Building construction expert passes
Fire Engineering is sad to announce that FRANCIS L. BRANNIGAN, SFPE (Fellow), passed away in his sleep at the age of 87.
Brannigan was the recipient of Fire Engineering’s first Lifetime Achievement Award. He devoted more than half of his 63-year career to the safety of firefighters in building fires. He was well known as the author of Building Construction for the Fire Service, Third Edition (National Fire Protection Association, 1992), and for his lectures and videotapes. Brannigan was an editorial advisory board member of Fire Engineering.
He was the author of the popular Fire Engineering columns Ol’ Professor and Preplanning Building Hazards, which alternated monthly in the magazine. He was also a staple at the Fire Department Instructors Conference for many years, lecturing on the hazards of building construction, until his failing health prohibited him from traveling.
“It is with the deepest regret and sadness that we all mourn the passing of Frank Brannigan. Frank has left us, but he left us all a shining legacy of passion, integrity, enthusiasm, and character,” says Fire Engineering Editor in Chief Bobby Halton. “He left us a model of what an American gentleman and an American firefighter should look and act like. Few have had as much impact on firefighter safety or focused as much importance on firefighter education. Those of us who knew him knew he loved his family, his country, and his friends. Few men have served their country, their profession, or their friends as well as Frank Brannigan. Frank Brannigan showed us that love when he spoke, when he wrote, and when he taught. Frank gave to all of us with total abandon. He answered every e-mail, he returned every call, he spoke to thousands of individuals with the same passion and intensity. Frank’s enthusiasm wasn’t generated by the size of his audience; it was genuine. Every American firefighter lost a friend and a mentor today, but we gained the smartest and most energetic guardian angel in heaven. Frank Brannigan will be long missed and long remembered.”
Glenn P. Corbett, professor of fire science at John Jay College in New York City and technical editor of Fire Engineering, adds: “What can you say about Frank Brannigan? There are very, very few people in the fire service who will leave a legacy so lasting, so profound, and so vitally important as Frank Brannigan. Although he never met them, he touched the lives of most firefighters and literally saved the lives of countless others. Frank was truly a legend in his time, working for firefighter safety to the very end. We will miss his humor, his wit, his friendliness-and, most importantly, his concern for the American firefighter. He was truly one of the pillars of the Greatest Generation.
“On a personal level, I don’t think I’ll ever meet someone again with as much dedication and ‘instantaneous’ knowledge as Frank. He was a walking fire service encyclopedia, with many a fire story or building construction concern at the ready. I am honored to have had the privilege to have many discussions with him, talking about the latest fire or construction technique. As a college professor, he always gave me pointers and topics for my classroom. I was greatly humbled-beyond belief-when he asked me to help him with the fourth edition of his book.
“I’m proud to say I knew Frank Brannigan. Frank, your tireless efforts will live on. As long as firefighters fight fires, your dedication to safety will help keep them safe. You told it like it is, making the fire service the beneficiary of your labors.
“God Bless Maurine and the Brannigan family,” Corbett concludes.
Brannigan had decades of experience as a professional fire protection specialist. During World War II, he directed a naval firefighting school, commanded a sea-going firefighting unit, and was a chief in the Army-Navy-Pancanal fire protection organization.
He served for years as the public safety liaison officer of the U.S. Atomic Energy Commission. He developed programs for fire officers as well as a fire loss management program.
At Montgomery College, in Rockville, MD, he developed a model Fire Science Program. He was a member of the adjunct staff of the National Fire Academy, in Emmitsburg, MD, and The Fire and Rescue Institute, University of Maryland, College Park, MD.
He published many articles on building construction in the fire service press and was the author of Chapters 6-11 in the 17th Edition of the Fire Protection Handbook.
Brannigan had been honored by the Society of Fire Protection Engineers with full membership even though his degree was not in engineering. In addition, the Chesapeake Chapter of the International Society of Fire Service Instructors founded the Francis L. Brannigan Instructor of the Year Award in his honor.
