The U.S. Fire Administration has announced the official on-duty death of Firefighter Adam Taylor, 30, of Decatur County Fire Rescue on March 30, 2018.

Late in the evening of his scheduled shift and after conducting search and rescue drills in full protective gear including SCBA, Firefighter Adam Taylor began to complain of chest pains he related to a muscle pull. Shortly after leaving work to go home because of the pain, he went into cardiac arrest and was pronounced deceased upon arrival at a local hospital. 

Tribute is being paid to Firefighter Taylor at http://apps.usfa.fema.gov/firefighter-fatalities/

To date, 29 firefighter fatalities have been reported to USFA in 2018.  Year-to-date and annual USFA firefighter fatality reports are posted online at https://www.usfa.fema.gov/data/statistics/ff_fatality_reports.html

Fatality status is provisional and may change as USFA contacts State Fire Marshals to verify fatality incident information.

Concern over higher rates of occupation cancer among firefighters prompts additional efforts in decontamination and cleaning of turnout gear to reduce particulate accumulation. But will turnout gear stand up to more washing and drying along with the hard work firefighters do? TenCate Protective Fabrics wanted to find out, and now firefighters at FDIC International 2018 will be able to see for themselves. The Georgia Fire Academy in Forsyth, Georgia, took three sets of turnouts featuring outer shells and thermal liners from TenCate Protective Fabrics. Each went through grueling fire evolutions and multiple extraction cleaning.

TenCate sent sets of its three outer shell offerings, paired with a variety of thermal liners and moisture barriers, for a wear test at the academy. The three that will be on display at booth #2213 in Hall D at the Indianapolis Convention Center, including these sets:

• Kombat™ Flex, an outer shell featuring PBI® fiber, which saw 500 fire evolutions and 51 wash/dry cycles.
• Agility®, an outer shell featuring DuPont™ Kevlar®, which experienced 379 fire evolutions and 50 wash/dry cycles.
• Pioneer™, an outer shell featuring a DuPont™ Nomex® blend, which went through 140 fire entries and 35 wash/dry cycles.

Be sure to stop by the TenCate Fire Station booth #2213 at FDIC International 2018 to see for yourself how TenCate outer shells and thermal liners hold up. Find out why it's all about the fighter...not the fire.

The U.S. Fire Administration has announced the official on-duty death of Firefighter Gregory Jackson, 50, of the Fort Benning Fire Department on April 19, 2018.

Firefighter Gregory Jackson became ill at the end of his shift on April 14, 2018. He was transported to a local hospital where he passed away on April 19, 2018. The nature and cause of fatal injury are still to be reported. 

Tribute is being paid to Firefighter Jackson at http://apps.usfa.fema.gov/firefighter-fatalities/

To date, 28 firefighter fatalities have been reported to USFA in 2018.  Year-to-date and annual USFA firefighter fatality reports are posted online at https://www.usfa.fema.gov/data/statistics/ff_fatality_reports.html

Fatality status is provisional and may change as USFA contacts State Fire Marshals to verify fatality incident information.