The U.S. Fire Administration has announced the official on-duty death of Firefighter Adam Taylor, 30, of Decatur County Fire Rescue on March 30, 2018.

Late in the evening of his scheduled shift and after conducting search and rescue drills in full protective gear including SCBA, Firefighter Adam Taylor began to complain of chest pains he related to a muscle pull. Shortly after leaving work to go home because of the pain, he went into cardiac arrest and was pronounced deceased upon arrival at a local hospital. 

Tribute is being paid to Firefighter Taylor at http://apps.usfa.fema.gov/firefighter-fatalities/

To date, 29 firefighter fatalities have been reported to USFA in 2018.  Year-to-date and annual USFA firefighter fatality reports are posted online at https://www.usfa.fema.gov/data/statistics/ff_fatality_reports.html

Fatality status is provisional and may change as USFA contacts State Fire Marshals to verify fatality incident information.

Concern over higher rates of occupation cancer among firefighters prompts additional efforts in decontamination and cleaning of turnout gear to reduce particulate accumulation. But will turnout gear stand up to more washing and drying along with the hard work firefighters do? TenCate Protective Fabrics wanted to find out, and now firefighters at FDIC International 2018 will be able to see for themselves. The Georgia Fire Academy in Forsyth, Georgia, took three sets of turnouts featuring outer shells and thermal liners from TenCate Protective Fabrics. Each went through grueling fire evolutions and multiple extraction cleaning.

TenCate sent sets of its three outer shell offerings, paired with a variety of thermal liners and moisture barriers, for a wear test at the academy. The three that will be on display at booth #2213 in Hall D at the Indianapolis Convention Center, including these sets:

• Kombat™ Flex, an outer shell featuring PBI® fiber, which saw 500 fire evolutions and 51 wash/dry cycles.
• Agility®, an outer shell featuring DuPont™ Kevlar®, which experienced 379 fire evolutions and 50 wash/dry cycles.
• Pioneer™, an outer shell featuring a DuPont™ Nomex® blend, which went through 140 fire entries and 35 wash/dry cycles.

Be sure to stop by the TenCate Fire Station booth #2213 at FDIC International 2018 to see for yourself how TenCate outer shells and thermal liners hold up. Find out why it's all about the fighter...not the fire.

The U.S. Fire Administration has announced the official on-duty death of Firefighter Gregory Jackson, 50, of the Fort Benning Fire Department on April 19, 2018.

Firefighter Gregory Jackson became ill at the end of his shift on April 14, 2018. He was transported to a local hospital where he passed away on April 19, 2018. The nature and cause of fatal injury are still to be reported. 

Tribute is being paid to Firefighter Jackson at http://apps.usfa.fema.gov/firefighter-fatalities/

To date, 28 firefighter fatalities have been reported to USFA in 2018.  Year-to-date and annual USFA firefighter fatality reports are posted online at https://www.usfa.fema.gov/data/statistics/ff_fatality_reports.html

Fatality status is provisional and may change as USFA contacts State Fire Marshals to verify fatality incident information.

By Chris Mc Loone

FDIC International has long been a venue for manufacturers to introduce their newest products. This year is no different, but Phil Gerace, vice president, marketing for Task Force Tips (TFT) and AMKUS, adds that FDIC International is “the ability to come to one place together, face to face to discuss, display, and demonstrate. At FDIC, we can share new ideas with and better understand the needs of the fire service, apparatus manufacturers, and our distribution network.”

On the demonstation side, TFT is highlighting several products this week:

• A new compact monitor for wildland and interface apparatus.
• Tactile Touch Blue Tooth controls for TFT monitors.
• New nozzles for big water and industrial foam applications.
• Tools to help reduce firefighter cancer risk from dirty PPE.

For AMKUS, Gerace adds, “We will be unveiling AMKUS’s new ION 2.0 battery-powered rescue tools. They’re compact but incredibly powerful using the new DEWALT FLEXVOLT battery—the same battery already used on many other tools found on the apparatus.”

In addition to introducing and demonstrating new products, Gerace says TFT and AMKUS look most forward to receiving user feedback at FDIC International. “Our company was created by a firefighter whose sole mission was to provide firefighters with the best products to keep themselves and those they protect safer,” he says. “We’re most looking forward to hearing from our users on how TFT/AMKUS and our products are performing as well as hearing more about the new needs that have arisen because of the ever-evolving role of the fire service worldwide.”