chief concerns richard marinucci
Everyone agrees that firefighters are the most valuable resources in a fire department.
Service cannot be provided without human resources, and the quality of what is delivered depends on well-trained and healthy firefighters. The job can be very challenging when dealing with the thermal insult and toxic fumes generated by a fire. Further, the work environment, aka the building, can collapse in the middle of an operation. These hazards do not even include those present for other job responsibilities in emergency medical services, hazardous materials responses, and technical rescues.
The hazards present to firefighters are more prevalent today, and the list of risks seems to be continually growing. It is not just short-term danger but the threat of harm later in life. Most specifically, it is the increased risk of contracting certain types of cancer. This can be attributed to the increasing danger of the products of combustion on the human body. But, cancer is not the only threat. Firefighters must be protected from a wide range of injuries and illnesses. If departments are serious about protecting their most valuable resources, then they must take a comprehensive approach to minimize the risks to their firefighters, including health and wellness programs and quality protective clothing.
Research Your Choices
Everyone should be aware that there is more protection for firefighters than ever before. This includes improved personal protective equipment (PPE), self-contained breathing apparatus (SCBA), and ancillary equipment that helps such as air monitors and thermal imaging cameras. While most of the products you see offer protection, some are obviously better than others. It will pay dividends to do your homework. Products have differing degrees of safety and protection for firefighters. Make sure the product you are looking at will do what it is supposed to do within a price range you can afford. This is especially true when new products are developed to address specific issues. I recall that the first few generations of PASS devices did not operate as fire departments expected. There were many false alarms to the point that firefighters were ignoring their signals, and the noise was affecting communication. Subsequently, integrated PASS devices have proven to be much more reliable and effective.
Regarding protective equipment, the best options are to follow National Fire Protection Association standards and manufacturers’ recommendations regarding maintenance and upkeep. This only works when a standard exists. As new products are developed, it takes a little time for the standards to catch up. There could be other options from other industries using similar products, or there may be some governmental regulations. Just check to see what is available when researching products. You may also need to pay more attention to the science behind a product. This was brought to my attention recently by a colleague who makes sure I know what I am talking about regarding certain products. I was discussing one in particular, and he cautioned me to wait until the “jury decides” before extolling the virtues of a magic cure-all. As they say, “caveat emptor,” or let the buyer beware.
Beyond PPE
There is only so much that equipment and safety items can do to protect firefighters. Regardless of their quality and effect
Read more
- 364
- Article rating: No rating
Posted: Jan 26, 2018
chief concerns richard marinucci
Everyone agrees that firefighters are the most valuable resources in a fire department.
Service cannot be provided without human resources, and the quality of what is delivered depends on well-trained and healthy firefighters. The job can be very challenging when dealing with the thermal insult and toxic fumes generated by a fire. Further, the work environment, aka the building, can collapse in the middle of an operation. These hazards do not even include those present for other job responsibilities in emergency medical services, hazardous materials responses, and technical rescues.
The hazards present to firefighters are more prevalent today, and the list of risks seems to be continually growing. It is not just short-term danger but the threat of harm later in life. Most specifically, it is the increased risk of contracting certain types of cancer. This can be attributed to the increasing danger of the products of combustion on the human body. But, cancer is not the only threat. Firefighters must be protected from a wide range of injuries and illnesses. If departments are serious about protecting their most valuable resources, then they must take a comprehensive approach to minimize the risks to their firefighters, including health and wellness programs and quality protective clothing.
Research Your Choices
Everyone should be aware that there is more protection for firefighters than ever before. This includes improved personal protective equipment (PPE), self-contained breathing apparatus (SCBA), and ancillary equipment that helps such as air monitors and thermal imaging cameras. While most of the products you see offer protection, some are obviously better than others. It will pay dividends to do your homework. Products have differing degrees of safety and protection for firefighters. Make sure the product you are looking at will do what it is supposed to do within a price range you can afford. This is especially true when new products are developed to address specific issues. I recall that the first few generations of PASS devices did not operate as fire departments expected. There were many false alarms to the point that firefighters were ignoring their signals, and the noise was affecting communication. Subsequently, integrated PASS devices have proven to be much more reliable and effective.
Regarding protective equipment, the best options are to follow National Fire Protection Association standards and manufacturers’ recommendations regarding maintenance and upkeep. This only works when a standard exists. As new products are developed, it takes a little time for the standards to catch up. There could be other options from other industries using similar products, or there may be some governmental regulations. Just check to see what is available when researching products. You may also need to pay more attention to the science behind a product. This was brought to my attention recently by a colleague who makes sure I know what I am talking about regarding certain products. I was discussing one in particular, and he cautioned me to wait until the “jury decides” before extolling the virtues of a magic cure-all. As they say, “caveat emptor,” or let the buyer beware.
Beyond PPE
There is only so much that equipment and safety items can do to protect firefighters. Regardless of their quality and effect
Read more
- 355
- Article rating: No rating
Posted: Jan 26, 2018
chief concerns richard marinucci
Everyone agrees that firefighters are the most valuable resources in a fire department.
