NEWS IN BRIEF
Counterfeit bolts
The National Institute of Emergency Vehicle Safety (EVS) is urging that all fire and emergency vehicles currently in service be checked for counterfeit and substandard bolts. Investigations conducted recently, the EVS says, have revealed that counterfeit or substandard Grade 5 and 8 bolts may be on vehicles manufactured prior to 1990.
Noting that shop personnel may be “totally unaware” of these fasteners and their potential danger, the EVS reports that the counterfeit fasteners have been found in critical areas such as turntables and suspension systems. In one instance, EVS investigators found that the counterfeit fasteners were installed during the manufacturing process and that these same bolts were in the supply room. The investigation is ongoing. Vehicles from several manufacturers have been found to contain the counterfeit fasteners.
The bolts, the EVS explains, may not fail immediately, but they may stretch and result in loosening the vehicle assemblies, which could promote fatigue cracking and component failure. Fastener failure could make repeated maintenance and repairs necessary.
The counterfeit bolts were identified in 1985. U.S. officials discovered that national and international manufacturers improperly marked and exported Grade 8.2 boron steel (low carbon martensite) bolts and hex head cap screws marked with six radial lines (60 degrees apart), implying they were Grade 8 alloy.
A congressional investigation was launched in 1987, resulting in the Fastener Quality Act, Public Law 101592, but the issue seems to have bypassed the emergency response community.
Intent to harm firefighters factor in arson conviction
A jury in Jersey City, New Jersey, recently found Mahmoug Yassin guilty of intentionally setting fire to his three-story home in December 1990. He was convicted on one count of second-degree aggravated arson, one count of arson, intent to cause bodily harm to the six Jersey City Fire Department (JCFD) firefighters injured during the fire, and intent to damage surrounding property.
Investigators found that Yassin, a hot-dog vendor in New York City, had used bags filled with gasoline interspersed at intervals between flammable trailers (yards of twisted paper towels that had been soaked in petroleum distillates) draped throughout the house from the basement to the third floor. Yassin, it was charged, set fire to the house to collect S120,000 in fire insurance; he had paid S85,000 for the boarded-up house in February 1989Yassin and his family lived in the basement; the other floors were vacant, and the structure’s windows still were boarded up at the time of the fire.
Captain George Johns, public information officer for the JCFD, considers this conviction significant in that the safety of the firefighters was made a factor in the trial. “The jury understood the dangers the firefighters faced and that arsonists should be punished for subjecting firefighters to these hazards,” Johns explains. He calls the verdict “a morale builder for arson investigators and firefighters.”
Part of the evidence introduced to the jury during the trial was a videotape of the firefighting operation taken by members of the JCFD fire investigation unit; it documented the presence of the flammable trailers and gasoline bags as well as created for the jury members a sense of the grave dangers to which the firefighters had been exposed, Johns notes. In addition, several firefighters who had responded to the arson incident took the stand and recreated for the jury the fire scene with its intense heat and zero visibility.
The verdict conceivably could serve as a deterrent for future arsonists in the city. “This trial received much local publicity. It was in the paper every day for two weeks and will make some people contemplating arson think,” observes William O’Brien, battalion chief of the arson unit.
Yassin was sentenced to the following terms, to be served concurrently: seven years for aggravated arson, four years for aggravated assault on firefighters, four years for defrauding the insurance company, one year for failure to report a fire, and one year for causing widespread damage. Dan Welsh, son of a Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, firefighter, prosecuted the case.
If your vehicle was built before 1990, there is a possibility that counterfeit or substandard bolts were used. Vehicles manufactured after 1990 most likely contain fasteners manufactured under the new standard resulting from Public Law 101592, which requires manufacturers to certify that fasteners made after 1990 meet specific requirements. The bill also requires that the manufacturers provide proof of the certification on request at no cost.
The EVS and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) recommend that agencies immediately examine vehicles manufactured prior to 1990 and that any suspected counterfeit or substandard fasteners located in critical areas be replaced. Also, existing stock should be examined and verified for certification. If you cannot verify certification, discard any questionable fasteners and replace them with fasteners in compliance with Public Law 101-592. Contact your fastener distributor or vehicle manufacturers for certification information.
For additional information or to report incidents, contact the National Institute of Emergency Vehicle Safety, PC). Box 3135, Gaithersburg, MI) 20885-3135, ( 301) 916-2300 (phone and fax). The NHTSA Auto Safety Hotline is (800) 424-9393.
NFPA warns of fireworks dangers
Only experienced, licensed pyrotechnic specialists should be allowed to purchase, use, and display fireworks this Independence Day, advocates the National Fire Protection Association. The Association reports that some 11,200 people were injured seriously enough by fireworks in 1991 to necessitate a visit to hospital emergency rooms and that only a little less than six percent of these injuries occurred at public displays. Tens of millions of dollars worth of property damage also is caused by fireworks each year.
