Fire Service Today

Ambulance Committee Finishes Draft

In May, the Technical Committee for Ambulance completed their last draft development meeting and has finished a draft copy of a new standard for automotive ambulances.  The title for the new document will be NFPA 1917, Standard for Automotive Ambulance.  The committee will be balloted on the draft for consensus approval, then go before NFPA Standards Council for release to the public for proposals.  The committee is hoping for favorable public review and looking forward to public proposals.  NFPA 1917 will be made public immediately after NFPA Standards Council has their August meeting.  A link to a Proposal Form here is provided.

Larry Stewart

May is National Blood Pressure Education Month

As noted in the May issue of NVFC's Heart Healthy Firefighter E News, May is National Blood Pressure Education Month.  Whether you are a fire fighter, first responder, or parent, high blood pressure affects all walks of life.  According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), there are about 74.5 million Americans who have high blood pressure (also known as hypertension). 

Check out this fact sheet from the CDC on high blood pressure.

Stacey Van Zandt

Hazmat Teams - Apply Now for Isman Educational Grant

NFPA is now accepting applications for the 2011 Warren E. Isman Educational Grant, which is awarded each year to a hazardous materials response team to attend a national hazmat conference.

The $5,000 grant is awarded to an established hazmat incident response team from a fire department, police department or other public-funded program. Teams must demonstrate leadership qualities, communication abilities, and training to the levels in NFPA 472, Professional Competence of Responders to Hazardous Materials Incidents, and NFPA 473, Competencies for EMS Personnel Responding to Hazardous Materials Incidents.

Please contact Christine Ellis for more information, and note that applications must be received by September 15, 2010.

Isman Educational Grant webpage and application

Dave Trebisacci

 

Fire Theme for the Month of May

I wanted to post a blog about something that would or could reach out to a wider audience to provide some good information about things that are more than just “fire” related items. Now I realize that the title of my blog has the word “Fire” in it, however those who are involved in the fire service are involved in more than just that.

Each month of the year is assigned a “fire theme” based on many different topics. Those could be due to the time of the year, such as summer related topics or winter/holiday related topics. For the month of May there are a few different themes or topics that are shared in this month. For example, the month of May has Arson Awareness Week which was from May 2-8. Along with Arson Awareness week we have EMS Week, May 16^th-22^nd and also National Safe Boating Week/Campaign, which is from May 22^nd-28^th.

While Arson Awareness Week may have already passed us by that doesn’t mean people can’t get involved in any related activities surrounding this topic. I encourage anyone and everyone to try to get involved in any of these topics at the local or national level and I have provided some links to websites that will provide further information about how to get involved or if any activities are planned for your local area.

Arson Awareness Week

EMS Week 

National Safe Boating Campaign 

 

Ken Holland  

Just a Reminder

Just wanted to remind everyone that this week is Nurse Appreciation Week...so if you see a nurse let them know you appreciate them. Also this Sunday, May 9th is Mother's Day.

Have a great weekend!

Ken Holland

NFPA 921 ROC Meeting

NFPA 921 Guide to Fire and Explosion InvestigationsTechnical Committee is currently meeting this week in Indianapolis,IN to address Public Comments on the next edition of the document.  The Proposed changes in the next edition of the document by the Technical Committee included the following an updating of the following chapters, Safety, a rewrite of the Fire Cause Chapter, a rewrite of the Explosions Chapter, updating of the Fire and Explosion Deaths, and Injuries Chapter, an addition a section to the the Motor Vehicle Fires chapter of material on Agricultural Equipmentt and a section on Recreational Vehicles, Arewite of the Wildfire Investigations chapter.

A large number of Public Comments were received on the Committee Proposal changes on the Fire Cause Chapter, in particular Section 18.6 on the use of "Process of Elimination and the Scientific Method.  The results of the the ROC meeting and the Committee Ballot on these actions will be available in the Report on Comments August 27, 2010

Frank Florence