NEWS IN BRIEF
Canada’s Dangerous Goods Act targets shippers and carriers
The chain of responsibility for accidents involving dangerous materials points back to the original source, and everyone along that chain is liable for criminal charge. This position is the rationale behind Canada’s Dangerous Goods Act, enacted July 1, 1985, and reported on in the April 1991 issue of Canadian Transportation. The federal legislation hxs been approved xs an act by each province.
Violators of the legislation may be fined up to $50,000 and sentenced to a maximum of one year in jail for a first offense and up to two years for subsequent infractions. Proposals to increase the penalty for a first offense to a maximum of $300,000 with up to two years in jail and for a second offense to a maximum of SI million with a maximum five-year prison term are expected to be approved by the legislature and made effective by this fall. Anyone who manages and controls the shipments—shipper or carrier-can be charged.
The enforcement structure for the Dangerous Goods Act consists of six regional federal offices and field inspectors assigned to check all points of shipment (leaving and entering the country) for every mode of transportation. truck, rail, marine, and air. Only federal inspectors have the authority to make charges when the shipments are transported by means other than the highway, and only they can charge a shipper with an offense under the act; any authorized personnel, however, can charge the carrier. Penalties are levied by the trial judge.
Each province has slightly different versions of the act, and federal officers enforcing the act adopted by a province must act with and under the jurisdiction of that province. Most provincial inspectors have jurisdiction over highway-transported shipments. In Ontario, for example, teams of roadside inspectors stationed at every border-crossing point check freight entries and exits. These agents are authorized to stop any vehicle transporting goods and to issue citations.
In addition, some public personnel across the country, such xs the police, have been trained to check for potential dangerous goods infractions. While all police personnel have not been trained, every officer technically can enforce the act. Fire departments are authorized and encouraged to file reports when they discover potential problems during routine safety inspections.
Firefighter wins $850,000 settlement
Joseph Nardoiillo, a retired lieutenant from the City of New York Fire Department, received §850,000 in settlement of a claim resulting from an injury he sustained while fighting a fire at the Flatbush Avenue Terminal of the Fong Island Railroad on August 16, 1984.
According to Sullivan & Liapakis, the law firm that represented Nardoiillo, the firefighter was checking for fire extension when he was struck on the right side of his head by a sign affixed to the outside of the railroad terminal and suffered a gash that was sutured in the emergency room of Long Island College Hospital. Within 48 hours after treatment, Nardoiillo began experiencing neurological symptoms, primarily on the left side of his body, that included tingling and weakness in the arm and leg. He returned to work six weeks later, but his neurological symptoms progressed and ultimately affected his gait, equilibrium, and motor powers; he presently walks with a cane, suffers from weakness, and becomes easily fatigued. The subsequent diagnosis wxs multiple sclerosis.
It was claimed in the lawsuit that the trauma to Nardolillo’s head caused by the August 1984 injury precipitated the symptoms of the multiple sclerosis that had been underlying and dormant.
The only theory submitted to the jury was liability under section 205-a of the General Municipal Law of the City of New York, which was designed to protect firefighters injured while fighting a fire. It was argued that the City of New York violated the Administrative Code by not properly securing and ultimately dismantling the fire’s origin site, an abandoned newsstand within the terminal, and that the injury—although it occurred outside the terminal after the fire was extinguished —“followed logically and directly from the initial violation.” The newsstand, it was stated, “presented a fire and moral hazard in that it was filled with old newspapers, posters, cardboard, empty wine bottles, and evidence of drug use” and wxs inhabited by the homeless and vagrants who gained access because the stand was not secured.
In their deliberations, the jury found that the defendant, the Long Island Railroad, violated a specific section of the Administrative Code charged to it and that the plaintiff’s injuries were caused “directly or indirectly” as a result of such violation.
The Dangerous Goods Act represents the government’s attempt to establish uniform rules for all carriers—a goal that may take several years to accomplish.
