Fire Service Today

Work in Progress: America Burning at 40 - Fire prevention and protection

 

This is the fourth in a series of posts about the 40^th anniversary of America Burning and the related article, “Work in Progress” in this month’s NFPA Journal.  The report stresses prevention, with a call for more fire department emphasis on fire prevention, fire safety education, and inspections.  They also called for built-in fire safety – measures which can detect and suppress a fire before it grows large enough to cause a major disaster.” In 1977, only 22% of US homes had at least one smoke alarm.  That’s up to 96% today.  NFPA coordinates the Fire Sprinkler Initiative to increase the use of home fire sprinklers.  

The Commission also advocated programs on fire safety in the media for teachers and for specific occupancies.  They advised that the proposed USFA “assist, augment and evaluate existing public and private fire safety education efforts.” Today, USFA and NFPA both have a wide variety of safety materials on their websites. 

NFPA is now seeking public input for a proposed new document, NFPA 1730: Standard on Organization and Deployment of Fire Prevention Inspection and Code Enforcement, Plan Review, Investigation, and Public Education Operations to the Public. 

What’s happening with fire prevention in your community?  What else should the fire safety community be doing to prevent fires and fire losses?

Video: Russian firefighter training speed drill

 

While NFPA has several Standards dealing with ladders, including NFPA 1931, Manufacturer’s Design of Fire Department Ground Ladders and NFPA 1932, Use, Maintenance, and In-Service Testing of Fire Department Ground Ladders and we do publish recommended Job Performance Requirements for what firefighters need to know and how to raise ground ladders in NFPA 1001, Fire Fighter Professional Qualifications, this drill is not included in any of them!

That’s one fast ladder raise, works well in training but not so well on the fireground. Kids, do not try this yourselves! Either way, this video demonstrates another example of unique training drills for the fire service - last week we blogged about one department that uses dodgeball as a way to practice conserving air!

NFPA, IAFC and NVFC offer sweepstakes quiz for firefighters in honor of Safety and Health Week

We are happy to announce that we are sponsoring the “Fire Service Safety & Health Quiz” Sweepstakes in conjunction with International Fire/EMS Safety and Health Week (which will be June 16-22, 2013). The theme of the week, and of the contest, will be “Saving Our Own… An Inside Job.”

The International Association of Fire Chiefs (IAFC) and the National Volunteer Fire Council (NFVC) are co-sponsoring this sweepstakes with NFPA. Career firefighters, volunteer firefighters and other fire department employees and fire service members are invited to take the online, interactive quiz, featuring 15 questions related to firefighter health and safety.

“Raising awareness and education for firefighter health and safety is always a priority,” said Ken Willette, NFPA’s division manager of Public Fire Protection and a former fire chief. “This quiz is a quick and promising way to refresh fire service members’ knowledge and improve the safety of their teams.”

The quiz will be offered between May 20 and June 18 at www.nfpa.org/fireservicequiz. One sweepstakes entry will be given for a completed quiz through the Snapapp widget, with an additional entry if the quiz taker shares their result on Twitter.

On June 19, the 125 randomly selected winners will be announced. These winners will each receive a specially designed challenge coin commemorating this year’s International Fire/EMS Safety and Health Week. Read more details, and the full contest rules. 

Free California webinar on firefighting operations in the wildland/urban interface

Our friends at the California Fire Science Consortium hold great, FREE, one-hour webinars on all kinds of wildfire topics. Next on their list is "Fire Operations in the Wildland-Urban Interface", presented by CAL FIRE Battalion Chief Phill Veneris on Wednesday, May 22 at 12 pm Pacific Time.    

Chief Veneris is a CAL FIRE ICS Type 1 Incident Commander, Operations Section Chief, and Safety Officer. During this presentation, he’ll discuss Firefighting Operations in the Wildland Urban Interface from a California perspective, using information and products from both his department, the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (CAL FIRE) as well as the latest publications from FIrefightingRESources of California Organized for Potential Emergencies (FIRESCOPE). This information is useful for both the company officer as well as the incident commander when faced with a fire in the wildland urban interface and evacuating residents in the fire’s path.  

You can register here: http://www.cafiresci.org/2013-webinars/. Be sure to also check out the long list of previous webinars, recorded for your listening and viewing pleasure! Topics range from fire behavior to Firewise to planning and community engagement. 

Work in Progress: America Burning at 40 - Federal assistance to local fire departments

This is the third in a series of posts about the 40^thanniversary of America Burning and the related article, "Work in Progress" in this month's NFPA Journal." While the National Commission on Fire Prevention Control was quite clear that fire prevention and suppression were primarily local responsibilities, they wanted the federal  government to play a supportive role with technical and educational assistance, research and data systems, and “providing financial assistance when adequate fire protection lies beyond a community’s means. In recent years, Assistance to Firefighter Grants (AFGs) provided local fire departments with funds for training, apparatus, equipment, firefighter health and safety, facility improvements. Staffing for Adequate Fire And Emergency Response (SAFER) grants help fire departments increase their complement of trained firefighters.

These grants have improved fire department readiness, but many needs remain. NFPA conducted three national surveys or needs assessments of local fire departments to compare local resources with NFPA and other requirements. Steady progress has been made, but many fire departments still do not have enough personal protective equipment for all firefighters. And many departments have personnel engaged in activities without formal training.

How have these grants helped your fire department or your community? Listen to Bill Webb, Executive Director of the Congressional Fire Service Institute as he shares some insights into the relationship of Congress to the fire service, and of course, funding.

NFPA staff experience Fire Ops 101 at Massachusetts Fire Academy

Check out the full photo album on Facebook!

