By Alan M. Petrillo

1 Mitchell Associates Architects designs fire stations that use 2x8-inch wood studs with spray foam insulation in between, then sheeting and concrete block facing outside to get to an R22 insulation value. (Photos 1-3 courtesy of Mitchell Associates Architects.)

Fire departments around the country are choosing to design “green” elements into their new or remodeled fire stations - from the use of sustainable materials and taking advantage of natural lighting, to energy-producing solar photovoltaic (PV) arrays, energy-saving PV water heating systems, and LED lighting systems.

Energy Requirements

2 This roof array of photovoltaic (PV) panels to generate electricity was installed on this Rensselaer (NY) Fire Department station designed by Mitchell Associates Architects.

What really matters in fire station design, says Bob Mitchell, principal in Mitchell Associates Architects, “first and foremost is energy. We can achieve very high R values (insulating values), up to R32 in many cases,” Mitchell says. “The typical wall in an office area is a steel stud with insulation on the outside, like a Dow Styrofoam screwed onto the studs, but the system’s insulating value is diminished by the steel. We use 2x8-inch wood studs with spray foam insulation in between, then sheeting outside. With concrete block facing, we can get to a R32 value.”

Mitchell points out that many municipalities building fire stations are looking to have Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certification. “LEED looks not only at the materials used but also at health-related matters for the individuals who will be in the building,” he says. “That means no volatile organic compounds (VOCs), as well as lots of daylight with views and vast expanses of north-facing glass, which often can conflict with energy efficiency.”

3 This modern, ultra-high-efficiency, compact boiler uses PVC as an exhaust flue, has 95 percent efficiency to drive down annual operating costs, has variable-frequency ultra-high-efficiency circulators, and produces extremely low air pollution from nitrous oxide.

Ken Newell, principal in Stewart Cooper Newell Architects, says, “What we are seeing industrywide is a little less desire to follow a prescribed program, like LEED or Green Globes, and more desire to design and incorporate sustainabl

By Alan M. Petrillo

1 Mitchell Associates Architects designs fire stations that use 2x8-inch wood studs with spray foam insulation in between, then sheeting and concrete block facing outside to get to an R22 insulation value. (Photos 1-3 courtesy of Mitchell Associates Architects.)

Fire departments around the country are choosing to design “green” elements into their new or remodeled fire stations - from the use of sustainable materials and taking advantage of natural lighting, to energy-producing solar photovoltaic (PV) arrays, energy-saving PV water heating systems, and LED lighting systems.

Energy Requirements

2 This roof array of photovoltaic (PV) panels to generate electricity was installed on this Rensselaer (NY) Fire Department station designed by Mitchell Associates Architects.

What really matters in fire station design, says Bob Mitchell, principal in Mitchell Associates Architects, “first and foremost is energy. We can achieve very high R values (insulating values), up to R32 in many cases,” Mitchell says. “The typical wall in an office area is a steel stud with insulation on the outside, like a Dow Styrofoam screwed onto the studs, but the system’s insulating value is diminished by the steel. We use 2x8-inch wood studs with spray foam insulation in between, then sheeting outside. With concrete block facing, we can get to a R32 value.”

Mitchell points out that many municipalities building fire stations are looking to have Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certification. “LEED looks not only at the materials used but also at health-related matters for the individuals who will be in the building,” he says. “That means no volatile organic compounds (VOCs), as well as lots of daylight with views and vast expanses of north-facing glass, which often can conflict with energy efficiency.”

3 This modern, ultra-high-efficiency, compact boiler uses PVC as an exhaust flue, has 95 percent efficiency to drive down annual operating costs, has variable-frequency ultra-high-efficiency circulators, and produces extremely low air pollution from nitrous oxide.

Ken Newell, principal in Stewart Cooper Newell Architects, says, “What we are seeing industrywide is a little less desire to follow a prescribed program, like LEED or Green Globes, and more desire to design and incorporate sustainabl

By Alan M. Petrillo

1 Mitchell Associates Architects designs fire stations that use 2x8-inch wood studs with spray foam insulation in between, then sheeting and concrete block facing outside to get to an R22 insulation value. (Photos 1-3 courtesy of Mitchell Associates Architects.)

Fire departments around the country are choosing to design “green” elements into their new or remodeled fire stations - from the use of sustainable materials and taking advantage of natural lighting, to energy-producing solar photovoltaic (PV) arrays, energy-saving PV water heating systems, and LED lighting systems.

