morning lineup firegeezer on 16 Sep 2007 07:27 am
Morning Lineup - September 16
Hiding In The Smoke - part 2
Yesterday we preached to the choir (HERE) about the undesirability of continuing the practice of building “plastic & glue” housing. And I pointed out that the influence of the building industry on local and state politicians is so strong that the legislators, in some cases, are already starting to divert attention away from the heart of the problem. Hiding it away in the smoke, if you will.
The builders and their mouthpieces have started a campaign of “reacting to” and “working with” the public to correct the problem by telling us that what is making everything so bad is improper landscaping and flammable soffits, both cheap to correct. Now I’ll agree that correcting the soffit problem by using better materials will be a step in the right direction, but it is such a small part of the needed solution. Take for example the testing that the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) did three years ago on the effects of vinyl siding on closely-built houses. Read this quote from their preliminary report at least twice so that you grasp what they are saying:
Each experiment conducted at NIST involved two 16-foot structures clad in vinyl siding that simulated neighboring houses. The outside walls for each structure included windows. In the July 19 test, typical home furnishings were ignited in one “home” and the fire spread was recorded, along with heat release rates and other data. In less than five minutes, flames shattered the window of the home with the original fire, spread across the gap, and ignited the exterior of the second structure.
So what can we, the fire and rescue community, do about it? It’s not very productive to take our opinions and suggestions directly to the politicians. They don’t want to listen to us. Most of them don’t even like us very much, despite all those public praises and gladhanding that pols do. We eat up a big chunk of the budget that they would rather use for vote-buying schemes and other social programs like soccer fields and bicycle trails.
It is the Firegeezer’s belief that we need to take this education program directly to the citizens. The voters are the only people who the politicians really listen to. Unfortunately, some of the legislators respond first to the lobbying groups, but we can only do so much. But fire and rescue people have a lot of conduits directly to the voters that we can, and should, utilize.
Coming up soon will the the annual Fire Prevention Week open house programs. That is our chance to talk directly to people that we never see the rest of the year. Some communities have public access channels on their cable tv systems, an ideal spot for a union local to jump into.
When I was a station officer I was constantly being called upon to give talks to civic groups and service organizations. Today I would talk to them about Plastic & Glue housing. Of course, I wouldn’t tell them that they are already living in death-traps. That just closes their minds to what we want….change. I would explain to them why these big fires have been happening and why plywood floor joists have turned basement fires into total destruction, often before the 1st engine even arrives on the scene. Then I would point out to them that even if they live in a nice, solid brick home, their insurance may still be going up. Of course, I’d finish off with the practical solutions that we want, primarily changes in the building codes and let them know which changes would truly be effective, such as sufficient spacing between homes and a return to real fire walls in row houses. You know, the things that the builders are trying to hide in the smoke.
All right, that’s enough for now. Let’s get the equipment checked out and I’ll see you at the coffee table.
