Fire chiefs from the United States, Canada, Germany and the United Kingdom participated in the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) Urban Fire Forum (UFF) last week at NFPA headquarters in Quincy, Massachusetts. NFPA President and CEO Jim Pauley welcomed the chiefs and provided an overview of the association’s strategic plans, reinforcing the critical role urban fire service leaders play in reaching those goals and initiatives.

Special guests at the Forum included Germany’s Technisches Hilswerk Federal Agency for Technical Relief President and CFO Albrecht Broemme; United Kingdom Fire & Rescue Advisor CFO Peter Holland; Chief Fire Officers Association of the UK (CFOA) President CFO Dave Etheridge; and International Association of Fire Chiefs (IAFC) CEO and Executive Director Chief Mark Light.

The group endorsed three important documents as official UFF-Metro Chiefs position papers:

• Civil Unrest White Paper and Standard Operating Procedure (SOP)
• Behavioral Health Programs and Policies
• Fire Service Application for Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS)

“Today’s firefighters respond to a broad range of emergencies and catastrophic events that have become commonplace in the United States and throughout the world. To adequately handle these crises, fire chiefs must understand and embrace the latest research, and have access to quality and timely data,” said NFPA Metro Chiefs Executive Secretary Russ Sanders, who coordinated the event.  “The position papers endorsed by the Forum provide the information and resources needed to effectively address the challenges facing today’s fire service.”

Sanders points to the timeliness of the Civil Unrest White Paper and SOP in particular, which can be used as a comprehensive resource for responding to incidents like the civil unrest that has occurred in cities across the U.S. over the past several months.

The officers of the Metropolitan Fire Chiefs Association (Metro) Executive Board make up the core group of the UFF. These chiefs are joined by a select group of at-large Metro Chiefs.

This year’s participating chiefs and guests were:

• Chief

In its continued expansion into side-by-side utility vehicles, the newly introduced Honda Pioneer 1000-3 readily accommodates the Kimtek MEDLITE and FIRELITE skid units. The Honda Pioneer 1000-3 has a cargo bed capacity of 1,000 pounds, allowing enough capacity to carry most of the UTV skid units KIMTEK currently offers.

A Useful Combination

With its modular, slide-in design and numerous adaptability features, Kimtek's MEDLITE and FIRELITE Transport skid units can be installed in the Honda Pioneer 1000-3 cargo bed in just minutes. The MEDLITE and FIRELITE's included tie-down system attaches to the Honda’s integrated tie-downs already located in the cargo bed for fast, simple installation. With MEDLITES offering a place for an attendant and a patient and the FIRELITES offering up to 70 gallons of water and patient transport area, these combinations give first responders a powerful tool for off-road fire and rescue, wildland search and rescue, large-event response, lifeguard operations, industrial fire and medical response, and many more field applications for police, fire, and EMS response agencies.

For more information about Kimtek's full line of MEDLITE and FIRELITE Transport skid units, please visit www.kimtekresearch.com. More information on Honda Pioneer 1000-3 is available at www.honda.com.

Rescue 42, Inc., has officially released the latest member of the TeleCrib® Stabilization family, the TeleCrib® Junior.

This All-in-One strut is compact for storage, fast deploying, and simple to use by first-due responders on engines or pumpers. “Nearly all fire personnel are trained in extrication, whether they’re assigned to a Rescue crew or Engine crew”, states Rescue 42 CEO Tim O’Connell. “We designed an All-in-One strut for extrication trained crews on first-due apparatus who can now safely begin stabilization and extrication prior to the arrival of the full-sized struts on the Squad, Truck or Rescue”.

Made of the same DuPont™ Kevlar® infused composite as the full TeleCrib® System, the Patent Pending TeleCrib® Junior is lightweight and simple to operate, but supports an impressive 5,000 lb working load with a 2:1 safety factor. It features an attached ratchet strap and hook cluster, but unlike other ‘prop/wedge’ style struts, the strap hook can be detached from the strut and used in a tension buttress or ‘lifting’ capacity. It seamlessly integrates with the long and short struts of the full TeleCrib® System and Shark™ Collapsible Step Cribbing when additional stabilization is needed.

A built-in spring pin automatically locks the TeleCrib® Junior at the desired length (up to 69” long) and is released by simply lifting a lever. The combi-head is very similar to the full TeleCrib® System and contains a piercing point, 2” cradle and spiked 3/8” chain slot to aggressively engage the vehicle from any angle. The new, anti-slip baseplate and included ground spike ensure a solid connection to the ground even in icy or muddy conditions.

“Our goal when building tools is to help firefighters do their job faster, easier and cost effectively while reducing the potential for injury,” notes Mr. O’Connell. “The TeleCrib® Junior fits with the evolving needs of fire-rescue personnel who are responding to an increased number of vehicle crashes, but operating with less people and smaller budgets”. More information on the TeleCrib® Junior and other rescue products manufactured by Rescue 42, Inc. can be found at www.Rescue42.com or by calling (888) 427-3728.