By Chris Mc Loone

I recently sat in on a rather spirited but informal truck committee meeting at my fire company-informal because although the group of us will be on an upcoming truck committee, we weren't in any official decision making capacity at the time, and the committee in its entirety hasn't been named yet.

It was spirited because we had a number of personalities in the room who had very strong opinions about how our next apparatus should be equipped and how it should be designed. As I looked around the room during one rather loud yet not heated discussion, I began to wonder, Who will be the voice of reason moving forward during this process; who will be the most persuasive; and, frankly, how in the world are we going to get through this?

In some ways, this is uncharted waters for the truck committee. The last truck we built was an engine. We took delivery in 2010. Although it was not a simple process, to my recollection we did not have any of the impassioned debates we are starting to have already. Actually, the other members of the committee may disagree with that, because I really wanted a bell on the engine. And, I know some of us had some convincing to do to get a booster reel on the truck. But, all in all, it was a relatively smooth process. A rescue truck, however, is a whole different animal.

In this month's FAMA Forum, Bill Proft mentions that a rescue vehicle is an expensive toolbox. Not only that, but a rescue vehicle is probably one of the most heavily customized fire apparatus on the road. The amount of equipment and degree of customization leave a lot of room for debate.

For an engine, there is certain equipment we have to carry per NFPA 1901, Standard for Automotive Fire Apparatus. It creates a rather defined starting point. When we were specing our engine, it was relatively simple outside of deciding how many discharges to go with, figuring out the crew cab, and equipment location. NFPA 1901 has no classification for a rescue truck. It falls under the "special service apparatus" heading. The minimum requirements for special service apparatus do not include rescue equipment, which is where our debate begins. It's pretty hard to build a truck when there isn't a baseline from which to start.

You might think, "What's the problem? You have the equipment. Put it on the next truck." This is where some of the uncharted waters are for us. The entire fire service is being asked to do more with fewer personnel, and in some cases the volunteer fire service isn't being asked to do so but is being forced to because of declining numbers. We are looking at designing a truck around realities we haven't had to focus on as of yet. We have to more carefully consider daytime numbers vs. the numbers we get at night to build a truck with equipment that realistically can be deployed by one person. We need to take a closer look than ever at the walk-in and walk-through designs we've employed on past rescues and decide whether it's realistic to expect that we could have up to 13 personnel on the truck. We can pick up a lot of space by reducing the size of the walk-in area at the very least or eliminating it completely.

Data are going to come in handy for this one. It's not going to stop disagreements over seating, but it's going to be hard to argue with data that say we staff the truck with X amount of personnel beyond the driver and officer on average. We have the data-one of the benefits of the accreditation process we've been going through that I talked about last month.

We purchase our apparatus ourselves, so the truck committee will have to justify the purchase to the general body of the fire company, and the expenditure will come to a vote. Our next rescue truck undoubtedly is going to be a departure from rescue trucks of the past in many ways, and the committee will have to explain the rationale behind many of its decisions. The

By Alan M. Petrillo

Fire departments can face confined space rescue situations at any time. There are times, however, when those events are of a larger magnitude than the departments might be prepared for. That's when having firefighters properly trained in confined space work and the right kinds of equipment for the job come into play to rescue victims and secure the scene.

Scene Assessment

Kent Freeman, owner of California Health & Rescue Training, says fire department confined space teams typically should run through the tactical priorities when faced with a confined space event. They have to assess the survival profile of the victim by yelling to get a verbal response or using some type of physical stimulus, he says, as well as use monitoring equipment to assess the atmosphere viability in the space, including getting a reading at the place where the victim is located.

Ventilating the space is important, he maintains, and can be accomplished, depending on the scenario, with a standard smoke ejector like those found on many engine companies or axial and centrifugal fans with ductwork. "They might need to use either a positive or negative pressure system," Freeman observes, "or even a combination of the two."

Tom Fox, director of operations for Leader North America, says that in addition to search cameras and communications equipment used in confined space-the LeaderCAM and LeaderCOM units-Leader also makes the V-Box, an extractor-blower conversion kit that transforms a ventilation fan used in confined space work into an extractor.

Fox says a ventilation fan is positioned inside the V-Box, connects to a duct with quick fasteners, and "canalizes the flow of air for powerful ventilation of confined spaces." He notes that 1.5-horsepower electric fan can move 12,000 to 13,000 cubic feet of air through the flexible ducting. The V-Box can accommodate 16-, 18-, 20-, and 21-inch-diameter fans," he says, adding, "more and quicker air movement is an advantage."

Communication

Communications systems and respiratory protection also are "must-have equipment" in confined space rescues, Freeman points out. "Many fire departments use 800-megahertz (MHz) radios, but that range is terrible for confined space because of its lower wattage," he says. "They use a computer to match people to talk on a frequency, and often the signal can't get out. The radios have to be switched to simplex mode during a confined space event to be able to talk radio to radio."

Freeman says he's found that departments are better off carrying two sets of portable radios-an 800-MHz and a very high frequency (VHF) radio that can transmit farther in confined space situations.

"Never enter into a confined space without first discussing your communications and backup communications systems," Freeman says. "The backup can be rope signals, tapping and rapping signals or codes, or PASS alarm systems. Always work from the high end to the simpler low end. Often the simpler is good because we encumber our entrant with a lot of gear and equipment."

Technicians use a three-piece davit arm made by Capital Safety that allows for more room around the space being accessed compared with a tripod. The davit arm breaks down into sections that pack up easily in rescue or ladder trucks.

Respiratory Protection

The most expensive piece of confined space equipment, Freeman says, is the respiratory

It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of George Wahl on Wednesday January 15, 2014. George began his service to the Skykomish community in the fire department in 1979. In 1992, George was appointed Volunteer Fire Chief for King County Fire Protection District #50, beginning his fulltime career as Chief in May of 1993, serving until 2005 when he retired. 

After moving to Skykomish George Wahl and his family have contributed in many ways to the Skykomish Valley. George operated Maloney’s General Store, built tow trucks with Josh’s, served as Town Marshal, WA State DOT aviation, and owned his own business Wahl Excavation. George was always willing to drop what he was doing to lend a helping hand. 

It is with deep regret and heavy hearts that the Washington Fire Chiefs announces the passing of Captain Don Navarre, a 23-year member of the IAFF. Capt. Navarre lost his 9-year battle with Hodgkin’s Lymphoma on January 19th.

Looking back, a lot has changed over the last thirty years in fire and EMS officer development.  Our industry was considered a trade and a high school diploma was sufficient to get hired.  An Associate’s degree was rare and a Bachelor’s degree was unheard of, even as we promoted through the ranks into management positions.  However, as an industry, we recognized the need to move from a trade to a profession.  There were many topics, such as human resources, finance and budgeting, strategic planning, and the like, that were not covered in high school or the fire academy. 

Realizing this, leaders began to focus on encouraging our incumbents to go back to school and earn a two year technical degree.  Employers also began to give more credit to candidates with college degrees who were seeking employment as a firefighter or paramedic.  This slow evolution created a new norm where a two year degree in fire science was an edge for those competing for company officer promotions or entry level positions.  This created a ripple effect upward and soon raised the bar within the profession for senior incumbents and chief officers.  Chief officers and chief officer candidates were headed back to school to earn their four year college degrees, and fire chief hopefuls were seeking post-graduate degrees.  Today, many entry level firefighters possess graduate and post-graduate degrees, and this has also served to encourage incumbent supervisors who want to lead these new firefighters to obtain more formal education...