In this series, Fire Engineering Senior Editor Mary Jane Dittmar looks at the things that motivated and inspired instructors to present on their topics at FDIC International 2016. Segments will be posted on a regular basis up to and through the conference, April 18-23.

"Drive to Survive": the Art of Wheeling the Rig

Thursday, April 21, 10:30 a.m.-12:15 p.m.

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My experience as a firefighter and a police officer was the driving force behind my developing the “Drive to Survive” program in 2003. Its premise is that if firefighters learn the science behind driving a vehicle, they will have a greater respect for the dangers involved in driving a large vehicle during routine and emergency conditions.

I have investigated thousands of serious and fatal motor vehicle crashes, almost all of could have been prevented. With this background in crash reconstruction, I began to pay attention to the number of fire apparatus crashes I was reading about on the fire Web sites. Motor vehicle crashes had become the second leading cause of line-of-duty deaths for firefighters (behind heart attacks), but yet there was very little training on the topic, and the training that did exist often glossed over the most important aspects of vehicle operations--vehicle dynamics, roadway friction, critical curve speeds, total stopping distance, and countless of other areas that are often missed or not properly explained in many driver training programs.

Fire Apparatus Driving: Drive to Survive: It Starts at the Top

The Hazards of Modified Fire Apparatus and Extended Passenger Vans

DRIVE TO SURVIVE

Using vehicle dynamics and physics, I developed this much-needed program to fill the gap in the fire service and help fire apparatus operators to thoroughly understand vehicle dynamics. It would drive home to emergency vehicle operators that regardless of how long they have been driving or how good a driver they think they may be, at some point physics will take over, and they will lose control of the vehicle.

This is the 11th consecutive year “Drive to Survive” is being presented at FDIC International. Every year, the comments from students have been extremely positive. The class presents valuable information on an extremely important topic in a “fun” and understandable way. Many of the driving safety seminars that have been hosted throughout the country during these years have been a direct result of FDIC attendees' recommendations to their administration to host a regional course. Some departments host the seminar annually as a part of a comprehensive driver training program they implemented based on what was learned in the original seminar. Some 15,000 emergency responders at more than 380 locations across the United States have attended this sem

IamResponding.com (IaR) has signed on as a new supporter of the National Fallen Firefighters Foundation (NFFF).

IamResponding will contribute $25 to the NFFF from every new IaR subscription between March 1 and the National Fallen Firefighters Memorial Weekend (Octob 8-9). Those funds will be directed to Foundation programs that honor the fallen, assist their survivors and help prevent future line-of-duty deaths and injuries.

“IamResponding has always been committed to enhancing firefighter safety, with a primary mission of getting more complete crews on the scene faster," explained Daniel Seidberg, President of IamResponding.com.  "Reducing response times with IaR results in more complete and more effective crews getting to a safer fireground. We are honored to be able to extend the support of our international network of more than 5,000 subscribing departments to the NFFF's critical mission and programs, and we look forward to adding the many new subscribers this year who will be the driving force behind this partnership with the NFFF."

“We appreciate IamResponding.com’s commitment to the National Fallen Firefighters Foundation’s mission to honor the fallen, offer support to their families and help reduce firefighter line-of-duty injuries and deaths each year,” said Ronald J. Siarnicki, Executive Director of the National Fallen Firefighters Foundation. “Their generous support will help the Foundation provide valuable resources to the survivors of the fallen and the fire service.”

More: IamResponding.com

The Battalion TV is kicking off a new series: The FDIC experience (above), which follows members of the Snyder (NY) Fire Department as they attend FDIC International 2016, the world's largest firefighter training conference.

More episodes at www.thebattalion.tv

 

Sunnyside’s fire department showed off its first ladder truck Wednesday. At $980,000, the vehicle is one of the most important purchases in the fire department’s history, providing unprecedented access to potentially large fires. “That’s pretty monumental for us,” said Fire Chief Aaron Markham. Sunnyside owns or partially owns three fire engines and three ambulances — but previously not a ladder truck.
- PUB DATE: 4/14/2016 5:00:03 AM - SOURCE: Yakima Herald-Republic

Sunnyside’s fire department showed off its first ladder truck Wednesday. At $980,000, the vehicle is one of the most important purchases in the fire department’s history, providing unprecedented access to potentially large fires. “That’s pretty monumental for us,” said Fire Chief Aaron Markham. Sunnyside owns or partially owns three fire engines and three ambulances — but previously not a ladder truck.
- PUB DATE: 4/14/2016 5:00:03 AM - SOURCE: Yakima Herald-Republic