By Ricky Riley

Over the past couple of years, there has been a great deal of discussion about firefighter rehabilitation.

This includes work and rest cycles, medical monitoring, and how to keep firefighters cool after a work cycle. There has also been focus on how to keep them warm in cold environments. Departments across the country have tried a number of tents, chairs, cooling fans, and policies to address the issues.

1 Rehab 800 and the Rehab Support Unit are dispatched together to incident scenes and provide for cooling or warming, medical monitoring, rehydration, and hunger of the firefighters who have been operating. (Photos by author.)

The dedication to this process has been taken to a new level outside Washington, D.C., with the Prince George’s County (MD) Fire/EMS Department (PGFD). The department is located right outside Washington, D.C., and is one of the nation’s largest combination departments. It has more than 850 career firefighters and paramedics and 1,500 volunteer firefighters who operate out of 45 stations. Its protection district covers more than 500 square miles, and it responds to more than 150,000 calls for service each year. The responses are anticipated to continue to grow with the rapid pace at which the county is growing in industry and housing during the next couple of years.

Rehab Units

The department invested in two units purchased solely with the health, comfort, hydration, and most importantly the medical monitoring of its firefighters and paramedics in mind. Recently retired Chief Marc Bashoor and then Deputy Chief (now Interim Chief) Ben Barksdale put a plan together based on National Fire Protection Association 1584, Standard on the Rehabilitation Process for Members During Emergency Operations and Training Exercises. They felt that the health of their employees was a priority and wanted to protect them for the length of their careers and their retirement. This proactive approach came with a price tag, and the budget proposal and justification for the expenditure for these units had to be made to the finance office and elected officials. Through their determination and passion for firefighter health and safety, they were able to secure the funding and purchase both units.

2 Rehab 800 is built on a Freightliner M2-106 cab and chassis. This rig is dispatched first and has a dedicated driver 24 hours per day.

The two units are coupled together on incident scenes and provide for cooling or warming, medical monitoring, rehydration, and hunger of the firefighters who have been operating. This process has been outlined in a new rehab general order for the department. The rehab area is staffed with medical personnel and usually an emergency medical service (EMS) supervisor to ensure compliance by all units and to track all medical issues. Once a firefighter has been cleared medically, he can return to another work cycle or be released from the

By Ricky Riley

Over the past couple of years, there has been a great deal of discussion about firefighter rehabilitation.

This includes work and rest cycles, medical monitoring, and how to keep firefighters cool after a work cycle. There has also been focus on how to keep them warm in cold environments. Departments across the country have tried a number of tents, chairs, cooling fans, and policies to address the issues.

1 Rehab 800 and the Rehab Support Unit are dispatched together to incident scenes and provide for cooling or warming, medical monitoring, rehydration, and hunger of the firefighters who have been operating. (Photos by author.)

The dedication to this process has been taken to a new level outside Washington, D.C., with the Prince George’s County (MD) Fire/EMS Department (PGFD). The department is located right outside Washington, D.C., and is one of the nation’s largest combination departments. It has more than 850 career firefighters and paramedics and 1,500 volunteer firefighters who operate out of 45 stations. Its protection district covers more than 500 square miles, and it responds to more than 150,000 calls for service each year. The responses are anticipated to continue to grow with the rapid pace at which the county is growing in industry and housing during the next couple of years.

Rehab Units

The department invested in two units purchased solely with the health, comfort, hydration, and most importantly the medical monitoring of its firefighters and paramedics in mind. Recently retired Chief Marc Bashoor and then Deputy Chief (now Interim Chief) Ben Barksdale put a plan together based on National Fire Protection Association 1584, Standard on the Rehabilitation Process for Members During Emergency Operations and Training Exercises. They felt that the health of their employees was a priority and wanted to protect them for the length of their careers and their retirement. This proactive approach came with a price tag, and the budget proposal and justification for the expenditure for these units had to be made to the finance office and elected officials. Through their determination and passion for firefighter health and safety, they were able to secure the funding and purchase both units.

2 Rehab 800 is built on a Freightliner M2-106 cab and chassis. This rig is dispatched first and has a dedicated driver 24 hours per day.

The two units are coupled together on incident scenes and provide for cooling or warming, medical monitoring, rehydration, and hunger of the firefighters who have been operating. This process has been outlined in a new rehab general order for the department. The rehab area is staffed with medical personnel and usually an emergency medical service (EMS) supervisor to ensure compliance by all units and to track all medical issues. Once a firefighter has been cleared medically, he can return to another work cycle or be released from the

By Ricky Riley

Over the past couple of years, there has been a great deal of discussion about firefighter rehabilitation.

This includes work and rest cycles, medical monitoring, and how to keep firefighters cool after a work cycle. There has also been focus on how to keep them warm in cold environments. Departments across the country have tried a number of tents, chairs, cooling fans, and policies to address the issues.

