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Welcome

The Finest Supporting the Bravest!

The purpose of the Fire Mechanics Section is to promote standardization of fire apparatus and equipment preventative maintenance, improve safety standards and practices, promote workshops, conferences, and seminars related to the purposes of this Section, and to promote cost savings through standardization of building and equipment purchasing and maintenance.

RECENT FIRE MECHANIC NEWS

Posted: Jul 1, 2016

Phenix on the Rise

By Michael W. Michelsen Jr.

Mention the name Ray Russell to someone on the street, and chances are good that you won’t cause much of a stir. Mention the same name among a group of firefighters, on the other hand, and the chances are pretty good that you will be treated like a rock star.

This is because not only has Russell spent a great portion of his career in the fire service, but for the past 40 years he has spent a lion’s share of his time producing products that better protect his brethren. In the process he has created a legend of sorts. His product? Fire helmets.

Origins

All of this started in 1969 when Russell, who at the time was a captain in the California Division of Forestry, met Ronny Coleman, who was a captain with the Costa Mesa (CA) Fire Department, over a mutual interest in collecting fire helmets from all over the world. One day, while discussing their interest in collecting, Coleman asked Russell if he was happy with his fire helmet.

“When he asked that,” Russell recalls, “I had to say no, and we decided to meet to discuss what we thought we could do to create a better helmet, one that offered better protection and was more ergonomically designed, not to mention more comfortable to wear. Interestingly, when we met, we discovered that we had each designed a helmet that was virtually the same. I guess that’s evidence that great minds really do think alike.”

The helmet the pair designed was what is now called the company’s First Due series, which not only featured a roomier fit but also allows wearers to use interchangeable parts, such as chin straps, liners, ID brackets, D rings, and other features that allow users to customize their helmets.

1 The first helmet Ray Russell and Ronny Coleman designed was what is now called the company’s First Due series, which features a roomier fit and the ability for wearers to use interchangeable parts, such as chin straps, liners, ID brackets, and D rings. (Photos courtesy of Phenix Fire Helmets.)

The men created prototypes of their design, which each of them wore while working. Other firefighters began asking them for copies of those helmets for use. Before the two friends knew what hit them, the demand spread. The duo started their business with $22,000 and high hopes to produce a line of helmets that would not only incorporate the tried-and-true designs of traditional fire helmets but be complete with the latest and greatest in materials. After four years in this experimental mode, they were selling nearly 1,000 of their helmets each month.

Today, the company, called Phenix Technology, is headquartered in Riverside, California. Since it is a privately owned company, officials do not reveal sales figures, but they do concede that they are a multimillion-dollar business. Phenix is family owned and operated, with several members running their own portion of the enterprise. Russel serves as president of the firm, while daughter Nichole Clesceri serves as chief financial officer. Shaun Russell, a son, serves as national sales and marketing manager. Three other family members also work

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Posted: Jul 1, 2016

Phenix on the Rise

By Michael W. Michelsen Jr.

Mention the name Ray Russell to someone on the street, and chances are good that you won’t cause much of a stir. Mention the same name among a group of firefighters, on the other hand, and the chances are pretty good that you will be treated like a rock star.

Origins

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Article rating: No rating

Posted: Jul 1, 2016

Train with Your Thermal Imaging Camera at the Firehouse

By Carl Nix

Training with a thermal imaging camera (TIC) at the firehouse is possible and has many benefits.

It’s true that nothing can replace real smoke, dangerous heat, and the intensity and adrenaline of entering a burning building. There is really no way to simulate the conditions of a real fire at a firehouse, but there are many ways to train with a TIC that don’t involve a live fire or smoke conditions. My goal with these training tips is to help firefighters become proficient with a TIC so they stay safe when responding to a live fire.

1 Examples of thermal heat signatures. (Photos courtesy of Bullard.)

Inside Scenarios

Let’s look at a few training scenarios that incident commanders can set up at the fire station for their firefighters.

You can use your apparatus room or day room by closing all the doors, putting tin foil over the windows, and turning off the lights to make the area as dark as possible. Have your firefighters gain familiarity with thermal imagery and its basic functions by scanning the room with the TIC in this dark setting. Expand your training environment to areas such as the kitchen, closet, bathroom, and bunkroom, which all closely mirror what you might encounter in a fire. Try building a house layout by setting up tables, chairs, couches, and other household items. Your team can begin navigating around the room and becoming comfortable moving from room to room.

Once your firefighters have become proficient in using the TIC to navigate in the dark rooms you have created, have them put on their turnout gear including their self-contained breathing apparatus (SCBA). Now you have replicated the conditions your firefighters will encounter when using a TIC in a real fire event. You can take this training one step further by placing a firefighter (a victim) in one of the rooms in your station and challenging your team to find the victim. You can time your team with and without the aid of a TIC to show how beneficial a TIC can be in quickly clearing rooms and identifying victims.

2 Examples of thermal heat signatures. (Photos courtesy of Bullard.)

Find a space heater at your fire station, and place it on the other side of a closed door. Give the door several minutes to warm up. Have your firefighters conduct a search and see if they recognize the heat pattern prior to opening the door. Whether they notice it or not, you can use this opportunity to talk about the benefit of recognizing smaller heat sources. If you have both solid core and hollow core doors in your station, you can set up several space heaters to show the difference between these door construction types.

Ask several firefighters to sit or lie down on the furniture at the firehouse and assume different positions. Let them stay there for several minutes and then tell them to get up. What you will see on the TIC is the amount of body heat that the furniture absorbed and is now reemitting. This latent thermal effect can be used to show that a firefighter, during search and rescue, may see signs of victims before actually locating the victims. There might be latent thermal images on furniture or be