Energy Requirements

2 This roof array of photovoltaic (PV) panels to generate electricity was installed on this Rensselaer (NY) Fire Department station designed by Mitchell Associates Architects.

What really matters in fire station design, says Bob Mitchell, principal in Mitchell Associates Architects, “first and foremost is energy. We can achieve very high R values (insulating values), up to R32 in many cases,” Mitchell says. “The typical wall in an office area is a steel stud with insulation on the outside, like a Dow Styrofoam screwed onto the studs, but the system’s insulating value is diminished by the steel. We use 2x8-inch wood studs with spray foam insulation in between, then sheeting outside. With concrete block facing, we can get to a R32 value.”

Mitchell points out that many municipalities building fire stations are looking to have Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certification. “LEED looks not only at the materials used but also at health-related matters for the individuals who will be in the building,” he says. “That means no volatile organic compounds (VOCs), as well as lots of daylight with views and vast expanses of north-facing glass, which often can conflict with energy efficiency.”

3 This modern, ultra-high-efficiency, compact boiler uses PVC as an exhaust flue, has 95 percent efficiency to drive down annual operating costs, has variable-frequency ultra-high-efficiency circulators, and produces extremely low air pollution from nitrous oxide.

Ken Newell, principal in Stewart Cooper Newell Architects, says, “What we are seeing industrywide is a little less desire to follow a prescribed program, like LEED or Green Globes, and more desire to design and incorporate sustainabl

More than 850 homes were targeted to receive free Home Fire Safety Visits on October 7 and October 14 as the American Red Cross, Spokane Valley Fire Department (SVFD) and the Spokane Fire Department (SFD) partner to kick-off National Fire Prevention Week, October 7 – 14, 2017. With the resident’s permission, teams of volunteers will test existing smoke alarms and install new smoke alarms as needed to ensure working smoke alarms are in the right locations throughout each home.
- PUB DATE: 10/9/2017 12:50:38 PM - SOURCE: KXLY-TV ABC 4

Carl J. Haddon

Firefighter cancer-related death statistics continue to rise.

Additionally, statistics show that more than 50 percent of all firefighter line-of-duty deaths (LODDs) in the past decade were caused by cardiac failure following excessive heat stress exposure. The numbers don’t lie, and I’m pretty confident that our jobs are dangerous enough dealing with the life-threatening hazards we respond to. The life-threatening hazards that we as firefighters need rescue from are those that we can’t see, like occupational cancers and heat stress-related cardiac issues. We owe it to ourselves, and especially our loved ones, to become educated and do what we can to minimize our exposure on the fireground (while still committing to aggressively fighting fire).

The science also shows that we are routinely exposed to the carcinogenic toxins of smoke and soot not only through inhalation but also through exposure via bare skin - on the head, face, and neck. Think about it: When we come off of air at a fire, we are typically hot and sweaty from exertion and heat exposure, right? We get clear (best practice), pull our helmet and our hood, and remove our self-contained breathing apparatus (SCBA) mask prior to “opening up” our personal protective equipment (PPE). As you envision this process, where is the least protected part of your body while you fight fire? The only thing that protects our face, ears, and neck is that single-layer hood. Most everything else that we wear has some combination of thermal and moisture/particulate barriers built into it, such as our turnout gear, our helmets, and our SCBA masks.

Since the beginning of (firefighting) time, we used this to our advantage. When we felt our ears starting to roast, it was time to back off or back out. That’s because that thin hood we wear allows us to feel excessive heat on our faces. Unfortunately, those hoods are also permeable enough to allow the aforementioned toxins to permeate the fabric and come in regular contact with the skin on our faces and necks.

1 Fire-Dex/TECGEN manufactures PPE to combat both the number one (cancer) and number two (heat stress and cardiac fatigue) causes of firefighter-related deaths. (Photos courtesy of Fire-Dex/TECGEN.)

Extreme Heat Stress

When tones drop in the firehouse or volunteers’ pagers go off for a response, our heart rates automatically increase. Endorphins are released into our body, and we are off to the races. We then turn out in bunker gear that is designed to protect us from the properties of fire. As soon as we don our gear, our core body temperature rises, even before we begin to physically exert ourselves on scene. From that moment on (provided we are wearing our gear properly), there is very little opportunity for that heat (and increase in core body temperature) to be released or reduced until the call is over or we get a chance to “open up.” But what about those areas of the country where “opening up” doesn’t really help, in part because of the hot and humid weather conditions?

I recently returned from a live fire training assignment in southe