NEWS
Federal aid helps support local solutions to arson
The Federal Emergency Management Agency’s (FEMA) United States Fire Administration has awarded grants to 12 community organizations in seven states for projects designed to combat local arson problems.
The organizations, located in Connecticut, Florida, Massachusetts, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Rhode Island, will share in a special $300,000 fund established by FEMA.
Objectives of the projects range from establishing a network of arson watch clubs in Springfield, MA, to sealing fire-gutted apartment houses and development of a bilingual brochure on arson prevention in Brooklyn, NY.
Clyde Bragdon, administrator of the United States Fire Administration, says that arson is one of the nation’s most severe problems, with 25% of reported fire losses being arson-related. Bragdon adds that the grants are a way that the federal government can assist state and local governments reduce the multi-million dollar arson loss recorded each year in this country.
FEMA and DOT to study hazardous material transport
Response planning and training activities involving the transportation of hazardous materials is to be evaluated by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) under a new amendment to the Hazardous Materials Transportation Act. Congress will receive a report of these evaluations, which are to be conducted at the federal, state, and local levels.
Under the bill, recently signed into law by President Ronald Reagan, the following three categories are to be evaluated: training for shippers, carriers, inspectors and enforcement personnel; training for personnel who respond to hazardous materials transportation incidents; and programs to plan for effective response to hazardous materials transportation incidents.
The reports will also include information on funds expended by federal and state agencies for hazardous materials training from 1980-1984, and recommendations for ensuring long-term funding for these programs. A final report on the evaluation is to be submitted to Congress by August 30,1985.
Exhibits covering 130 years of firefighting in the Fort Wayne area are on display in the Firefighters Museum in Fort Wayne, IN. The museum is currently expanding and plans to add to its collection with various representative, rural, and volunteer department pieces.
Pictured above is Engine House No. 3, one of the museum’s highlights. The apparatus shown, from right to left, are: American LaFrance 1,000-gpm pumper (1955); L. Button C. “Piano Box” hand engine (1848); Amoskeag steam fire engine, Extra First Size 1,100-gpm pumper (1893); Ahrens-Fox 750-gpm pumper (1927); International/Fort Wayne 1,000-gpm pumper (1938); and American LaFrance 100-foot aerial ladder truck (1947).
The west side of Engine House No. 3 will undergo some internal improvements to accommodate the weight and size of new exhibits. The building’s east side will house equipment from a turn-of-the-century fire station, and this area may be restored to its 1893 appearance.
Some of the new exhibits in the existing main building will include: displays of the firefighter in action, life in the fire station, and two rooms that have been burned to show the devastation of fire in a home. All facets of city, suburban, and rural firefighting will be shown as they are today and have been in the past.
NaCO recommends stronger fire safety codes
The National Association of Counties (NaCO) has endorsed a recommendation by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) that fire safety codes be strengthened throughout the country, according to a report in FIRE CONTROL DIGEST.
At a recent NaCO meeting in Seattle, WA, the 4,000-member NaCO approved FEMA’s proposal to Congress that urges state and local governments to better enact fire safety codes.
The resolution calls for inclusion of residential sprinkler systems and smoke detectors in local fire codes. The NaCO endorsement marks the second time in recent months that a major organization has given its support to the proposal. The U.S. Conference of Mayors has also approved the recommendation.
Universal fire decal will alert firefighters to special needs
Karl E. Busch, a 62-year-old Navy veteran and retired arson investigator for the Florida Forestry Service, is working toward establishing the design of a universal fire rescue decal that would alert firefighters to the presence of children, elderly, or disabled people in a burning house.
Busch, the president and founder of Operation Lifesaver, which helps fire victims and practices fire prevention and safety, has been working towards the idea of a universal decal symbol for the past eight years. He maintains that a standard design would allow people to recognize instantly that someone in the home might need special help in a fire, and alert emergency personnel to this fact when they arrive at the scene.
Busch has acquired several possibilities for the design, but it has not been finalized as yet.
Stress management
The issue of stress in the fire service will be addressed at a conference on April 9,1985, at Conifer Park in Scotia, NY.
The negative effects that stress produces on a person’s physical and mental health as well as on his marriage and family will be discussed. The conference will also focus on alcoholism and chemical dependence; special stress in emergency medical service; employee assistance programs; and networking community resources.
The conference is being sponsored by the alcohol and substance division of the Mediplex Group and by the Professional Firefighters Association, Capital District Area. For further information, contact: Jerry Flynn, Community Relations Representative, Conifer Park, Glenridge Road, Scotia, NY 12302. Telephone: (518) 399-6446.
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NEWS
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Fire protection management graduate degree offered at New York City college
A master of science degree in fire protection management, the first to be offered in the United States, will be given in the fall of this year at John Jay College of Criminal Justice, City University of New York.
The program, approved by the Regents of the State of New York, is intended to provide advanced professional training to enable fire protection managers to successfully cope with fire problems in both the public and private sectors. The course of study lends itself to service in such areas as municipal fire protection, urban planning, arson investigation, safety and structural engineering, special interest industries, and more.
For more information, contact John Jay College of Criminal Justice, Graduate Admissions Office, 445 West 59 Street, New York, NY 10019. Phone: (212) 489-5082.
The realization that firefighting is a science, not a hit or miss operation, is reflected in the dozens of colleges and universities throughout the United States that offer twoand four-year degrees in the fields of fire science, fire protection, and fire technology.
Graduate degrees in the fire service field are also available, but on a much smaller scale. In addition to the program offered at John Jay College, a master of science in fire protection engineering is available at the Illinois Institute of Technology in Chicago. In 1979, a second graduate program in fire protection engineering began at the Worcester Polytechnic Institute in Worcester, MA. There is also a master of science program in fire protection engineering at the University of Edinburgh in Scotland.
Organic smoke gear to monitor hazards during overhaul
Organic smoke monitors that record the concentrations of toxic gases during fire cleanups are being attached to Seattle, WA, firefighters as part of a test program being conducted jointly by the Seattle Fire Department and the University of Washington. The monitors measure the intensity of contamination caused by the smoke that firefighters are exposed to during the overhaul and cleanup stage of fires.
Captain Mike Jurus, Seattle’s disability and assistant safety officer, said that firefighters often removed their self-contained breathing apparatus (SCBA) equipment during overhaul and cleanup. Since there is so little documented information on the hazards that could occur during this period, there is a great need for such a formal study, according to Jurus.
The University of Washington reported that some valid samples had been taken, but more tests are still needed before any conclusions can be reached. Jurus said that it was still too early to tell if department policy and procedure regarding SCBA during cleanup will be affected by the program.
Task-force created to solve fire problems in petrochemical field
A Petrochemical Fire Detection Task Force has been created by Alison Control, Inc., to find solutions for growing problems in this industry, says Alison’s President Gene E. Benzenberg, who will head the new group.
Alison specializes in developing fireprotection systems for such industries as nuclear power, coal-mining, liquid natural gas, and the airlines. The task force will be evaluating the special fire-protection requirements for companies in the petrochemical field.
The need for such a task force stems from “the diverse conditions under which petrochemicals and related petroleum products are produced, which present a multitude of fire-causing possibilities,” according to Benzenberg. In addition, there has been a recent increase in the number of fires and losses in the petrochemical field.
Alison engineers assigned to the task force will work as a team with other specialists to develop solutions to the industry’s fire problem.
