Search
Menu
News

WFC News

Posted: Oct 1, 2018

Drone Usage in the Fire Service

BY ALAN M. PETRILLO


Drones continue to make their way onto fire apparatus for deployment at incident scenes. Fire departments are using drones, also known as unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), for recon of wildfires and motor vehicle accident scenes, hazmat incidents, hot spot identification at structure fires, and even in rescue scenarios.

ADVANTAGES OF DRONES

Rod Carringer, former chief of the Center Township (IN) Fire Department, says, “With the demands on limited staffing so many agencies deal with, any asset such as a drone that can be used to provide real-time situational and operational awareness is equipment that should be integrated into operations. As the United States Marines are learning as they are reconfiguring their basic squad size and function to integrate a drone system, maximizing technology to do our job better and safer is the new normal.”

Carringer points out that besides the recon function and hot spot identification, additional uses for drones include search and rescue, even in urban settings; preplanning with aerial photos and video identifying water supply sources, utility shutoffs, and apparatus location planning; winter and ice rescue; and disaster assessment and post-disaster recon after weather events such as floods or tornados.

FDNY EXPERIENCE

The Fire Department of New York (FDNY) has been deploying tethered drones at incident scenes since March 2017, says John Hodgens, deputy assistant chief of operations. “We primarily fly HoverFly tethered drones that carry both video and infrared cameras, and their greatest feature is allowing us to see where a fire is traveling in a roof space,” Hodgens says.

“We have three HoverFly drones and recently got a nontethered DJI Phantom that gives us a better capability for hazardous materials incidents and search and rescue. We also plan on getting a DJI Matrice 210,” Hodgens says. “We had a situation during Hurricane Sandy where people were on the roofs of their homes. With a Phantom or a Matrice 210, we could very quickly take a look at the situation and know how many resources we needed. However, the big advantage to the HoverFly tethered drones is that they have a constant power source and are able to give us broad, very clear pictures.”

Hodgens oversees the command tactical unit that handles the drones and which is dispatched out of the FDNY’s command center on a second alarm or higher or other noteworthy incidents. The unit, which operates through a Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Certificate of Authorization (COA), currently has eight FAA Part 107 certified pilots. A pilot is on duty every day, Hodgens points out, on a four-day cycle.

The FDNY has flown HoverFly tethered drones at fires and emergency incidents since the spring of 2017. (Photos 1-3 courtesy of the FDNY.)

1 The FDNY has flown HoverFly tethered drones at fires and emergency incidents since the spring of 2017. (Photos 1-3 courtesy of the FDNY.)

“Our pilots try to give the incident commander (IC) a view of the building that the IC cannot see—the rear of the building or the roof level,”

Read more
  • 208
  • 0
  • Article rating: No rating
Posted: Oct 1, 2018

Aerial Ladder vs. Tower Fire Apparatus

BY RICKY RILEY


RICKY RILEY

This topic is a storied battle regarding which type of aerial device to purchase. With many battles in the fire service, this one sparks some emotion and bravado as truck company purists usually feel very strongly about the type of rig they ride. The ladder group and the tower group always have their arguments for which one is the best and how they will always outperform the other. So, let’s take a look at this topic concerning which rig is better for your department—even though I am quite sure this article will not settle the debate.

I have been very fortunate in my career to work on both an aerial ladder and a tower ladder. It was always very hard to pick which one was the best one or which one I favored the most because, depending on the call type and the fire type, I would always be thinking, “If I just had the tower here,” or, “Man, I wish we were on the ladder truck.” Let’s look at some thoughts about and advantages of the tower first.

The Tower

The tower is a very interesting piece of apparatus. It has many abilities on the fireground, especially when it comes to actually putting fire out and having a safe secure platform when tasked with making victim rescues. The rig itself usually is very expensive, mainly because of the mass of the aerial device and the support system it takes to safely elevate the aerial and bucket into many positions on incident scenes. This can include reaching the highest elevation to sometimes as much as 7 to 11 degrees below zero and, with most units, the ability to maintain the high tip loads associated with these units in all those positions. Having this ability with a protected basket and area to put firefighters and rescued civilians gives fire departments a valuable tool in their rescue efforts. Recently on the East Coast, there have been many issues with flooding and rapidly moving water. With today’s highly visible fire department actions on social media, we have seen towers used to their maximum abilities on some rescue incidents. These rescues were able to be made with apparatus that are highly capable of these rescues by a very high tip load, the strength of the ladder, a capable jack system to support the weight and stresses, and most importantly a well-trained crew.

