Fire Service Today

Holiday Lights

Well with Thanksgiving behind us it is time to look to the not so far off future. For those who celebrate it the next big holiday is Christmas and judging from some of the houses on my street, including my own, there is no shortage of exterior illumination, outside Christmas lights, decorating these homes. While this can add to the spirit of Christmas we need to make sure that what we do is done in a safe way so that it is truly and enjoyable Holiday Season.

So if your house looks like this….

 

Your outlets and extension cords should not look like this….

 

I really don’t know much about electricity, I leave that to the licensed electricians, but I do know that the above picture has the potential to be a very dangerous situation. That being said, I would hope that the displaying of and Christmas lights, inside and outside, is done in the safest manner possible so that everyone has a safe and joyful Holiday Season.

Now if anyone can tell me what movie the house picture is take from, well you get an “atta-boy” as it if probably one of my favorite movies. Also I would suggest checking out the updated Winter/Holiday Safety section of NFPA.org

Ken Holland

Happy Thanksgiving!

A lot of people talk about Thanksgiving as one of their favorite holidays.  It is a time to give thanks with our friends and family.  A special time when you don't have to worry about what you are buying someone or spending lots of money (well then again groceries are outrageously expensive).  It is also the top day for cooking fires.  Lets have fun with our families and friends this Thanksgiving while we remember to be fire safe!  Check out this NFPA Press Release on fire safety tips for Thanksgiving.

From our NFPA family to yours, Happy Thanksgiving!

Stacey Van Zandt

Receive a free Fire Protection Handbook on CD when you register for NFPA's Fire & Life Safety Conference in Orlando

Fifty education sessions in four tracks, speakers who work directly with NFPA codes, dynamic luncheon speakers, compelling post-conference seminars, and a few days in sunny Orlando. What more could you ask for, right? Well, we're sweetening the pot a little bit more.

Register today and you'll receive a free copy of NFPA's 20th edition Fire Protection Handbook® on CD - a $245 value! All registered attendees for this event will be able to pick up their CD at the conference registration desk at the Hilton in the Walt Disney World® Resort.

Conference sessions at our Fire & Life Safety Conference will be taught by NFPA staff and technical committee members who work directly with the codes. With four comprehensive tracks -- Building & Life Safety, Codes & Standards, Fire Suppression, and Detection & Alarm -- you can increase your understanding of the latest codes that relate to you. You'll also get unique and in-depth perspectives from our dynamic keynote luncheon speakers on emerging industry topics.

We're also offering a 2-day post-conference seminar (Dec. 16-17) focused on sprinkler hydraulics, and a 1-day seminar (Dec. 16) on fire protection concepts and analysis for property loss prevention.

So what's the Fire Protection Handbook all about? Pop this CD into your computer and you'll gain instant access to authoritative data on every aspect of fire protection: 3,500 pages of vital information written by 254 leading experts. It's all here: tables, graphs, illustrations, the latest research and proven strategies, plus 25 first-time chapters on timely topics such as premises security, protecting against extreme events, flammability hazard of materials, and strategies for occupant evacuation during emergencies.

So don't delay - register for the Orlando conference today and you'll soon have the power of NFPA's Fire Protection Handbook in your corner.

- Mike Hazell

Register Now for 2010 TSWG PPE Conference

The Technical Support Working Group (TSWG) and its Personnel Protection (PP) and Chemical, Biological, Radiological, and Nuclear Countermeasures (CBRNC) subgroups are hosting PPE 2010 to further the research and development of new and innovative technologies. TSWG conducts a national interagency effort to combat terrorism through research, development and prototyping.

This year, TSWG is partnering with the National Institute of Justice, the Department of Homeland Security, the National Personal Protective Technology Laboratory, and the National Fire Protection Association to highlight emerging technologies in the area of personal protective equipment. Vendors will display new technologies, and briefings and seminars will focus on standards and next-generation tools.

The conference runs from November 29 - December 3, in Orlando, so be sure to register soon!

Download the brochure below for complete conference details.

Dave Trebisacci

Download PPEFlyer_004

NFPA Research Foundation Project for Testing Fire Hose Friction Loss

The NFPA Research Foundation is testing friction loss for modern fire hose.  The background on this project is calculation of friction loss in fire hose is a common duty for fire fighters responsible for operating fire apparatus pumps (i.e. fire apparatus driver/operator, as defined by NFPA 1002).  Specifically, they have the critical task of delivering water at the proper flow rate and pressure to fire fighters controlling the fire hose nozzle and attempting to extinguish the fire.  Pressures and flow rates too low will be insufficient for fire control, while pressures and flow rates too high create dangerous conditions with handling the nozzle, burst hose and other hazards.   

Current baseline friction loss coefficients used to calculate fire hose pressure loss were derived using 50 year-old hose design technology.  Modern fire hose has substantially less friction loss and different performance characteristics than the hose on which these coefficients were originally based.  Calculating pressure loss in modern fire hose cannot be done with reasonable accuracy using currently recognized friction loss coefficients.  Pressures that are calculated with these current coefficients are typically higher than those which occur in practice In some cases this could result in elevated and potentially dangerous nozzle pressures.

The objective of this project will be to develop baseline friction loss coefficients for the types of fire hose commonly used by today’s fire service, and identify any additional performance characteristics that should be considered for friction loss calculations.  These baseline coefficients could be used as minimum performance requirements for NFPA 1961, Standard on Fire Hose.

Larry Stewart

Three-city tour benefits volunteer firefighters – and their vehicles – across Northeast

The National Volunteer Fire Council (NVFC) announces a nationwide initiative to spotlight and help vehicle owners who use their cars “for good” — with a car winterizing effort supporting volunteer firefighters serving communities across the United States.

