Letters to the Editor
DEPARTMENTS
Hydraulic Calculations Breakthrough
As the primary pump course instructor for the county for the past six years, I found the article entitled “Straight Line Hydraulics,” FIRE ENGINEERING, April 1984, very interesting. The article represents a breakthrough in the application of hydraulic calculations on the fireground. The introduction of the fire service nomograph is like nothing we have seen before. The only practical fireground method of figuring hydraulic calculations that comes close to the nomograph concept is the old “hand method” of determining friction loss by flow, which is represented by fingers. The hand method still required a great deal of thought, would not work for flows that were not in even groups of hundreds of gallons per minute, and could not be correlated and cross matched to present even a small portion of the information that the hydraulic nomograph can.
I found the hydraulic nomograph to encompass all water hardware technology currently in use in our department. I was particularly impressed with the fact that the nomograph can be used to determine flow from our Task Force Tips simply by knowing engine pressure and hose diameter. I was also impressed to find out that when figuring friction loss by using the nomograph, not only will it indicate the answer in terms of friction loss per 100 feet, but you can even use the nomograph to figure out the friction loss for the complete length of lay. The fire service nomograph is the most comprehensive yet simple to use hydraulics calculation instrument that I have seen.
Stephen D. Halford
Captain
Station 31
Anne Arundel County Fire Department, MD
Incident Command Success
The article “Model Incident Command System—An Overview” in the July 1984 issue was excellent and I was impressed with its content.
We began initiating this fireground management concept immediately upon my return from the Incident Command course at the National Fire Academy in 1981. A modified Incident Command System (I.C.S.), as taught at NFA, has proven very successful in our department. Many adjacent departments have also adapted the I.C.S. with similar success.
When acknowledgements were given for I.C.S., I noted one person’s name was omitted and that person was Mr. Lou Imundi. When I took the Incident Command II course in 1981, Mr. Imundi was the resident instructor. His background and subject knowledge was the prime mover to induce us to implement this system. Without his ability to tie the classroom theory with street or job reality, I doubt whether I would have been motivated to push this concept in our area. I was also fortunate to have Mr. Charles Burkell as an instructor at my latest class at NFA.
I am indebted to the instructors at NFA for their excellent dissemination on needed education and training for the fire service. The FIRE ENGINEERING staff should also be commended for printing articles such as this to upgrade the fire service.
William R. Kirchner
Deputy Fire Chief
City of Cottage Grove Fire Department, MN
Kudos
My congratulations to you and your staff on the outstanding way you have handled the publication of FIRE ENGINEERING. Most of the articles are very informative and have helped me significantly in understanding the importance of our fire services. Keep up the excellent work!
Gregory P. Kijowski
Sales Representative
Tri-County Mack Sales, Inc.
Kittanning, PA
Editor’s Note: FIRE ENGINEERING is being shaped into your magazine. We will always strive to be of the greatest benefit to you. your department or emergency service. We can only continue to do this with your input. Did “Understanding Burn Patterns” assist you in your preliminary evaluations of fire investigations? Has the return to firefighting basics in “Forcible Entry ” proved to be of any value? Have any of the innovative approaches to prevention and education been able to be reflected in your department? Are we missing the boat by not adequately addressing topics that would be of interest to you or. more important, that you could provide information about?
Write and tell us. That is what this space is for.
Maybe some point can be made clearer. Your feedback gears our direction in acquiring manuscripts from the experts. Perhaps you have a question on a particular feature—in my experience the only dumb question is the one that goes unasked.
Your letters exchange ideas and create an informal give and take. The result is the knowledge and understanding that is so necessary for our jobs, our goals and our safety.
