Performance Advantage Company Handlelok #1004 provides an adjustable positive locking method to secure a wide variety of tools and equipment. The Handlelok can accommodate many tools at a grip range of 1⁄8 to 1¾ inches including, but not limited to, axes, hammers, pike poles, pry bars, halligans, brooms, shovels, and so on. The Handlelok is molded from high-quality materials, is NFPA-compliant at a rated load of 10 pounds, and is guaranteed for life. It is available in three different colored straps including yellow, black, and orange. It also includes a soft textured pad for extra grip. It is weather- and UV-resistant, nonconductive, and can be mounted horizontally or vertically. Standard and PAC TRAC mounting hardware is included. www.pactoolmounts.com, 888-514-0083

David Clark Company Series 3400 headsets provide crisp, clear communications and effective hearing protection in high-noise environments. They are engineered to be compatible with David Clark Series 3100, 3400, and 3800 Intercom Systems and Series 3000 Mobile Radio Adapters. The Model H3432 is a dual-ear, over-the-head style headset capable of affording comfort and communication clarity over long periods of time. It uses the M7-A electret, noise-cancelling microphone, delivering excellent speech intelligibility. The ear seals and headpad are specifically chosen for comfort in any temperature or environmental conditions. Noise-attenuating ear cups provide clear isolated reception of the connected parties by either intercom or radio while effectively protecting the user's hearing. They also feature adjustable headband spring assemblies for custom fit. Pivoting stirrup assemblies on both ear cups help ensure a precise fit. www.davidclark.com, 508-751-5800

TFT FoamJet low-expansion and multiexpansion foam attachments are designed specifically to enhance foam application performance through TFT's G-Force Series of fixed, selectable gallonage, and automatic nozzles. Both attachments are easily added or removed using a simple clamping mechanism that attaches to the nozzle's front bumper. Produced from lightweight polymers, both the low-expansion and multiexpansion attachments are suitable for Class A and flammable liquid applications. The multiexpansion attachment offers the highest foam expansion and finished foam performance with alcohol resistant foam concentrates (synthetics). The low-expansion attachment is ideal for protein and fluoroprotein concentrates. www.tft.com, 219-462-6161

Elkhart Unibody Electric Controllers (UBECs) are available in three versions. All three of Elkhart's controllers feature a 10 LED ultra-bright display, which indicates closed to fully opened status in 10 percent increments. The 10-LED ultra-bright display is visible in sunlight and automatically dims at night. A preset button is programmable for any position. Unibody Electric Controllers are suitable for operation with any supply voltage between 12 and 24 VDC and require no more than 10 amps. There are no additional modules to wire or mount. Their aluminum housings are sealed to a NEMA 4 rating. Unibody Controllers may be operated via external switches or networked for primary and secondary operation w

By Chris McLoone

How has the ATTACK™ Digital Fire Training System been received so far?

It's going well. The ATTACK training system is a product that we've had in development for several years. The idea actually came from hands-on training instructors at the Fire Department Instructors Conference (FDIC) who were looking for a way to simulate the seat of a fire in an acquired structure, obviously couldn't have live fire, but had a lot of training to do and a lot trainees to get through different evolutions. We worked with them over a couple of years to develop a system that used some LED technology, sound, and smoke to simulate realistic fire conditions without live fire. We were proud to launch the product, and the launch has gone quite well. We've got several units sold, and we're having a lot of conversations with customers around the country. And, they seem to get it. It seems that a lot of departments are facing the same challenge of having an acquired structure or a burn tower [in which] they can't have as large fires as they used to or they can't have fires at all anymore because of the structural implications and are looking for a way to engage in realistic training.

How has the transition to Lion ownership gone?

It's gone well. It's interesting for us to be part of a larger organization. We started BullEx several years ago. We've grown pretty quickly and have established a global presence. But, being part of the Lion organization really gives us the foundation to continue to grow and develop innovative products for the fire service. It's been good.

How has coming under the Lion umbrella enhanced what BullEx can offer the fire service?

I would say that it helps us see the bigger picture in the fire service. Obviously Lion also operates worldwide. It is the largest manufacturer of personal protective equipment for firefighters, so there's a broad perspective there. There's a lot of focus on readiness, which I think has a strong relationship to training, and that's how we fit into the whole picture. So, there's a lot of discussion about how we can, as one organization, help fire departments maintain their levels of readiness, whether that's through the right training, the right training equipment, the right personal protective gear, or the right maintenance systems. So, it's helped us see that bigger picture and respond to the needs of the fire service in a way we probably couldn't have before.

What do you think is the most important issue facing the fire service currently?

The issue we hear the most about, from our perspective, and I think it's an issue that has implications beyond just training, is the fact that there aren't as many fires as there used to be. And, why we hear a lot about that, in doing what we do in manufacturing training equipment, is that because there aren't as many fires day to day to maintain the same level of readiness, training has become more important in departments around the country and around the world. Our ability to create the right props, the right training facilities, and the right training tools is important. Working with fire departments to understand how we can best do that has become our mission.