For the fourth consecutive year, NFPA staff ventured out to the Massachusetts Fire Academy to participate in a day of familiarization with the work of a firefighter. Although some staff have a fire service background, the majority do not, and this day represents their first exposure to what it is like to be a firefighter. Donned in full PPE, they carried charged hose up stairs, did ventilation work from a tower, performed primary search (some with blacked out face pieces) and operated several types of extinguishers. Most of the comments about the day were about how much fun it was (especially once it was over!) and how much work people realized it is to perform active firefighting operations. The staff really gets a chance to see how all of the fire service standards come together to keep everyone safe. The most often heard comment: "Now I understand what it’s like." Can you guess what the second most common was? “I can’t believe how heavy this stuff is!”

Thank You to the staff at the Massachusetts Fire Academy for taking the time to allow us to do this, and a big Thank You to all of the brave NFPA staff who attended this event and anyone who attended the previous three. This is very helpful and I hope it continues.

Remember, you can still sign up to participate in Fire Ops 101 at this year's Conference & Expo as a pre-conference session in Chicago! 

Chris Farrell

News report: Were first responders aware of dangers at Texas fertilizer plant?

Nearly one month after an explosion and fire at a West, TX, fertilizer plant that killed 14 people, LDNews, the webiste of the Lebanon Daily News, is taking a closer look at the event, and in particular, if the town's volunteer fire crews were fully aware of the dangers they faced during their response efforts.

"When they saw 30-foot flames licking the sky inside a massive fertilizer plant, firefighters in this tiny Texas town rushed to evacuate nearby buildings and raced to spray water on tanks of chemicals, hoping to prevent a catastrophe.

They didn't know, and probably could not imagine, that the plant would soon explode into a deadly fireball and lay waste to much of the community. Instead, they were more concerned with preventing toxic gas from leaking out of the facility and drifting into nearby homes."

Read the full post on the NFPA Today blog.

Work in Progress: America Burning at 40 - We need data!!

This is the second in a series of posts about the 40^th anniversary of America Burning and the related NFPA Journal article. The National Commission on Fire Prevention and Control was frustrated by how little was known about the causes and circumstances of fires. In the very first chapter, the Commission recommended “that a national fire data system be established to provide a continuing review and analysis of the entire fire problem. USFA’s National Fire Incident Reporting System (NFIRS), the source of detailed information in most of NFPA’s statistical analyses, was the result. 

The country also needed a better understanding of fire behavior and fire department productivity. This led to NIST’s Center for Fire Research and fire.gov – “Better firefighting through research.”

We still have data needs. Currently, NFPA is entering the public comment phase for the second draft of the proposed NFPA 950: Standard for Data Development and Exchange for the Fire Service and seeking input or proposals for the proposed NFPA 951: Guide to Building and Utilizing Digital Information.

What kinds of data or information do you use or need about fire? Where or how do you get it? What are the obstacles? How could we get better data?

Listen to John Hall, Division Director of NFPA‘s Fire Analysis and Research Division, discuss data issues. Dr. Hall was involved in the early years of NFIRS at the USFA and is still using it today. After you listen, please share your thoughts.

 

Work in Progress: America Burning at 40

Since I started working with the fire service in 1986, I have heard one refrain over and over: “They talked about that in America Burning.”  On May 4, 1974, the National Commission on Fire Prevention and Control transmitted their findings to President Richard Nixon. In my article in ths month's NFPA Journal, I looked at the changes resulting from just a few of the 90 recommendations.  The Commissioners felt that fire protection was primarily a local responsibility, but that local fire departments needed a federal agency that could represent their interests and help ensure that they received the latest and best information on how to do their work more safely and effectively.  Their recommendations led to the formation of the US Fire Administration (USFA), and within USFA, the National Fire Academy (NFA). You can read reflections about the America Burning Anniversary posted by USFA Administrator Chief Ernest Mitchell.

What has it meant to the fire service to have the USFA and NFA?  What do you think the Commissioners would recommend for these bodies today? Let’s take advantage of the web tools the Commission did not have to start a national conversation.  NFPA is making some companion videos to start the ball rolling.  Listen to David Lucht, the first Deputy Administrator of the USFA, describe the early years at USFA.

 

 

This is the first of a series of posts related to America Burning.  Check back for more on this topic.

Video: Firefighters play dodgeball, learn how to conserve air

 

For firefighters, managing the air in their tanks can be the difference between life and death. Fire departments regularly conduct drills to work on safety skills. But in Port Washington, the department put a new twist on the drill — dodgeball.

The department gathered one cold night in March, wearing full gear. Divided into two teams, the firefighters hurled purple, green, and yellow sponge balls at each other, working up a sweat and working on breathing techniques.

“The goal is to move around, bend over, be active, do different things we’re not lifting anything heavy like we would on a fire, but we’re still moving and moving around a little bit faster,” said Eric Hill, a 40-year-old firefighter

All of the sliding, running, bending, crawling, throwing and dodging is part of a drill designed to make these firefighters aware of air.

Many of them say the most important piece of equipment to health and safety of a firefighter is the “self-contained breathing apparatus,” referred to as an SCBA, for short. NFPA has a standard that details the minimum requirements for design and performance of SCBA (NFPA 1981) as well as a standard about the care and maintenance of SCBA (NFPA 1852) - emphasizing how important these devices are.

Knowing how much time you have before that moment comes is critical. They’re getting used to paying attention to the air pressure gauge while facing all kinds of distractions. The gauge has various stages of alarm, one of which warns them when their air pressure is getting down so they have enough time to safely exit the structure.

The “air aware” drill was designed to demonstrate how quickly an air tank intended to last half an hour can run out of air, when the person wearing it is working and breathing hard.