1 Rehab 800 and the Rehab Support Unit are dispatched together to incident scenes and provide for cooling or warming, medical monitoring, rehydration, and hunger of the firefighters who have been operating. (Photos by author.)

The dedication to this process has been taken to a new level outside Washington, D.C., with the Prince George’s County (MD) Fire/EMS Department (PGFD). The department is located right outside Washington, D.C., and is one of the nation’s largest combination departments. It has more than 850 career firefighters and paramedics and 1,500 volunteer firefighters who operate out of 45 stations. Its protection district covers more than 500 square miles, and it responds to more than 150,000 calls for service each year. The responses are anticipated to continue to grow with the rapid pace at which the county is growing in industry and housing during the next couple of years.

Rehab Units

The department invested in two units purchased solely with the health, comfort, hydration, and most importantly the medical monitoring of its firefighters and paramedics in mind. Recently retired Chief Marc Bashoor and then Deputy Chief (now Interim Chief) Ben Barksdale put a plan together based on National Fire Protection Association 1584, Standard on the Rehabilitation Process for Members During Emergency Operations and Training Exercises. They felt that the health of their employees was a priority and wanted to protect them for the length of their careers and their retirement. This proactive approach came with a price tag, and the budget proposal and justification for the expenditure for these units had to be made to the finance office and elected officials. Through their determination and passion for firefighter health and safety, they were able to secure the funding and purchase both units.

2 Rehab 800 is built on a Freightliner M2-106 cab and chassis. This rig is dispatched first and has a dedicated driver 24 hours per day.

The two units are coupled together on incident scenes and provide for cooling or warming, medical monitoring, rehydration, and hunger of the firefighters who have been operating. This process has been outlined in a new rehab general order for the department. The rehab area is staffed with medical personnel and usually an emergency medical service (EMS) supervisor to ensure compliance by all units and to track all medical issues. Once a firefighter has been cleared medically, he can return to another work cycle or be released from the

Carl J. Haddon

Fact: The numbers of catastrophic rescue tool failures are on the rise.

Fiction: The reasoning for this upswing in catastrophic rescue tool failures is (in part) because of the use of “Chinese/Russian steel” in the rescue tool manufacturing process. No joke - this was one of the reasons recently suggested for the reason behind an upswing in rescue tool failures.

Very recently I was contacted by a member of a “training company” that is very prolific and visible on social media. It seems this company has recently had “six catastrophic rescue tool failures with brand new hydraulic rescue cutters.” These failures apparently happened during routine extrication training programs, and nobody seemed to have any real idea what might have caused said failures. After reviewing much of what was written and offered regarding possible causes for these failures, I thought it likely time to separate fact from fiction regarding this issue. It is important to note that what I am about to offer is in no way brand-specific and is in no way intended to single out specific rescue tool manufacturers. The aforementioned tool failures likely did not happen because of anyone’s use of Chinese or Russian steel in the manufacturing process.

New Vehicle Technology

Fact: In controlled tests designed to intentionally break rescue cutter blades, we have found that resultant pieces fly through chronograph at an average of 2,700 feet per second. That is equal to the muzzle velocity of a popular caliber of high-powered hunting rifles.

Fiction: Neither your turnouts nor your bright green safety vests are going to protect you from a piece of broken rescue tool blade traveling toward you at 2,700 feet per second.

The issue of catastrophic rescue tool failures is not a new one. Tool failures have been on the rise since the advent of new vehicle technology (NVT) manufacturing. High-strength and ultra-high-strength steels have been in use since the early 2000s. Originally, these materials and the new vehicle manufacturing processes associated with them were found only in higher end luxury vehicles such as those built by Volvo and Mercedes Benz. Fast forward to 2017, and we now see that this technology has found its way throughout the automotive industry and is now commonplace from luxury to economy vehicles. All auto manufacturers have to meet the ever-changing safety standards to remain competitive here in the United States. Ah, but does the rescue tool manufacturing technology keep pace with the automakers’ technology?

The last time I publicly answered that question in print, I had some rescue tool manufacturers looking to have me keel hauled (you can Google it).

Training and NVT

Fact: We can’t understand how our rescue tools will stand up to the tough (not softball) new vehicle materials because most of us typically can’t get our hands on these tough new cars to train on to see just how well or not well our rescue tools will do.

Fiction: All rescue tools perform the same on new vehicles as they do on old vehicles.

Vehicles are not made the same way they used to be. Many of today’s new rescue tools are made the same (or similarly) as their predecessors. New valves and bigger internal orifices allow more fluid and offer increased working pressures in some cases, but a hydraulic ram is still a hydraulic ram. Lithium ion battery power packs (and cool new LED-lighted handles) may replace hoses and external pump un