According to a NVFC news alert, Prestone®, a leading producer of antifreeze/coolant, this week launched the “Own it for Good” campaign.  Through a partnership with the NVFC and volunteer fire departments in the Chicago, New York City, and Washington D.C. metropolitan areas, Prestone’s team of certified technicians — along with former NFL tight end-turned firefighter Erron Kinney — will lead the way to winterize as many volunteer firefighters’ vehicles as possible in one week’s time, from Nov. 16-20.

Having supported a number of efforts put on by the NVFC, Kinney and Prestone will embark on the three-city tour beginning on Nov. 16 in the New York City area, before traveling to the metropolitan areas of Chicago (Nov. 18) and Washington D.C. (Nov. 20). In each city the Prestone team will set-up at a local fire station, where volunteer firefighters from across the region will bring their personal vehicles to be winterized by a team of certified technicians. Additionally, Prestone will make a $15,000 donation to the NVFC as well as a $5,000 donation to each individual event-site fire station.

“In most instances, volunteer firefighters are the first people in the community to respond to fires or other types of disasters that occur in their area,” says Heather Schafer, Executive Director of the NVFC. “These first responders often come straight from their homes, relying on their personal vehicles to get them there safely. By partnering with Prestone and Mr. Kinney, we’re hoping to do a great thing for some very deserving volunteer firefighters.”

For more information or to RSVP for the event, contact Tom Febrey at tfebrey@nvfc.org. To learn more about how to become a volunteer firefighter in your area, call 1-800-FIRE-LINE or visit www.nvfc.org.

--Michele Steinberg

Reports Released

In the last few months there have been many reports released on many issues related to fire fighter safety issues. See the following links for a copy of each report.

A Multiphase Study on Firefighter Safety and Resource Deployment - Many fire departments across the nation are being challenged by budget crises, rising call volume, personnel and equipment shortages, security issues and the overall expectation to do more with less. These and other factors, all too often, have our responding crews encountering increasing line of duty risk of injury and death as they continue to work to reduce civilian injury and property loss. Even with the technological advances of the last decades, we have not yet been able to scientifically quantify our experiences to determine what staffing levels, asset configurations and response time frames are best when responding to various levels of fire or EMS events so that we minimize risk to the firefighters, paramedics and the public. We believe the time has come to change that. Get reports here.

Quantitative Evaluation of Fire and EMS - Mobilization Times - Comprehensive data on fire emergency and EMS call processing and turnout time is largely absent from the published literature. Operational benchmarks for alarm handling time and turnout time specified in the NFPA peer consensus standards 1221 and 1710, respectively, would be greatly enhanced with strong empirical validation. This study presents a clear statistical picture of actual recorded alarm handling times and turnout times for fire and EMS emergencies across a group of large fire departments. Additionally, the study identifies some significant factors that affect variation in alarm handling times and turnout times in those departments. These results provide an objective basis for further development of the relevant codes and standards as well as contributing critical information for fire chiefs and other government decision makers tasked with optimum deployment of emergency response facilities (ERFs) and emergency response units (ERUs). Get report here.

NIST Study on Charleston Furniture Store Fire Calls for National Safety Improvements - NIST’s team of experts traveled to Charleston to gather data within 36 hours of the Sofa Super Store fire. Using these data and other information collected in the following months (such as building design documents, records, plans, video and photographic data, radio transmissions, interviews with emergency responders, and informal discussions with store employees), the NIST study team developed its computer model to simulate and analyze the characteristics of the fire, including fire spread, smoke movement, tenability, and the operation of active and passive fire protection systems. Get report here.

Steven Sawyer 

NFPA Seminars Hit Home Run with Wildfire Hazard Assessment Course

Last week, NFPA Seminars offered "Assessing Wildfire Hazards in the Home Ignition Zone" for the first time at one of its Training Seminar Weeks in Denver. While the course, developed by NFPA's Firewise Communities program, has been offered dozens of times in the past few years, it has only recently been updated and refined for delivery as a formal NFPA Seminar. When I asked Pat Durland and Gary Marshall, the instructors for this offering, about how it went, they had this to say:

"It went very well. We had about 25 folks from CO, NM, MO, SD and WY, who were fire chiefs, inspectors, conservation/refuge districts, folks working on CWPPs, community planners, landscape architects, etc.  I scanned the evals and we got great marks. Participants indicated that this is valuable information that will assist them in dealing with WU fire losses and community assistance. Also indications that some participants are planning on reaching Firewise Communities/USA status in the future. -- Pat

People want this course, and I say "people" as the professionals we work with and the general population that either live or associated with the WUI.  I also believe the class is fast, interactive, informational and rewarding which leaves the student with a mission to change behaviors and motivation to take this information and do something with it." -- Gary

Participants in previous offerings of this course are quick to add their praise:

• After 30 years in the wildfire business this information has changed my thinking --North Carolina forestry specialist
• Finally, all this wildfire information makes sense! --Wildland/Urban Interface area resident
• This course makes you think!" --Wildland Fire professional
• The course is a must for all. It gets people started on the right track. The home ignition problem is complex and different each time --California wildland firefighter
• As a community coordinator it pulled a lot of information together for me and will assist me further in working with the residents in my community -- Alaskan community resident and Firewise advocate

Pat adds, "This is the best wildfire course I have ever taught as it empowers folks in understanding and taking action to reduce wildfire losses in their communities!"

So what are you waiting for? Check the NFPA Catalog for upcoming seminar dates and how to register. 

--Michele Steinberg