The Bolt Creek Fire near Skykomish has burned down to US 2 at multiple locations as fire crews work to keep it from crossing the highway. The fire, first reported Saturday morning, has burned about 9,400 acres and is five percent contained, according to incident command. Fire activity was moderate on Monday and spread toward Highway 2.
- PUB DATE: 9/13/2022 12:05:00 PM - SOURCE: iFiber One News Radio

Officials from the Clark County Fire Department and other local dignitaries will celebrate the grand opening of Fire Station 35 at 10350 West Flamingo Road in Summerlin (NV) with a hose-cutting ceremony at 9 a.m. Wednesday, according to a press release by ClarkCountyNV.gov.

The 10,482-square-foot station will serve the growing southwest Las Vegas Valley. The Howard Hughes Corporation funded the design, development and construction of the new fire station and donated the land on which it sits as part of its development agreement with Clark County. This represents an investment in public safety infrastructure by The Howard Hughes Corporation of more than $10 million. Fire Station 35 is located near the northwest corner of Flamingo Road and Hualapai Way. The station’s service area generally ranges north to Desert Inn and south to Hacienda covering calls east and west of Hualapai Way.

The Clark County Fire Department is the largest in the state and is responsible for protecting the famed Las Vegas Strip, the largest part of the Las Vegas Valley and a county the size of New Jersey at more than 8,000 square miles. Its purview also covers the resort townships of Laughlin, Primm and Jean. The department has 32 full-time fire stations and 10 volunteer fire stations in rural areas. The department received almost 155,000 calls for service in 2021. The fire department also maintains one of only 28 urban search and rescue teams in the country and provides fire and rescue services to the nation’s eighth-busiest airport.

Idaho Falls is growing its fire and emergency services coverage area after purchasing a fire station in the southern part of the city previously owned by Bonneville County, PostRegister.com reported.

A fire official with Idaho Falls said it was advantageous for the city to acquire the fire station because of the growth the city is experiencing in the south, partly due to the addition of new schools, the report said.

A city official said the fire station is needed to improve ambulance response times in a rapidly growing area of the city. The National Fire Protection Association’s standard response time for emergency service calls is four minutes and five minutes for fire-related calls.

The city spent $1,535,000 to buy the station from Bonneville County Fire Protection District 1. The property is 1.2 acres and includes six bedrooms, two bathrooms and a double-deep bay, the report said.

East Hanover (NJ) Township firefighters brought their new fire truck to Lurker Park for residents to check out and for members of other departments to bless during a “wetdown” Saturday, NewJerseyHills.com reported.

Wetdowns have historically been a time for neighboring departments to come and literally wet the new truck down and christen it, but wetdowns have since become events where firefighters gather to celebrate instead of spraying water since the firefighters don’t want anyone getting injured, the report said.

Thermal Imaging Manfred Kihn

Recently, I was reflecting on the first time I ever used a thermal imager (TI). The display screen flickering like old black and white televisions, I thought to myself, “What does this do?”

I moved around the room. I could see things with my naked eye and through the screen at the same time, all in black and white. I then entered a darkened room, uncomfortable and unsure of what to make of the images and no longer relying on my own sight. The screen showed objects in black, gray, and whites in a variety of contrasts. I knew then that this was an impressive device, one that I would spend years learning and appreciating.

We are further ahead in technology today, and yet your TI is still in black and white, even if it is compliant with National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) 1801, Standard on Thermal Imagers for the Fire Service. To clarify, grayscale imagery with white-hot polarity images that show up as dark or black will be cooler/cold, images that are brighter or white will be warmer/hot, and everything in between will be in shades of gray. With training and practice, the hues of black, gray, and white will make sense.

What did you do when you picked up your very first TI? Did you think you needed training, practice, and an understanding of what those images were and what they meant?

If your department follows the NFPA, it should understand about NFPA 1408, Standard for Training Fire Service Personnel in the Operation, Care, Use, and Maintenance of Thermal Imagers. Section 7.1.6 says, “All participants shall understand image interpretation and misinterpretation.” It also goes on another eight subsections.

• Thermal Imaging and Image Interpretation
• New Changes to NFPA Thermal Imaging Technology
• Handheld Thermal Imaging Cameras Continue To Be Popular Among Fire Departments
• Thermal Imaging: Thermal Imagers Not Just for the Crews
• Thermal Imaging: Understanding Your TI Technology
• Where Can’t I Use a Thermal Imaging Camera
• The Outdoor Effects Emissivity Has on Thermal Imaging
• Using Thermal Imaging During Water Rescue
• Let’s Talk Thermal Imaging