"The mission will not stop for hurt feelings. The most common injury in the fire service is hurt feelings. Too often it isn’t even the act of hurting feelings but the fear that something could hurt feelings that delays a program, decision or action. You must temper yourself and your reactions to critique and criticism if you expect others to respond objectively in the name of progress." – - Brian Brush
Join John and Rhett for a live Firefighter Netcast Show on Wednesday, June 1, 2011 at 9 pm Eastern. This week’s featured guest, Brian Brush, is a Lieutenant and instructor in the Denver metropolitan area for a department that serves 110 square miles, and nearly 300,000 residents.
Lt. Brush will be discussing his take on training, his involvement with the National Fallen Firefighters Foundation 9/11 Memorial Stair Climb events, and his recent blogging gig at FireServiceWarrior.com.
CLICK HERE for the direct link to the netcast and to participate by either call-in or messaging.
THERE IS A NEW BOOK DUE TO BE RELEASED this Wednesday, June 1. Interestingly titled The Practical Pyromaniac, it is sub-titled, Build Fire Tornados, One-Candlepower Engines, Great Balls of Fire and More Incendiary Devices.
It's not meant to be an underground how-to subversive manual, but instead is a history of the discoveries and harnessing of fiery objects and explosive materials. The official book description reads:
Combining science, history, and DIY pyrotechnics, this book for the workbench warrior explains humankind’s most useful and paradoxical tool: fire. William Gurstelle, author of the bestselling Backyard Ballistics, presents 25 projects with instructions, diagrams, photos, and links to video demonstrations that enable people of all ages to explore and safely play with fire.
From Franklin’s stove to Diesel’s engine, explosive and fascinating tales are told of the great pyromaniacs who scientifically revealed the mysteries of fire such as "Gunpowder" Joseph Priestly, who discovered oxygen; Antoine Lavoisier, the father of chemistry; and Humphrey Davy, whose chemical discoveries and fiery inventions saved thousands of lives.
By following the directions inside, the curious can replicate these breakthrough scientists’ experiments and inventions from the simply fascinating one-candlepower engine to the nearly magical fire piston and an incredible tornado of fire.
Now what teenager is going to be able to resist picking up a reasonably-priced (under $11) volume that allows you to "explore and safely play with fire"? With this DIY manual hitting the streets soon, you know it's just a matter of time before some adolescent decides to "kick it up a notch" and goes outside the recommended recipe to get the FRD involved. So we should all be thinking of buying this manual for us as well. We need to know what the other side is up to. And besides…. I want to be able to build "an incredible tornado of fire" myself.
CLICK HERE to read about this book and, hopefully, order one for yourself.
THE FIRE BRIGADES OF PESARO AND URBINO in Italy met with some other local agencies at the picturesque Gradara Castle on Saturday May 21.
Castle Gradara
The event, organized by the Department of Civil Protection of the Marche Region, was attended, as well as the Fire Department, the State Forestry Corps, volunteers from the city of Legambiente who specialize in securing of works of art, the Red Cross, local volunteers of Civil Defence and all the staff of the castle who took the opportunity to test their emergency plan.
All photos via Nazionale Vigili del Fuoco
The simulation was a fire in the "Sala dei Putti" resulting in evacuation of all visitors present, the rescue of a person and the safe removal of some works of art.
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Firefighters have managed to "extinguish" the fire and, with the assistance of SAF (the high angle rescue team), rescued a person with a litter from one of the windows of the castle.
Then, with the installation of a Telfer (a rope-and-pulley system … ed.), transfered to the outside a few representative works of art that were then made safe by the volunteer art conservators of Legambiente.
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The National Vigili del Fuoco website has the STORY.
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The Castle Gradara is a medieval castle that is now a "living history" museum and a popular tourist attraction. You can learn more about it their English language WEBSITE HERE and view this promotional video:
Note: Our correspondent in Croatia, Nenad Ilisic prepared this report. Please pardon the language barrier, but we think he does well.
Field Exercise "Protection 2011", organized by the State Administration for Protection and Rescue – PUZS of Rijeka, Primorje-Gorski Kotar County and the City of Rijeka, was held on Saturday, 30 April 2011. in Rijeka, in order to verify readiness and capability of operating and rescue forces to carry out tasks in the domain of their specialty in the event of an earthquake.
All photos via Duzs
29th April 2011. At 08:57 pm, an earthquake of magnitude 6.9 on the Richter scale, hit the wider area of the city of Rijeka. Its consequences are disastrous, and najoštećenije area of Primorje-Gorski Kotar County, the eastern part of town. Activated all the regular local government task forces that began with the operational activities in accordance with the competencies. Leaders of local authorities have ordered the prompt mobilization of additional task forces in the protection and rescue system. Staffs of protection and rescue the earthquake-affected local authorities have made an initial assessment of the situation and assess the extent of disaster such that the local capacity to help is not sufficient and, in order to adequately and efficiently handle the situation, reported the same county HQ protection and rescue.
