Letters to the Editor
Smoke Alarm Advertising
West bury, N. Y.:
In a recent issue of Fire Engineering, Chief Elmer Chapman of the New York City Fire Department had an interesting article relative to the type and selection of smoke alarms.
Since that article 1 have noted a plethora of TV advertising of smoke alarms that have a light installed. The advertising indicates that this light will lead all to safety.
Quite the contrary is possible. How does the appliance get into operation? By a smoke and heat flue effect up a stairwell. The light on the smoke alarm is to light a person’s way down the stairway which contains the serious smoke and heat situation.
It should be pointed out that when a smoke alarm alerts building occupants by operating, the occupants should leave in a direction just opposite to the vertical, or horizontal, area that funneled the smoke and heat to the smoke detecting appliance.
David W. Galvin, Sr.
Fire Instructor
Nassau County, N. Y.
Breakaway Valves
Cleveland, Ohio:
Lieutenant Nielsen’s article in the January issue titled “Gasoline Flows After Frost Cracks Breakaway Valve,” points out an error that is often made by gasoline service station equipment installers.
American Petroleum Institute Bulletin No. 1615, “Installation of Underground Gasoline Tanks and Piping at Service Stations,” requires that an approved impact (breakaway) valve be installed in a manner to “minimize the possibility of separation of the valve from the dispenser.” Figure 3 in this publication shows the anchoring of the valve body to the island with a U-bolt and angle iron.
NFPA Standard 30, “Flammable and Combustible Liquids Code, 1977,” requires that “a listed rigidly anchored emergency shutoff valve” (breakaway valve) be installed.
If the breakaway valve is rigidly anchored to the island, any movement by the island will be absorbed by the swing joint or flexible coupling. If the breakaway valve is not rigidly anchored, frost moves the island and also an impact may be absorbed by the swing joint allowing a damaged pump to flood the service station.
Lawrence Brenner
Captain
Fire Prevention Bureau
Apparatus Color
Bayonne, N.J.:
I am a subscriber to Fire Engineering and recently read a comment by Professor Merrill J. Allen in the January “Letters to the Editor” column in which he deals with Hay Henry’s fire engine color article.
Professor Allen comments that cherries, tomatoes, apples, etc., are red and do not remind him of danger. Henry had made a statement that red is related to danger.
I’m sure Professor Allen must have the common sense to realize that these fruits did not have the choice of being red but are that color by nature. Who would consider painting a tomato?
Flammable transportation labels are red, oil burner and gas furnace emergency switchplates are red, traffic lights and stop signs, as well as “Do Not Enter” signs are reel. The New York Police Department bomb squad truck has a red body. Taillights on cars are red as well as other vehicles.
I’m sure that wherever Professor Allen goes where there’s danager (including the abovementioned examples), he will see red.
When are we going to realize that warning lights and not apparatus color are what attract people and motorists? Motorists don’t see an apparatus long enough to recognize it by color. Warning lights, no matter what color, attract a person’s attention, although I feel there should be certain colors designated for emergency vehicle warning lights.
When yellow apparatus has fader! and been spot painted, it looks just as terrible as any other color. Furthermore, I’ve seen quite a bit of yellow apparatus which has been wrecked in accidents as well as red apparatus. This should tell you that the color doesn’t mean much.
I’m sorry, Professor, but I think you and the good doctor from New York State are trying to sell our chiefs a lot of false security because they look to people like you as experts.
John M. Malecky
Fire Fighter
