NEWS IN BRIEF
Claims for Vanguard detectors misrepresented
A court ruling resulting from charges that advertising claims for the Vanguard® heat detector have been misleading recently was handed down against Figgie International, Inc., the product’s manufacturer. The company was ordered by the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California in Los Angeles to place in an escrow account a minimum of $7.59 million (and maybe up to $49.95 million) so that refunds can be given to consumers who purchased the detector between May 17, 1980 and July 20, 1987. biggie International may appeal the ruling.
According to the Federal Trade Commission, the Richmond, Virginia, company misrepresented its Vanguard heat detector, which sold for around $170, when it claimed that it would provide the necessary warning to allow for a safe escape from most residential fires and that a combined system of heat and smoke detectors would provide significantly greater warning than smoke detectors alone.
The l SEA helped the FTC to gather the evidence that demonstrated the extent of the misrepresentation practice. The agency provided the FTC with the complaints it collected from fire departments and state fire marshals throughout the country .
Consumers who purchased a Vanguard& detector within the specified period can apply for a refund by sending a proof of purchase to Department J, Federal Trade Commission, 1 1000 Wilshire Boulevard, Suite 13209, Los Angeles, CA 90024. Response will be delayed if an appeal is filed.
Kirchner NFA superintendent
Albert G. Kirchner, Jr., recently was named superintendent of the National Fire Academy. He will report to U.S. Fire Administrator Olin Greene.
During his tenure with the Marine Corps Fire Service since 1982, Kirchner administrated the fire protection programs for 22 Corps bases, managing 67 firefighting companies and a staff of 900. He was instrumental in having residential sprinklers installed in all new military housing on the bases.
Previously, Kirchner had been a firefighter in Prince George’s County, Maryland; in the District of Columbia; in Nassau County, New York; and at the University of Notre Dame.
Home cooking especially hazardous for elderly
A recently released National Fire Protection Association study shows that men and women over the age of 74 are most likely to die from fires related to cooking at home. The report, “U.S. Home Cooking Fire Patterns and Trends Through 1988,’’ reveals that the majority of these fire deaths were caused by a combustible item, usually clothing, that was too close to the cooking device.
Other findings include the following:
- Fire injuries related to cooking at home are at the highest level since 1980.
- Individuals over the age of 74 have more than twice the risk of dying in a cooking-related fire than those ages 66 to 74.
- Cooking equipment is the third leading cause of home fires in the United States (119.800 in 1988) and the leading cause of home fire injuries (5,116 in 1988).
- It has been estimated that some 12 million cooking-related fires and more than 640,000 injuries go unre-
- ported each year.
“These disturbing numbers underscore the importance of fire prevention education and awareness for all age groups,” says Meri-K Appy, NFPA assistant vice president for public affairs and education. The elderly population (65 years and older) is growing steadily and must be reached with fire prevention education so that the elderly can protect themselves and others from fire, Appy adds.
FEMA defines EMS mission
The U.S. Fire Administration is seeking to intensify its attention to FMS management to ensure continued excellence in this field. In a mission statement signed by USFA Administrator Olin L. Greene and FEMA Director Wallace E. Stickney, the agency states that it will conduct research, produce publications, disseminate information, and cooperate with other agencies on an ongoing basis to make prehospital emergency medical services more efficient (see page 44).
“By defining our mission, we have carved the path by which emergency medical services can become an even more effective, lifesaving service while offering the finest quality of prehospital emergency medical care throughout the United States,” says Greene.
SFFD holds disaster exercise
More than 40 fire department units and various public and private agencies participated in the Annual Pier 30-32 Disaster Exercise sponsored by the San Francisco Fire Department on April 23The event, organized by Battalion Chief Greg Abell, was staged to practice and coordinate mutual-aid response in an earthquake scenario and was an “impressive success,” according to Dennis Callahan, temporary acting chief of the Earthquake Task Force.
The fire suppression delivery system involved using portable hydrants and pumps; ladder, multiversals, and monitor nozzles; and deck gun and tower monitors from fire boats offshore.
