LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
DEPARTMENTS
Safety concerns on hose and engine pressures
After reading the article “The Mall Kit” in the November 1985 issue of FIRE ENGINEERING, I felt inspired to write these few words about safety.
The author makes mention of a kit consisting of 3-inch supply hose and 1 3/4-inch attack lines for use inside shopping malls. After the kit is advanced to the seat of the fire, discharges are provided for two additional 1 1/2-inch attack lines. Flows of 500 gpm and 750 gpm can be achieved depending on the amount of attack lines in use. Engine pressures for the layout are preplanned at 283 psi for the 500 gpm flow and 368 psi for the 750 gpm flow.
Church groups may bolster the fire prevention message
Referring to “An International View of Fire Prevention” (FIRE ENGINEERING, August 1985), I would like to emphasize several points that may be underpublicized keys to “selling fire prevention.”
Causing a fire in the United States does not result in the same extreme social stigma that it does in japan and other countries. However, particularly in cases of gross carelessness, our sympathy might perhaps be better tempered with a message of a moral obligation not to let fire happen in the first place. Fire prevention education should include the fact that acts of carelessness hurt people and waste property.
A particular group of people who can relate to this type of message are those in the religious community. Fire safety information tailored to church groups would legitimize the need to practice fire prevention as a part of their teachings. When fires occur, efforts and resources normally spent to do the work of the church are spent burying, healing, and correcting what could have been prevented.
We in the fire service who are also involved in the religious community should be looking for ways of tapping this large segment of our country and promoting the moral message of saving lives and property.
Vern C. Prentice
Senior Warden
St. Paul’s Episcopal Church
and
President
L&P Safety Company Inc.
Woodbine, MD
Although permitted by the author’s department, these engine pressures exceed the accepted standard hose testing pressure of 250 psi that is used by most fire departments. I’m sure that this department has specified that hose being used for this layout must meet or exceed the intended pressures of the evolution and that they annually test the hoses at these pressures. Any fire department that is building or promoting the mall kit in their area should keep this important safety concern in mind.
Secondly, the high engine pressures mentioned were arrived at from a twostage pump in the pressure position at an engine rpm of 1,770. The same layout connected to a single-stage pump will undoubtedly produce a much higher engine rpm than that from the two-stage pump.
One possible solution to reduce the pressures is to substitute a single 4inch hose layout in place of the 3-inch hose. Quick calculations show a 30% reduction in engine pressure for the 750 gpm flow and a 15% reduction for 500 gpm with 4-inch hose.
Fred L. Maihle, Jr.
Fire Chief
Meridian Volunteer Fire Company
Butler, PA
PTSD should be recognized by all
Frank Holt’s article on post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in the November 1985 issue of FIRE ENGINEERING, should be a “must” reading for every member of the fire service, particularly the supervisory officers and managers. A full realization of the potential and experience of PTSD would give the supervisor a possible “why” for the increase of drug and alcohol abuse in the fire ranks across the nation. Further, the subject should be included in the curriculum of every fire science program.
By the illumination of his article, Frank Holt has joined others such as Dr. Jeffrey Mitchell of the University of Maryland in bringing this subject to the surface. Dr. Mitchell is a psychologist and former paramedic who has designed a debriefing process to assist rescue workers in coping with stress.
Michael F. Laffey
Director, Life Safety
Prudential Realty Group
Nexvark, NJ
More research was needed on computer systems article
After reading the article “A Preview of Computers in the Fire Service” (November 1985), I am convinced that Joe Zeigler did not delve into the background on computers as much as he should have. The article is very vague and a bit misleading. This letter is not meant to demean Mr. Zeigler in any way, but to suggest he do a little more reading before writing.
I am a fire engineer with the City of San Jose, CA, Fire Department with almost 20 years of service. San Jose is nationally known for some of the computer systems it has developed over the years, so I can speak with a little expertise since for the last 10 years I had a hand in the development and implementation of some of these systems.
Stan Gentile
Communication Systems
San Jose Fire Department
San Jose, CA
Building codes don’t always stand up to fire
While the article “California: Construction Site Fire Leads to Over $2Million Loss” (November 1985) dealt with a pre-occupancy, construction site fire, it points up the extreme combustibility our society allows in multifamily housing.
All responsible fire statistics show residential buildings as the leading scene of fires and fire deaths, and yet building codes allow unprotected frame construction and, worse, lightweight wood trusses for most residential construction. There is a vast difference between the “ideal” fire resistant construction assemblies and what can be and actually is assembled by flesh and blood construction workers in the real world.
We in the fire service must, as a body, rise up against the false assurances included in many building codes. We must demand full automatic fire sprinkler protection in all multifamily housing. Further, we should demand that all fire walls be the real thing, free-standing masonry, parapeted above roof level.
Sometimes, what looks good on the drawing board or in the code book burns up when “tested” by fire.
Larry J. Robertson
Teaneck, NJ