County HQ ZiS decided to activate their own regular operational capacity, mobilize reserve operating power and require urgent additional assistance to the national level, particularly in the area of mobilization of the operational strength and capacity that exist in the River Zone.
DUZS received the request for the emergency mobilization of specialized units of Civil Protection (ISP CZ) with the RH zone of Rijeka and the director DUZS and issued an order to mobilize them.
For immediate operational forces on the ground made the division of local governments affected by the earthquake in the sectors. For each sector is determined by the sector commander directly responsible CZ PGC Command, which supported ŽC 112 sends requests to the system capacity ZiS current operations and coordinate all forces in the sector.
Due to the large number of collapsed apartment buildings it is necessary to ensure the capacity to care for the population in a safe area. Headquarters ZiS COUNTY ordered the establishment of camps for the evacuated population, and the same access as members of the Red Cross and the CZ unit with logistics capabilities. To manage all the processes in the camps are camp commanders who are directly responsible to the Command CZ PGC.
Prompt reaction by the regular forces were deployed in rescue operations, firefighters, police, ambulance, mountain rescue and the Red Cross and about 250 volunteers, members of Civil Protection. Nearly 400 rescue workers put out the fires and pulled out injured citizens from damaged buildings.
For the purposes of the exercise, beyond the campus, the area is divided into three sectors. In the sector of Alpha located in the southern part of campus have been carried out rescue operations, while in the sectors of Bravo and Charlie, a simulated building security zones, or accommodations for the evacuation of the population that is due to the earthquake had to leave their homes. There were troops of Civil Defense and Red Cross raised more than 120 tents to accommodate several thousand people, which was also one of the highlights of the exercise.
This video report from Dnevnic TV shows some of the evolutions that were conducted:
Agencies participating in the drill:
* Intervention by members of specialist units for civil protection RH salvage from the wreckage;
* members of the Specialist units CZ PGC rescue from the ruins;
* members of the Specialist units CZ Rijeka City to rescue from the ruins;
* Intervention by members of specialist units for civil protection RH logistics;
* members of the Specialist units CZ PGC logistics;
* unit members CZ general purpose of the City of Rijeka;
* Members of the Fire Department City of Rijeka;
* members of the Croatian Mountain Rescue Service Stations River;
* Members of the Police Department Administration Protueksplozijskog PG;
* Members of the Institute of Emergency Medicine Primorje-Gorski Kotar Opatija and Health Center;
* members of the Red Cross Society County of Primorje-Gorski Kotar County, the City of society CK Rijeka, Opatija, Krk and Delnice.
* staff businesses TTS-team24.
Duzs agency has the story and a 31-image photo gallery HERE.
Fireball notes: I met Nenad Illisic on the website FirefighterNation. At my request he explained for us how the Croatian Fire Service is organized and a little bit about a helicopter training class he and his crew recently participated in. Thanks, Nenad.
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My name is Nenad Ilisic and I am a firefighter from the small Croatian city of Pula, which is situated in the north of Croatia on the peninsula of Istra.
I started as a regular firefighter, during my work I studied, and I have a diploma of a safety engineer. Now I am a chief of a working shift (one of four), with 15 men.
Croatian firefighting is organized in 5 areas:
- Professional FF –organized in public fire brigade (Javna Vatrogasna Postrojba –JVP)
- Volunteers –organized in volunteer departments (Dobrovoljno Vatrogasno Društvo –DVD)
- Industrial –professional or volunteer
- State intervention units –Državne Intervencijske Postrojbe (DIP)
- Air forces –ministry of defence
Since firefighting and fire protection are questions of state interest, they are partialy financed by the government (approximately 2/3), and the rest comes from the local comunity (1/3 regional and local). Only the Public Fire Brigades are financed this way. Volunteers are financed only by their local comunity.
As we have 112 call number for emergency calls (192- police, 193 –firefighters) which is a part of the State Protection and Rescue Bureau (Državna Uprava za Zaštitu i Spašavanje –DUZS), all FF's are part of this organization. Firefighters and other protection and rescue units work in their area of responsability, but if there is a necessity they can, and must (if the order is given) intervene in any part of Croatia.
State Intervention Units (DIP) are small units trained and equipped to intervene in any type of natural disaster (fires, earthquakes, floods, international help, etc). One part are instructors and they are employes of DUZS. One part are FF's from other fire brigades which are filling DIP's during the summer season, mostly from the continent. Third part are Firefighters from fire brigades on the Croatian part of Adriatic coast, that work in their area of duty. The Croatian coast is a mountainous slope with low Mediteranian vegetaton and forests. More than 1200 inhabitated and non inhabitated islands are along the 5800-km=long shore.