The Brannigan family is establishing a scholarship for people with a fire service background who want to become fire protection engineers. You can send contributions to The Frank Brannigan Scholarship Fund, Department of Fire Protection Engineering, University of Maryland, College Park, MD 20742. ■
High temperature may affect audibility of PASS alarm
ANational Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) investigation found that exposure to high temperature may affect the strength of the alarm of a personal alert safety system (PASS). Sound may be diminished at temperatures as low as 300°F. This finding was noted during the investigations of four firefighter fatalities that occurred between 2001 and 2004. In these instances, the PASS alarms were not heard at all or were very low. The alarm became indistinguishable from background noises at the incident scene. NIOSH notified the International Association of Fire Fighters and the National Fire Protection Association Technical Correlating Committee on Fire and Emergency Services Protective Clothing and Equipment and the NFPA Technical Committee on Electronic Safety Equipment. The PASS alarms involved in the NIOSH studies were stand-alone PASS and SCBA-integrated PASS certified as compliant with NFPA 1982, Standard on Personal Alert Safety Systems (PASS), 1998.
PASS malfunctions and other associated problems should be reported to the certification organization whose certification mark appears on the device and to the National Institute for Occupational Safety-National Personal Protection Technical Laboratory at NPPTL_PASS@cdc.gov/. Include your return address. The Safety Equipment Institute (SEI) may be reached at info@seinet.org. ■
NVFC provides more than $200,000 in assistance through hurricane relief funds
The National Volunteer Fire Council (NVFC) has raised more than $200,000 through its two relief funds for Gulf Coast hurricane victims. The NVFC Emergency Relief Fund provides assistance to volunteer and combination fire departments for equipment and facility repair and replacement. Its Volunteer Firefighter Support Fund offers aid to individual volunteer firefighters and their families who suffered tragic losses.
As of press time, each fund generated more than $100,000, and more donations were being received. The Volunteer Firefighter Support Fund has dispersed about 400 checks in the amount of $250 each for Gulf Coast volunteer firefighters. Checks are issued on a first-come, first-serve basis. More checks will be dispersed as additional donations are received.
The NVFC will continue to offer support to volunteer firefighters and departments in the region. “We remain committed to helping volunteer firefighters rebuild not only their departments but their lives as well,” says NVFC Chairman Philip C. Stittleburg. ■
Los Angeles gets support for tsunami evacuation plan
Astate Seismic Safety Commission has determined that tsunamis “pose a significant threat to life and property in California’’ and urged that evacuation routes be established, port workers be given safety training, and residents be educated of the danger. Los Angeles County (CA) Fire Captain Larry Collins had been advocating for seven years that officials develop a plan for a potential tsunami that could envelope Malibu.
Collins, in 1998, co-wrote a tidal-wave response plan with county Lifeguard Captain Angus Alexander. They couldn’t convince officials responsible for disaster management at the local and county levels to provide funding for the above objectives.
Collins says the Commission’s report may persuade city, county, and state emergency planners to prepare for potential tsunamis. He notes that a lot more funding is needed for the preparation, including installing sirens on the beaches.
In June, a magnitude 7.2 earthquake struck offshore of Northern California, prompting the National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration to issue a tsunami warning from San Diego to British Columbia. At that time, some local officials did not have plans pertaining to that warning. The state report said that existing procedures are inadequate. It advocates a system for assessing local threats and gives officials more information on when to evacuate.
The state also recommends the following:
• Building codes in low-lying areas be revised and ports develop plans that would protect and secure equipment that can become lethal when tsunami waves carry it inland.
• The state should add tsunami education to its school curriculum and inform coastal populations of the hazards.
• People should be taught that low-lying coastal areas should be evacuated following an earthquake and how to recognize draw-down (the rapid receding of water from shore just ahead of a tsunami’s landfall).
