FE Volume 145 Issue 12

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THE EXPERT WITNESS

Expert testimony frequently is a necessary and integral part of trials. While expert witness testimony has become commonplace, many judges do not welcome the presence of an expert in the courtroom. One of the reasons for this is that judges, quite correctly, don’t wish to have a decision taken out of the hands of the judge and/or jury and put in the hands of the expert witness.
Fire Department LeadershipFirefighting

A LESSON IN POLITICS

The shadow of the proposed staffing-level addition to NFPA 1500 hangs over us still. Although the New Orleans vote “resolved” this heated issue at least temporarily, the politics continue. As early as March, calls for reconstitution of the NFPA 1500 technical committee were registered with the NFPA Standards Council by at least two committee members and one major fire service group.
Fire Department LeadershipFirefighting

“BREAD AND BUTTER” OPERATIONS: THE 2 1/2-STORY HOUSE FIRE

For fires on the second floor of 2 1/2- story frame houses, the main thrust of the operation once again is to search for trapped occupants. Interior personnel should ascend rapidly to the second floor—preferably before the engine crew makes passage on the stairs more difficult.
Fire Department LeadershipFirefighting

“SWISS NANNY” TRIAL: FIRE INVESTIGATION KEY TO THE CASE

At approximately 5:16 p.m. on December 2, 1991, a frantic Olivia Riner, a Swiss nanny, telephoned the local police department to report a fire at 5 West Lake Drive, Thornwood, New York, the residence of Denise and William Fischer. The area is comprised of several small hamlets and villages, and the operator connected Riner with the wrong police department.
Fire Department LeadershipFirefighting

More FE Volume 145 Issue 12

CHRISTMAS TREE BURNS: Raising Public Safty Awareness

In response to a 1990 fire involving a Christmas tree, which claimed seven lives, the Farmington Hills (MI) FireDepartment in December 1991 conducted three live structural burns involving Christmas trees as part of a holiday fire safety public education program.
FirefightingStructural Firefighting
COMPANY NEWS

COMPANY NEWS

RAM BROADCASTING. BELL SOUTH, and RF DATA have formed an alliance to provide wireless data communication capabilities to public safety organizations. The new venture, RAM MOBILE DATA, joins RF Data's computerized state and national crime database access system with RAM’s national wireless data communications service.
Fire Department LeadershipFirefighting
COMING EVENTS

COMING EVENTS

DECEMBER 5-MARCH 20-The Chemung County Historical Society will exhibit "SOUND THE ALARM! THE HISTORY OF FIREFIGHTING IN CHEMUNG COUNTY" at its museum in Elmira, New York. Contact: Constance B. Barone, The Chemung County Historical Society, 415 E. Water St., Elmira, NY 14901; (607) 734-4167.
Fire Department LeadershipFirefighting

MORE ON STAIRS

Let’s continue our discussion on stairs. Multiple dwellings have a myriad of types and constructions of stair assemblies, which affect all firefighting efforts: line stretching, safety, collapse, rescue and removal, access and egress for firefighters and evacuation for victims, ventilation, and water supply.
Firefighting
MNUFACTURES’ LITERATURE

MNUFACTURES’ LITERATURE

“Buildings and Secondary Containment Products for Chemicals and Hazardous Materials,” a new brochure describing hazmat storage products from Safety Storage, Inc., is now available. Safety Storage Inc.’s product line includes fire rated prefabricated storage buildings and lockers and secondary containment sumps and pallets.
HazmatTechnical Rescue

SUCCESSFUL PUBLIC EDUCATION

How can a small, all-volunteer fire department work to reduce fire loss and injury incidents in its response district? For the Staunton (IL) Fire Department (SFD), the answer is three years of aggressive public education. Prior to 1987, the SFD had a very limited public education program, consisting of an occasional station tour and the yearly distribution of educational materials to schoolchildren.
Fire Service CareerFirefighter Training

PREPLANNING PAYS OFF IN BUFFALO CHURCH FIRE

A well-involved fire in a large, old Gothic church generally results in the destruction of the building. In Buffalo, New York, many of these types of fires have concluded with 100-foot-longplus steeples crashing to the street. However, a five-alarm fire at one such church had surprisingly different results.
Fire Department LeadershipFirefighting

OPENING A PLYWOOD ROOF SURFACE

The following method can be used to open a plywood roof surface: Make a cut along the ridge pole as far as your reach permits. Make a second cut parallel to the first one, approximately three or four feet down on the roof surface. Do not overextend yourself.
Fire Department LeadershipFirefighting

FIRE SERVICE LEGISLATION PASSES

Fire Department LeadershipFirefighting

SAFETY IN INVESTIGATION

Firefighter TrainingSearch Operations

CHEMICAL DATA NOTEBOOK SERIES #79: TETRACHLOROETHYLENE

HazmatTechnical Rescue

FIRE ENGINEERING

Fire Department LeadershipFirefighting

APPARATUS DELIVERIES

Fire Apparatus

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

FirefightingStructural Firefighting

ENGINE RETARDER AND MANUAL BRAKE LIMITING VALVE HAZARDS: THE NTSB REPORT

Fire Apparatus

NAMES IS THE NEWS

Fire EMSFirefighting

NEWS IN BRIEF

Firefighting

FIRE INVESTIGATION: AFTER ESTABLISHING THE AREA OF ORIGIN

Fire Department LeadershipFirefighting

FE Volume 145 Issue 12

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