Fire Service Today

Today I Lost a Brother

I want to recognize Frank Florence as an individual that believed in his heart.  Frank was dedicated to the fire service and loved his career.  As a young man, Frank joined the Salt Lake City Fire Department with a single purpose, which was to serve.  Frank loved his career and worked through each of the various ranks until he ultimately became Chief of Department.  After serving a distinguished career in the public, he came to work at NFPA where he had a desire to continue giving and making the world a safer place.  In his new role as NFPA Staff Liaison he would ask me a lot of questions.  Over the years we formed a bond and had a close friendship.  I considered Frank my Brother as I considered fire fighters when I was on the fire department.  I knew Frank didn’t always let people into his personal life so I felt privileged to be considered his friend.  When Frank was asked a question, he never dodged the issue.  He gave you his opinion point blank, whether it was good or bad.  You never had to guess what he thought.  The fire service has lost a champion for their cause.  Frank dedicated his life to improve the quality of life for others.  Frank never turned his back no matter how bad things seemed, he was always there.  Now that he has passed I will miss his leadership, dedication, work ethic and most of all, his friendship.

Larry Stewart

Sad News Regarding Frank Florence

I write with a heavy heart that our good friend and colleague Frank Florence passed away Tuesday night. Frank was approaching his 12th anniversary as a Senior Fire Service Specialist with NFPA and had touched the lives of hundreds of people over those years. Prior to joining NFPA, he was a member of the Salt Lake City, Utah, Fire Department, serving with honor and retiring as Fire Chief. 

Our condolences go out to his wife Diane and their two sons Randy and Robert. 

As Ken Willette, PFP Division Manager says, "Frank you have answered your last alarm and now can rest in peace". 

For those of you who didn't know Frank, he had fire service in his blood. One of his main objectives in life was making the lives of firefighters safer so they could go home to their families and friends. For those of you who worked with Frank, you already knew this. 

If you knew Frank and would like to share any comments, we would love to see those comments and share them with Frank's family.

Another hard lesson learned this week....Live, love, and laugh....today...for there may not be a tomorrow.

Rest in Peace Frank.

Stacey Van Zandt

September 3 Deadline for Comments - Wildland/Rural Documents

Public comments on proposals for NFPA 1141 and 1142 are being accepted through September 3, 2010.The Report on Proposals (ROP) has been published for these two standards under the purview of the NFPA Technical Comittee on Forest & Rural Fire Protection. NFPA 1141, Standard for Fire Protection Infrastructure for Land Development in Suburban and Rural Areas, and NFPA 1142, Standard on Water Supplies for Suburban and Rural Fire Fighting are both in the Annual 2011 cycle with a new edition date of 2012.

Both documents cover areas that may be "off the grid" with regard to municipal water supply for firefighting. 1141 provides local authorities with the ability to require fire protection infrastructure in areas that may have inadequate access and other issues that make fire response challenging. 1142 has a wealth of information related to alternative water supplies for areas without municipal water. The problem of water supply is still significant in rural areas in the U.S. (See this story from Vermont for one example).

If you haven't visited NFPA's new list of codes and standards yet, use the comments period for documents in cycle to give it a shot. You can even submit formal comments for documents online!

--Michele Steinberg

NFPA 1451 Considering Including Ambulance Vehicles to Their Document

The Technical Committee for Ambulance placed a request to the Fire Service Training Committee to include ambulance vehicles as part of NFPA 1451, Standard for a Fire Service Vehicle Operations Training Program.  The Fire Service Training Committee agreed to the request and will be slipping cycle with their document to address issues that are specific to safe ambulance operation.  A task group made up from both Ambulance and Fire Service Training committee members will work together to develop proposals for the next edition.

Larry Stewart

A Million for Mitigation

These days, when you hear about a city getting a million-dollar grant, you figure it must be roads, bridges, or similar infrastructure upgrades. The Colorado Springs Fire Department has successfully won a grant from FEMA and the Colorado Division of Emergency Management to conduct wildfire mitigation by removing brush and grasses from hundreds of acres in its significantly high risk wildland/urban interface. Colorado Springs FD leads the way, but the city is also home to numerous active citizens who have worked hard to reduce risk. Several of their neighborhoods are recognized Firewise Communities/USA sites.

What I enjoyed reading was the statement that the "...city has received similar grants four out of the last five year...because citizens here have been willing to do their share of the mitigation work."  Any grant administrator worth her or his salt will be looking to see if the applicant is organized, has identified risk, and has made a commitment to start addressing the problem independently. In Colorado Springs, using the Firewise process with residents is helping pay off in leverage for much-needed safety funding.

Read more about this story here.

