DISPATCHES
National Fire Certification Program
The National Fire Inspector Certification Program, sponsored jointly by the National Fire Protection Association and the International Association of Fire Chiefs, has certified 558 Fire Inspector I’s and II’s since its inception in 1988.
The exams are offered at approximately 26 sites nationwide and certification is accredited by the National Professional Qualifications Board. Interested parties are sent a package explaining what the tests will cover. It is up to them to learn on their own the aspects of inspection they are unfamiliar with.
“If those who pass the exams want dual certification by Building Officials and Code Administrators International (BOCA), we send a copy of their scores to BOCA, which in turn uses the scores as criteria for certification,” explains Jon C. Jones, director of certification for the program.
The next exams will be administered on September 22, 1990. The registration deadline is August 24. Organizations or jurisdictions with 15 or more applicants qualify for a special discount rate and can request a special test center. For more information, contact the NFPA certification office at (617) 984-7487.
Fire deaths decline in Maryland
Prince George’s County’, Maryland is experiencing a significant decline in fire deaths —from 24 in 1987 to 18 in 1988 to six in 1989. This can be attributed, for the most part, to a number of fire prevention and education programs the fire department has implemented in the past few years, according to Pete Piringer, assistant public information officer for the Prince George’s County Fire Department.
The county is in the midst of a fouryear phase-in of sprinkler legislation making it mandatory to sprinkler single-family dwellings by 1991. Sprinklers have contributed to the decline in fire deaths, Piringer says.
Community outreach programs also play a big part. As part of Operation Safe Families, citizens can request fire safety inspections in their homes. Fire department members point out such hazards as unsafe electrical wiring and trash accumulation and check smoke detector placement and batteries. They distribute fire safety literature and have distributed more than 6,300 detectors since the program began in 1987. The program recently won a National Association of Counties award.
Cancer and firefighters
The Massachusetts Department of Public Health has released a report that shows firefighters are more susceptible than other professionals to certain types of cancer. The report, Cancer Incidence Among Massachusetts Firefighters, 1982-1986, is in response to the Pension Reform Act, which directs the Department of Public Health to study cancer in firefighters.
The study focused on nine types of cancer that are known from previous studies to be found more often in firefighters. Information from the Massachusetts Cancer Registry was used to identify firefighters with cancer. For each cancer type, the observed number of white male firefighters was compared with the expected number of cases in two other groups—police and all other occupations.
Firefighters had a statistically significant threefold risk of melanoma of the skin compared with other professions (18 cases to 6). Risk factors include fair complexion and occupational exposure. Since melanoma is easy to detect and has a high survival rate, the Department of Health recommends that fire departments conduct melanoma screening.
Greater incidence of bladder cancer has been observed in firefighters, possibly stemming from exposure to combustion products, particularly polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons produced by the burning of organic materials. The firefighters studied had bladder cancer twice as much as the police and one and a half times as much as the other occupations. Although cigarette smoke is another common cause of bladder cancer, the firefighters studied did not appear to smoke more often than other groups.
Firefighters had a threefold risk of non-Hodgkins lymphoma compared with police (14 cases to 4). There is evidence that lymphoma is associated with exposure to benzene, which is present at most fires.
The report cautions that although these statistics are not likely due to chance, they could reflect factors— socioeconomic, genetic, or environmental-other than occupational. However, the data support other studies’ findings, giving more credibility to the link between firefighting and the risk of developing certain types of cancer.
In the Neighborhood Saturation Campaign, firefighters go door-todoor after a serious or fatal fire to talk to residents about fire safety. “This generates a lot of smoke detector giveaways, so members carry a supply with them,” Piringer says. As a result of these campaigns, 7,000 to 8,000 residents have been reached and 500 of them requested home inspections.
Educating the youth is an important component of any department’s fire safety message. Prince George’s County has taken youth education one step further: CPR is a requirement for high school graduation as well as a requirement for all county employees. Elementary school children are taught about “Stop, Drop, and Roll” and medical safety.
