusion into the occupant survival space.
