Kansas City firefighters now take two simple safety steps that might have saved the lives of two colleagues in a 2015 building collapse. The steps were among the recommendations in a federal report released Thursday. Emergency tones are sounded, as they were two years ago, when firefighters are ordered out of a collapse zone.
- PUB DATE: 8/25/2017 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Kansas City Star

The International Association of Fire Chiefs (IAFC) and the IAFC Company Officers Section (COS) have released a new publication exploring the importance of succession management in the fire service and offers simple steps fire chiefs can take to prepare their fire department for the future. “Succession Management for the Fire-Rescue Service – Understanding and Applying the Process” is a user-friendly 34-page guide providing steps for departments to start their own plans and includes a history of succession management in the fire-rescue service.
- PUB DATE: 8/25/2017 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: International Association of Fire Chiefs

Seventy retired and active firefighters from Scranton, Dunmore and Wilkes-Barre suing a siren manufacturer claim its devices caused hearing loss. In five separate but similar lawsuits filed Tuesday in Lackawanna County Court, the firefighters — most of whom are retired — claim they suffered hearing losses from firetruck sirens manufactured by Federal Signal Corp.
- PUB DATE: 8/25/2017 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Scranton Times & Tribune

A new study by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) shows scientifically for the first time that an individual’s ability to respond quickly to a residential fire determines who dies and who gets injured. Home fire deaths, the NIST researchers state, are more likely among those they define as frail populations—persons who are not in robust health and primarily age 65 and older—while nonfatal injuries occur more often in adults ages 20 to 49.
- PUB DATE: 8/25/2017 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: NIST.gov

Bessemer City (NC) Fire Department MVP rescue-pumper. Cinder cab and chassis; Cummins ISL9 450-hp engine; Hale Qmax 2,000-gpm pump; 1,000-gallon polypropylene tank.