“Our goal is to get the fire life loss down to zero,” Piringer concludes. “Every department wants to do that.”
Maryland State Fire Marshal Rocco J. Gabriele reports a dramatic decrease in fire-related deaths for the entire state in 1989: 80 deaths in all, compared with 129 for 1988. This 38 percent reduction is the largest single reduction in fire deaths ever recorded in the state.
Affordable housing for volunteers
The high cost of housing has become a serious problem in the greater New York metropolitan area, among other parts of the country. People who were born and raised in a community find they cannot afford to purchase a home there. This is especially the case with volunteer firefighters. They often must live elsewhere and face a long commute to serve their chosen communities. Many give up being volunteers, which has led to a serious depletion of personnel in many volunteer departments.
Raymond L. Del Savio, a principal at North American Equities, Ltd., a Port Chester, New York-based real estate development company, has spoken to 46 area departments with the same problem. “The combined income of a volunteer and spouse usually is about S35,000. They can’t qualify for a mortgage on a 5325,000 house. So they move up north,” he says. “At their current rate of membership, the departments they leave behind will evaporate in three years.”
“The cost of going to a fully paid department could raise local real estate taxes 35 to 40 percent,” Del Savio adds. “This will cause a tax revolution in the communities.”
The solution lies in affordable housing, according to Del Savio. A nonprofit organization, in this case a volunteer department, can retain North American Equities as an agent and developer. There is no retainer fee involved. Then, on departmentowned land or land earmarked by the community for the department’s recreation or other use, the company erects single-family homes that are prefabricated in a factory. ‘Hie company obtains all approvals, arranges all financing for home owners, and explores all grant opportunities. “If a nonprofit organization is involved and if a specific interest group that serves the community’s needs will benefit from the project, they are eligible for county and state grants,” according to Del Savio. “It really knocks down the price of our units from their 5300,000 market value to S 100,000.” When units are delivered and sold, the company receives a percentage of the selling fee.
The key ingredients to providing the affordable housing units are the zero land value (owning land or having it ready to be donated) and quick approvals (cooperation from the town to get approvals—usually a three-month process). Total turnaround time is usually less than two years. Del Savio hopes to provide 200 units a year.
Affordable housing projects can be used three ways, according to Del Savio—for retention of volunteers, as a recruitment tool, or as a reward for older members. Some suggest pension plans as an alternative method of attracting and retaining volunteer firefighters. “Young recruits generally are not interested in pensions yet. It’s not an incentive to stay in a community if they can’t afford to live there,” Del Savio says.
Aboveground storage tanks approved in Wyoming
The Wyoming State Fire Marshal’s office has released guidelines allowing remote service stations to store gasoline and diesel in aboveground tanks enclosed in concrete vaults. This is an alternative method of compliance to a Uniform Fire Code requirement that the tanks be stored underground.
Assistant State Fire Marshal Gene Brooks explains that the idea is not new: The Uniform Fire Code allows tanks enclosed in concrete vaults aboveground but inside buildings. The new guidelines simply allow the tanks to be outside as well. Such tanks are not yet regulated by the EPA.
Not all stations meet eligibility requirements. They must be in a remote location. “We wouldn’t put such tanks on the city street corner,” Brooks explains. Stations must submit plans and a letter from their local fire chief approving the use of such a system. Then the State Fire Marshal’s Office makes an on-site inspection before approving installation.
There is some expense involved: The vault must be of reinforced concrete at least six inches thick, which could be costly depending on tank size. However, the expense does not compare with the price of insuring underground tanks.
What are the implications for firefighters? “It is our hope that the concrete will contain a spill until it can be cleaned up,” says Brooks. “We don’t foresee a problem with fire or leakage. The vault system will protect against it. All piping must come through the top of the tank. Pumping devices create a vacuum, so a leak in the line doesn’t cause the tank to leak its contents.”
