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Posted: Jul 1, 2018

Wildland Urban Interface Fire Considerations

RICHARD MARINUCCI
Richard Marinucci

It seems that the only types of fire incidents that are increasing are those involving wildland areas and the urban interface.

Certainly, those who regularly and routinely respond to those calls have received training and have a level of preparation that is more than the typical structural firefighter has. But, it appears that as the threats continue and more areas are subject to these types of fires, more structural firefighters will be asked to pitch in and offer assistance. There needs to be a basic awareness of circumstances and threats that can affect safety and operations. One would hope that there will be highly qualified incident commanders or incident management teams in charge, but they cannot control every individual operating on the scene. There needs to be a personal accountability.

Risk Assessment

In the interest of full disclosure, I admit I am far from an expert on wildland fires. The largest fire of this type that I can remember was about 200 acres, and it was very early in my career. Since then, our community has built up, and I don’t think there are that many acres in one place anymore! But, I do believe that individuals and organizations need to continually assess the risks present in their communities and nearby. This is a hazard assessment and identifies events that have a chance to occur. It is really preincident planning and making sure that you have the minimum skills to abate an emergency without unduly endangering personnel. As such, there are many areas of this country that are subject to wildland fires that probably never thought this could happen.

One aspect of wildland response that presents a risk is traveling to and from an emergency deployment. It seems like every year there are significant crashes that injure and kill firefighters responding to or returning from wildland fires. They can be on various types of apparatus from tankers (tenders) to engines to brush vehicles. Some of the hazards are related to off-road operations, while others can be traced to poor visibility because of heavy smoke conditions. Another consideration can be winding roads where the responders lack familiarity. Suffice to say, if response to these incidents is not a normal activity, refresher training and constant reminders are definitely in order.

Training and Mentoring

Survival skills should be the top priority for those with the least amount of experience. Those expected to respond should review prior incidents to identify expected risks when operating in this arena. They should also have some of the basic equipment assigned to individuals including fire shelters. These devices greatly reduce the chances of injuries and death. Finding areas of refuge in stressful situations should be discussed and practiced if possible (through simulation).

An area to consider for refuge would be a vehicle. It can be used as a shield or in some cases a place to get to if time and conditions warrant. There also should be some basic understanding of fire spread. This would include the slope of the terrain, weather conditions, and fuel makeup. Firefighters trained and prepared for primarily structural firefighting are taught skills for what to do should something go wrong. The same logic should apply if wildland fires are a possibility.

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Posted: Jul 1, 2018

Foam, CAFS, and Specialty Nozzles

By ALAN M. PETRILLO


Equipment and component manufacturers make a variety of nozzles for firefighters that are specially designed to handle foam, compressed air foam systems (CAFS), and other specialty needs. Such nozzles are mostly being used on handlines, but some are designed to handle large flows that are projected by monitors on either aerials or industrial pumpers.

Task Force Tips

Brian Podsiadlik, technical marketing manager for Task Force Tips (TFT), says his company’s newest nozzle, the Vortex, “gives superior performance when used in CAFS applications.” Podsiadlik notes the nozzle is integrated into the front end of a ball shutoff valve and has “an easily adjustable ring that when moved to the left turns six stream straightener veins in the nozzle at an angle, thinning the water and foam solution as it exits a smooth bore tip to achieve a useful 30-degree dispersed pattern.”

1 Akron Brass Company makes the Ultrajet, a smooth bore and fog nozzle in one unit. (Photos 1 and 2 courtesy of Akron Brass Company.)

1 Akron Brass Company makes the Ultrajet, a smooth bore and fog nozzle in one unit. (Photos 1 and 2 courtesy of Akron Brass Company.)

Podsiadlik adds that the Vortex also performs well in nonCAFS applications. “The veins have a similar effect when flowing only water because of the 30-degree angle dispersed pattern,” he says. “And when using foam, the spinning gives the foam and water solution a mechanical agitation.”

2 This Turbojet selectable gallonage nozzle has a foam aeration tube attached to the bumper to give additional aeration when using Class A foam.

2 This Turbojet selectable gallonage nozzle has a foam aeration tube attached to the bumper to give additional aeration when using Class A foam.