It is projected that there’s a 50 percent chance of a major tsunami’s being generated by the Cascadia fault within the next 100 years. If this should occur, Collins is concerned that such a wave could rush through beach cities including Venice and Marina Del Rey. Collins and Alexander are still pressing local agencies to prepare detailed response plans. Josh P. Hamilton, New York, jphamilton@bloomberg.net/, Bloomberg News, Dec. 13, 2005 ■
“Mansion” simulated training program added to USFA virtual campus
The Q326 Mansion simulation is available on the U.S. Fire Administration’s (USFA) virtual campus. It presents responders with a second-alarm assignment involving a large, multistory, single-family dwelling. Fire spread, ventilation issues, and a complex rescue scenario are presented.
Course objectives include safely removing and treating occupants and resolving fire spread and ventilation challenges. National Fire Academy/United States Fire Administration certification is granted after successful completion of the course evaluations.
This course is at http://www.training.fema.gov/, as is information on other online and classroom-based training programs. ■
NVFC urges support for Rural and Community Access to Emergency Devices program
At press time, the National Volunteer Fire Council (NVFC) asked that members of the fire service contact their respective representatives of the House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate to support and fund the Labor/Education/HHS Appropriations Act for Fiscal Year 2006. It includes funding for the Rural and Community Access to Emergency Devices program. It makes available to states grants for training first responders and others to use automated external defibrillators (AEDs) and for purchasing AEDs for public areas where the potential for cardiac arrests is most likely.
An earlier version of this bill that would have cut the program by 83 percent was narrowly defeated in November; however, significant cuts are still possible. The NVFC has written the administration and Congress expressing support for the Rural and Community AED program and asking that funding be restored.
Information on how to contact your federal legislators is at http://www.congress.org/congressorg/dbq/officials. ■
Eight-year-old sets fire that killed four
In December, an eight-year-old boy from Queens, New York, used a barbecue lighter to ignite a toy under his bed, which caused a fire that killed three of his younger siblings-ages 6, 5, and 20 months-and an elderly neighbor.
The fire, which started a little after 6 p.m., took nearly three hours to control. The burning toy ignited the bedding and the contents of the 107-year-old house, which reportedly was overcrowded with people and furnishings. According to media reports, the juvenile fire setter previously had set small fires inside the home. The city’s Department of Buildings was investigating the incident at press time. Law enforcement authorities said no one would be charged. ■
NVFC rebuts articles on Long Island (NY) Volunteer Fire Service
The National Volunteer Fire Council (NVFC) has issued a “clarification” of the Long Island Volunteer Fire Service as depicted in a series of articles by Newsday, a New York City-based newspaper. The articles, the NVFC says, portray the Long Island volunteer fire service in a negative light. Among the allegations are that the volunteer departments have too many resources and “spend taxpayer dollars frivolously.”
The Firemen’s Association of the State of New York (FASNY) is responding vigorously to these charges. The NVFC has been in contact with FASNY and will continue to monitor this situation.
In its clarification, the NVFC cited the following:
• “The description of the volunteer fire service in Newsday does not reflect the state of the volunteer fire service nationally.”
• A study by the Public Safety and Environmental Protection Institute at St. Joseph’s University found that it would cost American taxpayers $37.2 billion more annually if all the nation’s volunteer firefighters were to be replaced with career staffing. Most of these savings would be in smaller, rural communities that don’t have a large enough tax base to support a career department.
• Very few volunteer fire departments receive adequate funding from government sources. A 2002 study by the U.S. Fire Administration and the National Fire Protection Association found that a majority of predominantly and completely volunteer fire departments have to raise private funds to supplement the tax dollars allotted to them-between 10 and 20 percent of their revenue is obtained through fund-raising.
• Fire departments serving smaller communities (usually all or predominantly volunteer) are “overwhelmingly less likely” to have the funds in their “normal” budget to replace apparatus.
The Newsday articles also addressed the problem of retaining and recruiting members for volunteer departments. The NVFC, of course, agrees with this aspect of the series and is supporting the following legislation aimed at helping to improve this situation:
• The Supporting Emergency Responders Volunteer Efforts Act (H.R. 934, S. 265), which would provide a $1,000 annual tax credit for active members of volunteer fire and EMS organizations. It was introduced by Rep. Maurice Hinchey (NY) and Sen. Charles Schumer (NY).
