The passing of a legend
It is with sadness and despair that I read of the passing of Fire Engineering’s Tom Brennan. Tom was truly one of the greats in the fire service business. Tom Brennan knew firefighting as well as or better than anyone. I’ve always read his article/columns whether he was writing as the editor or his renowned Random Thoughts.
I had the pleasure of meeting Tom once, many years ago, at the New York State Fire Academy. He was a very friendly, outgoing, and salt-of-the-earth-type person who would freely socialize with us common folk. What’s more, just by talking a short time with him, you can tell he had a vast knowledge of and commitment to the fire service. He was a fireman’s fireman. He was always receptive to hearing ideas, concerns, and just everyday talk.
Unfortunately, with the death of Tom Brennan, along with the recent passing of two more giants in the fire service, James Page and Francis Brannigan, it seems the fire service has lost some of its greatest educators, teachers, and trainers. We can only hope that present and future fire service educators will be nearly as great as these three were.
I salute Tom on his many accomplishments, some of which I didn’t know about until now. Surely, he will be missed very much.
Steven Little
Chief (Ret.)
Pt. Pleasant Fire Department
Bloomfield, New York
Traditional values are critical to the fire service of the future
The firefighters in all of our stations viewed the “Pride and Ownership” Webcast given by Chief Rick Lasky, Lewisville, Texas, on August 23 at fireengineering.com. I went around to our department stations the next morning to get feedback with regard to the presentation. The response was incredible. Firefighters in all of our departmental roles gave the same feedback: The presentation was a challenging shot in the arm (or kick in the butt) for everyone who viewed it.
It is apparent to the “Good Jakes” in this 220-year-old fire department that the traditional values illustrated through the Webcast and each edition of Fire Engineering are critical in creating the “Good Jakes” of tomorrow.
Mark Gillan
Deputy Chief
Saint John Fire Department
New Brunswick, Canada
NIMS: Will anyone besides the fire service be held accountable?
As my company, district, and I get ready for the September deadline to become “NIMS compliant,” I have thought about what is being asked for-well, mandated-with what could be a large penalty if we do not comply.
If your department applied for a FEMA FIRE Act grant and you are not NIMS-compliant, you will not receive the much-needed funding. The FIRE Act grant program is the first and only federal funding stream for the fire service. Although I would rather that every department have the money it needs to do its mission generated locally, not supplied federally, the money does assist us in getting “up-to-date” equipment and training. The FIRE grant program has already been cut to the bone; now there is one more way not to get one.
With this mandate, the fire service is being held hostage for funding. If you look at what groups are to comply with NIMS, they include police, departments of public works, hospitals, local governments, and many others. As far as I have seen, heard, and have been told, the other agencies are not having their feet held to the fire! An example (I’m not picking on them) is the police departments. I have talked to members of a few of my local police departments and asked them about how their NIMS training is proceeding. The answer: “What is NIMS?”
The police have received funding for everything from drug to drunk-driving programs over the years. The total dollars of federal funding to the police is huge! So here is my question: If a police department is NOT NIMS-compliant, will it still be able to receive grants for the mission? If so, WHY?
The fire service is the group that invented and perfected the incident command system over the past 20 to 30 years. We are the ones who use it day to day at our fires, motor vehicle accidents, and any other call when deemed necessary. So, the people who know the most about it are being held to a level higher than everyone else with costly monetary penalties.
Our volunteer department has a very limited amount of time to train normally. All of us have jobs, families, and the other duties just to keep the station together. The yearly “requirements” (eight-hour OSHA, EMT, and so on) take away time we don’t have to begin with. Now NIMS! But, do the other groups have to live up to the same standards? I hope so. If not, it will be one more unfunded mandate for the fire service.
Timothy P. Pillsworth
Project Manager/Engineer
United States Military Academy
West Point, New York
Fire test of LPG cylinders now on manufacturer’s Web site
Regarding the article “Fire Tests on Composite LPG Cylinders,” which I wrote with Eugene Pietzak (July 2006), we reported on burn tests conducted by the Nassau County Fire Service Academy on a new type of composite liquefied petroleum gas cylinder manufactured by the Lite Cylinder Company in Franklin, Tennessee, and Composite Scandinavia in Pieta, Sweden. This is to advise that a fire test video of the cylinder is now available at the manufacturer’s Web site at http://www.litecylinder.com/. The video seems to substantiate our experience with the burns and has additionally captured cylinder pressure readings.
Denis M. Murphy
Assistant Chief Instructor
Nassau County (NY)
Fire Service Academy
Old Bethpage, New York
