By Carl J. Haddon

A piece of your fire department’s apparatus is rolling down the highway en route to an emergency call. It’s a rainy early Fall day. The older rig you’re riding in is in good shape for its age, all of the firefighters are in their turnouts and are wearing their seat belts. Apparatus tires are in good shape and have plenty of tread. Everything on the truck seems to be in good working order. The truck is loaded “heavy” with equipment, as rural apparatus often have to do the work of truck and engine and rescue, which requires them to carry more equipment—I’m certain that the phrase “multivocational apparatus” started in the rural fire service. Something happens that causes the rig to be involved in an accident that appears (at first blush) not to be the fault of the apparatus operator or the rural fire department. The opposing attorney sees things differently when the case goes to court.

During the discovery phase of the case, it is revealed that at the time of the accident, the tires on the fire truck were 17 years old and way past their expiration date. It was also revealed that because of the nature of this rural fire truck’s scope of usage, it was loaded with equipment to the point that the weight of the load exceeded the vehicle’s gross vehicle weight rating (GVWR) by 2,500 pounds. The opposing attorney uses this information to successfully prove that these factors led to the apparatus not being able to stop in the accepted amount of time and distance, thereby striking another vehicle and causing bodily injury. The fire department is found liable.

Another rural fire department responds to a call for a routine vehicle fire on the highway. As in the previous scenario, the crew is geared up and doing everything according to policy and procedure. The crew opens up the hoseline on the car fire and is met with an explosion from burning magnesium and titanium components inside the car. Although fully outfitted in proper personal protective equipment (PPE), one of the volunteer firefighters is burned by molten metal that burned through his turnout gear. “The powers that be” conduct an investigation into the matter and determine that although in good shape, this firefighters turnout gear is well beyond the manufacturer’s NFPA expiration date. A risk management nightmare ensues.

These are two simple examples of “forest through the trees” situations faced by many rural fire departments today. At this very moment, I could drive you to a half dozen firehouses not far from here that have overloaded trucks with 20-year-old tires on the apparatus. It is so common it would blow your mind. Before you beat me up at the implication, I get it. Not every rural department can afford to replace apparatus tires every five to seven years (and yes, tires have expiration dates). Nor can every rural department afford to buy new turnouts for all of the firefighters every 10 years, per NFPA. My 10 years as a fire commissioner taught me more than I wanted to know about these very real struggles. It also taught me that I didn’t have to eat the (financial) elephant all in one bite. At that time, replacing one truck’s worth of tires each year was about the best I could hope and budget for. The same thing held true for the firefighters’ turnout gear. I learned that I had to amortize the replacement of gear into manageable numbers. I didn’t have to, nor could I, replace them all at once.

The issue of trucks being overloaded to the point of exceeding the vehicle’s GVWR is a risk that can

The apocalyptic-like smokescreen shrouding most of Washington earlier this month may ultimately make the best case on behalf of the state Department of Natural Resources (DNR) for more state investment in forest health projects. It might also expand the publics’ tolerance of smoke created in the off-season by DNR’s prescribed burning projects.
- PUB DATE: 8/28/2018 8:38:20 AM - SOURCE: Lens

Fire Chief Patrick Purcell from Westborough Fire Department hits on considerations that led to the department's new SVI heavy rescue-pumper. Watch the walk-around video. For full specs and drawings, visit http://www.svitrucks.com/portfolio-items/westborough-fire-department-heavy-rescue-1040/. Dealer: Fire Star Fire

Avon Protection announced that its argus range of thermal imaging cameras have been certified to levels set forth in the National Fire Protection Association Standard 1801, Standard on Thermal Imagers for the Fire Service. The argus range includes the Mi-TIC E, Mi-TIC E L, Mi-TIC 320 and Mi-TIC S models. Once again, Avon Protection offers the most diverse range NFPA-compliant thermal imaging cameras.

The 2018 edition of NFPA 1801 is the latest edition of the standard. First published in 2013, the standard defines the minimum performance requirements for thermal imagers worldwide.

Key changes in the 2018 edition include limitations on cameras with visible light sensors; an increased battery run-time of at least two hours while capturing video: a requirement for a refresh rate of at least 25Hz; and new battery-locking mechanism requirements.

The NFPA 1801 (2018) certification includes the introduction of the IGNIS Engine to all Mi-TIC models. The IGNIS Engine, along with its sensor and lens improvements, provides unrivalled scene detail, enabling firefighters to see more of the important background details such as exit points, obstacles, and casualties, even in the presence of a fully developed fire.

Commenting on the approvals, Richard Tweddle, Thermal Imaging Product Manager, said: “We have redesigned, redeveloped, and redefined thermal imaging. We continue to meet the needs of our customers to ensure they remain safe in the most demanding of environments.”

The combination of NFPA 1801 (2018) certification along with the IGNIS engine maintains Avon’s position as the leading suppliers of NFPA1801 certified thermal imagers in the world.

More: https://www.avon-protection.com/

CARLSBAD, CA—When it comes to saving lives, every first responder knows that seconds can make the difference between life or death. That’s why, when Maryland-based security dealer Pro Tech Systems was tasked by the District of Columbia Fire & Emergency Medical Services to develop a technology-secured ‘safe’ to transport DEA Schedule II substances on its fleet of emergency service vehicles, they turned to Nortek Security & Control’s Linear® brand for the key-fob access technology to make it happen. 

Leveraging Linear access control, Pro Tech Systems’ NARCLOK II safe helps securely transport highly addictive drugs, like morphine, that were once banned from being stored on emergency vehicles. “Seventeen years ago, D.C. Fire & EMS stopped allowing drugs like morphine to be transported after several incidents in which the drugs were stolen and replaced by saline,” explained Pro Tech Systems President Joe Bacarella. “This actually compromised the emergency response. What the department needed was a truly secure safe, with technology that would allow access to the drugs only to those authorized, while tracking who opened and accessed the drugs. With the Linear® access control solution more lives are saved every day because of the timely access to these drugs on board each EMS vehicle.”

Bacarella chose a Linear Access Control solution equipped with IP communication for the job because of its ability to comprehensively report who key-fobbed into the cooled safe and at what time. “Management can easily create reports that document who accessed the safe,” he said. “Theft is no longer an issue.”

After Bacarella submitted the initial bid to develop the system for secure drug safes, the project leveraged the Linear one-to-many door access system capabilities as it grew to include nearly 400 emergency vehicle installations of every type—engines, ambulances, trucks, and EMS supervisor Tahoes. “Each one now carries the Linear-enabled NARCLOK II box, which means that every vehicle can go out with a Paramedic on board because each can be Controlled-Medication equipped,” he said.

Bacarella continued,  “With the NARCLOK II onboard, the department is now saving as many as 750 lives a year that otherwise might have been lost. This solution is a