FIRE ENGINEERING
DEPARTMENTS
EDITORIAL 6
VOLUNTEERS CORNER 8
How much training?
TRAINING NOTEBOOK 10
Systematic haz-mat response
DISPATCHES 14
Coordinate haz-mat paperwork
Florida’s latest responder
EMS standards void begins to be filled
Fire research budget
Sprinkler ordinance
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR 12
COURSES/COMING EVENTS 55
APPARATUS DELIVERIES 56
MANUFACTURERS’ LITERATURE 57
TRAINING AIDS 58
EQUIPMENT DIGEST 59
CLASSIFIEDS 62
READER SERVICE CARD 63
FEATURES
INDUSTRIAL FIRE PROTECTION
1 + 1 = SYNERGISM 19
Cooperation between the fire service and the business world—two separate, yet related entities—can improve the efficiency of haz-mat incident control.
BY FRANK L. FIRE
SOMETHING IN COMMON 22
A major corporation and a local fire department joined forces in order to share knowledge, exchange information, and preplan for a potential hazmat incident.
BY MARLENE LAKE
FIRE REPORT
DETROIT’S FATAL WAREHOUSE FIRE 26
What started as a simple rubbish fire erupted into a raging inferno that killed three Detroit firefighters,
BY RICHARD SHINSKE AND JOHN A. REARDON
HEALTH
AIDS: WHAT RISK TO SAVE A LIFE? 32
This transmittable, incurable, and—so far—inevitably fatal disease has aroused the concern and fear of many firefighters. There are safety precautions you can take to minimize your exposure risk.
BY SUNNY RUMSEY
HAZARDOUS MATERIALS
THE GASOLINE TANK TRUCK 39
To respond to incidents involving the most common haz-mat transportation vehicle, firefighters need to know the details of the truck’s design, construction, and safety features.
BY GREGG NOLL
FIRE PROTECTION
STANDING FIRM ON SPRINKLER RETROFIT 43
The Oak Brook (III.) Fire Department worked with local government officials and businesspeople in order to make the village a “totally sprinklered community.”
BY ROBERT D. NIELSEN
ACETONE 47
This commonly transported, colorless liquid produces vapors very rapidly. In the presence of an ignition source, it can produce a devastating explosion.
BY FRANK L. FIRE
EQUIPMENT INNOVATIONS
HEAVY FOAM COVER 52
Thanks to the cooperative efforts of its fire department and a local industry, the city of Hayward, Calif., now has eight pumpers that can deliver master stream foam protection to all types of flammable liquid fires that occur in the area.
BY MIKE SRADLEY