In the summer fire season DIP teams can be quickly moved from one point to another by any means of transportation (land, sea, air). The necessary equpment is stored by the fire brigades and it can be also quickly transported.
Each year DUSZ instructors check DIP team readiness. Only physically and mentally healthy firefighters, younger than age 45 years can be part of DIP. About 1500 Firefighters from all the country will pass this regular exercise. This year (2011) the annual excercise for my region was on a sport airfield Campanoz near Pula. About 70 firefighters from regional Fire Brigades participated in this excersise. We were divided into four groups of 17-18 FF's each. In each group there must be two people in charge. The first is on the door of the helicopter, holding ladder for enter and checking that all members are in, then entering last and exiting first. Second in charge enters first, exits last and check that all are in and all equpment is in position.
The excersise consisted from:
On ground part
- Theoretical part –helicopter Mi-8 MTV-1, safety tips and introduction from helicopter crew and DUZS instructors
- Entering, taking position, exiting –engines off
- Entering, taking position, big rope descending –engines off
- Entering, taking position, flying, big rope descending from 4-5 m height
- Entering, taking position, flying, big rope descending from 12-15 m height
- Signaling to helicopter crew where to land equipment (water tank with cca 1250 l), releasing and connecting the water tank called ''pear'' to steel cable, signaling to helicopter to go up from hovering position, and transport the ''pear''.
Connecting the "pear"
Although all firefighters make jokes and smile for the camera, they took their role very seriously. This year we had two FF's stuck on the big rope, due their boots catching on the rope. They didn't panic, but waited on the rope until the helicopter lowered enough so they could be released. Inside the helicopter during the flight, we all stay calm because the helicopter is sensitive to any change of balance. The exit and descending is very disciplined, we follow the crew signals. No touching of steel cable or the helicopter before landing is allowed due to the static electricity. At the end all participants were satisfied with the performance.
This video taken during the training shows some of the evolutions
Tonight (Wednesday) the Firefighter Netcast family grows once again as John and Rhett welcome the newest member of the Firefighter Netcast family, Lieutenant David LeBlanc, from East Harwich, Massachusetts.
His new program is called “Taking Up”- reflections on the right, the wrong, and the why. In each program, Dave will facilitate commentary about today’s Fire Service, training and techniques. We’ll be focusing on keeping our members safe while adhering to the principals of our profession.
Dave is not a stranger to Firefighter Netcast, having been a contributor and guest several times over the last year. Indeed, he has made a great impression on us all. He is also a contributor to Backstep Firefighter over at Fire EMS Blogs as well as many other sites.
Through his writings and appearances on the show, one thing becomes glaringly clear: Dave LeBlanc is passionate about the fire service. He is never afraid to voice his opinion, yet can always be counted on to respect those who differ with him.
The Only Bridge in the World With This Construction Design
On 25 and 31 March , the Fire Command Terni and Perugia in Italy held a joint training exercise at the new arch bridge over the Nera Valley.
Le Strade photo
Firefighters trained in high-angle rescue techniques carried out a simulated rescue of injured workers suspended on the arches of the bridge with rope maneuvers and the use of rescue stretcher.
Training photos via Vigili del Fuoco
Firefighters have also carried out a survey inside the metal "pipes" that are the basic structure of the bridge. There is a system of ladders inside the pipes for workers to use in maintenance of the bridge. Members of the engineering staff for the bridge participated in the training exercise also.
The bridge was opened in December 2009 and connects two tunnels on each side of the valley. From a website that explains the bridge:
The arches are made from a pair of steel pipes with a diameter of two meters entirely passable inside them to allow the inspection and future maintenance work. The main span of approximately 170 meters crosses in one span the entire valley, while the two semi-arches anchor it to the rock sides. The road deck, which extends for about 300 meters, is located at an altitude of about 70 meters above the ground.
The Vigili del Fuoco has a report on the drill HERE.
The Vigili also has a photo gallery HERE and HERE.
Tonight (Wednesday) is another episode of Stop, Drop, and Roll with the Punches with host Chief Billy Hayes. A Conversation with the Clarks about Prevention with guests Dr. Burton Clark, EFO, CFO and his wife Carolyn Smith-Clark, MA.
Carolyn and Burt have been in the fire service over 40 years. Both have worked at the local, state, national and international levels in urban, suburban, and rural jurisdictions. Their experience includes volunteer, career, and combination departments. They have backgrounds in operations, prevention, education, training, and administration. Carolyn has taught leadership, prevention, and training in all 50 states. Burt has lectured, published, taught and consulted on executive development, research, firefighter safety, testing, and emergency management. He has served on 10 doctoral dissertation committees. Burt and Carolyn’s academic backgrounds include administration, fire science, education, and psychology. They have 6 children and 14 grandchildren.
