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Posted: Nov 9, 2017

FDSOA’s Apparatus Maintenance and Specification Symposium Turns 30

1711FA_HTML_041

 
FROM THE FDSOA Richard Marinucci
 

The Fire Department Safety Officers Association (FDSOA) will celebrate the 30th anniversary of its Annual Apparatus Maintenance & Specification Symposium January 15-17, 2018, in Scottsdale, Arizona.

What prompted the first Apparatus Symposium? Influences included a major legal settlement, the introduction of electronics on apparatus, and a determination to educate fire chiefs on the importance of investing in education and training for fire truck mechanics.

In 1985, a Boston jury found a Wisconsin fire truck manufacturer liable for the injuries sustained by a permanently disabled Massachusetts firefighter because it was too common for firefighters to be hurt from the open-cab design of fire trucks. The impact of that decision was revolutionary in the industry, and within a year fire trucks would be radically redesigned.

The legal liability forced the fire apparatus industry to design safer apparatus while evolving technology was also being integrated into the vehicles. The introduction of Detroit Diesel Electronic Control (DDEC) systems, load management, multiplex systems, and antiskid brakes would result in more sophisticated preventive and routine maintenance on fire apparatus.

Bob Barraclough, a vice president with E-ONE in the 1980s, questioned how fire department mechanics would keep up with the rapid changes to new apparatus. Barraclough, a member of the Fire Apparatus Manufacturers’ Association (FAMA) and NFPA 1901, Standard for Automotive Fire Apparatus, standard committee brought the question to Fort Worth (TX) Fire Department Chief Larry McMillen, chair of the NFPA 1901 committee. In 1987, working with the International Association of Fire Chiefs (IAFC) staff, Barraclough and McMillen held a meeting at the Worthington Hotel in Fort Worth with representatives from several state mechanics’ associations and several FAMA members. Jim Bland, of the Houston (TX) Fire Department; Gene Carlson, of the International Fire Service Training Association; and Boyd Cole, Underwriters Laboratories, were among those involved in discussions concerning apparatus maintenance, liability, and training maintenance personnel.

In 1988, the IAFC sponsored the founding of the Fire Apparatus Mechanics Certification Program, governed by the IAFC’s Apparatus Maintenance Section. In 1991, the program was incorporated into the EVT Certification Commission (EVTCC). Providing testing and certification to emergency vehicle technicians, the EVTCC raised the professionalism of mechanics throughout the industry.

As a result of the Fort Worth meeting, Barraclough approached Mary McCormack, administrator, International Society of Fire Service Instructors (ISFSI), about hosting a small, focused symposium for fire chiefs and mechanics. In 1988, the first Apparatus Specification & Maintenance Symposium was held at a small hotel on Sand Lake Road in Orlando, Florida. Eventually, the program moved to the Rosen Plaza Hotel on International Drive as the conference expanded.

In 1990, the Fire Department Safety Officers Association (FDSOA) was established as a subsidiary of the ISFSI, retaining the Apparatus Symposium. The symposium was specifically designed to focus on education and limited exhibits to tabletop displays. Topics covered a range, from preventive maintenance efforts to iss

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Posted: Nov 9, 2017

FDSOA’s Apparatus Maintenance and Specification Symposium Turns 30

1711FA_HTML_041

 
FROM THE FDSOA Richard Marinucci
 

The Fire Department Safety Officers Association (FDSOA) will celebrate the 30th anniversary of its Annual Apparatus Maintenance & Specification Symposium January 15-17, 2018, in Scottsdale, Arizona.

What prompted the first Apparatus Symposium? Influences included a major legal settlement, the introduction of electronics on apparatus, and a determination to educate fire chiefs on the importance of investing in education and training for fire truck mechanics.

In 1985, a Boston jury found a Wisconsin fire truck manufacturer liable for the injuries sustained by a permanently disabled Massachusetts firefighter because it was too common for firefighters to be hurt from the open-cab design of fire trucks. The impact of that decision was revolutionary in the industry, and within a year fire trucks would be radically redesigned.

The legal liability forced the fire apparatus industry to design safer apparatus while evolving technology was also being integrated into the vehicles. The introduction of Detroit Diesel Electronic Control (DDEC) systems, load management, multiplex systems, and antiskid brakes would result in more sophisticated preventive and routine maintenance on fire apparatus.

Bob Barraclough, a vice president with E-ONE in the 1980s, questioned how fire department mechanics would keep up with the rapid changes to new apparatus. Barraclough, a member of the Fire Apparatus Manufacturers’ Association (FAMA) and NFPA 1901, Standard for Automotive Fire Apparatus, standard committee brought the question to Fort Worth (TX) Fire Department Chief Larry McMillen, chair of the NFPA 1901 committee. In 1987, working with the International Association of Fire Chiefs (IAFC) staff, Barraclough and McMillen held a meeting at the Worthington Hotel in Fort Worth with representatives from several state mechanics’ associations and several FAMA members. Jim Bland, of the Houston (TX) Fire Department; Gene Carlson, of the International Fire Service Training Association; and Boyd Cole, Underwriters Laboratories, were among those involved in discussions concerning apparatus maintenance, liability, and training maintenance personnel.