The injuries included amputation of fingers or hands, blindness (at least temporarily), and various degrees of burns. During the 30 days surrounding last July 4th, the NFPA adds, 300 people suffered burns that involved at least 25 percent of their bodies. The victims of fireworks-related injuries most commonly are under the age of 15 and include hundreds of preschoolers.
Even sparklers, which seem harmless, can reach temperatures of 1,800°F (roughly 1,000°C) and can be dangerously hot even after they burn out, warns the NFPA. Last year, in fact, sparklers caused hundreds of injuries warranting emergency hospital treatment.
The NFPA is recommending that municipalities adopt the Model Fireworks Law, which restricts the sale of fireworks only to licensed pyrotechnic specialists authorized to conduct public displays, and consult NFPA 1123, Code for Outdoor Display of Fireworks, which gives requirements for safe public displays. Citizens can protect themselves by attending only those fireworks displays run by licensed professionals.
NVFC announces electronic service
The National Volunteer Fire Council’s FIREWATCH electronic computer bulletin board system makes fire protection-related data available for the cost of a phone call. Using an IBMcompatible personal computer, a minimum 1200 band modem, a telephone line, and a communications program, members of the volunteer or career fire service can obtain information on federal legislation, regulations, and programs; new technologies; and other important topics.
Additional information is available from Kenneth Westlund, 1422 East 110th Place, Northglenn, CO 80233, (303) 452-9992.
NFPA 25 mandates inspections of water-based systems
NFPA 25, Inspection, Testing, and Maintenance of Water-Based Fire Protection Systems—1992, approved at the November 1991 meeting of the National Fire Protection Association, “sends a strong signal to the industry and to building owners that the inspection, testing, and maintenance of fire protection systems by building owners is here to stay,” asserts Bill Testa, general manager/national accounts of the Grinnell Corporation and chairperson of the NFPA 25 committee.
According to the standard, NFPA 25 “represents a collection of inspection, testing, and maintenance features that will help ensure the successful operation of water-based fire protection systems” and “is a continuation of NFPA 13A, Recommended Practice for the Inspection, Testing and Maintenance of Sprinkler Systems, and NFPA 14A, Recommended Practice for the Inspection, Testing and Maintenance of Standpipe and Hose Systems. ”
It establishes the minimum requirements for the periodic inspection, testing, and maintenance of waterbased fire protection systems. The types of systems addressed by the standard include—but are not limited to—sprinkler, standpipe and hose, fixed water spray, and foam water. Water supplies that are part of these systems—such as private fire service mains and appurtenances, fire pumps and water storage tanks, as well as valves controlling system flow—also are covered. The document also addresses impairment handling and reporting. (See “Testing Building Fire Pumps,” Fire Engineering, March 1992 and May 1992.) Inspections are to be performed by “qualified” personnel—those who have adequate knowledge of the installation, construction, or operation of the apparatus and the hazards involved.
The standard, Testa points out, is enforceable—unlike NFPA 13A — and places responsibility for inspection, testing, and maintenance on property owners and defines specific criteria in each of these categories.
A booklet covering the provisions of NFPA 25 is available (cost: S20) from the NFPA, 1 Batterymarch Park, Quincy, MA 02269-9101.
Electrical cable earns UL two-hour rating
Fire and quench testing of three electrical mineral insulated (type MI) cables by Underwriters Laboratories (UL) earned for the cables a two-hour fire-resistive rating. The cables—representing minimum, intermediate, and maximum gauges—successfully withstood direct exposure to fire and remained operable after quenching.
The UL protocol for testing the Pyrotenax 1850™ cables involved (1) constructing a masonry wall and securing the cables to it with metal clips, (2) energizing the cables either at maximum rated voltage or at rated current, (3) directly exposing the energized cables to fire in accordance with the ASTM El 19 time/temperature curve and monitoring the cables for electrical performance, and (4) cutting power to the cables and immediately subjecting them to the direct impact, erosion, and cooling effects of a 30-psi water stream.
“Feeders for emergency systems must survive both fire and quenching to adequately ensure life safety,” explains the cable’s manufacturer. “Unique among the 10 electrical circuit protective systems (FHIT) listed in the UL Building Materials Directory, Pyrotenax System 1850™ is the only stand-alone system requiring no additional fireproofing to meet these demands.”
The fire-resistive MI cables have been gaining attention as an alternative to traditional fire protection methods for high-rise buildings, particularly in states and cities that have adopted codes that include mandated life safety provisions. While the specified life safety features may differ in these codes, all call for strict requirements for automatic sprinkler systems, some of which involve making significant structural changes to existing buildings. Louisiana, North Carolina, and the Commonwealth of Massachusetts are among the states with life safety retrofit mandates. Atlanta (GA); Las Vegas (NV); Glendale, Pasadena, and San Diego (CA); and Philadelphia (PA) are among the municipalities with such requirements.
NFSA lists key selling points for industrial sprinklers
The Northern Illinois Chapter of the National Fire Sprinkler Association has developed a six-point rationale for selling industrial management on installing fire sprinkler systems in their commercial establishments.