THE FIREFIGHTERS OF QUIMPER, Finistere, France had a unique training / walk-through drill on Monday. They held a fire drill at the Cathedral of Saint Corentin, a massive structure of stone filled with hidden passages that is 600 years old.
photos via Ouest France
Their purpose was to check the emergency facilities of the cathedral and test their own firefighter warning system.
The drill included a walk-through to get all the FF’s familiar with the complicated building so that they would be able to locate a firefighter in distress.
Firefighter seen at far right in photo gets acquainted with
the limited accessability of the parapet walk.
Join the Quimper firefighters by taking a virtual walk-through in the nave of the cathedral. Simply click on THIS LINK and when you arrive at the page, scroll down to where you see the orange printing that says visiter la cathédrale saint corentin de quimper. Clicking on that link will take you to the nave and these controls:
The row of buttons across the bottom will give you the views from that location, then when you are ready to move, go to that drawing you see on the right and click on one of the green dots to move to that location.
Sorry, but they won’t let us into the secret passages. But you will still enjoy it.
Strip shopping centers are everywhere! From small towns to large cities, strip shopping centers are found in virtually all communities. I would like to look at them in a series of articles and one of the main reasons for this is that strip shopping centers have been a notorious killer of firefighters. Knowing what the inherent dangers are and pre-planning these structures will go a long way to helping keep us safe.
The history of firefighters and strip shopping centers has shown that we are very susceptible to getting hurt in these types of occupancies. We need to remember past events and learn from them or we are doomed to relive them. Looking back, I cannot think of a more devastating fire than the 23rd Street Fire that occurred in New York. On October 17, 1966, units from the FDNY were engaged in fighting a fire in a taxpayer in Manhattan when the floor gave way killing 12 members of the department. This was the most deadly fire for New York firefighters up to 9/11. Moving ahead, we go to Chesapeake, Virginia, March 18, 1996. Units from the CFD were dispatched to a fire in a strip shopping center and they lost two firefighters. These are just two examples, but we need to learn from these and make sure we adjust our actions.
6 East 23 Street
What is this main issue? I think that most fire departments deal with fires in residential structures most of the time, so that is where we are most proficient. While we all have these strip malls in our areas of responsibility, we do not have the experience in fighting fires in them. So what do we do? Well, we fall back on our experience and knowledge and try to fight fires in strip shopping centers like those that we do in residential structures, and most of the time it works. Unfortunately, these are not residential structures and they do not behave like them. Most strip shopping centers carry a much higher fire load than residential structures, and once the fire gains a significant headway our tried and true 1-¾” hose lines cannot compensate for that fire load and that rate of heat release. I feel very strongly that any fire in a strip shopping center should be attacked with a 2-½” line, no questions asked. If we lead off with the larger line we have the ability to keep reach and penetrate the fire. If not, we have a great line to lead us out of the building. Think of it, the 2-½” has a lot of punch and knockdown power so we are operating from a position of strength.
Size up….yes we need to get a good size up of the structure. This is one time that we have the ability to come into a place, look at it before the fire, and really make an impact. Get out, inspect these buildings find out what the roof looks like, are there any hidden areas, and is there a sprinkler system? All these questions can be answered before the alarm and should be captured in pre-plan information. When we arrive on the scene, we should have at the very least a working knowledge of the building. These structures do not lend themselves to easy size up, it takes coordination between units to get a good size up completed and initiate operations. I worked in a system where we had developed a very good standard for addressing fires in strip shopping centers and I think having a plan in place helps dramatically. The time to develop an SOP, SOG, or manual for fighting fires in strip shopping centers is before the fire, so please take some time learn from others, both good and bad outcomes and make a plan.
IN SEVERAL EUROPEAN COUNTRIES, INCLUDING FRANCE, the search dog teams are a function of the fire department. My own home region of Rhone has 15 search dog teams and they are tested annually at a regional meeting.
Le Progress
The dogs are raised and trained by the firefighters themselves, taking the dog as a puppy and giving them 18 months of careful training while the dog lives at the FF’s home. When they reach 2 years old they are ready to work for searches for both lost people and people who are buried under collapsed buildings or cave-ins, etc. Sometimes they are used to round up unusual animals that have escaped such as monkees, crocodiles, and one time a caribou. The Rhone region responds to about 160 calls annually for the search dog teams.
These photos were taken at this year’s mandatory exercise where they are required to show their ability to find lost people and discover trapped or buried victims.