What keeps you up at night?

Other than my two young kids, probably my cell phone! Right now we're working on building training facility projects in the United States, Europe, Asia, and Australia. So we've got operations that are happening around the clock, and we're honored to be able to work with as many departments around the world as we have.

But, there are certainly some challenges with having a global business, and sleep is one of those challenges! It's a good challenge to have, and again we are fortunate and thankful that we've got that challenge. That's something that keeps me up at night. Probably what's a

By Raul A. Angulo

One year I had the privilege of moderating Brennan and Bruno "Unplugged" at the Fire Department Instructors Conference (FDIC).

I remember someone from the audience at an FDIC Big Room Session asked the late, great Tom Brennan, former editor in chief of Fire Engineering, about search and rescue techniques-specifically referring to which lifting technique he preferred when carrying a victim out of a building. Brennan looked at Chief (Ret.) Alan Brunacini, Phoenix (AZ) Fire Department, with that "What do you think" look and said something like, " I don't know, I think in the heat of the battle you just grab them and go and hope whatever you're holding onto (skin, clothes, or an arm) doesn't come off!" It's a graphic word picture, but the tongue-in-cheek comment was based on the reality of this job.

The MegaMover measures 40 by 80 inches and is made from nonwoven, latex-free nylon. This provides a fluid barrier for protection. Heavy duty reinforced nylon straps are set in a grid to provide strength and support for the patient. Fourteen handles evenly spaced are part of the grid system to provide a working strength of 1,000 pounds with a maximum breaking strength of 1,500 pounds, yet the entire unit only weighs one pound. (Photos by author.)

When you think about it, whether we're talking about firefighting, technical rescues, motor vehicle accidents, or emergency medical services (EMS), a lot of our job involves moving a person from point A to point B-from a hazardous area to an area of safety. Since the traditional fireman's carry, tools and techniques have been developed to make this task easier. As emergency medicine evolved, a whole new emphasis was placed on spinal stabilization during extrication procedures, which led to the development of specialized spinal stabilizing devices. But tools and ideas don't have to be complicated to work. One case in point is the MegaMover®.

Enhancing an Old Idea

The MegaMover is based on the old blanket drag rescue technique. Then someone thought, "You know what this blanket needs? Handles!" After a few blankets ripped and patients dropped, someone else thought, "You know, this blanket needs to be made of something stronger than cotton." And, so it went. Although firefighters were still using large, heavy canvas tarps for this evolution, the idea was seized and perfected by Graham Medical, a subsidiary of the Little Rapids Corporation in Green Bay, Wisconsin.

The MegaMover is a portable patient transport unit used to transport, transfer, or rescue patients from areas inaccessible to stretchers and for transferring a patient from a gurney to a bed. It could be considered a lightweight tarp with handles. This 40- x 80-inch nonwoven, latex-free, nylon-constructed tarp provides a fluid barrier to protect personnel, equipment, chairs, and mattresses from blood and other bodily fluids. Additional heavy duty reinforced nylon straps are laid out in a vertical and horizontal grid, which gives it the strength to withstand 1,000 pounds. The actual weight capacity is 1,500 pounds, which gives the MegaMover an almost 2:1 safety factor, yet this compact unit weighs only one pound. The support grid incorporates 14 reinforced nylon handles, which are evenly spaced around the tarp.

There are various models of the MegaMover. In the Seattle (WA) Fire Department (SFD), we use the disposable basic 1500 model, named for the weight capacity of 1,500 pounds. The MegaMoverPlus has built-in pockets to accommodate standard backboards for spinal and neck injury transports, and the newest

By Alan M. Petrillo

More and more departments, large and small, are moving toward providing firefighters with personal safety gear often referred to as bailout kits.

Some styles of this equipment are embedded in turnout pants, like internal harnesses, while others are separate units. But, each type of escape gear is there to give firefighters the ability to save themselves if it becomes necessary.

Growing Market

Matt Hunt, rescue safety market manager for Sterling Rope Co., says Sterling has seen a continued growth in the personal escape market for firefighters. Fire departments are getting used to the idea of issuing personal escape gear to firefighters doing high-rise work, Hunt says, especially those in residential structures like apartment buildings where there are no fire suppression systems like standpipes or sprinklers.

"A fall off of the third story of a structure can be as bad as a longer fall," Hunt says, "depending on what you land on. Realistically we think every interior firefighter should have access to a personal escape system."

Sterling Rope offers the component parts that go into a personal escape system as well as complete systems themselves. "We are now producing our own hook, the Lightning hook," he says, "made out of aluminum instead of steel, to cut the weight by a third, and with a gated hitching slot like a carabiner where you clip in instead of having to thread the rope through a slot."

