FE Volume 163 Issue 10

The Latest

Grab the Dresser

Grab the Dresser

Responding as an extra unit to a fire on the third floor of a peaked-roof garden apartment, we received radio instructions to report to the top floor with hooks. Fire was blowing out two windows of a top-floor apartment, and heavy smoke was rolling from the eaves of the structure. The fire was melting the aluminum soffit and extending into the large, undivided cockloft/attic space. In many of these buildings, this space will be wide open with no fire stopping or draftstopping; the roof joists will be nominal lumber, although you may also find trusses. In newer construction, fire stopping or draftstopping may exist, but it could be compromised by the utilities.
Firefighting

FE Volume 163 Issue 10

Issues
Names in the News

Names in the News

GLENN A. GAINES was awarded the Metropolitan Fire Chiefs President’s Award of Distinction, given to individuals deemed worthy of the award by the President of the Metropolitan Fire Chiefs section. Gaines is the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s (FEMA) deputy U.S. fire administrator for the United States Fire Administration (USFA). He began his tenure in March 2009 and manages USFA and the programs and training activities at the National Emergency Training Center. Gaines served with the Assistance to Firefighters Grant Program for the Department of Homeland Security from its inception in 2001 until 2009. He was a principal architect and senior staff member for three primary grants managed by FEMA’s Grants Program Office, and was FEMA’s lead in developing the Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response Grant Program in 2005.
Fire Service CareerFirefighter Training
COMPANY/ASSOCIATION NEWS

COMPANY/ASSOCIATION NEWS

MARIOFF, a segment of UTC FIRE & SECURITY, has expanded its North America operations by adding technical support and customer service capability in Ashland, Massachusetts. Marioff’s flagship brand, HI-FOG®, is the world’s premiere water mist fire protection system, with applications ranging from protecting cultural heritage buildings and aircraft hangers to machinery spaces and hotels. High-pressure water mist established its reputation in cruise ships. Today, increased demand is being seen across a number of land-based applications such as power generation and transportation infrastructure. The enhancements to the North America operations, including an expanded focus on codes and regulations and management of large-scale projects, allow Marioff to better serve customers in these growing segments. www.marioff.com. www.utcfireandsecurity.com.
Fire Department LeadershipFirefighting

More FE Volume 163 Issue 10

Building Collapse: Rescue Operation’s Technical Search Capabilities

Building Collapse: Rescue Operation’s Technical Search Capabilities

Search is the foundation of the structural collapse rescue operation. If victims can’t be located, they can’t be rescued. It is imperative that every piece of equipment in the rescue/urban search and rescue (USAR) arsenal be considered during a collapse search and rescue operation. Most rescue companies/USAR teams carry a full complement of technical search equipment that has been successfully used at collapse rescue operations.
Structural CollapseTechnical Rescue
(fireengineering.com)

(fireengineering.com)

When I joined the Toledo (OH) Fire Department in 1975, anyone could drive an engine. In drill school, we all were required to demonstrate that we were capable of not only driving the apparatus but operating the pumps as well. I was hired in a very strange time in the history of my department. The tradition was that firefighters worked 24 hours on and had 48 hours off. Toledo was a three-platoon system.
Firefighter DrillsFirefighter Training
Training Rural Departments

Training Rural Departments

Before I was hired in Nov-ember 2005 by the San Juan County (NM) Fire Department (SJCFD), I had been a firefighter for the White Sands Test Facility and a fire investigator for Dona Ana County (both in Las Cruces, New Mexico), as well as a volunteer with the small rural Mesilla (NM) Fire Department. We did not make a lot of runs, but we did a lot of training. I arrived at the SJCFD with a mindset on training, but the reality there was totally different. Like any rural fire department in the United States, we do our best to get by training with limited personnel and limited budgets.
Firefighter Training
Socialists or Capitalists

Socialists or Capitalists

I have a great friend; he is provocative, insightful, and funny. He is the kind of guy that you never know what he is going to do next. He voted for President Obama then showed up at the Courage and Valor Fun Run this year wearing a T-shirt with former President George W. Bush’s picture on it and the caption “Miss Me Yet?” He is not afraid to change his mind or speak it; he has courage in his convictions, and he loves a good debate.
Firefighting
Door Chock Basics

Door Chock Basics

In 2008, I was “forced” into retirement by two strokes. At the time, I thought the fire service was deeply entrenched in the “back to basics” movement, which we had been teaching at the Fire Department Instructors Conference since the early 1990s. One leader in this movement, Andy Fredericks, was killed on 9/11, and we carried his message onward. “Back to the basics!” was our battle cry.
Firefighting
PRODUCTS/SERVICES/MEDIA

PRODUCTS/SERVICES/MEDIA

AWG Fittings’ TURBO NOZZLES. Look outside the box and take advantage of the AWG Captain’s 4-Alarm Nozzle program. Buy three nozzles and get a free one-inch nozzle! AWG’s Turbo series is a rugged, field proven all-metal construction family of handline attack nozzles. Features include an enlarged rubber bumper with easy-to-find raised tab, which indicates middle fog pattern; broad range of selectable gallonage flows; fixed rubber or spinning teeth; all-metal handle; and pistol grips for long life and durability even under extreme conditions. Base connections are available in one-, 1½-, and 2½-inch models. www.awg-fire.com. (508) 850-5263.
Firefighting
APPARATUS DELIVERIES

APPARATUS DELIVERIES

The Julesburg (CO) Fire Department designed this SMEAL apparatus with a small pump because it is primarily used as a tanker, says Secretary/Treasurer Toby Heath. The department’s 150-square mile jurisdiction is between five- and 10-percent hydranted.
Fire Apparatus
Fog Nozzle Training: Are We Creating a Hazardous Impression

Fog Nozzle Training: Are We Creating a Hazardous Impression

When teaching firefighter recruits, it is common for instructors to come up with catchy phrases and acronyms to help students remember the point of the lesson. For example, when we teach fire extinguishers, we use the acronym PASS, which stands for Pull, Aim, Squeeze, and Sweep. We teach COAL WAS WEALTH for size-up and RECEO VS to emphasize tactical priorities. Another learning device sometimes used when teaching how to adjust a fog nozzle to achieve a particular nozzle pattern is “Right for Reach/Left for Life”: If the nozzle is rotated to the right, a straight stream is produced; if the nozzle pattern is adjusted to the left, a fog pattern results. Although the adage is effective in the respect that it emphasizes which way to turn the nozzle, the second part of the statement can be interpreted by firefighters to mean that a wide fog pattern will protect a firefighter caught in a flashover.
Firefighter Training

Redefining and Preparing for “Water Emergencies”

Technical RescueWater Rescue

Training New Pump Operators

Firefighter Training

The Nozzle: The Last Line of Defense

Firefighter SCBAFirefighting Equipment

Green Building Construction and Daylighting: A Chief Officer’s Perspective

Building ConstructionFire Safety

A Quantitative Approach to Selecting Nozzle Flow Rate and Stream, Part 1

Fire SafetyFire Suppression Systems

Team Size-Up

Firefighting

Where’s the Medic?

Fire EMSFirefighting

Make burn tower training realistic

Fire Service CareerFirefighter Training

NFIRS Web-based data entry tool introduced

Firefighting

The Challenges of Fire Department Connections

Fire PreventionFire Safety