Le Progres
“We teach them to detect the source of human scent, because we do not know who will be under the rubble,” said Captain Eric Paganon, search team advisor. In the field demonstration, before launching his dog, the trainer tries to get the maximum information about the person sought, the context of the disappearance, the excavated area. Then he approaches from up-wind so that the dog can be sent in the direction of this invisible body odor that only he can detect. When he reaches his goal, he sits and barks.
Europe’s Most Technologically-Advanced USAR Training Facility
THE HEAD OF THE NATIONAL FIRE DEPARTMENT OF ITALY (Vigili del Fuoco), Prefect Francesco Paolo Tronca paid an official visit to the Urban Search and Rescue training facility in Pisa on February 19.
All photos from Vigili del Fuoco
While there, he observed a search and rescue evolution performed by one of the USAR teams in coordination with the Italian Red Cross, the Emergency Physicians group, and a team of search dogs.
The Pisa training ground is reputed to be the most technically-advanced such facility in Europe with specially-constructed debris fields to simulate – and monitor – different types of building collapse.
The Vigili del Fuoco has a photo gallery HERE and HERE.
(McMansions Part 1 is HERE)
(McMansions Part 2 is HERE)
Chief Glenn Gaines, who is the Acting Director of the United States Fire Administration last week put something out on Facebook that I thought was very interesting. In his short posting on Facebook, he opened up discussion on the use of 1 ¾” handline, especially looking at the current fire situation. I thought that this was an excellent point and one that allows me to make a great segue into this week’s discussion. Due to the heat release potentials in today’s households and structures, do we need to rethink the initial handline? I think there is a lot of validity to this thought and I think that we need to re-evaluate our tactics…
The size up, nothing in the fire service is more critical than a good size up and maintaining situational awareness after that size up. As was discussed in the last article it is very important for the first in officer to make a lap of the structure, especially McMansions. Due to the size and the potential fire load in these structures, the officer needs to capture as much information as possible. From the size up, we develop our strategy and tactics to handle the fire.
One thing I think we need to caution folks on is choosing the right hose line for the fire. Now this one is up for discussion and I do not have the crystal ball answer. I have pulled the 1 ¾” line and never had a problem with it but there have been instances where you can be overwhelmed. The fire that occurred in Prince William County, VA and took the life of Technician Kyle Wilson is a case in point. The troops from PW tried to get a 2 ½” line into the house, but because of the severe wind conditions, they were not successful. This was a rare situation and I think most of the time the 2 ½” line is one of the trump cards we bring to the game, but unfortunately, in this instance they were overwhelmed.
Another issue is the fire loading. We have been brought up with the time temperature curve and have based a great deal of our decision-making on that tried and true instrument. Do not forget that when we are talking about wood products we are talking about 8,000 BTUs per pound; with petroleum products, we have the potential of 16,000 BTUs per pound. I encourage everyone to look at the work that NIST is doing in their fire modeling and look at the significant fire development that occurs with modern furnishings. The rapid development of fire in furnishings made from petroleum-based products is “incredible”. These fires and their resulting flashover are explosive and even with handlines in place firefighters are being injured and killed. So once again, I think that we must take the time and consider a more aggressive move towards handline advancement in these structures to ensure that we have sufficient knockdown capability and sufficient holding power in case we need to get out of the structure.
Along with proper selection of handlines, we also need to be careful with ventilation. Gone are the days when the truck company made a lap and took out every available window. Careful consideration needs to be given as to what will happen when we open up the structure and we need to think more about channeling the fire and products of combustion. One of the issues that I saw that came out of Charleston, and the Sofa Store fire was the opening up of the windows in the front of the building. From what I have seen and what I have read, this act really pulled the fire out of the front of the store. I can see the frustration in the faces of the troops and understand that they were trying anything to get the brothers out, but in this instance, it may not have been the best task based on the build up inside the store. So, make sure that we take a minute to figure this out, ventilation has to be done, but it needs to be done correctly.
Post & Courier
A little bit to think about, but things we do need to think about on a regular basis. Please make sure that you are reading, going to classes, and networking to get the best information available to make the best decisions you can on the fireground. When you go to fires, look at what they are doing, read the building, read the smoke, and read the fire…..
AFTER 16 WEEKS OF TRAINING, THE WORCESTER, Massachusetts, Fire Department graduated a class of 39 recruits Friday and promoted them to the rank of firefighter. Their class will be remembered for two things. One, they were going through their final live-fire evolutions while the state was socked with one of its worst blizzards in recent years.
Telegram & Gazette
Secondly, the class was especially noted within the WFD for containing two sons of Worcester firefighters who perished in the infamous Worcester Cold Storage and Warehouse Co. fire that killed six city firefighters on December 3, 1999. Daniel E. Spencer and Jeremiah M. Lucey III, whose fathers — Lt. Thomas E. Spencer and Firefighter Jeremiah M. Lucey — died in the blaze were just young boys when tragedy struck the department. Now they are carrying on the family traditions and honoring their fathers in a special way.