Sterling Rope makes the F4 Escape Tech kit that includes its newly developed Lightning hook, shown here being deployed. (Photo courtesy of Sterling Rope Co.)

The Sterling-built F4 Escape Tech kit includes 50 feet of Escape Tech rope, an F4 escape device, a SAFE-D three-stage carabiner, and a Lightning hook enclosed in a low-profile bag that hangs below a firefighter's SCBA. Hunt notes that the system weighs 3.2 pounds, and each component is UL-certified to NFPA 1983, Standard on Life Safety Rope and Equipment for Emergency Services. The F4 Escape Tech system also can be configured with a Crosby hook instead of the Lightning hook.

Some departments prefer to build their own kits depending on their needs assessments, Hunt points out, and many of them pick and choose specific pieces of equipment from different manufacturers to develop their own customized personal escape kit. "Most personal escape kits are aftermarket solutions," Hunt adds, "but over time, we will see more integrated solutions where the entire system is designed as a unit to work together. We're also seeing a trend toward integration with some self-contained breathing apparatus (SCBA) companies offering escape systems built onto their SCBA."

SCBA Integrated System

Mark Williamson, global product manager for supplied air products at Avon Protection Systems Inc., says his company makes a personal escape system that attaches to its Deltair SCBA lumbar pad with two straps. "If it's needed, you could drop the SCBA, hold the release straps (which keep the rescue belt on), anchor yourself, and use the descending device," Williamson says.

The Avon system is custom built through a Fire Innovations design, he notes, to include 50 feet of Sterling TSafe Technora 7.5-millimeter rope attached to a carabiner, anchor hook, and descending device. "The system can be used as a standalone rescue belt too," Williamson points out.

Read more 719 0 Article rating: No rating Posted: Jan 10, 2014 Highway Incident Safety: One Department's Solution By Robert Tutterow This column has a personal connection because it is about my former volunteer fire department-the Center Volunteer Fire Department (CVFD) in the Piedmont of North Carolina. I was an active member and chief officer with the department in the late 1970s through the late 1980s before my employment with the Charlotte (NC) Fire Department. My father was a charter member of the CVFD, which was organized in 1958. The department is located 25 miles southwest of Winston Salem, North Carolina, along the Interstate 40 (I-40) corridor. It serves a primarily rural environment, with a commercial area on the outskirts of the response district. I-40 runs through the middle of the district, and the department is first due to several miles (east and west) of the interstate. This portion of I-40 carries light to moderate traffic, and the posted speed limit is 70 miles per hour (mph). Because of its rural setting, motorists are often "numbed"-i.e., not paying close attention while driving. This "numbing" effect can be very hazardous to emergency responders. This pumper was retrofitted for safety on interstate incidents. (Photo by author.) Struck Apparatus This setting has been the scene of two major crashes during the past five years involving motorists striking CVFD vehicles. In August 2009, its new tanker-pumper, in service for just a couple of months, was struck in the rear while tending to a motor vehicle accident. The impact caused a whiplash injury to the driver/operator. And in December 2010, its Ford F-350 crew cab "quick response" vehicle was demolished by a tractor trailer. The crew was arriving on the scene of a four-vehicle accident and had slowed to about five mph while positioning to render aid. The impact of the collision flipped the CVFD vehicle 2½ times, and it came to rest on its roof. After impact, the tractor trailer proceeded to take out 465 feet of guardrail. The two CVFD firefighters inside the vehicle were injured. One suffered a concussion and knee injury, and the other suffered a broken collarbone. Both firefighters were buckled; if they had not been, they could have easily been killed. The department has experienced several other close calls. On one occasion, charges were filed against a motorist who ran through traffic cones into an incident zone. Fortunately, there was no collision or any emergency responders struck. This new pumper had been in service only two months when it was rear-ended. The driver/operator suffered minor injuries. (Photo courtesy of the Center Volunteer Fire Department.) Apparatus for Highway Safety Based on the two accidents and other close calls, the department recognized it was time to reexamine its fleet and response protocol. Since its founding, the department had purchased two-door commercial cabs for its apparatus. Typically, for interstate response, only the driver/operator would be in the apparatus and everyone else responded in their privately owned vehicles (POVs). This served the department well during its first 50 years. I personally responded to this stretch of interstate in my POV or as driver/operator dozens of times. After careful examination, the department decided it needed a crashworth Read more 670 0 Article rating: No rating RSS FirstPrevious8220822182228223822482258226822782288229NextLast Theme picker Filter News Catagories Categories News (193) RSS Expand/Collapse Washington News (11520) RSS Expand/Collapse National News (11076) 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 (18541) 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 2024 by Washington Fire Chiefs Home Members About Us News Calendar Resources Documents Sections County Fire Chiefs FRWC WSAFM