Service cannot be provided without human resources, and the quality of what is delivered depends on well-trained and healthy firefighters. The job can be very challenging when dealing with the thermal insult and toxic fumes generated by a fire. Further, the work environment, aka the building, can collapse in the middle of an operation. These hazards do not even include those present for other job responsibilities in emergency medical services, hazardous materials responses, and technical rescues.
The hazards present to firefighters are more prevalent today, and the list of risks seems to be continually growing. It is not just short-term danger but the threat of harm later in life. Most specifically, it is the increased risk of contracting certain types of cancer. This can be attributed to the increasing danger of the products of combustion on the human body. But, cancer is not the only threat. Firefighters must be protected from a wide range of injuries and illnesses. If departments are serious about protecting their most valuable resources, then they must take a comprehensive approach to minimize the risks to their firefighters, including health and wellness programs and quality protective clothing.
Research Your Choices
Everyone should be aware that there is more protection for firefighters than ever before. This includes improved personal protective equipment (PPE), self-contained breathing apparatus (SCBA), and ancillary equipment that helps such as air monitors and thermal imaging cameras. While most of the products you see offer protection, some are obviously better than others. It will pay dividends to do your homework. Products have differing degrees of safety and protection for firefighters. Make sure the product you are looking at will do what it is supposed to do within a price range you can afford. This is especially true when new products are developed to address specific issues. I recall that the first few generations of PASS devices did not operate as fire departments expected. There were many false alarms to the point that firefighters were ignoring their signals, and the noise was affecting communication. Subsequently, integrated PASS devices have proven to be much more reliable and effective.
Regarding protective equipment, the best options are to follow National Fire Protection Association standards and manufacturers’ recommendations regarding maintenance and upkeep. This only works when a standard exists. As new products are developed, it takes a little time for the standards to catch up. There could be other options from other industries using similar products, or there may be some governmental regulations. Just check to see what is available when researching products. You may also need to pay more attention to the science behind a product. This was brought to my attention recently by a colleague who makes sure I know what I am talking about regarding certain products. I was discussing one in particular, and he cautioned me to wait until the “jury decides” before extolling the virtues of a magic cure-all. As they say, “caveat emptor,” or let the buyer beware.
Beyond PPE
There is only so much that equipment and safety items can do to protect firefighters. Regardless of their quality and effect
Read more
- 263
- Article rating: No rating
Posted: Jan 26, 2018
By Rick Markley
A top-notch first responder training facility needs more than land, buildings, and instructors—it needs gear. Here’s how one new site stocked up and its plan for growth.
Raise your hand if you’ve ever been part of a firefighter training class where a large group of students stood around waiting their turn while two or three firefighter students did a hands-on evolution. If your hand’s not up and you’ve been at this profession for a while, consider yourself lucky.
1 The Multi Agency Academic Cooperative is a newly opened center about 50 miles east of Chicago, Illinois, that is operated by a nonprofit foundation and was built and supplied through a private-public partnership. (Photos by Tim Olk.)
Instructors know that this standing-around scenario is one of the quickest ways to lose students’ interest, and once lost, it is difficult to regain. Getting around that problem is just one of the challenges facing any new first responder training facility.
The New Training Facility
The Multi Agency Academic Cooperative is one such training facility wrestling with that problem. The MAAC, as it’s called, is a newly opened center about 50 miles east of Chicago, Illinois, that is operated by a nonprofit foundation and was built and supplied through a private-public partnership. You can read the full story of how the MAAC came to be and what it offers first responders at http://bit.ly/2ikLvKx.
Leaders at the MAAC understand full well that solving the standing-around dilemma is a matter of having a sound organizational structure, the proper instructor-to-student ratios, and enough equipment to keep firefighters working. “When we have a [Firefighter I and II] class of 42 starting, I don’t want four of them working on a ladder and 38 of them sitting around,” says Michael Parks, division chief for the Crown Point (IN) Fire Department. “We want to get it to where we have [enough] ladders where they can break up into squads of four and operate as a company. We’re going to have to have a lot of duplication of equipment so we can get more hands on.”
Parks is Indiana’s District 1 firefighter training coordinator. Indiana is divided into 10 fire training districts. The five-county District 1 is the second largest by population in the state with about 2,000 firefighters from more than 70 departments. Parks has also been on the ground floor of the MAAC’s development and sits on its leadership committee. That involvement goes hand-in-hand with District 1’s contract to use the MAAC as its home base. “We are the second most populated district in the state, but District 1 does far more training than other districts,” Parks says. “We put a lot of training together up here.
Designed for Multiple Evolutions at Once
From an engineering and design standpoint, the MAAC is laid out in such a way as to allow for Parks’ vision of multiple squads of firefighting students training at once. That comes, thanks in large part, to MAAC Academy Director Ward Barnett. He led
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