Remembering 9/11
Thanks to Editor in Chief Bobby Halton for reminding people not to forget (“Remember the Heroes,” Editor’s Opinion, September 2006), but I think the people reading the magazine don’t need to be reminded. For those of us who were there at the World Trade Center, it was never called “Ground Zero.” That was a media term. For us, it WAS the “trade center,” then it became “the pile,” and then “the pit.” Now it is a construction site.
Not until they return the honor and dignity to the piece of hallowed ground by completing the memorial will it ever be anything but a construction site. The people who need to be reminded of their promise to never forget are those who stood with the police and the firefighters for the “photo op,” who now can’t raise their hands to cast the vote or reach into their pockets to “buck up” for the memorial.
I lost many friends at the Trade Center, and I learned valuable leadership lessons from their action. Their memory will always be a part of me.
Christopher Flatley
Lieutenant, Ladder 21
Fire Department of New York
Here in the land of your northern neighbor, we typically receive Fire Engineering a month or so after the United States. Given the content of Bobby Halton’s September editorial, I am grateful for the delay. My September issue arrived today (October 2).
September 11, 2001, was a day that affected me (and many of us, of course) greatly. I have felt the loss and tried to live with the loss of 343 brothers since, and still do. As 9/11 approaches every year, I think maybe I will deal with it a little better. That still hasn’t happened. This year, the fifth anniversary of that infamous day, I still wept at the horrible loss. On that day, I was in Seattle. Every channel I turned to when I woke up in my hotel room was covering 9/11 events. I was scheduled to head for home anyway, so I turned off the TV, quickly packed, and hit the road for home. Driving with good music on the radio has been an escape for me; it surely was this day.
Thank you for such an incredible tribute to the 343 and to all who still serve faithfully and heroically. I was glad to have read it today vs. a month ago, given what I shared with you above. I still see Ray and Rosalie Downey sitting at a table we shared with several when we celebrated their wedding anniversary in 2001 at FDIC West in Sacramento. That was the last time I saw Ray. I visited Ground Zero a couple of years ago, and the feeling is something I don’t think I will ever be able to describe. I have a fire theme study at home (along with thousands of others, I’m sure) and have a wall dedicated as a memorial to 9/11. That helps a little.
In quoting the editorial: “It has been five years, and it still makes no sense; it still hurts like it was yesterday.” Thank you for that wonderful page of wisdom and perspective. It really did help.
Aaron Feldman
Division Chief (Ret.)
Vancouver (Canada) Fire and Rescue
“Dynamic” job of saving lives entails more than the basics
I applaud the inclusion of information concerning prehospital medical care in each of the past two issues (September and August). While many in the fire service longingly remember the days before EMS was included in the job description of a firefighter, the fact is that the present and future of our profession in most, if not all, jurisdictions is intertwined with the provision of frontline medical care to our citizens in need. While there are many other magazines that deal in depth with the management and care of specific maladies, I believe it is important for all in our profession to understand not only the basics of emergency care but also those extra nuggets of information that just might save a life. This is a dynamic job that we do. Thanks for keeping up.
Rich Llewellyn
Station Lieutenant, Paramedic
Spokane Valley (WA) Fire Department
Hydrogen cyanide poisoning
For far too many years, we have taken for granted that carbon monoxide is the leading combustion product killer. However, as J. Curtis Varone points out in his excellent exposition, “Cyanide Poisoning: How Much of a Threat?” (September 2006), hydrogen cyanide (HCN) has overtaken its multiple “opponents” to become the major toxic component of fatal fire gases. Over the years, we have expressed the dangers of CO, HCl, HCN, and other combustion residuals as being extremely dangerous during the extinguishment phase of fire combat. Here in Spain, we have had at least two firefighter deaths most probably caused more by HCN inhalation than CO, both during post-extinguishment mop-up operations.
Firefighters MUST contemplate the use of SCBA in post-extinguishment operations; smoke and combustion gases remain in the atmosphere long after the fire has been put out. The new synthetic fibers and textiles, not to mention structural components of furniture and decorative materials, add cyanide-containing elements to the fire situation. To maintain our slogan “First in, last out on our own two feet,” we must recognize the residual dangers in the atmosphere of an interior fire and utilize the appropriate countermeasures-PPE including proper breathing protection. The two Spanish firefighters were using CO-protective filter masks. One was “third” searching the basement of a hospital in the storage room of X-Ray films. The other one was in a below street-level garage.
The vast majority of residential fires in Spain occur in multiple-occupancy buildings. Even in very small towns, families tend to live in apartment blocks instead of individual single-family dwellings. These buildings are concrete, brick, and cement structures-some are even yard-thick and stone-walled-but they contain furnishings and decorative materials not unlike what could be found in any U.S. residence. Hydrogen cyanide is Acido Cianhídrico in Spanish, but its IDLH level is exactly the same. I am investigating if the French use of hydroxocobalamin has been adopted here and, if so, with what results.
George H. Potter
Fire Protection Specialist
Madrid, Spain
