FE Volume 148 Issue 5

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COLLAPSE SEARCH AND RESCUE OPERATIONS: TACTICS AND PROCEDURES PART 15: AIR BAG OPERATIONS

COLLAPSE SEARCH AND RESCUE OPERATIONS: TACTICS AND PROCEDURES PART 15: AIR BAG OPERATIONS

One of the only times it may become necessary to lift collapse debris is when it is necessary to extricate a victim trapped or pinned by the debris. Lifting and removing loose debris to reach a victim usually is not a problem, although it may be time-consuming. The problems arise when a victim is pinned by debris or larger structural elements that are supporting large areas of debris or other structural elements.In this situation, the decision must be made whether to remove debris by hand or us
Firefighter TrainingTechnical Rescue
THE KOBE EARTHQUAKE: LESSONS FOR THE UNITED STATES

THE KOBE EARTHQUAKE: LESSONS FOR THE UNITED STATES

January 17 is a date I will always remember. On that date in 1994, I experienced and responded to the damage caused by the Northridge Earthquake in California. On that same date in 1995, I was in Osaka, Japan, awaiting the opening of the Fourth U.S.-Japan Workshop on Urban Earthquake Hazard Reduction when, at 0546 hours, a 6.8-magnitude (originally reported as 7.2) earthquake devastated Kobe. The irony of this was the title of our workshop, "In Wait for the Next One." Our hotel shook violently,
Firefighting
POLY READY RACK

POLY READY RACK

Groves Incorporated: Storage system for personal protective equipment. Guaranteed for a lifetime against corrosion. Keeps gear organized and available. For highly corrosive environments. Allows for free air circulation to all garments. Accumulates little dust or dirt. Allows inside air drying to reduce steam burns and preserve the protective fibers. Assembled in minutes without tools.
Firefighter ToolsFirefighting Equipment
GEARMASTER TURNOUT-GEAR LOCKERS

GEARMASTER TURNOUT-GEAR LOCKERS

P & R Products: 18 ¥ 21 ¥ 72 inches. Six-inch legs. Airflow ventilated. Diamond-shaped patterns in doors and sides permit maximum air circulation, quickening drying time and dissipating smoke odors. Strong and secure. Available in multiples of one to three storage compartments. Lockable doors guard against theft. Finished in light-gray baked-on enamel.
Firefighting Equipment

More FE Volume 148 Issue 5

PREPLANNING BUILDING HAZARDS

PREPLANNING BUILDING HAZARDS

Editor`s note: For further reference, consult Building Construction for the Fire Service, Third Edition. Page numbers are included after each caption for your convenience.
Firefighting
VENTILATION PROBLEMS

VENTILATION PROBLEMS

On arrival, you find heavy smoke issuing from a two-story, multiple-occupancy commercial building of ordinary construction. The smoke seems to be pushing from every part of the building. Roll-down security gates hamper operations as you try to determine which occupancy is actually the one burning. The truck company splits into two teams. The first team, along with the officer, will operate at street level to remove the padlocks on the gates of all the stores, starting with the one that appears
Fire Apparatus
50 WAYS TO IMPROVE YOUR PERSONAL SAFETY

50 WAYS TO IMPROVE YOUR PERSONAL SAFETY

All of these points revolve around a central premise--"knowing your job." To increase your personal safety, you must do the little things that when added together increase the chances of a safe operation. By incorporating these tips into your regular routine, you can be assured that you`ve done the right thing. n
Firefighter Training
FACTORS THAT COULD SIGNAL A SHIFT TO DEFENSIVE STRATEGY

FACTORS THAT COULD SIGNAL A SHIFT TO DEFENSIVE STRATEGY

Last month, we left off without finishing with those pieces of information a fire department gathers during preplanning that forecast the probability of collapse and indicate a shift to defensive strategy during the firefight.
Fire PreventionFire Safety
FULL-FLOW GATE VALVE

FULL-FLOW GATE VALVE

Jaffrey Fire Protection Co.: 35 lbs. Patent pending. Precision-engineered control for maximum safety. Six-inch waterway for highest flow rates under draft conditions. Built-in elbow streamlines flows--less than one psi at 2,000 gpm. LDH lines are accommodated easily with an adapter. Slow-acting gate for protection against pressure surges (14 turns required to fully open, exceeding industry standards of 10 turns). The compact valve (21 ¥ 8 ¥ 13 inches) also features a jumbo air bleeder fo
Fire PreventionFire Safety
VEHICLE EXTRICATION BASICS

VEHICLE EXTRICATION BASICS

Removal of automobile-accident victims is a critical function of fire and rescue departments. Like structure fires, automobile extrication can be quite simple or extremely complicated. As a critical function, it requires individual proficiency in conjunction with teamwork. Good performance during an auto extrication--which is necessary to ensure safe, proper, and rapid removal of the patient or patients--is dependent on preparation and training.
Technical RescueVehicle Extrication
MODEL ST-10 SMOKE MACHINE

MODEL ST-10 SMOKE MACHINE

Superior Signal Company: Produces 4,800 cfm of dense, nontoxic, nonirritating smoke. Easy to use. Green LED indicates that the unit is ready to begin smoking. Built-in timer on the handheld remote controls smoke output, duration of smoke blast, and interval between smoke blasts. Incorporates a thermal cutoff switch that prevents "wet smoke." Affordable smoke fluid.
Fire Department LeadershipFirefighting
LHS20-120 HYDRAULIC SPREADER

LHS20-120 HYDRAULIC SPREADER

Nike Hydraulics Inc.: Hand-operated, single-acting hydraulic spreader with an integrated hand pump. Can be rotated 360 degrees for optimal positioning. Can generate 2.2 to 4.9 tons of spreading force. Maximum opening of more than 4.7 inches. 15 pounds.
Fire Department LeadershipFirefighting

FAIL-SAFE RAPID ACCESS SYSTEM

Fire Safety

TRUE BLUE HYDRASAW

Firefighter ToolsFirefighting Equipment

“FIREFIGHTERS” FLASHLIGHTS pix

Firefighting

HS90 HYDRAULIC CUTTER

Firefighter ToolsFirefighting Equipment

REDI-PAK TRAUMA BAG

Fire Department LeadershipFirefighting

FOR RENT GROUND-LADDER TEST KIT

Fire PreventionFire Safety

SUPER AUTO EJECT

Fire Department LeadershipFirefighting

WAVESOFT

Firefighting

MODEL 190 MONITOR

Fire Department LeadershipFirefighting

NORTH PORTABLE AIR CART

Technical RescueVehicle Extrication

THE DRY ONE

FirefightingStructural Firefighting

GOING TO THE “NATIONAL”

Firefighting
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