Having a tower provides a number of other valuable operational advantages. These units can flow large amounts of water at fire scenes. Depending on the device and the manufacturer, the ability to flow this water in a tactically advantageous position is one of the values of the tower. The sidewalk sweep made famous by the FDNY is probably the most noted ability of towers—flowing high volumes of water from a negative degree and being able to move that water application into different positions by the use of the hydraulic aerial. Some other advantages follow:

  • Elevated master stream.
  • Stable platform for victim removal without needing to have civilians descend the ladder.
  • Ability to ventilate horizontally and vertically from the safety of the bucket.
  • Easy transportation of a lot of equipment to the roof via the basket.
  • Heavy-duty ladder for use in technical rescue applicat
Read more
  • 206
  • 0
  • Article rating: No rating
Posted: Oct 1, 2018

Aerial Ladder vs. Tower Fire Apparatus

BY RICKY RILEY


RICKY RILEY

This topic is a storied battle regarding which type of aerial device to purchase. With many battles in the fire service, this one sparks some emotion and bravado as truck company purists usually feel very strongly about the type of rig they ride. The ladder group and the tower group always have their arguments for which one is the best and how they will always outperform the other. So, let’s take a look at this topic concerning which rig is better for your department—even though I am quite sure this article will not settle the debate.

I have been very fortunate in my career to work on both an aerial ladder and a tower ladder. It was always very hard to pick which one was the best one or which one I favored the most because, depending on the call type and the fire type, I would always be thinking, “If I just had the tower here,” or, “Man, I wish we were on the ladder truck.” Let’s look at some thoughts about and advantages of the tower first.

The Tower

The tower is a very interesting piece of apparatus. It has many abilities on the fireground, especially when it comes to actually putting fire out and having a safe secure platform when tasked with making victim rescues. The rig itself usually is very expensive, mainly because of the mass of the aerial device and the support system it takes to safely elevate the aerial and bucket into many positions on incident scenes. This can include reaching the highest elevation to sometimes as much as 7 to 11 degrees below zero and, with most units, the ability to maintain the high tip loads associated with these units in all those positions. Having this ability with a protected basket and area to put firefighters and rescued civilians gives fire departments a valuable tool in their rescue efforts. Recently on the East Coast, there have been many issues with flooding and rapidly moving water. With today’s highly visible fire department actions on social media, we have seen towers used to their maximum abilities on some rescue incidents. These rescues were able to be made with apparatus that are highly capable of these rescues by a very high tip load, the strength of the ladder, a capable jack system to support the weight and stresses, and most importantly a well-trained crew.

Having a tower provides a number of other valuable operational advantages. These units can flow large amounts of water at fire scenes. Depending on the device and the manufacturer, the ability to flow this water in a tactically advantageous position is one of the values of the tower. The sidewalk sweep made famous by the FDNY is probably the most noted ability of towers—flowing high volumes of water from a negative degree and being able to move that water application into different positions by the use of the hydraulic aerial. Some other advantages follow:

  • Elevated master stream.
  • Stable platform for victim removal without needing to have civilians descend the ladder.
  • Ability to ventilate horizontally and vertically from the safety of the bucket.
  • Easy transportation of a lot of equipment to the roof via the basket.
  • Heavy-duty ladder for use in technical rescue applicat
Read more
  • 226
  • 0
  • Article rating: No rating
Posted: Oct 1, 2018

Aerial or Platform Fire Apparatus?

BY BILL ADAMS


BILL ADAMS

Asking about preference for an aerial ladder or an aerial platform is a loaded question. There are too many unknowns to formulate an appropriate answer. One could say it depends on the weather and terrain, which is a military axiom—a catch-all phrase sometimes used to justify a decision. Preference should only be contingent on determining the environment where the device will be used, defining the specific and secondary tasks to be accomplished, evaluating where it will be housed, acknowledging the staffing available to operate it, and understanding the financial constraints when purchasing one. My analysis is limited to rear-mount appliances, showing no partiality for steel vs. aluminum construction or for cost. Nor will I espouse whether the device should be equipped with a pump.

Elevated Master Stream

I am not in favor of firefighters being “on top” of any aerial device directing a stream; however, if the intended use is primarily or regularly as an elevated master stream, I prefer the platform. It is safer. My first choice would be to invest in a drone to observe an elevated stream’s direction and effectiveness. It is inexpensive, and it keeps firefighters out of harm’s way.

National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) 1901, Standard for Automotive Fire Apparatus, Chapter 19: Aerial Devices, sentence 19.2.9.1 says two folding steps shall be provided for an aerial ladder pipe-monitor operator, each with a minimum of 35 square inches. Or, per sentence 19.2.9.2, a single step with a minimum of 200 square inches can be provided. An elevating platform must have a minimum standing area of 14 square feet (more than 2,000 square inches) per sentence 19.7.6.1. Which would you rather stand on for an hour? Having prepiped breathing air is another advantage of a platform.

