FIRE ENGINEERING
DEPARTMENTS
EDITORIAL 6
VOLUNTEERS CORNER 8
Who should size-up?
TRAINING NOTEBOOK 10
Safety and your turnout gear
DISPATCHES 15
U.S. fire problem discussed
Campaign to reduce cooking accidents Greater federal attention to volunteers Corn silo fire warning NFPA statistics
SCBA approval plate correction
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR 12
EQUIPMENT DIGEST 52
APPARATUS DELIVERIES 53
COURSES/COMING EVENTS 55
MANUFACTURERS’ LITERATURE 56 COMPANY NEWS 56
TRAINING AIDS 57
CLASSIFIEDS 58
READER SERVICE CARDS 59
FEATURES
D.O.A. AT THE FIRE SCENE 1 8
The most important investigation at a fire scene is a fire death; and it is important to recognize that you are actually conducting two complete investigations. the death and the fire.
BY CHARLES G. KING
MORE MYTHING LINKS 24
“The great enemy of the truth is very often not the lie, deliberate, contrived, and dishonest, but the myth, persistent, persuasive, and unrealistic.” And in the fire service, it can defeat sound fire protection.
BY FRANCIS L. BRANNIGAN
INCREASING STANDARD OPERATIONS 26
Through ingenuity, enthusiasm, and the support of both its firefighters and community, the Egremont Volunteer Fire Department lowered the town’s Class 9 ISO rating to a Class 6.
BY WILLIAM H. WEIGLE
ALCOHOL AND THE SOCIAL DRINKER 28
Most firefighters are aware of the effects that alcoholic beverages have on their firefighting skills. What is not widely known, however, is how low the threshold of these effects is.
BY FRANCIS X. MOLT
PRESCRIBED FIRES 32
Brush fires are not a rare occurrence in Los Angeles. And to avert a potential threat to high-value property, the homeowners’ association formed a fire committee to investigate the possibility of reducing the fuel load.
BY JAMES O. HAWORTH
SODIUM HYDROXIDE 39
An odorless and non-flammable white solid, sodium hydroxide is a powerful corrosive, water-reactive to the degree that when it dissolves in water, enough heat is generated to ignite ordinary combustibles,
BY FRANK L. FIRE
IN-WATER RESCUE VESSELS 43
No matter what type of rescue boat your team is using, there are certain procedures and safeguards that will help to make the job easier and safer—for the crew as well as for the victim.
BY WALT HENDRICK
FLASHOVER 50
in this well-illustrated essay on flashover, the cause of and tactics to prevent this phenomenon are discussed.
BY TOM BRENNAN
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