• The Volunteer Responder Incentive Protection Act (H.R. 1405, Sen. 1906), which would prevent the Internal Revenue Service from taxing the nominal compensation awarded to local volunteer firefighters and emergency medical responders for service to their communities. It was introduced by Rep. John Larson (CT) and by Sen. Christopher Dodd (CT). ■
Air pollution, high-fat diet cause atherosclerosis in laboratory mice
Mice fed a high-fat diet and also exposed to air with fine-particle pollution had 1.5 times more plaque (fatty deposits) on the inner linings of the blood vessels (atherosclerosis) than mice fed the same diet and exposed to clean filtered air. These were the findings in a two-year study conducted by the Mount Sinai School of Medicine and the New York University School of Medicine.
Atherosclerosis can predispose individuals to conditions such as heart attacks and strokes. The fine-particle exposure also led to increased inflammation of the artery walls and reduced function of the artery wall’s inner lining. The study was published in the Journal of the American Medical Association (Dec. 21, 2005).
The findings are also important because the fine-particle concentrations used in the study were well within the range of concentrations found in the air around major metropolitan areas.
Microscopic particles of dust and soot are less than 2.5 microns in diameter-about 30 times smaller than the width of a human hair. They come primarily from motor vehicle exhaust, power plant emissions, and other operations involving the burning of fossil fuels. Fine particles can travel deep into the respiratory tract, reducing lung function and worsening conditions such as asthma and bronchitis.
In summary, the researchers found the following:
• Exposure to fine-particle contaminated air accelerates the development of atherosclerosis in mice consuming a high-fat diet.
• The artery walls of the mice that ate a high-fat diet and were also exposed to fine-particle pollution were significantly more inflamed than the arteries of the mice exposed to clean air. There was a “significant increase in the number of inflammatory cells and enzymes in the arteries of the mice exposed to air particles.”
• The fine particles affected the ability of the arteries to dilate, an important indicator of artery wall function: The constrictive effect of certain stress hormones was increased in the arteries of the particle-exposed mice, and the ability of the arteries to dilate was impaired.
• The effects on plaque production and artery wall inflammation were obtained with relatively low-exposure concentrations, an average particle exposure of 15 micrograms per cubic meter over the course of the study. This level is typical of the particle concentrations to which urban area residents would be exposed. It is well below the federal air quality standard of 65 micrograms per cubic meter in a 24-hour period.
• A number of human population studies have confirmed an association between exposure to airborne particles and an increased risk of cardiovascular disease, particularly among those with underlying risk factors such as hypertension, diabetes, high cholesterol, or prior cardiovascular disease.
Additional information on fine particle air pollution and other environmental health topics is available at the NIEHS Web site, http://www.niehs.nih.gov/home.htm.
(Editor’s note: This study and additional research in this area might help uncover some of the reasons line-of-duty firefighters suddenly die of heart attacks on the fireground and within hours of returning from the fireground at the present high rate.) ■
Line-of-Duty Deaths
November 22. Firefighter Clint Dewayne Rice, 28, Carlton (TX) Volunteer Fire Department: of injuries sustained when ejected from a tractor-trailer water tender he was operating while providing mutual aid at a large grass fire. The Texas Department of Public Safety and the Texas State Fire Marshal’s Office are investigating the accident.
November 23. Firefighter Charles McKenzie, 75, West Van Lear (KY) Fire Department: of injuries sustained when a tanker jumped into gear while pumping water at a structure fire, pinning him beneath the apparatus.
November 25. Firefighter/EMT Robert Timothy Staepel, 41, Navy Region Mid-Atlantic, Philadelphia (PA) Federal Fire Department: heart attack.
November 28. Firefighter Christopher James Roy, 25, Calera (AL) Fire/Rescue: of injuries sustained in a collision between the apparatus he was operating and a tractor-trailer while responding to a medical call.
December 2. Captain Richard McCurley, 33, New Orleans (LA) Fire Department: of injuries sustained in an accident involving the fire apparatus in which he was riding while responding to a reported gas leak.
