FE 1943: World War II and the Fire Service

America had been at war for over a year in early 1943, as seen in the pages of Fire Engineering . The editorial “Deferred for the Duration” discussed the result of a lack of communication among government war agencies. The report on the Fire Department Instructors Conference (attended by FE’s Editor Fred Sheppard) in Memphis, Tennessee, among other things, noted that incendiary bombs caused 85 percent of the war damage in England. New War Production Board restrictions on fire service products such as hoses and couplings also appeared. Finally, this selection concludes with a hotel fire report from Syracuse, New York, which required about 100 guests to evacuate.