Kuwaiti oil well fires will last four to five years
Red Adair, oil well firefighter, recently told the Senate Gulf Environment Task Force that about 150 out of the 597 well fires raging in Kuwait since the beginning of April have been extinguished. At the present rate, Adair says, it will take four to five years to extinguish the remaining fires.
This time could be cut in half, Adair adds, if additional heavy equipment were available and access to local water supplies were improved. He also cites the need for management and medical expertise in setting up a more effective firefighting infrastructure within Kuwait.
William Reilly, EFA administrator, told the task force that the fires pose “a significantly high health risk” to the environment and U.S. firefighters in the region. The EPA estimates that four to six million barrels of oil are burned daily.
ANSI recognizes III structural steel standard
Underwriters Laboratories Inc.’s Standard for Safety for Rapid Rise Fire Tests of Protection Materials for Structural Steel (UL 1709) has been recognized by the American National Standards Institute and designated as ANSI/UL 1709-1991.
The test method covered measures the resistance of protective materials to rapid-temperature-rise fires; it includes a full-scale fire exposure intended to evaluate the thermal resistance of protective material applied to structural members and the ability of the protective material to withstand the fire exposure. Also included in the testing protocol is a small-scale fire exposure intended to evaluate the material’s capacity to withstand a variety of anticipated environmental conditions.
Copies of the standard are available from Underwriters Laboratories Inc., 333 Pfingsten Road, Northbrook, IL 60062-2096, (707) 272-8800.
New tests for construction materials
The Factory Mutual Research Corporation (FMRC) is testing wall and ceiling/roof assemblies to determine how their flammability is affected by building heights exceeding 30 feet. Assemblies meeting the criteria for FMRC’s new 50-foot corner test can be used without automatic sprinkler protection in the structure (although the contents of a building may require sprinkler protection) for heights up to 50 feet or for unlimited height, according to Factory Mutual System Engineering and Research. Previously, FMRC had been using its 25-foot corner test to determine whether wall and ceiling/roof assemblies could be used up to 30 feet high without automatic sprinkler protection. Materials must pass the 25-foot corner test before they can be tested for higher heights.
The tests involve installing the wall and ceiling/roofing materials in simulations of a typical commercial structure 25 or 50 feet high at FMRC’s test center in West Glocester, Rhode Island. A fire fueled by 750 pounds of oak pallets stacked five feet high is set in the corner of each structure. During the 15-minute test period, flame propagation along the walls and ceiling of the structure is measured. If the fire in the 25-foot test spreads to the limits of the structure, the assembly is considered unacceptable for use without automatic sprinkler protection.
Assemblies passing the 25-foot test then are tested in the 50-foot structure. In this test, if the fire propagates to the ceiling but not to the limits of the structure, the assembly is approved for use without automatic sprinklers for up to 50-foot heights. If the fire does not propagate to the ceiling, the assembly is approved for use without automatic sprinklers for unlimited building height.
EMT curriculum revision underway
A six-member medical oversight committee and a 14-member curriculum development group are working to revise the EMT basic curriculum, which was established in 1984. A project of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), the revised curriculum is expected to be completed by March 1992. Phoenix-based Samaritan Health Services has been awarded a contract to coordinate the project and assemble the required experts and data.
“It’s time for EMS to make a big move, to go from our adolescence into young adulthood,” says John Chew of the NHTSA. “This project will lead us in that direction.”
“The curriculum as it is now doesn’t address all the critical issues and does include some that aren’t needed,” notes George Foltin, M.D., a committee member representing the American Academy of Pediatricians. He cites as an example the attention given in the curriculum to Reyes Syndrome, a condition “that can’t be diagnosed in the field.” Foltin says the curriculum must be “refocused on what an EMT out in the field can do something about.”
One of the committee’s goals is to move from a diagnosis-based to an assessment-based curriculum. The curriculum, adds Ricky G. Davidson of the International Association of Fire Chiefs, should be “outcome-driven.” Technology has been advancing so fast, he notes, that EMT work has been driven by technology instead of outcomes. We’ve adopted the technologies without being able to prove whether it made a difference.