In 1988, the IAFC sponsored the founding of the Fire Apparatus Mechanics Certification Program, governed by the IAFC’s Apparatus Maintenance Section. In 1991, the program was incorporated into the EVT Certification Commission (EVTCC). Providing testing and certification to emergency vehicle technicians, the EVTCC raised the professionalism of mechanics throughout the industry.

As a result of the Fort Worth meeting, Barraclough approached Mary McCormack, administrator, International Society of Fire Service Instructors (ISFSI), about hosting a small, focused symposium for fire chiefs and mechanics. In 1988, the first Apparatus Specification & Maintenance Symposium was held at a small hotel on Sand Lake Road in Orlando, Florida. Eventually, the program moved to the Rosen Plaza Hotel on International Drive as the conference expanded.

In 1990, the Fire Department Safety Officers Association (FDSOA) was established as a subsidiary of the ISFSI, retaining the Apparatus Symposium. The symposium was specifically designed to focus on education and limited exhibits to tabletop displays. Topics covered a range, from preventive maintenance efforts to iss

Read more
Posted: Nov 9, 2017

Using Fire Hose to Get Air to Firefighters

Palm Beach County (FL) Fire Rescue responded to find heavy smoke showing from all windows and doors of a two-story wood-frame building on concrete pilings. The building was abandoned and only used for storage. Because of the well-developed stage of the fire on arrival, the decision was made to go defensive. The fire was caused by a lightning strike. The ambulance pictured is Rescue 72, a 2009 International 4400 with a Horton Rescue Body and Horton HOP SRS system. (Photo by Michael Boike.)

Palm Beach County (FL) Fire Rescue responded to find heavy smoke showing from all windows and doors of a two-story wood-frame building on concrete pilings. The building was abandoned and only used for storage. Because of the well-developed stage of the fire on arrival, the decision was made to go defensive. The fire was caused by a lightning strike. The ambulance pictured is Rescue 72, a 2009 International 4400 with a Horton Rescue Body and Horton HOP SRS system. (Photo by Michael Boike.)

Getting Breathable Air to Firefighters in Mayday Situations

No Mayday situation is the same, and the variety of equipment available for rapid intervention teams (RITs) reflects this fact.

RITs have a plethora of items from which to choose as they equip themselves for the job of going in and rescuing down firefighters during firefighting operations. Generally, department standard operating procedures lay out how RITs should operate at a structure fire once on location. Deployment plans call for one or multiple RITs, depending on the type and size of structure involved. No matter how many, RITs are on standby at the scene of a fire most of the time. Based on personnel at the scene, an incident commander might place a RIT in service to accomplish other tasks but will immediately replace it. The one constant is that a RIT does not act unless called on.

If you are the unfortunate firefighter to become trapped or go down at a fire, hopefully you have trained on self-survival techniques. One is skip breathing, which is intended to conserve the breathable air in your self-contained breathing apparatus (SCBA) cylinder. It becomes necessary to do so when you know you are getting critically low on air but help has not yet arrived. Once the RIT arrives at your location, it may bring a large air cylinder to supplant your air supply. But, what do you do if skip breathing isn’t an option or if you haven’t trained on such a technique? What do you do if skip breathing isn’t enough, depending on the level of entrapment? Firefighter/Engineer Dan DeWitt has an answer.

Using Fire Hose for Breathable Air

DeWitt is a third-generation firefighter and began his fire service career with the Chandler (AZ) Fire Department in 2002. He is a fire engineer and has more than 18 years of public safety and emergency medical service experience.

For more than a decade, DeWitt had been considering a way to get breathable air into a fire hose for emergency purposes. Asphyxiation has been cited as a leading cause of noncardiac fireground fatalities. “That is the sole purpose of the design and creation of the Emerency Compressed Air Valve (ECAV®)—to save firefighters,” says DeWitt. “I knew there had to be a way to provide additional breathable air to save the lives of firefighters should they become trapped or injured and need additional air supply.

Read more
Posted: Nov 9, 2017

Using Fire Hose to Get Air to Firefighters

Palm Beach County (FL) Fire Rescue responded to find heavy smoke showing from all windows and doors of a two-story wood-frame building on concrete pilings. The building was abandoned and only used for storage. Because of the well-developed stage of the fire on arrival, the decision was made to go defensive. The fire was caused by a lightning strike. The ambulance pictured is Rescue 72, a 2009 International 4400 with a Horton Rescue Body and Horton HOP SRS system. (Photo by Michael Boike.)

Palm Beach County (FL) Fire Rescue responded to find heavy smoke showing from all windows and doors of a two-story wood-frame building on concrete pilings. The building was abandoned and only used for storage. Because of the well-developed stage of the fire on arrival, the decision was made to go defensive. The fire was caused by a lightning strike. The ambulance pictured is Rescue 72, a 2009 International 4400 with a Horton Rescue Body and Horton HOP SRS system. (Photo by Michael Boike.)