When an aerial ladder is equipped with a prepiped monitor, Section 19.6 says it must have a minimum 1,000-gallon-per-minute (gpm) capacity. Section 19.11 says platforms of 110 feet or less in rated height shall be equipped with a water delivery system with one or more monitors capable of flowing 1,000 gpm.

NFPA 1901 criteria are minimum requirements. Aerial device manufacturers may exceed the NFPA flow requirements, and many do. In many instances, especially with aerial ladders, high flow rates may affect a device’s rated weight capacity and possibly minimize the allowable operating envelope when flowing water. Read the fine print when specifying one. Purchasers should consider determining a desired flow rate before evaluating devices on the market.

Equipment Hauler

It is easier and safer to transport saws and multiple hand tools in a platform than it is to manually carry them up an aerial. Depending on the amount of equipment to bring to the roof of, say, a seven-story building, firefighters may have to make multiple trips up and down the stick. Safety oriented old-timers believe in “one hand for me and one hand for thee.” The steeper the angle of the aerial, the harder it is to climb—with one hand. Aerials have limited room to mount tools on the fly section. Platforms, by nature of their design, have more room.

Threading the Needle

Ladder company (aka truck company) operators in older urban areas with multip

Read more
  • 208
  • 0
  • Article rating: No rating
Posted: Oct 1, 2018

Aerial or Platform Fire Apparatus?

BY BILL ADAMS


BILL ADAMS

Asking about preference for an aerial ladder or an aerial platform is a loaded question. There are too many unknowns to formulate an appropriate answer. One could say it depends on the weather and terrain, which is a military axiom—a catch-all phrase sometimes used to justify a decision. Preference should only be contingent on determining the environment where the device will be used, defining the specific and secondary tasks to be accomplished, evaluating where it will be housed, acknowledging the staffing available to operate it, and understanding the financial constraints when purchasing one. My analysis is limited to rear-mount appliances, showing no partiality for steel vs. aluminum construction or for cost. Nor will I espouse whether the device should be equipped with a pump.

Elevated Master Stream

I am not in favor of firefighters being “on top” of any aerial device directing a stream; however, if the intended use is primarily or regularly as an elevated master stream, I prefer the platform. It is safer. My first choice would be to invest in a drone to observe an elevated stream’s direction and effectiveness. It is inexpensive, and it keeps firefighters out of harm’s way.

National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) 1901, Standard for Automotive Fire Apparatus, Chapter 19: Aerial Devices, sentence 19.2.9.1 says two folding steps shall be provided for an aerial ladder pipe-monitor operator, each with a minimum of 35 square inches. Or, per sentence 19.2.9.2, a single step with a minimum of 200 square inches can be provided. An elevating platform must have a minimum standing area of 14 square feet (more than 2,000 square inches) per sentence 19.7.6.1. Which would you rather stand on for an hour? Having prepiped breathing air is another advantage of a platform.

When an aerial ladder is equipped with a prepiped monitor, Section 19.6 says it must have a minimum 1,000-gallon-per-minute (gpm) capacity. Section 19.11 says platforms of 110 feet or less in rated height shall be equipped with a water delivery system with one or more monitors capable of flowing 1,000 gpm.

NFPA 1901 criteria are minimum requirements. Aerial device manufacturers may exceed the NFPA flow requirements, and many do. In many instances, especially with aerial ladders, high flow rates may affect a device’s rated weight capacity and possibly minimize the allowable operating envelope when flowing water. Read the fine print when specifying one. Purchasers should consider determining a desired flow rate before evaluating devices on the market.

Equipment Hauler

It is easier and safer to transport saws and multiple hand tools in a platform than it is to manually carry them up an aerial. Depending on the amount of equipment to bring to the roof of, say, a seven-story building, firefighters may have to make multiple trips up and down the stick. Safety oriented old-timers believe in “one hand for me and one hand for thee.” The steeper the angle of the aerial, the harder it is to climb—with one hand. Aerials have limited room to mount tools on the fly section. Platforms, by nature of their design, have more room.

Threading the Needle

Ladder company (aka truck company) operators in older urban areas with multip

Read more
  • 193
  • 0
  • Article rating: No rating
RSS
First42674268426942704272427442754276Last

Theme picker

Filter News Catagories

Search News Articles

Terms Of Use | Privacy Statement - Copyright 2024 by Washington Fire Chiefs