TFT also makes low-pressure nozzles for foam applications “that ensure a good blanket of finished foam,” Podsiadlik says. TFT’s fixed-flow low-pressure nozzle is the Metro 1, while its automatic nozzle is the Mid-Force. Both nozzles are available with a variety of foam attachments that produce low to medium finished foam, and the attachments are easily applied or removed, depending on what needs to be achieved on the fireground, he says. TFT also makes the low-pressure selectable gallon-per-minute (gpm) QuadraCup nozzle that has an integrated foam aspiration attachment that acts as a stream shaper, which, Podsiadlik says, “is useful when using water and in nonCAFS foam applications.”

3 Elkhart Brass Company makes the CAFS Stack ST-185XD nozzle for CAFS work, shown here with a 15⁄16-inch smooth bore tip. (Photos 3 and 4 courtesy of E </div> <a class=Read more
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Posted: Jul 1, 2018

Responder-to-Vehicle and Responder-to-Responder Technology

CORY HOHS
Fire Apparatus Manufactures Association logo

When the call for emergency responders rings, the women and men who jump into action know there may be danger at the scene. But, the highest potential for danger actually occurs on the way to the call through collisions with motorists on the road. In fact, collisions are a leading cause of injury and death to emergency personnel.

The topics of vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V), Responder-to-Vehicle (R2V), and Responder-to-Responder (R2R) communication for emergency responders, continue to rise. To advance and protect the interests of the fire and emergency services community, we look to the Fire Apparatus Manufacturers’ Association (FAMA) to help facilitate healthy dialogue of such important and emerging safety topics. This article provides a general overview of R2V technology, why it’s important, and why solutions today simply aren’t doing enough.

It’s a common scenario: A fire crew is dispatched to an incident with sirens engaged and lights flashing—they’re counting on motorists to see them, hear them, and pull over. But, there are many impediments: The motorist does not see the flashing lights because he is distracted, or his nearly soundproof vehicle blocks out the siren noise, clogging the lane. Another motorist can’t tell where the truck is coming from so doesn’t react until it’s on his bumper. Or worse, a vehicle enters an intersection with the fire truck fast approaching, and a collision occurs. And, the same can happen between first responders rushing to the same scene.

The cost of such collisions is inherently obvious. It can cost cities upward of $1 million any time injuries are sustained—the ramifications transcend physical injury, insurance, and legal costs. Damage to vehicles as well as delays in the emergency crews reaching the original incident may worsen that situation.

Lights and Sirens

Everyone’s familiar with the sound of a blaring siren and flashing light, which we know means to pull over. But, driving behaviors today are making it more difficult to rely on that happening. The consumer driving experience has become highly refined and more luxurious, but it still ignores important factors. Auto manufacturers have introduced cars with near soundproof interiors and enhanced audio systems—so much so that drivers may not even hear the sirens at all—and in-dash infotainment systems plus mobile devices have drivers distracted with phone calls, texts, and content. By 2020, there will be more than 250 million connected vehicles on the road. Emergency crews cannot rely on motorists simply pulling over safely and quickly to let them through anymore.

Traffic Signal Preemption

Certain technologies are available to proactively give emergency vehicles the right-of-way by changing traffic signals or otherwise “preempting” traffic flow. While this can help prevent collisions at intersections, there are drawbacks. These systems require a direct line of sight to the emergency vehicle and will experience interference from the environment including weather, large passing trucks, and even tree branches. In addition, the cost of such solutions prohibits mass adoption, there is no outbound communication from that source, and the system works only within the city boundaries where the in

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Posted: Jul 1, 2018

Reducing Fire Apparatus Cap Contamination

CHRIS Mc LOONE
Chris Mc Loone

Way back in the day, at least it feels that way sometimes, the pumpers my fire company was using (the 1981 American LaFrances I’ve written about before) only had two “pack seats.”

When I joined the fire company, we had already stopped riding on the back step, but we still stood in front of the jump seats. Honestly, it was always a fun ride standing up. It was the closest I ever got to riding the back step. Sure, there were times it wasn’t so great. Standing 6 feet 4 inches meant I was taller than the roof of the cab, and on cold winter nights en route to a call tears would stream from my eyes from the cold air hitting them. And, of course, there was being blinded in the middle of the night by the rotating lights. Those were the days. And although I enjoyed those days, I would never suggest we go back to standing up anywhere on a rig while it’s en route to or from an incident.

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So, with only two pack seats but four firefighters, we stowed two self-contained breathing apparatus (SCBA) in one compartment over the rear wheel well on the driver’s side of the truck. In those days, on an automatic fire alarm call or the like, the motto was “rookie sits.” But, if it was a job, the rookie was getting his SCBA from the back of the truck. I hated it. You just want to be in the thick of it as quickly as possible—especially when you’re new. But, times change. The next rigs we bought had plenty of pack seats, and we had plenty of people ready to complete all the tasks at hand as soon as they stepped off the trucks.

