We must be advocates for fire protection
Regarding Bobby Halton’s Opinion “Educating Our Own” (October 2006), “Right on, Brother.” This noble cause, while not glamorous, has come full circle in the fire service. It was the fire service that pushed for building and fire codes in the late 19th century. Today, the National Fire Protection Association has many standards that reflect our daily business not only for fire suppression but also for fire prevention, fire protection systems, and public education. The ICC building and fire codes have eight overlapping chapters that have a direct impact on firefighters on their battlefield. The collective fire service voice needs to be continually heard in the code-development process: We must publicly state “our business”-how best to protect the public and our firefighters. We may not be able to amend all of the new construction techniques to erect a building, but we must stay the course and declare a robust fire protection redundancy within these structures that includes active and passive systems.
Jack J. Murphy
Fire Marshal (Ret.)/Past Deputy Chief
Leonia (NJ) Fire Department
I am happy to finally see this issue building and fire codes] brought forward. I have been in the construction inspection and fire service for almost 20 years and have served as the building director and chief for a rural but growing community for the past 11 years. The issue of fire service involvement in code development has been one of my passions ever since I saw how closely related the two fields are.
I was happy to see an increased number of fire service representatives at the code development hearing in Orlando earlier this month, but there needs to be much more involvement. This is the one place where your vote helps determine the final outcome of a code change so the final decision is not left to a committee. Contact ICC, become a member, propose code changes that you would like to see, and get involved.
Thanks to Editor in Chief Bobby Halton for helping to inform and support fire service personnel on this important issue.
Bill Benoit
Building Director/Fire Chief
Charter Township of Oakland, Michigan
Hydrogen cyanide always a threat
This refers to “Cyanide Poisoning: How Much of a Threat?” by J. Curtis Varone (September 2006). Having been an inveterate reader of Fire Engineering since my volunteer days in the 1950s, I anxiously await each issue with an obsession born of curiosity concerning the issues, techniques, and contemporary information about our profession to be found in this peer publication. I was, therefore, somewhat taken aback by the “tease line” at the end of the second paragraph in the mentioned article, which asks (no doubt rhetorically), “If cyanide poisoning among firefighters were really such a huge problem, why wasn’t it discovered long before this?” The fact is, well before I was a certified fire instructor in the 1960s, I had long known, through state fire training and other venues, that hydrogen cyanide was perhaps the most deadly gas present in “even a house fire.” In those days, the knowledge was formed from experience with the coated horsehair stuffing used in nearly all furniture, not in the knowledge of parts per million (ppm) as contained in the combustion of products that owe their very existence to a cyanide formulation.
The bottom line, then as now, is that it has always been present, is dangerous, was always dangerous, and will always be dangerous, so wear your SCBA while you’re trying to sort out the ppm it might take to kill you over time; and remember hydrogen cyanide is just one of the by-products of fire that can kill you-even during mop-up.
Ken Morss
Deputy State Fire Marshal
Kelso, Washington
Tom Brennan, still a great teacher
I just finished reading “Tales from Truck 111” Random Thoughts (July 2006). It was excellent. I feel sorry for the poor guy in the elevator, but the way Tom Brennan told this story is hysterical.
I remember picking up an issue of Fire Engineering in 1993 when I started as a young volunteer. I still look forward to it every month, and the lessons Tom taught me are incredible. I am the same as any other firefighter-I read your magazine from back to front. He had such a simple way of getting through to you. My only regret is that I never got to see or hear him speak. I would like our newer members to know Tom Brennan and to look forward to his teachings as I did. You learn something new every time you read his articles. It’s unbelievable!
I would like to be able to obtain any version of “Brennan and Bruno Unplugged.” I have heard so many good things about these two well-respected firefighters and officers that I think the video is a “must see.”
Grant Graham
Grand Bay-Westfield Fire Department
New Brunswick, Canada
Editor’s note: Thank you for your letter. Indeed, Tom Brennan and Chief Alan Brunacini (Ret.), Phoenix (AZ) Fire Department, are “legends” in the fire service. We have two Brennan & Bruno videos available, one from 1998 ($4) and one from 1999 ($19). The difference in cost is attributable to production costs. The videos can be ordered by calling (800) 752-9764 (toll free) or through our online store, www.fireengineeringbooks.com.