A boat from the San Rafael Yacht Club’s power squadron demonstrated how quickly a recalled crew from Fire Station 5 could be brought to the disaster site. Large concrete chunks made available by a company that was demolishing a local freeway were used to demonstrate heavy rescue systems by SEED Rescue 1 and by 16 members of the Los Angeles Fire Department’s Urban Search and Rescue Team—who flew to San Francisco with a stakebed truck and 4,000 pounds of mobile equipment in just a little over an hour.
Health and safety forum
The Congressional Fire Services Institute’s Firefighter Health and Safety Forum will be held October 14-15 at the Georgetown University Conference Center in Washington, DC. The event will feature keynote speakers on topics related to firefighter health and safety. Recommendations resulting from the meeting will be presented to Congress and the public.
For additional information, contact Susan Scanlin, CFSI, 900 Second Street NE, Suite 207, Washington, DC 20002 (202) 371-1277.
NAFED exam focuses on protective gear
Based on the current editions of 1 3 NFPA standards, the National Association of Fire Equipment Distributors Engineered Systems Exam features multiple-choice questions devised to test fire equipment technicians’ knowledge of engineered fire suppression systems.
The test covers areas ranging from carbon dioxide fire systems to engineered dry chemical fire systems. An instructor’s guide and an answer sheet listing specific NFPA references for the correct answers accompany the exam.
Additional information is available from NAFED, 401 N. Michigan Avenue, Chicago, IL 60611-4267.
Environmental Management Center opens
The Fire Prevention Division of the City of Glendale (CA) Fire Department will operate the new Environmental Management Center, which opened in that city on March 26. The facility is the result of five years of planning directed by Fire Marshal Christopher Gray, the center’s manager.
Opened in response to a state mandate requiring cities and counties to devise plans for managing household hazardous waste, the 14,000-squarefoot, one-story facility will be a dropoff point for residents’ paint cans, car batteries, used motor oil, drain openers, pesticides, and other hazardous waste, which will be accepted on the second Saturday of each month. The city in 1986 had asked the fire department to develop a system for collecting toxic materials.
The state-of-the-art, comprehensive center is the administering agency for the enforcement of state and federal disclosure laws for businesses that use, store, or handle hazardous materials, including the preparation of a local emergency response plan, business emergency plans, and hazardousmaterial inventories. All material is computerized and currently available.
The center features a garage for emergency response trucks, a laboratory for training hazardous-materials experts, and a storage area for drums of acidic, flammable, and other hazardous substances. Emergency response crews can rush hazardous materials from a spill or accident to the laboratory for testing instead of having to send them to a private company for analysis, Gray notes.
The storage room is equipped with sprinkler systems, explosionproof lights, a ventilation system, and special eye-rinse and body showers. The concrete floor has a 27-layer “membrane” designed to prevent soil contamination, the stalls are lined with mounds of dirt (berms) and a drainage system to contain spills. There is an emergency response plan for potential spills and accidents.
An education center offers community education programs on hazardous materials and waste management. Displays teach consumers about water-conservation equipment including water-saving shower heads and about drought-resistant, fire-retardant garden plants.
State law mandates that waste can be stored at the site for five days only, but the fire department has filed for a permit that will allow storage for up to a year.
In the future, residents will be able to cash in their plastics, glass, and paper at a full-service buy-back center, still under construction. The facility is funded by a 65-cent fee added to monthly utility bills in 1989.
International Accreditation Congress meets
Six members were elected to the Board of Governors of the International Fire Service Accreditation Congress at its first official meeting held in Kansas City, Missouri, February 22-24. They join the three members appointed by Oklahoma State University.
The board and the organization’s administrative staff met at the university’ in April and drafted criteria for accreditation, standard operating procedures, and administrative policies that will be presented to the general membership in Champaign, Illinois, in October.
International accreditation will be available in a number of states and Canadian provinces as well as throughout the U.S. and Canadian departments of defense.
The appointed board members are Douglas P. Forsman (IL), chairman; Hugh Pike, Department of Defense; and Glenn Pribbenow (OK). Elected to the board were John Anderson : (WA), Tim Bradley (NC), John Daley I (Canadian National Defense), Glenna Sengcr (IL), Alan Walker (KS), and Rick Ziebart (AR).«