--Michele Steinberg

Annual Firefighter Fatality Report reveals sharp drop in number of fatalities in 2009

NFPA report shines light on cardiac care needed for on-the-job firefighters

For the first time in three years, the number of on-the-job firefighter deaths in the United States has dropped below 100. The National Fire Protection Association’s (NFPA) annual Firefighter Fatality Report,  shows a sharp drop in the number of fatalities in 2009. Eighty-two firefighters were killed in the line of duty last year, substantially fewer than the 10-year average of 98 and down even more from the 105 killed in 2008. This is the lowest annual total since NFPA recorded 79 deaths in 1993 and the third lowest total since NFPA began this study in 1977.

“While a drop over one year certainly isn’t enough to show a trend, it is definitely encouraging to see the number of firefighter fatalities drop well below that 10-year average,” said Rita Fahy, NFPA’s manager of fire databases and systems. “We are hopeful that we will continue to see fewer and fewer firefighter fatalities over the next 10 years.”

Each year, NFPA collects data on all firefighter fatalities in the U.S. that resulted from injuries or illnesses that occurred while the victims were on-duty. The report is a compelling picture of the risks to the nation’s firefighters.

As in most years, the number one cause of on-duty firefighter fatalities was sudden cardiac death. While the number of such deaths has been trending downwards since the late 1970s, sudden cardiac death still accounted for 39 percent of the on-duty deaths in the last five years, and 42 percent in 2009 alone, underscoring the need for wellness-fitness programs and health screenings for firefighters across the nation.

Other key findings in the report include: 

• There were six deaths at five intentionally-set fires in 2009. From 2000 through 2009, 60 firefighters (6.1 percent of all on-duty deaths) died in connection with intentionally-set fires.  The number of these deaths annually has been dropping since 1985.
• There were nine deaths in crashes of road vehicles in 2009, a significant decline in the category that regularly accounts for the second largest share of deaths. This is the lowest total since 1983.
• Over the past 10 years, 29 firefighter deaths have resulted from false calls, including malicious false alarms and alarm malfunctions.
• Of the 82 firefighters who died while on duty, 41 were volunteer firefighters, 31 were career firefighters, while the remaining were employees or contractors of federal and local land management agencies or private fire safety crews.

The NFPA report examines the types of duties associated with firefighter deaths, the cause and nature of fatal injuries to firefighters and the ages of the firefighters who died.  The report highlights deaths in intentionally-set fires and in motor vehicle-related incidents.  The study also presents summaries of individual incidents that illustrate important problems or concerns in firefighter safety. The full report is available at NFPA's website.

Additions information on reducing fire fighter deaths and injuries can be found in NFPA 1500.

Steven Sawyer

Sharing Wildfire Knowledge Down Under

I recently participated in a week-long bushfire/wildfire workshop in Australia. Co-sponsored by the US Department of Homeland Security and the Australian Bushfire Cooperative Research Center (aka Bushfire CRC), the workshop was also coordinated with the Australasian Fire and Emergencies Service Authorities Council (AFAC), the Australian departments of Prime Minister and Cabinet and the Attorney General, and the California Polytechnic University in San Luis Obispo, California. CalPoly hosted an earlier DHS-sponsored US wildfire research colloquium. Approximately 40 participants in the workshop included a variety of researchers, practitioners, and agency staff from the US, Australia and New Zealand.

Like the US, the Australasian region is encountering an increasing level of risk and loss associated with wildfires, particularly in wildland/urban interface areas.  The aim of the workshop was to share knowledge regarding the management of fire risk for people, assets and environment at the interface. Coordinators also hoped to develop lasting networks within research communities to facilitate this goal, to identify collaborative research areas, and to develop proposed joint project areas for possible future bilateral investment.

Outcomes of the workshop included a short list of potential collaborative research projects that could be funded by DHS or other parties, and the beginnings of a productive partnership on wildfire safety between the US and the Australasian region.

I’ve posted some photos of tours the group took in Victoria and Canberra to review major wildfire events in 2009 and 2003 that caused home loss and fatalities.

--Michele Steinberg

 

HFSC,NFPA & IAFC Team Up To Recoginize Local Residential Sprinkler Efforts

Fire sprinkler advocacy groups partner with IAFC to honor fire chief for "Bringing Safety Home"

The nonprofit Home Fire Sprinkler Coalition (HFSC) and NFPA’s Fire Sprinkler Initiative have teamed up with the International Association of Fire Chiefs (IAFC) to recognize outstanding local efforts to increase the installation of residential fire sprinkler systems.

The award, to be presented by IAFC’s Fire and Life Safety Section at Fire Rescue International in Chicago this August, was designed to honor a fire chief who uses the HFSC's educational materials and NFPA’s FireSprinklerInitiative.org resources to educate and ensure that decision-makers have information to upgrade or pass new residential fire sprinkler legislation at the local level.

Note: you must be a member of IAFC to nominate a fire chief for this award. See more details and download a nomination form. Hurry! Nominations are due by July 23, 2010.