Getting Breathable Air to Firefighters in Mayday Situations

No Mayday situation is the same, and the variety of equipment available for rapid intervention teams (RITs) reflects this fact.

RITs have a plethora of items from which to choose as they equip themselves for the job of going in and rescuing down firefighters during firefighting operations. Generally, department standard operating procedures lay out how RITs should operate at a structure fire once on location. Deployment plans call for one or multiple RITs, depending on the type and size of structure involved. No matter how many, RITs are on standby at the scene of a fire most of the time. Based on personnel at the scene, an incident commander might place a RIT in service to accomplish other tasks but will immediately replace it. The one constant is that a RIT does not act unless called on.

If you are the unfortunate firefighter to become trapped or go down at a fire, hopefully you have trained on self-survival techniques. One is skip breathing, which is intended to conserve the breathable air in your self-contained breathing apparatus (SCBA) cylinder. It becomes necessary to do so when you know you are getting critically low on air but help has not yet arrived. Once the RIT arrives at your location, it may bring a large air cylinder to supplant your air supply. But, what do you do if skip breathing isn’t an option or if you haven’t trained on such a technique? What do you do if skip breathing isn’t enough, depending on the level of entrapment? Firefighter/Engineer Dan DeWitt has an answer.

Using Fire Hose for Breathable Air

DeWitt is a third-generation firefighter and began his fire service career with the Chandler (AZ) Fire Department in 2002. He is a fire engineer and has more than 18 years of public safety and emergency medical service experience.

For more than a decade, DeWitt had been considering a way to get breathable air into a fire hose for emergency purposes. Asphyxiation has been cited as a leading cause of noncardiac fireground fatalities. “That is the sole purpose of the design and creation of the Emerency Compressed Air Valve (ECAV®)—to save firefighters,” says DeWitt. “I knew there had to be a way to provide additional breathable air to save the lives of firefighters should they become trapped or injured and need additional air supply.

Read more
Posted: Nov 9, 2017

Using Fire Hose to Get Air to Firefighters

Palm Beach County (FL) Fire Rescue responded to find heavy smoke showing from all windows and doors of a two-story wood-frame building on concrete pilings. The building was abandoned and only used for storage. Because of the well-developed stage of the fire on arrival, the decision was made to go defensive. The fire was caused by a lightning strike. The ambulance pictured is Rescue 72, a 2009 International 4400 with a Horton Rescue Body and Horton HOP SRS system. (Photo by Michael Boike.)

Palm Beach County (FL) Fire Rescue responded to find heavy smoke showing from all windows and doors of a two-story wood-frame building on concrete pilings. The building was abandoned and only used for storage. Because of the well-developed stage of the fire on arrival, the decision was made to go defensive. The fire was caused by a lightning strike. The ambulance pictured is Rescue 72, a 2009 International 4400 with a Horton Rescue Body and Horton HOP SRS system. (Photo by Michael Boike.)

Getting Breathable Air to Firefighters in Mayday Situations

No Mayday situation is the same, and the variety of equipment available for rapid intervention teams (RITs) reflects this fact.

RITs have a plethora of items from which to choose as they equip themselves for the job of going in and rescuing down firefighters during firefighting operations. Generally, department standard operating procedures lay out how RITs should operate at a structure fire once on location. Deployment plans call for one or multiple RITs, depending on the type and size of structure involved. No matter how many, RITs are on standby at the scene of a fire most of the time. Based on personnel at the scene, an incident commander might place a RIT in service to accomplish other tasks but will immediately replace it. The one constant is that a RIT does not act unless called on.

If you are the unfortunate firefighter to become trapped or go down at a fire, hopefully you have trained on self-survival techniques. One is skip breathing, which is intended to conserve the breathable air in your self-contained breathing apparatus (SCBA) cylinder. It becomes necessary to do so when you know you are getting critically low on air but help has not yet arrived. Once the RIT arrives at your location, it may bring a large air cylinder to supplant your air supply. But, what do you do if skip breathing isn’t an option or if you haven’t trained on such a technique? What do you do if skip breathing isn’t enough, depending on the level of entrapment? Firefighter/Engineer Dan DeWitt has an answer.

Using Fire Hose for Breathable Air

DeWitt is a third-generation firefighter and began his fire service career with the Chandler (AZ) Fire Department in 2002. He is a fire engineer and has more than 18 years of public safety and emergency medical service experience.

For more than a decade, DeWitt had been considering a way to get breathable air into a fire hose for emergency purposes. Asphyxiation has been cited as a leading cause of noncardiac fireground fatalities. “That is the sole purpose of the design and creation of the Emerency Compressed Air Valve (ECAV®)—to save firefighters,” says DeWitt. “I knew there had to be a way to provide additional breathable air to save the lives of firefighters should they become trapped or injured and need additional air supply.

Read more
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