ROBERT TUTTEROW

EWS ... ah ... another acronym for the fire service. What is EWS? It means enhanced water streams.

This means there is an additive in the water to make it more efficient-i.e., foam concentrate or wetting agents. This past May, I had the privilege of working with the Kill the Flashover Project (KTF). A key component of KTF is researching fire behavior. The current research involves many facets of fire extinguishment including tactical air management (flow path management), the use of thermal imaging cameras, and EWS.

Why EWS?

Concentrates have been around for decades but are rarely used in structural fire suppression. Moreover, water works-and it's free-at least for the fire department. According to Albemarle (NC) Fire Department Chief Shawn Oke, concentrates aren't used because they are so misunderstood. Oke has studied concentrates, especially wetting agents, extensively and has written two executive fire officer (EFO) applied research projects on the subject. He is a strong advocate, as his entire fleet having wetting agent capability indicates. His department uses EWS for all fires. Oke is also a co-leader at the KTF research burns. One of this year's KTF burns was a comparison between a room and contents that were pretreated with plain water and a similar room that was pretreated using EWS. There were four notable findings in the comparison:

1. EWS slowed progression of fire growth in the fire room.
2. It reduced the risk of fire injury entering the "conditioned" area (hallway area pretreated with EWS).
3. It decreased the rekindle chance.
4. It increased the moisture in the fire room and "conditioned" room, allowing for an increased time of entry or reentry into the fire room.

Cost

Perhaps one of the biggest obstacles in embracing concentrates is the cost. There must be a delivery system on the apparatus unless the department wants to batch mix by adding concentrate to the booster tank. Then there is the cost of the concentrate. Many people equate EWS with aqueous film forming foam (AFFF) concentrate, which is proportioned at three to six percent. The concentrate mixture used with the EWS in KTF was 0.4 percent-not four percent but 0.4 percent. That is a huge difference. A little bit goes a long way.

Benefits

In the simplest of terms, EWS makes water much more efficient. Concentrates are surfactants and allow water to penetrate the fuel, thus improving the cooling capacity as well as minimizing runoff-i.e., unused water. As Oke states, the fire goes out quicker, the room gets cooler quicker, and the fire stays out. EWS is kryptonite for the embarrassing situation commonly referred to as "rekindle."

There is also an added benefit of EWS in the emerging world of fire suppression. There is a huge benefit in "conditioning." This means that EWS is applied to potential interior exposures as the fire attack team makes its way to the fire. Interior exposures can include walls, ceiling, floor, and furnishings. Conditioning adds moisture to the surfaces and humidity to the atmosphere. The concentrate causes the water to cling to the interior surfaces, whereas plain water will simply run off.

As just mentioned, humidity is added, and one might ask what the benefit of high humidity is. As Joe Starnes, who heads the KTF project, frequently says, "Try lighting a match in a sauna." The KTF project used positive-pressure ventilation (PPV) units with mist

Roger Lackore

National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) 1901, Standard for Automotive Fire Apparatus, and NFPA 1906, Standard for Wildland Fire Apparatus, are the guiding documents for apparatus design.

As such, Fire Apparatus Manufacturers' Association (FAMA) member companies take a very active interest in their content. Changes made to these documents by the NFPA Apparatus Committee can have significant impact on safety, performance, and cost. The committee, comprising fire chiefs, industry experts, and manufacturers, has been working on revisions over the past few years, and the new versions will take effect on apparatus contracted for delivery after January 1, 2016. In contrast to the 2009 standards updates, the document revisions this time around do not involve dramatic impacts to apparatus design. Here are some highlights included in the 2016 revisions.

Ultra High Pressure

The use of ultra high pressure in fire suppression has been promoted by the United States Air Force over the past few years. Having recognized that this technique has been gaining popularity in certain applications, the committee defined pump discharge pressures up to 500 pounds per square inch (psi) as "Normal Pressure," between 500 and 1,100 psi as "High Pressure," and over 1,100 psi as "Ultra High Pressure (UHP)." A new chapter has been added to establish the minimum requirements of a UHP pumping system.

New Apparatus Familiarization

It is common for new apparatus deliveries to include some degree of familiarization by the apparatus manufacturer or the sales organization. This practice is now included as a requirement in the standard, with guidance as to what should be covered and the qualifications of the instructor.

Safety Sign Standardization

Originally prompted by Chief Thomas Wood of the Boca Raton (FL) Fire Department, the FAMA technical committee developed a series of standardized safety signs covering the common hazards of fire apparatus operation. Wood felt that firefighters were better served by having consistency in the safety messages between apparatus-even if they came from different manufacturers. Many of the FAMA signs have been added as requirements in the standards, ensuring that safety messages on future apparatus will be consistent across all manufacturers' products. The complete set of FAMA safety signs can be viewed and downloaded from the resource tab at www.FAMA.org.

FAMA Safety Guide

Another FAMA initiative was creating the FAMA Fire Apparatus Safety Guide. This guide, now in its second revision, covers safe practices common to all fire apparatus and is a great resource for safety-conscious fire departments. A copy of the FAMA Fire Apparatus Safety Guide will be required to accompany every new apparatus delivery. Fire departments may purchase extra copies of the guide at http://www.FAMA.org.

