Experience coupled with wisdom is often worth sharing. That’s why this column is about the dangers firefighters face when a flashover occurs. I have written about flashovers in other columns because this phenomenon can claim the lives of firefighters. The more knowledge we arm our firefighters with about flashovers, the safer they will be.

A flashover is an extremely dangerous occurrence when a fire rapidly engulfs an area with temperatures reaching more than 1,000˚F. When I explain a flashover to my recruits, I tell them a flashover is when a hot fire becomes an inescapable fire. The fire service gives a great deal of attention to understanding flashovers but in today’s firefighting environment, where firefighters respond less and less often to fire calls, it is even more critical to keep flashover training at the forefront of all discussions. One way to achieve this is to train our firefighters to recognize preflashover signs. What’s important to remember when talking about a flashover is that it builds from a multitude of prior events that lead to what becomes a catastrophic event. The fire service estimates that firefighters have maybe two to three seconds to escape a flashover. Firefighters can train for these events to avoid being in harm’s way when a flashover occurs.

1 Size up the interior of each room with your TIC to be aware of constantly changing conditions that could result in a flashover. (Photos courtesy of Bullard.)

Using a thermal imaging camera (TIC) during preflashover situations can help you determine warning signs that you would not otherwise see without the use of this tool. A TIC will never help you if you are caught in a flashover. I cannot stress this enough. You don’t have enough time to look at your TIC and try to escape a flashover. Remember, the fire service estimates that you have maybe two or three seconds max to get out of the situation. There’s no time to process what’s on your TIC screen and, even if you had a few more seconds, looking at your TIC will only show you what you already know is happening. It’s important to remember that a TIC is a tool to help you detect a flashover.

Firefighters know before entering a structure to use their TIC to size up the exterior, but it’s just as critical to size up the interior of a structure to be aware of constantly changing conditions. Once inside the structure, you can use your TIC for visual readings to help you determine the severity of a situation. Using your TIC to scan inside a structure lets you look for signs of excessive heat buildup, particularly near the ceiling, or levels of high heat closer to the floor where you might not otherwise expect it. For example, your TIC can detect how rapidly fire gases are moving across a structure’s ceiling to help you determine if they are moving to other areas or being contained in the room you are in. Use your TIC to help you see through the thick smoke that is happening above you and to also help you detect thermal laye

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

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

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

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

By Chris Mc Loone

 

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.

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