“ The EMT will be trained to rapidly assess when he or she has an unstable or critical patient, then initiate those emergency measures required to stabilize life-threatening problems, while not getting hung up on less critical conditions and interventions that only delay definitive care,” says Robert Worsing, M.D., a committee member representing the American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons.
The curriculum, say Davidson, is being developed by a “Who’s Who” of the industry. “There are differing points of view, but opposition helps you come to a middle road,” he explains. “You produce a better product with some friction.”
Conference urges innovative approach to fire safety
The problem of fire losses in the United States is being solved with 19th century ideologies, according to participants in the “Conference on Firesafety Design in the 21st Century” held at Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI) in May. “litis is an example of the American enterprise being asleep at the switch,” asserts WPI Professor David A. Lucht, conference chairman. “While U.S. researchers have developed some of the most advanced fire technology in the world, it’s the Europeans, Japanese, and Australians who are making sweeping changes in the way they go about achieving fire safety in buildings….”
The goal of the conference was to begin a national dialogue aimed at expanding the day-to-day use of innovative fire safety design practices, according to Lucht. Recommendations of the 100 attendees representing business, government, and academia in the United States and abroad ranged from technical education and public awareness programs to regulatory reforms, legislation, and design method validation efforts. It also was proposed that a U.S. counterpart to Australia’s highly successful Warren Centre for Advanced Engineering be established; the Australian Center is a collaborative effort among the education, industry, and government communities.
“We have to peel away these multiple layers of fire protection requirements that came from post-disaster hysteria and start anew with clearly stated public fire safety goals and rational design strategies,” emphasizes Texas Architect Kirby W. Perry, a conference participant. Concurring with Perry, Kansas City Building CodeOfficial Gerald H. Jones adds: “Traditionally, disaster and crisis have been the leading dynamics of code change …hut we overreact terribly after a major disaster occurs.”
“It’s not a question of spending more on fire safety in buildings; it’s a question of spending scarce resources more wisely,” Lucht says. “Consumers, building owners, and tenants who are paying the freight should demand no less of designers, researchers, and regulatory authorities alike.”
The conference was sponsored by WPI and the Society of Fire Protection Engineers and was partially supported by a grant from the National Science Foundation.
Greene stresses value of smoke detectors
Smoke detectors save lives, and educating the public about their use can prevent 80 percent of the 6,000 fire deaths that occur each year, Olin L. Greene, administrator of FEMA/USFA, stresses to the fire service. “Since the USFA was established in 1974,” Greene says, “fire deaths in this country have dropped 40 percent—from about 10,000 to 6,000 per year. This was due largely to the use of smoke detectors.”
Green notes that about one-third of smoke detectors in homes are not maintained or have been disabled to limit nuisance alarms. He calls this a “dangerous trend,” and the USFA is urging that detectors be installed in all residences and that they be kept in good working order.
Tests compare U.S. and European sprinklers
A series of tests comparing the performances of U.S. standard spray and European conventional style sprinklers recently completed by Factory Mutual Research Corporation (FMRC) showed that both sprinklers adequately controlled moderateto high-challenge storage fires even though they operated differently. The tests were performed under simulated storage conditions at FMRC’s firetest center in West Glocester, Rhode Island. Among the findings were the following:
- Both sprinklers performed adequately for high-challenge fires involving rack storage of FMRC’s standard plastic commodity (cardboard cartons with polystyrene cups) with 20-foot clearance between the top of the storage array and the sprinklers.
- Performance for high-piled rack storage of FMRC’s Class II commodity (metal-lined, double-triwall cartons) varied according to the ignition site. The spray sprinkler performed better when ignition was centered beneath four sprinklers. When ignition occurred directly beneath one sprinkler, the European sprinkler performed better when a large-orifice sprinkler was used. Performance was comparable when standard-orifice sprinklers were used.
- Overall, the conventional and spray sprinklers adequately controlled the fires during testing. The European sprinklers, however, required a larger water supply under certain conditions.
