PPV: just the facts
It would be helpful if the entire picture of positive-pressure ventilation (PPV) would be represented with facts and not myths. Why would you assume that once fire has entered the attic you should put firefighters on a roof system that will have structural members fail within five minutes? The use of PPV in attic fires is a great advantage in that it keeps the fire in the attic, where no one is living, and prevents it from pushing down to the living space. Also, by making a vertical ventilation hole in today’s structures with the extreme level of Btus that are involved in any run-of-the-mill house, you will do little more than draw more fire into the attic while placing crews on a roof system that is factually shown to fail early in fire conditions, rather than have them operate in a clear environment from below and contain the fire in the attic with an indirect attack supported by PPV.
Kriss Garcia
Battalion Chief
Salt Lake City (UT) Fire Department
The future of the volunteers
John Buckman’s article “The Future of the Volunteer Fire Service” (Volunteers Corner, August 2002) is the best article published this year! I’m off to the station now to make a copy of it and post it on the board for all of my personnel to read.
Chris Shields
Captain/EMT-D
Lyncourt (NY) Fire Department
I just read “The Future of the Volunteer Fire Service.” As I recently entered my 38th year as a volunteer (and I am not that old!), I have had the opportunity to see great change in our service. I also have had the opportunity as a fire apparatus salesperson to visit many volunteer departments throughout the nation—some good and some not so good.
One thing that John Buckman hit on solidly was that we (all volunteer departments) need to educate, reform, and market. We need to educate our customers and ourselves; move with the times; market, market, market; and provide a product and service that are better each day than the day before.
I am showing this article to our department officers. In the past, we, like many departments, have elected as officer the person with the coldest beer and best barbecue. Times have changed and, as Buckman says, we must be ahead of the change.
Jim Dunn
Fire Rescue Company 3
Goochland County, Virginia
Can you justify the cost?
Regarding Andrew Caldwell’s article “Can You Justify the Cost?” (March 2002), I fully agree with the author’s assertion that fire departments need to prepare a comprehensive plan to obtain funding for capital expenditures. Budgetary constraints constantly squeeze the resources of local governments, and a business plan can give a department an edge when competing for limited funds. We at the Interact Group have witnessed firsthand the results that can be achieved through proper preparation of a comprehensive training center business plan that outlines a department’s exact needs and desires, as well as the funding strategy it will take to achieve those goals. Caldwell’s article highlights the business side of maintaining and improving a successful fire department, which should not be overlooked in today’s competitive funding environment.
Bill BoothPresident
The Interact Group
Lake Forest, California
What is on the tower?
I read “Local Resources Not Enough for Tower Rescue” by Rick Klein (The Rescue Company, August 2002) with great interest. My partner Jim Kovach of the Fairview Park (OH) Fire Department and I have been teaching rope rescue in our area for several years, focusing on tower rescue and the uniqueness of this type of rescue.
We were happy to read that the rescuers immediately recognized that there were many unusual aspects to this evolution. The problems they faced included the height of the tower, weather conditions, uncertainty with the rescue itself, and the inclusion of many agencies that probably never worked together before. One aspect that must be assessed at all such rescues is what exactly is on the tower. What are all of those dishes and panels doing? In what direction are they aiming? What, if anything, is being emitted from them? I realize that because of editorial requirements this may have been omitted, but it is very important. Our experience has led us to believe that you must have a good handle on this before the rescue, because most workers on the towers either don’t know or won’t tell you what is up there. Furthermore, the power supplies for these systems have backups that can’t be eliminated by those on the scene. Add to that the fact that disconnecting such communication systems could cost tens of thousands of dollars per hour and your chances of convincing someone to disconnect them is pretty slim.
Finally, I was happy to read that the recovery was complete with ropes that were in the 300-foot range. Some companies teach that the only way to get a person off a tower is to use a rope that will reach from the ground up to the victim and back down. I can’t speak for everyone, but I don’t have the room, money, or desire to keep a 2,400-foot section of rope lying around. Staging the rescue down as was done here is the only answer.
Ron James
Cleveland, Ohio
Editor’s note: In “Fire Dispatch Operations” by John Porcelli (September 2002), the last line on page 52 should read: “Borough supervisors ensured that each central office track units on the status board, to seamlessly revert to manual operation if there were poroblems with the CADS.”