I can remember those days. And, firefighters older than me remember the days when SCBA were stowed in cases in a compartment on the truck. To me, it’s a “back in the day” anecdote, but many do not receive the idea of moving the SCBA out of the cab well. But, it’s time to consider it.

Captain Beth Gallup, Puget Sound (WA) Regional Fire Authority, presented a Webcast last year on the “Healthy In/Healthy Out” program. There is a lot to this program, and for a department just looking to get healthier, it could seem daunting when you look at all the things departments could do. I asked Gallup about that, and her response was that you don’t have do everything, but departments should do something.

The Clean Cab Concept addresses many components of a rig. But, its major focus is to reduce the chances of contamination in the cab. Many parts of it are easier to implement on rigs under construction or just being spec’d than on existing fire apparatus. As with anything, when a department makes a choice about one area of a fire apparatus, for example wheelbase, a sacrifice usually occurs somewhere else on the rig. There is always a give and take. But even if you can’t take all the SCBA out of the cab, the simple act of not putting them back in after a fire and contaminating the cab goes a long way toward exposure reduction. Even allowing them to off gas outside the truck will go a long way if there is no way to transport them back to the station outside the cab. The

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Recent Apparatus Orders
Recent Apparatus Orders
Posted: Jul 1, 2018

Recent Apparatus Orders

Compiled by Ron Heal

Alabama

E-ONE—Montgomery Fire Department pumper. Quest custom cab and chassis; Cummins ISX12 450-hp engine; Hale Qmax 2,000-gpm pump; UPF Poly 880-gallon tank; 30-gallon foam cell; Akron 95-gpm foam eductor system; Voyager backup camera system. Sold by Dwight Calloway, Sunbelt Fire, Fairhope, AL. Delivery in March 2019.

E-ONE—Tuskegee Fire Department mini pumper. Ford F-550 4x4 cab and chassis; Ford 6.7-liter V8 diesel engine; Hale MG 800-gpm pump; UPF Poly 250-gallon tank. Sold by Dwight Calloway, Sunbelt Fire, Fairhope, AL. Delivery in November.

Arizona

Custom Cab & Body—Crown King Fire District Type 3 pumper. Freightliner M2 cab and chassis; Cummins L9 350-hp engine; Darley KSP 750-gpm pump; UPF Poly 750-gallon tank; 20-gallon foam cell; FoamPro 1600 single-agent foam system; stainless steel body; aluminum diamond plate hosebed cover; Whelen Pioneer LED scene lighting. Sold by William Hutchins, Arizona Fire Apparatus, Chandler, AZ. Delivery in February 2019.

California

Rosenbauer—Watsonville Fire Department 100-foot four-section tillered aerial. Commander tractor cab and chassis; Cummins ISX 600-hp engine; Hale RSD 1,500-gpm pump; UPF Poly 200-gallon tank; 20-gallon foam cell; FoamPro 2002 single-agent foam system. Sold by John Burton. Burton’s Fire Inc., Modesto, CA. Delivery in March 2019.

Connecticut

Firovac—Oakdale Fire Department, Montville-Oakdale, pumper-tanker. International 7500 cab and chassis; Cummins L9 450-hp engine; Darley PSP 1,250-gpm pump with hot water jacket; 2,000-gallon polished aluminum tank; Firovac power portable tank bracket with two 2,500-gallon portable tanks. Sold by John Valentini, New England Fire Equipment and Apparatus Corp., North Haven, CT. Delivery in November.

Florida

VT Hackney—Gulf County Beaches Fire Department, Port Saint Jo, heavy rescue. Kenworth T370 cab and chassis. Paccar PX9 380-hp engine; 18-foot Hackney nine-compartment walk-around rescue body with drop-pinch frame construction; rooftop full-length storage compartments and ladder storage; Federal Signal rearview color camera with night vision monitor. Sold by Royce Horton, Tactical Fire Vehicles, Winder, GA. Delivery in August.

Illinois

Pierce—Bedford Park Fire Department 107-foot Ascendant aerial ladder quint. Impel cab and chassis; Cummins L9 450-hp engine; Pierce 1,500-gpm single-stage pump; UPF Poly 500-gallon tank; Pierce Husky 12 Class A foam system; Harrison 10-kW generator. Sold by Vince Baudek, Global Emergency Products, Aurora

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