In addition to the potential for the loss of human lives, the association points out that a major fire in an industrial plant could cause extensive property damage and devastating capital losses—especially if the plant was forced to close as a result of the firerelated damage or fire insurance was inadequate to cover today’s reconstruction costs.
The following points, the association says, should be included when discussing with industrial managers the benefits of installing fire sprinkler systems:
- Fire sprinklers save lives. Although 8,000 Americans die in fires each year, there never has been a multiple loss of life in a building equipped with fire sprinklers. In most cases, the fire is out before the fire department arrives, improving life safety for firefighters as well.
- Fire sprinklers control damage and reduce the chance that business
- will be interrupted. Fire damage costs an average of SI28 billion a year. Sprinklers contain a fire to its point of origin and retard its growth, decreasing the chances that business will be severely curtailed or halted.
- Insurance premiums are lower. Insurance premium incentives are common for building owners who install sprinklers. The Commercial Fire Rating Schedule of Insurance Services Office, for example, allows reductions of up to 75 percent of the premium for installing automatic sprinkler systems designed in accordance with nationally recognized codes and standards and an “owner’s commitment to loss prevention.” Also, a facility outfitted with properly installed and maintained fire sprinkler systems can save 60 percent on casualty and business insurance.
- There are incentives related to new construction. These incentives pertain to building construction, site development, and insurance/tax breaks. Model building codes offer incentives that include increases in building heights and of specific areas, requirements for materials used in corridors and tenant separations, types of interior finishes, and travel distances to exits and fire detection systems. Typical site development incentives include installing fewer fire hydrants and increasing the space between them, reducing fire flows,
- and increasing acceptable response time to the nearest fire station. Among tax break incentives are eliminating the sprinkler system’s value when calculating property tax, a straight percentage of property7 tax rebate for sprinklered buildings, eliminating water department tap fees and standbycharges, a deduction for 34 percent of the system’s cost on the federal income tax, and a federal tax deduction of the interest paid for a building improvement loan for installing a sprinkler system.
- An increase in resale/rental value. Installed fire sprinkler systems are attractive to potential buyers of commercial or residential properties. Realtors have found that sprinklered properties are easier to lease.
- Sprinkler systems are cost-efficient. The cost of installing the systems in new structures in most instances is offset by trade-offs or construction alternatives for builders. The general cost of retrofitting a commercial structure is somewhere between S1.75 and $4 per square foot of building space.
For additional information, contact Tiffany Van Elslander, Northern Illinois Chapter, NFSA, (312) 372-1050.
City of Arlington issues press kit
The “Emergency Press Kit,” compiled by the Public Information Office of the City of Arlington, Texas, was designed to promote understanding and cooperation between the media and the city’ and its public-safety agencies and to enhance the public’s understanding of issues related to various emergency situations that may arise. Another program goal, according to Sue Stevens, public information coordinator for the City of Arlington, is to familiarize the media “with how the City of Arlington is organized to manage response efforts.”
Part I of the bound press kit outlines how the city’s government is organized to respond to protect life and minimize damage during an emergency. It explains the components of the city’s Emergency Operations Organization, the responsibilities of each component, and the locations of the two Emergency Operations Centers (the seat of the city’s government is transferred to one of these locations when an emergency response is activated). Guidelines for media personnel also are included in this section; topics such as requirements for admission to the emergency response scene (as appropriate) and rules for accessing information are covered. When safety considerations do not permit media personnel to be present at the emergency scene, they can check on the status of the emergency activities by calling a special telephone number.
Part II of the kit is a collection of press releases designed to educate the public, through the media, on a series of subjects related to emergencies that may arise in the city. The releases explain the “Warning Process” used to alert citizens to an impending disaster (the emergency broadcast system components for the area are identified) and include topics such as evacuation, shelters, tornadoes, floods, the area’s Lake Arlington man-made reservoir, winter storms, hazardous materials, health/medical emergencies, and radiological emergencies.
An evaluation sheet and return envelope are included with the kit, and recipients are asked to provide the city with comments that will help it meet the needs of the media.
Additional information and a sample kit may be obtained from Sue Stevens, Public Information Coordinator, 101 West Abram Street, Box 231, Arlington, TX 76004-0231, (817) 459-6403.
Pikes Peak Distance Degree program has first graduate
Firefighter Armand Guzzi, Jr., of Ocean Township, New Jersey, is the first graduate of the Distance Learning Program offered by Pikes Peak Community College in Colorado Springs, Colorado. A transfer of 35 credit hours of course work from Brookdale Community College in Lincroft, New Jersey; an award of 16 hours of college credit for his on-the-job experience as a firefighter; and 21 credit hours of independent study courses combined to earn Guzzi an associate of applied science degree in fire science. Guzzi entered the program in 1989.
The program, designed specifically for individuals employed in the fire service, is offered on an open-entry, open-exit basis. For additional information on the program, write Bernie Keller, Extended Studies Division, Pikes Peak Community College, 5675 S. Academy Blvd., Colorado Springs, CO 80906-5498 or call (800) 7779446 or (719)-540-7226.»
