FE Volume 142 Issue 12

The Latest

DISASTER: A REALITY!

America’s emergency responders, and in particular its firefighters, were mentally side by side with their comrades during Hurricane Hugo and the Bay Area earthquake disasters. Never before has there been such complete coverage by the media before, during, and after large-scale operations. We watched and listened as the fire services on both coasts were taxed to their physical, mental, and emotional limits. No magazine could show the horror, the frustrations, and the exhaustive heroics as they were telecast minute by minute, day after day.
Fire Department LeadershipFirefighting

CHEMICAL DATA NOTEBOOK SERIES #43 PHOSGENE

PHOSGENE IS AN extremely toxic, water-reactive, corrosive, irritating, colorless-to-light-yellow gas with an odor that ranges front newly mowed grass at low concentrations to very pungent at high concentrations. It is usually shipped and stored as a liquefied gas.
HazmatTechnical Rescue
OVERHAULING SAFETY

OVERHAULING SAFETY

Just what is overhauling? If you’re referring to a time frame at the fire for report purposes, it’s all operations that continue once the command officer declares that the fire is under control. It doesn’t mean that the fire is out; it only means that in the experienced view of the officer in charge the fire will be extinguished with the logistics onscene and that further extension is an improbability.
Fire Safety

FIRE LOSS MANAGEMENT

THE MOST important precaution when handling flammable liquids is to guard against the ignition of vapors. All ignition sources must be removed or isolated from any space where flammable vapors exist. This requires a knowledge of ignition sources including those mentioned before: static electricity, metallic sparks, and open flames.
Fire Department LeadershipFirefighting

More FE Volume 142 Issue 12

MANUFACTURERS’ LITERATURE

MANUFACTURERS’ LITERATURE

A four-color illustrated bulletin from MSA, “Air Mask Enhancements for the First Team,” describes four air masks options that allow firefighters to “transfill” air between cylinders; don and wear masks more comfortably; speak through the masks clearly; and be assured of improved chemical, scratch, and heat resistance from their facepiece lenses.
Fire Department LeadershipFirefighting
DISPATCHES

DISPATCHES

For the first time since the U.S. Fire Administration’s establishment in 1974, Congress is likely to adopt a bill increasing the USFA's staff by four. “This is truly a landmark in the federal government’s involvement in fire safety,” according to Congressman Curt Weldon, chairman of the Congressional Fire Services Caucus.
Fire Department LeadershipFirefighting
SETTING RECRUITMENT STANDARDS

SETTING RECRUITMENT STANDARDS

REGARDLESS OF whether your department is career, paid-on-call, or volunteer, you will pay dearly for hiring mistakes. Selecting the wrong individual for the job costs an organization—in time, money, and training. Select a volunteer or on-call firelighter with as much care as you would a career firefighter.
Fire Service CareerFirefighter Training

Portable Pump Selection

SELECTING THE RIGHT portable pump for your specific needs is no easy task. Not only have the uses for these pumps grown, but their capabilities have changed dramatically. Because of the broad selection of pumps available today, you should evaluate certain key criteria in your selection process, including range of flow (gpm), pressure (pounds per square inch, or psi), and probable lift conditions (in feet), which will all affect the pump’s performance.
Firefighting EquipmentHoselines
COMPANY NEWS

COMPANY NEWS

HALE PRODUCTS, INC. of conshohocken, Pennsylvania has acquired the U.K. based Godiva Group Limited manufacturing companies from Braithwaite, pending Braith waite stockholders’ approval. Acquired companies include Godiva Fire Pumps and Godiva Emergency Products in Warwick, England and Trinity Pump Company in Gobowen, England.
Fire Department LeadershipFirefighting

POSITIVE-PRESSURE VENTILATION ON THE FIREGROUND

FOR SOME TIME, many of our discussions at the Mallets Bay, Vermont Volunteer Fire Department had centered around positive-pressure ventilation. We had all read articles expounding its benefits on the fireground but we had not had the opportunity to see it for ourselves.
Fire Department LeadershipFirefighting

MRI Units: Medical Technology that Should Attract Your Attention

MORE AND MORE hospitals and healthcare facilities have begun using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) as a diagnostic tool. Magnetic resonance is considered revolutionary in that it involves no pain or radiation: It provides a three-dimensional view of soft tissues within the body’s soft tissues—tumors in the brain, muscles, and tendons, for example.
Firefighter ToolsFirefighting Equipment

The Fair Labor Standards Act has proven its muscle in cases involving the fire service.

IN 1985 THE U.S. SupremeCourt decision Garcia v. San Antonio Metropolitan Transit Authority, 469 U.S. 528 (1985) made the Fair Labor Standards Act and its minimum wage and overtime provisions expressly applicable to state and municipal employees— including career firefighters.
Fire Service CareerFirefighter Training

COMING EVENTS

Fire Department LeadershipFirefighting

THE OSHA HEARIHGS: Testimony of Clyde Bragdon, Jr.

Fire Department LeadershipFirefighting

EQUIPMENT DIGEST

Firefighting Equipment

FEMA: A Disastrous Response to Hugo

Fire Department LeadershipFirefighting

Air Restraint Bags: Not Just a Lot of Hot Air

Firefighting Equipment

POSITIVE-PRESSURE VENTILATION IN A TEST SETTING

FirefightingStructural Firefighting

FIRE ENGINEERING

Fire Department LeadershipFirefighting

APPARATUS DELIVERIES

Fire Apparatus

GROUND LADDER SELECTION

Fire Department LeadershipFirefighting

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

Fire Department LeadershipFirefighting

PREPARING FOR A DISASTER

Fire Department LeadershipFirefighting

Vacant Structures: The Sleeping Dragons

Fire Department LeadershipFirefighting
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