Seat Belt Stalk Length

The ease with which firefighters can buckle their seat belts continued to be a topic of discussion at committee meetings. One means of making it easier to buckle the belt is to increase the height of the buckle stalk. A higher stalk is easier to reach, but a stalk that is too high reduces the effectiveness of the belt in a crash. After studying the science, the committee established a maximum buckle stalk length that it feels will improve reachability without compromising performance.

Tiller Cab Integrity

In 2009, NFPA 1901 was revised to mandate cab integrity criteria for large apparatus. The n

By Alan M. Petrillo

Not every fire district or municipality can come up with the funding to build a new fire station when the need arises. That's when rehabilitating and renovating an older firehouse to accommodate new fire apparatus and equipment become the answer to allow those structures to function well in the 21st century.

Leading Reasons to Renovate

Bob Mitchell, owner of Mitchell Associates Architects, says there are several possible reasons a fire department might choose to renovate an older station. "It's certainly easier to build a new structure on a different site," he says, "but a department might not do it because it can't afford a new building, there is no plausible alternative site, the old station might be a historically significant building, or there's a public perception against a new station."

Mitchell notes the biggest driving force in renovating older fire stations is the larger size of fire apparatus today. Apparatus bay door heights and bay lengths are two of the biggest concerns in choosing renovation over building new, he adds. "The old 10-by-10-foot overhead doors don't work at all anymore," he says. "We're using 14-by-14-foot doors now. The body on a fire truck is typically eight feet wide, and with mirrors it grows to 10 feet, which could fit in a 12-by-12-foot doorway, but we like to keep eight feet of clearance from one truck bay to another."

1 The city of Lincolnton, North Carolina, chose Stewart-Cooper-Newell Architects to renovate an existing fire station and city hall and put on an addition that connected them into a modern new facility. (Photo courtesy of Stewart-Cooper-Newell Architects.)

Ken Newell, a partner in Stewart-Cooper-Newell Architects, says he performs a facility feasibility study for fire departments that can identify deficiencies in an older station and suggest remedies to correct them. "A department might need 15,000 square feet of space in a station and currently be operating out of 7,500 square feet, so we will quantify the additional space needed," Newell says. "Deficiencies in older stations usually start with bay space because fire stations built 20 to 50 years ago typically are not large enough for new fire apparatus, especially in height, length, and width. Also, older apparatus bays often have problems with their exhaust and drainage systems."

Joe Mottola, president of H2M Architects, says that in almost every case of a firehouse renovation, the focus is on the apparatus room. "Usually the department wants to get bigger trucks into a larger space in a safe manner with proper clearances," Mottola says. "That's the heart and soul of a fire station renovation, and once we get that laid out, then we get into the other spaces like meeting rooms, offices, and the kitchen."

One consideration sometimes overlooked in apparatus bay renovations is the overall height of the bays, Mottola says. "A question we ask is if they need to raise the cab in the station to do maintenance," he notes. "Or, do they need to put a truck on lifts in the station. Those answers will drive the interior height of the truck in the bay."

Read more 679 0 Article rating: No rating Posted: Oct 13, 2015 Follow Up: Firefighters say Vancouver oil train terminal would 'put too many lives at risk' If Washington Governor Jay Inslee approves a controversial oil train terminal in Vancouver, firefighters say a disaster would be a catastrophic. They didn't beat around the bush Tuesday in front of Port of Vancouver commissioners. "What I'm here to talk about is to urge you to remove the oil terminal as a matter of business for the port," said Mark Johnston, president of the Vancouver Firefighters Union. - PUB DATE: 10/13/2015 3:10:07 PM - SOURCE: Northwest Cable News Read more 675 0 Article rating: No rating Posted: Oct 13, 2015 Follow Up: Firefighters say Vancouver oil train terminal would 'put too many lives at risk' If Washington Governor Jay Inslee approves a controversial oil train terminal in Vancouver, firefighters say a disaster would be a catastrophic. They didn't beat around the bush Tuesday in front of Port of Vancouver commissioners. "What I'm here to talk about is to urge you to remove the oil terminal as a matter of business for the port," said Mark Johnston, president of the Vancouver Firefighters Union. - PUB DATE: 10/13/2015 3:10:07 PM - SOURCE: Northwest Cable News Read more 640 0 Article rating: No rating RSS FirstPrevious8096809780988099810081018102810381048105NextLast Theme picker Filter News Catagories Categories News (193) RSS Expand/Collapse Washington News (11847) RSS Expand/Collapse National News (11518) RSS Expand/Collapse WFC News (109) RSS Expand/Collapse Legislative Announcements (7) RSS Expand/Collapse Flag Lowerings (15) RSS Expand/Collapse Memorial Information (24) RSS Expand/Collapse Sections (6) RSS Expand/Collapse Emergency Medical Services (1) RSS Expand/Collapse Fire Administrative Support (17) RSS Expand/Collapse Fire Mechanics (18828) RSS Expand/Collapse Fire Training Safety & Officers (25) RSS Expand/Collapse Public Fire Educators (4) RSS Expand/Collapse HazMat Committee (0) RSS Expand/Collapse Filter to see National, Washington or WFC News, or filter to the Section News you are looking for! Search News Articles Search Terms Of Use | Privacy Statement - Copyright 2025 by Washington Fire Chiefs Home Members About Us News Calendar Resources Documents Sections County Fire Chiefs FRWC WSAFM