WCVB-TV Ch. 5 Boston was at the graduation ceremony yesterday and has filed this video report that includes brief interviews with the two young men:
The Worcester Telegram & Gazette has a nice article about this recruit class HERE.
FIREFIGHTERS IN LIVORNO, ITALY, along with the staff of the Italian Red Cross, conducted a unique rescue drill on Saturday, January 29. The drill took place in an underground mine that is no longer in production, but is a summer tourist attraction that takes visitors into the mine shaft on the railway.
The Temperino Mine
The scenario simulated a fire on the electric locomotive of the mine train that is taking 35 visitors on a tour into the mine shaft. The event took place approx. a half-mile into the shaft where the train was stranded and the locomotive driver burned. Many of the “tourists” also were injured with various levels of trauma.
The locomotive driver was burned and needed medical treatment.
(photos from Vigili del Fuoco)
The section of tunnel where the exercise was held is about 2 meters wide and 2 meters high, creating a challenge to the rescuers’ skills.
The National Vigili del Fuoco (Fire Brigade) had a photographer document the drill. They have posted the photo gallery HERE .
The website for the Archaelogical Mines of San Silvestro is HERE.
ON CHRISTMAS DAY THERE WAS A FIRE in the ceiling of a 5-star hotel in Reinbeck, Germany, that sent 400 guests running from their Christmas banquet in the luxury dining room. The fire was handled ok with the damage mostly limited to the ceiling and about 900 sq. ft. of this unique roof was destroyed.
These photos published in Bild newspaper give you a good look at the very different construction of the roof tiles and they can provide you with a nice 15-minute drill in the day room.
Just wanted to open this one up and say to all the brothers and sisters out there to be careful. The recent firefighter deaths need to be a message to all of us to be careful on the job, Baltimore County, Maryland just lost a firefighter this week and we all feel the loss. So please, “Let’s be careful out there!”
McMansions … I mentioned that term on my last posting and I wanted to take some time and expand on them. I do not think that these are a problem just in large metro areas. These homes have been and are being built all over the country. Yes, I know the economic downturn, especially in housing has stopped the mass production of McMansions, but look around. Some of these mega-homes are sitting there unoccupied. What are McMansions? Well this was a term coined by Jay Westerveldt to describe the building of these large, single-family dwellings that were springing up all over the country. The term has its roots in MacDonald’s and their Big Mac sandwich. Like the Big Mac, the McMansions are large and they are built almost in assembly line fashion from pre-made parts. These homes can be in part of a development with a lot of like structures, or they can be placed into existing neighborhoods. The ones placed in existing neighborhoods are really interesting and make it very necessary for us to get out and drive through our response districts to make sure we know what is going on and to look at these buildings before they are built.
Ed Ruping photo used with permission
The home construction industry, like all other aspects of modern society, have been faced with the growing realization that we need to conserve our natural resources and one way that they have responded to that dilemma is to engineer structural building components. The use of these engineered components is widespread and an accepted practice within the home building industry. The use of items like trusses, wooden I beams, and laminated beams helps better utilize our natural resources. In addition, of course, these components are engineered to carry specific loads. Go out and look at these buildings especially if you are in an area where they are still being built and look at what is going on before the sheetrock is applied to the walls and the ceilings.
I know that Frank Brannigan spent countless hours talking to us about the dangers of wood trusses, but we need to remember that lesson and not lose it. While engineered wood is great, it carries the loads it is designed to carry and it saves natural resources, but it also does not seem to have the same ability to stand up to fire that regular sawn joists have. Brannigan used the term fat to describe the extra material in wood beams that needed to be lost in a fire before the fire would affect the carrying capacity of that beam. There is not any fat in a truss and there is no fat in a wooden I-beam, period! These engineered wood members are designed to carry a specific load and there is little or no ability for those components to sustain their loads under fire conditions.
Now back to the McMansion, look at the roof. We know what is in the roof, trusses. Look at the roofs again and think about all the nominal 2″ x 4″s that are in the roof and how much they will contribute to a fire in that attic space. Once again, get out look at these buildings as they are being built and develop your tactics and strategies before the fire. Also, take a quick look at how you can get to the attic. Do you have to cross a large foyer to access the stairs and get up to the second floor? If so what are you walking under? Will that huge span remain intact while lines are being deployed to get to the fire in the attic? That is a big question that we need to figure out now, and not when we arrive on the scene with a working fire.
Roof trusses in a McMansion. Notice the cutouts in
the roof to allow inspection/access of additional roofs.