Ken Willette

You Never Know What You Will Learn While On Vacation.

So when I first began to write this blog I was sitting on a beach in West Palm Beach on vacation with my family and for whatever reason every time I went to post it up my computer locked up. I wonder if it was telling me something.

Ok so my family and I were at an attraction in Florida enjoying everything that they had to offer us, and I am not going to say what attraction we were at but it did not have anything to do with a mouse. I was walking past one of the buildings at the park and I noticed this symbol:

 

Now at work we had received a question a few months ago what this symbol had meant. Now I don’t know everything and will be the first to admit when I don’t know something, or if I have made a mistake. I didn’t know the answer then and I vaguely recall what the answer was but wasn’t 100 percent sure. So being nosy, or more curious than anything, I figured I would ask one of the employees if they knew what it meant. I had asked several employees what it meant and the ones I had asked had no idea what the symbol meant but stated they just put them up about two weeks ago. I finally asked this one employee who also did not know what they meant but wasn’t satisfied with not knowing, especially since someone had asked her. So she got on the phone and made several calls until she got the answer. Now from what she told me the person that knew what the answer was ended up being someone in upper management and not a first line supervisor.

She proceeded to tell me that the symbol had to do with the type of construction of the building and that in this case the roof was of lightweight construction and that this was for the fire department or their fire brigade should the structure be on fire.  Honestly I knew it had something to do with that but wasn’t not really sure. So after conferring with my co-workers this answer was pretty much correct.  I then identified myself to her and who I worked for just in case this person in upper management inquired to this employee why this question was asked.

I am thankful that this employee got the answer for me and did not settle for just an “I don’t know, they didn’t tell us” and you never know what you will learn while on vacation.

Now if anyone has any advice that I can give to a “friend” about how to get beach sand out of a laptop and a blackberry they would greatly appreciate it.

 

Ken Holland

NFPA issues safety alert regarding antifreeze in residential sprinklers

Fatal fire raises concern about antifreeze

July 6, 2010 – The National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) today issued a safety alert recommending that residential fire sprinkler systems containing antifreeze should be drained and the antifreeze replaced with water. The alert follows a research study and an initial set of fire tests conducted after a fire incident raised concerns about antifreeze solutions in residential sprinkler systems. The incident involved a grease fire in a kitchen where a sprinkler with a high concentration of antifreeze deployed. The fire resulted in a single fatality and serious injury to another person.

“Fire sprinklers are one of the most effective ways to save lives and property from fire,” said James M. Shannon, president of NFPA. “Until we can provide further information based on additional research that is currently underway, we are urging the public to continue the use of sprinklers but to follow our interim safety guidelines by removing antifreeze if it is in their sprinkler systems.

According to NFPA, the home is the place where most fire fatalities occur, and when home sprinklers are present, the risk of dying in a home fire decreases by 83%.

Shannon said based on testing conducted, 70/30% glycerin and 60/40% propylene glycol antifreeze may provide an unacceptable risk of harm to occupants in certain types of fire scenarios, in particular kitchen grease fires. There were successful tests where kitchen grease fires were extinguished or contained with a 50/50% glycerin solution but it was felt there should be additional testing to more fully understand if there is a risk associated with 50/50% glycerin solution.

NFPA offers the following interim guidance on residential sprinklers

Fire sprinklers are extremely effective fire protection devices, significantly reducing deaths, injuries and property loss from fire.

These systems should not be disconnected.

Until the results of further testing on antifreeze are available, NFPA recommends the following:

• If you have, or are responsible for, a residential occupancy with a fire sprinkler system, contact a sprinkler contractor to check and see if there is antifreeze in the system.
• If there is antifreeze in the system, as an interim measure, drain the system and replace it with water only. Problems associated with freezing of sprinkler pipes can be mitigated by alternative measures such as insulation. NFPA hopes to provide further guidance based on additional testing before the winter freezing months.
• If you are putting in a new residential sprinkler system, design and install a system that does not require antifreeze.

“We are providing this safety alert as interim guidance based on the information we have right now,” said Shannon. “As soon as more information is available, we will update the public.”

NFPA also reminded the public about basic fire safety tips for kitchen fires.
All consumers should take important fire safety precautions regarding kitchen fires.

• Have and maintain smoke alarms in your home.
• Pay attention when you are cooking.
• Should you have a grease fire on your stovetop, smother the fire by sliding a lid over the pan and turn off the stovetop. Leave the pan covered until the pan cools completely.
• Never put water on a grease fire or use a fire extinguisher on a grease fire.
• Never attempt to carry a flaming pan across the kitchen.

The NFPA Safety Alert Regarding Antifreeze in Residential Sprinklers and more information on this topic can be found at www.nfpa.org/antifreeze.

 

Steven Sawyer