The European sprinkler discharges 40 to 60 percent of its water toward the ceiling and the rest downward toward the fire. The U.S. spray sprinkler discharges all of its water downward toward the fire.
The use of spray sprinklers in locations with high-piled storage, exposed steel construction, or combustible ceilings is prohibited by the European fire protection community. Current FMRC and North American storage protection standards, however, are based on tests conducted with spray sprinklers, and these sprinklers sufficiently control the fire and eliminate the need to wet the ceiling, according to FMRC.
The FMRC test results will be used with other data to develop engineering guidelines for evaluating existing installations of European sprinklers and to determine water supply requirements for new installations where European sprinklers are required by local authorities.
USFA cited by National SAFE KIDS Campaign
The U.S. Fire Administration has been named “1991 Coalition Member of the Year” by the National SAFE KIDS Campaign sponsored by Johnson & Johnson and the Children’s National Medical Center. Deputy Administrator Edward M. Wall accepted the award for the USFA, which was honored for its “commitment and dedication to reducing the tragic child fire death rate in this country.”
The current campaign “Project GET AIARMED,” cosponsored by the USFA and BRK Electronics, is expected to provide 11,000 smoke detectors to low-income families. Its other goals include encouraging local utility companies to send battery replacement reminders in customers’ bills, recruiting volunteers to install or replace smoke detector batteries, and working with local retailers to establish battery discount programs for customers.
For details about participating, write to National SAFE KIDS Campaign, do Children’s National Medical Center, 111 Michigan Avenue, NW, Washington, DC 20010.
Extrication task force seeks members
Subcommittee F 30 02 on Personnel, Education, and Training of AS’I’M Standards-Writing Committee F-30 on Emergency Medical Services is forming a new task group to develop a new Guide for Training in Vehicle Extrication.
The group will focus on devising methods that can be used by emergency personnel to meet the challenges presented by today’s advanced technologies when rescuing accident victims from modern-day vehicles.
The organizational meeting of the task group will take place November 4 and will be held in conjunction with the Committee F-30 standards development meeting scheduled for November 3-6.
For additional information, contact George L. Johnson, 61-5 Woodlake Road, Albany, NY 12203, (518) 4566459 or Steve Mawn, ASTM, 1916 Race Street, Philadelphia, PA 19103, (215) 299-5521.
Qualifications board issues accreditations
The National Professional Qualifications Board for the fire service has granted accreditations to the following institutions:
- The State of Hawaii, Division of Airports: Airport Firefighter.
- Iowa State University: Fire Fighter II level (already accredited for Fire Fighter I, Fire Instructor I, and Fire Inspector I and II).
- The University of Kansas: Fire Officer I and Driver/Operator (already accredited for Fire Fighter I, II, III and Fire Instructor 1, II).
- The Massachusetts Fire Training Council: Fire Fighter I, I/II, II and Fire Inspector I (already accredited for Fire Instructor I).
Winner of arson prevention grants announced
The Factory Mutual Engineering Committee Against Incendiarism has awarded arson prevention grants totaling more than $35,000.
Recipients of the grants, ranging from $500 to $5,000, are the Boston Fire Department, Broome County (NY) Emergency Services, Calumet City (IL) Fire Department, Canadian Association of Fire Investigators, Central East Texas Arson Investigators, City of Philadelphia, City of San Diego Fire Department, Fall River (MA) Firefighters’ Museum, Fullerton (CA) Fire Department, Irvington (NJ) Fire Prevention, North Las Vegas (NV) Fire Department, North Texas Fire Marshals Association, Oregon Council Against Arson, Royal Canadian Mounted Police, Salem (OR) Fire Department, Scranton (PA) Arson Task Force, South Dakota Department of Commerce, Tennessee Advisory Committee on Arson, University of Kansas, Vermont Arson lip Award, Vernon (NJ) Fire Prevention Bureau, Virginia Advisory Committee on Arson Prevention, Wauwatosa (WI) Fire Department, and Winnipeg Crime Stoppers.
Grant requests are evaluated by arson coordinators based at 17 district offices across North America.