December 10. Firefighter Chelsea Lyn Garvin, 19, Fish River/Marlow Fire Department, Summerdale, AL: drowned when a fire department watercraft collided with another vessel while returning with two other firefighters from a parade stand-by duty.
December 11. Captain Chad Ernest Wessels, 31, Briggs (TX) Volunteer Fire Department: in an accident while driving a water tender en route to a structure fire.
December 20. Firefighter Michael A. Hart, 33, Elkins (WV) Fire Department: motor vehicle accident.
Source: USFA Firefighters Memorial Database
ASSISTANCE TO FIREFIGHTERS GRANTS AWARDS
The following awards were made under the Fiscal Year 2005 Assistance to Firefighters Grants Program (AFGP):
• Round 14: 58 grants totaling $ 5,618,742.
• Round 15: 169 grants totaling $15,452,198.
• Round 16: 118 grants totaling $12,184,076.
• Round 17: 72 grants totaling $7,080,234.
Local fire departments and emergency medical services organizations may use the grants for training, first responder health and safety programs, equipment, and response vehicles. The AFGP is administered by the Department of Homeland Security’s Office of Grants and Training (G&T) in cooperation with the United States Fire Administration.
NEWS GLIMPSES
Vernon (NY) provides property tax break for volunteers. Volunteer firefighters and ambulance personnel will be awarded the same property tax break as previously granted to volunteers in Paris, New York. Other towns in Oneida County are expected to consider taking the same action in the near future. The 10-percent reduction in their residential assessment, up to $3,000, applies to volunteer firefighters and ambulance workers who own their homes and have a minimum of five years of service. At present, however, the federal government/IRS has ruled that these exemptions are taxable. The National Volunteer Fire Council is supporting the Volunteer Responder Incentive Protection Act (H.R. 1405 and S. 1906), which would exempt the tax break from federal tax. ●
IAFC and Microsoft sponsor Fire Service Technology Symposium. The International Association of Fire Chiefs (IAFC) and Microsoft Corp. have joined to “define and implement the vision for the 21st century fire department.” It is envisioned as “a community where emergency responders have the tools they need to facilitate information sharing, collaboration, and interoperability for greater response and coordination,” according to the IAFC. The 1st Annual Fire Service Technology Symposium was held December 6-7 in Redmond, Washington. The focus was on key issues that would allow firefighters and emergency medical personnel to interact with Microsoft and industry partners and to learn firsthand how technology can help communities become more prepared. The agenda was developed on the following parallel tracks: 21st Century Fire and EMS Departments, Technology for Fire Safety, and Fire Service Role in Homeland Security. ●
NIOSH and USFA sign MOU. A memorandum of understanding signed in November by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health and the U.S. Fire Administration specify plans the agencies will follow to improve firefighter safety and health conditions for U.S. firefighters. The major focus will be on using the recommendations and observations from the NIOSH Fire Fighter Fatality Investigation and Prevention Program in USFA firefighter training materials and programs. Additional information on the NIOSH program is at www.cdc.gov/niosh/firehome.html; USFA training and education information is at http://www.usfa.fema.gov/trianing/nfa. ●
Study to evaluate NIOSH Fire Fighter Fatality Investigation and Prevention Program. The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health and RTI International will evaluate the program to determine how to increase the program’s impact. The project will include a national survey of fire departments and a number of focus groups comprised of front-line firefighters. Large and small, career and volunteer, and urban and rural fire departments will determine to what degree the program’s reports, recommendations and other products are being used for firefighter training, policies, reports, recommendations, and other products.
Guide for developing communications system plans available. The guide Radio Communications for the Fire Service: A Planning Guide for Obtaining the Communications System You Need for Enhanced Safety and Emergency Preparedness was created to help state, county, and local officials develop an effective emergency communications system in which fire services can participate in defining the specifications so their needs are met. The guide provides information to help fire departments actively participate in their communities’ decision making; it is not a comprehensive text. It was created by the National Volunteer Fire Council, the Congressional Fire Services Institute, the International Association of Fire Chiefs, and the National Fallen Firefighters Foundation. It can be downloaded at www.nvfc.org (News section on right side of the page).
