FE Volume 143 Issue 5

The Latest

HEAT STRESS IN FIREFIGHTING

Firefighters are exposed to a variety of stressors at a fire. These include heavy work over relatively short time spans, dense smoke, noxious gases, flames, intensely heated atmospheres, and having to wear heavy, restrictive protective clothing. In comfortable or warm climates, heat illness is a serious problem.
Fire Department LeadershipFirefighting

FIRE LOSS MANAGEMENT

A major concern in the area of fire protection is vertical extension of fire through stairways. Often stairway doors are chocked open with wooden wedges to avoid the inconvenience of having to open and close them. These wedges often are called “four-hour fusible links.” Sometimes they are necessary to balance the air conditioning system.
Fire Department LeadershipFirefighting

SODIUM CHLORATE

Sodium chlorate is an oxidizing, toxic, slightly irritating, corrosive, reactive, pale yellow-to-white crystalline, odorless solid. It is a popular oxidizing agent used to make explosives, defoliants, flares, herbicides, matches, and pyrotechnics. It is also used to process ore and tan leather and in the manufacture of cosmetics, dyes, inks, paper, pharmaceuticals, and many other chemicals.
Fire Department LeadershipFirefighting

TRAINING DIVERS FOR MINIMAL OR ZERO VISIBILITY

Rescue divers often operate in minimal visibility—one to two feet at best—or in zero visibility. Operating in zero visibility is similar to searching a smoke-filled room for a small child in a fully involved situation. The main difference is that the bottom of a lake, river, or pond is not quite as familiar to the diver as the walls, doors, and furniture are to the firefighter.
Firefighter Training

More FE Volume 143 Issue 5

HEARING PROTECTION: A SOUND IDEA

The 1980s were characterized by concern for a number of firefighter health and safety issues. One often-overlooked but important concern is hearing protection. Historically, little thought has been given to the effects of long-term exposure to the noise levels prevalent in the fire service.
Fire PreventionFire Safety
DISPATCHES

DISPATCHES

The National Fire Inspector Certification Program, sponsored jointly by the National Fire Protection Association and the International Association of Fire Chiefs, has certified 558 Fire Inspector I’s and II’s since its inception in 1988. The exams are offered at approximately 26 sites nationwide and certification is accredited by the National Professional Qualifications Board.
Fire Department LeadershipFirefighting
MANUFACTURERS’ LITERATURE

MANUFACTURERS’ LITERATURE

Lab Safety Supply’s “Safety in the ’90s” 600-page catalog emphasizes the importance of identifying and responding to changing workplace hazards. It contains such safety products as eyewear, gloves, chemical storage, signs, and labels.
Fire Department LeadershipFirefighting

LESSONS, NOT DENIAL

The street box sounded. Within minutes, firefighters had water on a gasoline-fed arson fire in the entrance to a Bronx, NY “bottle club.” Seven minutes later the fire was out. No screaming, no hollering, no hint of the horror that would follow. Crawling inside, firefighters couldn’t believe what their senses told them. “Bodies, we’re crawling on bodies!” They turned from the 5 corpses inside the door and “made” the substandard staircase to the second floor in the hope of being able to do something— anything!
Fire Department LeadershipFirefighting
CONCRETE

CONCRETE

Concrete is a building component that figures prominently in our firefighting and rescue operations. Our experience with concrete runs the gamut from making openings for hose streams to the much larger rescue operations involving tons of concrete.
Fire Department LeadershipFirefighting
TRAINING AIDS

TRAINING AIDS

FIRE AND ARSON INVESTIGATORS' FIELD INDEX DIRECTORY is available free from the U.S. Fire Administration. The 165-page directory lists organizations in investigative resources, commercial and residential construction, vehicle manufacturing, explosives and firearms, equipment and operations, medical science, appliances, and more.
Fire EMSFirefighting
TRUCK SIZE-UP, CONTINUED

TRUCK SIZE-UP, CONTINUED

Last month we began to discuss the thought process—size-up—that must be in place for those firefighters performing extinguishing support functions —truck work. Those responsibilities, we said, are everything other than stretching and operating hoselines.
Fire Apparatus

RESTRICTION DEVICES ON ELEVATOR CAR DOORS

Often as a last resort, firefighters have found it necessary to force entry into stalled elevator cabs from an elevator landing. Quick removal of occupants from the car becomes a necessity when someone is seriously ill or injured. Elevator repair personnel may not be on hand to assist the fire department in removing the trapped people. A recent code change to the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) Standard A 17.1, 1989, has made forcible entry into elevator cars slightly more difficult.
Fire Department LeadershipFirefighting

“COPE” WITH PREPLANNING

Fire Department LeadershipFirefighting

COMING EVENTS

Fire Department LeadershipFirefighting

GUIDELINES FOR AUTHORS

Fire Department LeadershipFirefighting

THE DANGERS OF FIRE ESCAPES

Firefighter Training

NAMES IN THE NEWS

Building ConstructionFire Safety

EQUIPMENT DIGEST

Firefighting Equipment

MAKE THE CALL

Fire Department LeadershipFirefighting

FROM THE GROUND UP: CONSTRUCTING OR RECONSTRUCTING A MODERN FIREHOUSE

Fire Department LeadershipFirefighting

ASBESTOS: BREATHE EASY WITH A PREPLAN

Fire EMSFirefighting

FIRE ENGINEERING

Fire Department LeadershipFirefighting

APPARATUS DELIVERIES

Aerial ApparatusFire Apparatus

AUTOMATED SCBA PERFORMANCE TESTING

Firefighter SCBAFirefighting Equipment
1 2