Fire Service Today

Judge Orders F.D.A. to Stop Blocking Imports of E-Cigarettes

I saw this news line this morning on the ticker of the news show that I watch. I was rather suprised to see that a judge has ordered the FDA to stop the ban on electronic cigarettes. As you read the article it appears that the reasons for the ban is due to potential health risks involved with this product.

I think what has been forgotten here is the fact that on a few occassions these electronic cigarettes ignited while in the cargo hold of an airplane while in flight. While no injuries occured, these products still created a situation that could have had catastrophic consequences with an airplane cargo hold and its contents on fire while in flight.

I am guessing that the reasons for the F.D.A. ban had nothing to do with the safety issues they created while in flight being shipped from their country of origin to the U.S. but rather health concerns. I think that both issues might need to be addressed, or at least the dangers of this product should be made known to the air carriers that ship them.

Here is the article that I found about the judge ordering the stop on the ban. Anyone have any thoughts?

Ken Holland  

Regional Fire Code Development Committee Winter 2010 Meetings

To encourage greater fire service participation in the NFPA Codes and Standards Making System, NFPA and IFMA has established four Regional Fire Code Development Committees.  The members of these committees are from the fire service in your area, enclosed is a list of the members.  These committees’ have responsibility for developing proposals for changes to NFPA Codes and Standards, reviewing the Report on Proposals (ROP) and developing comments on proposed changes, and act as a liaison to their region’s fire service for inputting changes to NFPA Codes and Standards. 

 

Northcentral

February 23, 2010, Drury Inn Union Station, St. Louis, MO, starts at 8:00 am and ends by 5:00 pm.

 

 Northeastern

January 28, 2010, Embassy Suites BWI, Linthicum, MD, starts at 8:00 am and ends by 5:00 pm.

 

 Southern

March 2, 2010, Embassy Suites, Ft Lauderdale, FL, starts at 8:00 am and ends by 5:00 pm.

 

 Western

February 9, 2010, Embassy Suites Anaheim North, Anaheim, CA, starts at 8:00 am and ends by 5:00 pm.

 

There is no cost to attend the meeting.  You are responsible for all costs associated with your travel.  These meetings are held twice yearly, the next meetings will take place in the Summer of 2010.  You will receive a mailing of those meetings in the future.  If you are interested in attending, please complete the form asap. For more information on the committee, members, codes and standards, go to this link  If you have any questions please contact me Steven Sawyer

 

Hazmat Update

Following are a few items related to hazardous materials response that came in over the holidays:

In 2005, a pilot cooperative research program on the transport of hazardous materials was authorized by the federal government. The Hazardous Materials Cooperative Research Program (HMCRP) is sponsored by the U.S. Department of Transportation's Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration and managed by the National Academies acting through the Transportation Research Board (TRB). The HMCRP Technical Oversight Panel met in October and selected projects for the FY 2010 program. Download HMCRP 2010 Announcement to see the approved hazmat research projects for 2010, and note that the panel is also seeking members who want to participate in the oversight of these projects (deadline for applications/nominations is January 22, 2010).

The Association of American Railroads/Bureau of Explosives has issued a call for presentations for the AAR/BOE Hazardous Materials Conference to be held in Kansas City, MO on May 25-27, 2010. Please note that submissions are due by January 31, 2010. Download 2010 BOE Seminar Call for Abstracts.

A presidential Executive Order released December 30 establishes federal capability for the timely provision of medical countermeasures following a biological attack. The policy seeks to mitigate illness and prevent death, sustain critical infrastructure, and complement and supplement State, local, territorial, and tribal government medical countermeasure distribution capacity. Since the U.S. Postal Service has the capacity for rapid residential delivery of medical countermeasures for self administration, the government plans to pursue a national postal service dispensing model to respond to a large-scale biological attack. For more information http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/executive-order-medical-countermeasures-following-a-biological-attack.

Glen Rudner, member of the NFPA Technical Committee on Hazardous Materials Response Personnel (NFPA 472 and 473) sent us this link to an article appearing in TRAINS Magazine on an option to improve tank car safety: http://www.trains.com/trn/default.aspx?c=a&id=6081.

Dave Trebisacci