LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
DEPARTMENTS
Has the fire service now come full circle?
I enjoyed the three articles in the May 1985 issue of FIRE ENGINEERING: “Preventing Live Burn Accidents”; “Do You Know Where Your Men Are?”; and “I’d Probably Put the Fire Out.”
These articles have appeared in one form or another in many fire magazines and books throughout the years. The problems still exist because of the continual forming of new fire departments and the discarding of many old, good fire manuals that explained how to avoid some of these problems.
While answers to new problems (such as hazardous chemical spills and how to safely contain them, high-rise atrium fire protection, fire resistance of new building materials, and cutbacks in fire personnel) make up most of the present articles in fire magazines, every once in a while information needed by new and small departments is found.
Gone must be the days when big brother city fire departments held informative lectures for smaller and new fire departments in their areas. Gone are the old smoke eaters who gained their knowledge by doing and were glad to teach new firefighters in their town or adjacent towns the tricks of the trade. Gone are the officers who were not afraid to admit that they didn’t know everything about the fire service and found out the answers.
We have our fire academy, state fire marshal bureaus, all kinds of fire chief and firefighter associations and organizations that should be able to set up standards for every fire department in the nation. And there should be made available in every state a clearinghouse to distribute information on these standard procedures.
Fire departments have made many advancements in the last 25 years. Maybe the old-timers would get lost in the continual learning process that some departments are involved in, but they never forgot that their main job was to save lives and property and eliminate fire hazards.
Have the administrators of fire departments, large and small, so far removed themselves from the actual problems of their department that they don’t realize that some of the old problems still exist? Have the problems of the department reached the top administrators, or have they been kept in a file marked staff meeting reports?
As mentioned in one of the articles, the fire departments of this country could change almost anything that concerned the saving of life and property, including the lives of fellow firefighters. To do this, however, firefighters must all strive for the same thing. There must be a clearinghouse for all information needed on any subject that involves the fire service.
We seem to have some full circle —but now it’s a larger circle.
James S. Cizek
Lieutenant (retired)
St. Georye, UT
National organization for volunteer firefighters
I read with interest “A Report to the Readers on FIRE ENGINEERING’S Firefighters Safety Questionnaire” by H. J. Caulfield in the July 1985 issue.
I congratulate you on a most comprehensive survey and agree with most of its conclusions. I would also like to point out that at least two of the ideas expressed in the conclusions are already available to America’s volunteers.
In 1976, the National Volunteer Fire Council was organized to provide a national voice for the volunteer fire service. Since that time, it has represented volunteers in numerous congressional hearings on a wide range of topics. Additionally, it represents the volunteer viewpoint to the United States Fire Administration and, as a member of the Board of Visitors, the National Fire Academy as well as through membership in the Joint Council of National Fire Service Organizations.
Additionally, the Council has represented the volunteers of the United States in the Federation of World Volunteer Firefighters Associations since its founding in 1982. This organization brings together representatives of the volunteers of the world in an effort to promote an exchange of technology and ideas.
Approximately three years ago the National Volunteer Fire Council was successful in supporting legislation in Congress to permit volunteer fire departments to borrow money at low interest rates. Basically, this permits banks to make loans to a volunteer fire department at the same rate that it would charge a municipality.
The Council has succeeded in making available to the volunteer fire service many other programs and products to help America’s volunteers further their efforts in protecting their communities.
E. James Monihan
Chairman
National Volunteer Fire Council
Lewes, DE
Firefighters must be trained to meet increasing technical demands of society
Higher education in the fire service is the way to go. In the past 20 years, colleges have begun offering fire science curriculums.
Why do we need higher education in the fire service?
Probably the most important reason is that the more knowledge a firefighter has about his field, the more efficient and safe he will operate, thus providing the community with an optimum of protection and service at a cost-effective price.
Firefighters must have a thorough knowledge of building construction, codes and ordinances, chemistry, physics, hydraulics, detection, suppression and alarm systems, behavior of fire, and how to attack the fire with a minimum of risk to life safety and a minimum of damage to property.
Firefighters must have the skills necessary to convey this knowledge to the entire spectrum of society, as more and more they are called upon to interact with civic groups, engineers, municipal managers, and school children.
In order to understand the more advanced concepts in fire science, the student should possess basic skills in mathematics, chemistry, and physics.
Many times, the difference between good and bad city planning lies in the presentation that the fire service puts before the planning commission. Therefore, advanced comprehensive planning must be carried out by the fire service in cooperation with city planners. The members of the fire service must be able to present their criteria and motivation in a logical, understandable wav.
In the day-to-day management of a fire department, the fire officer has to be able to deal with unions, politicians, civic leaders, budgets, inventories, subordinates, etc.
This cadre of fire officers, by virtue of the nature of the profession, comes from the ranks of the firefighters. It is my opinion that it is the responsibility of the institution of higher learning, if that institution offers a fire science curriculum, to prepare the student to meet the demands of a highly advanced and technical society.
George Goldbach
Lead Instructor
Fire Science Technology
Red Rocks Community College
Golden, CO