This was short, and I hope to expand on it next time. My department and several other departments have had difficult issues with McMansions. In fact I live about two miles from where Technician Kyle Wilson of the Prince William County Fire and Rescue Department lost his life on April 16, 2007. Where did Kyle die? In a McMansion!
IN ROME, ITALY, A STANDARD TRAINING COURSE for Vigili del Fuoco (fire department) driving instructors was conducted at the School of Education Operational Montelibretti this week.
It was concluded on January 14 with the field testing by the School of Education Operational Montelibretti, the first standardized training for driving instructors of firefighters (off-road driving). The course is part of a wider program of professional growth in the field of leadership that the Area I – Coordination and Development of Vocational Training of the Central Directorate is conducting through the group of experts and trainers identified in the area between people with the best work experience in the field.
At the end of this course, 27 driving instructors of the National Provincial Headquarters from 22 different areas throughout Italy were enabled to perform training in their respective regions to certify other firefighters as ”Off Road Driving Instructor.”
This increases the number of instructors who will be involved in organizing and conducting training courses which give the drivers of the National (fire department) the necessary skills to deal effectively and safely drive a vehicle off-road in the most difficult soil and environmental conditions.
All operations of “off road” are conducted according to the standard that the Corps has defined and is intended to be further disseminated to the regional operating departments.
The National Vigili del Fuoco has the story HERE and more photos HERE.
Wednesday Night: Not Your Typical “Truckie”
Live on Firefighter Storytellers with Tiger Schmittendorf
Glenn Usdin was a Run-to-the-Curb kid, growing up in the New York fire service and rising to the rank of fire chief in Lancaster PA. Like many in the fire service, his career path has taken him in several directions including a tenure as associate publisher of Fire Engineering Magazine, owner of American-LaFrance Used Fire Apparatus, and most recently as editor of FireTruckBlog.com.
Listen in as Chief Usdin shares his story of how he’s made a career out of his fascination with fire trucks with host Tiger Schmittendorf on the Firefighter Storytellers Internet radio show live at 9pm EST on Wednesday-January 12.
Listen in via the Internet, listen and/or participate by calling in, and join in the live chat that takes place amongst listeners while the show is going on. In case you miss the live show, you can even download the podcast after the fact on FirefighterNetcast <http://firefighternetcast.com/> and iTunes too. It’s free, it’s fun and it’s easy.
Don’t forget to join “Taking it to the Streets” with host Christopher Naum tonight at 9pm ET for an insightful look back at 2010 and forward into 2011 and beyond with a stellar line-up of fire service leaders.
The lineup of scheduled guests include, Deputy Coordinator Tiger Schmittendorf (NY), Chief Glenn Usdin (PA), Captain Willie Wines (NC), Bill Carey (MD), Chief Doug Cline (NC), Lt. Rhett Fleitz (NC), Lt. John Mitchell (IL), and a few others on the invite list who might just drop in on us.
Grab a cup of coffee and sit down for a special two part, two hour program with Taking it to the Streets on FirefigherNetcast.com where we’ll be “Looking Forward Through the Rear View Mirror” with Christopher Naum and this outstanding group of fire officers, fire service leaders and visionaries.
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As a post script, there’s room for some sage input by your kids as well!
ANOTHER IN A SERIES OF MULTI-NATIONAL disaster drills was hosted by Italy this week. The exercise labeled ”Terex 2010” was held in Tuscany on November 25 to 28 and simulated an earthquake with an epicenter between Garfagnana and Lunigiana.
PCN
Along with the host country, there were operational teams from France, Slovenia, Croatia, Austria and the Russian Federation. In addition there were observers from 27 European Union member states.
A Russian disaster team was one of the participating groups.
This Italian News report shows the preparations being made for the exercise including blowing up some buildings to create the “disaster”:
PCN
PCN
Part of the exercise simulated the collapse of a hospital with eight people buried in the rubble. The operational teams from Massa Carrara, Pisa, Pistoia and Lucca worked in a very realistic scenario together with Red Cross workers.
This video shows some of the teams extricating victims from one of the collapsed buildings:
The exercise has allowed the Vigili del Fuoco (Fire Department) to test the degree of coordination and interaction between the various parties involved in the emergency, firefighters, volunteers of the Tuscany Region and the Municipality of Pisa. Particular attention was given to validate the use in operational scenarios, the canine units of the Volunteer Fire Department and the Tuscany region.
Several countries brought canine search units.
Operations and Control Center
The exercise was broadcast via satellite and streaming by the CDV and TLC in Tuscany.
The Vigili del Fuoco posted the story and photos on its WEBSITE.
The National Civil Defense Agency has posted four more videos and six photo galleries HERE.
THIS VIDEO WAS UNCOVERED by the Gnome Handler yesterday. It was first posted on LiveLeak a little over three years ago, and judging from the looks of the vehicles, it may have been recorded some time before that. But the age of it does not diminish the informative value of the video and is a good story to post over a long holiday weekend.
Apparently a Russian TV station was recording a documentary on the hazards from automobiles that face the ambulance drivers over there (and almost anywhere else, you could say). As fate would have it, the documentary was so accurate that it became a news story in itself. Firegeezer was in wonderment over the traffic continuing to move despite the obvious hazard facing the other cars and buses.
Taking it to the Streets: The First-Due Officer On Your Street, In Your City, Across the Country, Around the WorldTM
Grab a cup of coffee and sit down for an hour with Taking it to the Streets on Firefighternetcast.com where we’ll discuss the street level issues affecting the First-Due Officer on Wednesday night November 17th at 9:00 pm EST.
Regardless if you’re the First-Due Company Officer or the First-Due Commanding Officer, you have a tremendous level of responsibilities and immediate actions that require effective and efficient; identification, assessment, analysis and implementation in the evolving fireground. Or is it just; “pullin’ the line”, or “opening up” or “arriving on scene and assuming the command?”
The First-Due Officer has many facets, functions and pitfalls. Leadership, determination, fortitude, skills, resilience, strength, conviction, temperance, restraint and the courage to be safe. Or could it be recklessness, ineptitude, incompetent, self-indulging, careless or dangerous: all in the name of tactical entertainment.
Join in on the live open discussion with fire service personnel from around the country. Check out the latest downloads of recent programs in the archives by visiting Taking it to the Street’s webpage on Firefighternetcast.com or for program insights at CommandSafety.com.
Tune in to the Program Wednesday evening November 17th at 9:00 pm EST, HERE
ON THE NIGHT OF NOVEMBER 9 – 10, a training exercise was conducted between the Italian and French rescue services in the tunnel of the Colle di Tenda, in order to check the operating procedures laid down in the Safety Plan Binational officially adopted in 2008 by the Prefecture of Cuneo and the Alpes-Maritimes Nice.
All photos via SDIS 06 and Vigili del Fuoco
The scenario was that of a car accident in France in five cars traveling in the tunnel of the Colle di Tenda, from France to Italy with the aim of trying times and response procedures in conjunction with French firefighters.
In previous years there have been several international exercises with the French Fire Brigade to develop a procedure for joint action to address security in a dangerous operation in the tunnel of the Colle di Tenda, considered one of the most dangerous in Europe .
The exercise began at 10:00 pm with the activation by a passing motorist of one of the alarm buttons that are located at various points inside the tunnel. This immediately alerted via telephone line the emergency services both French and Italian.
The simulation was carried out smoothly and in perfect harmony with the emergency services across the Alps, allowing a rapid extrication of casualties from car wrecks. The “death toll” was two dead and eight injured.
All relief agencies concerned, Italian and French, will meet soon in a debriefing meeting to analyze the results of the exercise and an opportunity to assess the outcome of the simulation.
The Vigili del Fuoco (Italy) website has the STORY.
OUR COLLEAGUE, FIREBALL/LAURENCE found this item yesterday on Urban Firefighter Magazine’s Facebook page and suggests that you take a look and perhaps join in the discussion thread:
Join John and Rhett for a live Firefighter Netcast Show on Wednesday, June 1, 2011 at 9 pm Eastern. This week’s featured guest, Brian Brush, is a Lieutenant and instructor in the Denver metropolitan area for a department that serves 110 square miles, and nearly 300,000 residents.
to read about this book and, hopefully, order one for yourself.
Netcast Tonight !
Comments OffThe Boys Are Back From Indy and Ready to Chat
Tonight (Wednesday) is another episode of Stop, Drop, and Roll with the Punches with host Chief Billy Hayes. A Conversation with the Clarks about Prevention with guests Dr. Burton Clark, EFO, CFO and his wife Carolyn Smith-Clark, MA.
Carolyn and Burt have been in the fire service over 40 years. Both have worked at the local, state, national and international levels in urban, suburban, and rural jurisdictions. Their experience includes volunteer, career, and combination departments. They have backgrounds in operations, prevention, education, training, and administration. Carolyn has taught leadership, prevention, and training in all 50 states. Burt has lectured, published, taught and consulted on executive development, research, firefighter safety, testing, and emergency management. He has served on 10 doctoral dissertation committees. Burt and Carolyn’s academic backgrounds include administration, fire science, education, and psychology. They have 6 children and 14 grandchildren.
The show is live at 9pm EST and the direct link to tonight's netcast is HERE.
All netcasts are archived and you can still listen to the ones you've missed at the Firefighter Netcast homepage HERE.
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