By Chris Daly

As you may recall from Part 1, you need three pieces of information to calculate the stopping distance of a fire apparatus: the speed of the vehicle, the braking efficiency of the vehicle, and the coefficient of friction (COF) of the roadway.

Now that we have an understanding of the factors that affect the stopping distance of a fire truck, let’s examine some real-life examples. How will the vehicle’s speed or how will the road conditions affect an emergency vehicle’s stopping distance?

Speed

First, let’s examine speed. Many fire apparatus operators don’t realize the significant impact that vehicle speed has on stopping distance. Every time you double your speed, the stopping distance quadruples!

Assuming that you are on a a dry asphalt road and with a COF of 0.70 and a braking efficiency of 65 percent (because of the air brakes and truck tires), consider the following stopping distances:

• 20 miles per hour (mph) equals 29 feet of skid distance.
• 30 mph equals 65 feet of skid distance.
• 40 mph equals 117 feet of skid distance.
• 50 mph equals 183 feet of skid distance.
• 60 mph equals 263 feet of skid distance.

You must also remember to account for the 1.6-second perception and reaction time, which gives us the following perception and reaction distances:

• 20 mph equals 46 feet of perception and reaction distance.
• 30 mph equals 70 feet of perception and reaction distance.
• 40 mph equals 93 feet of perception and reaction distance.
• 50 mph equals 117 feet of perception and reaction distance.
• 60 mph equals 140 feet of perception and reaction distance.

Total Stopping Distance

After calculating the skid distance and the perception and reaction distance, add the two together to determine the total stopping distance of a fire truck at each particular speed:

• 20 mph equals 75 feet of total stopping distance.
• 30 mph equals 135 feet of total stopping distance.
• 40 mph equals 210 feet of total stopping distance.
• 50 mph equals 300 feet of total stopping distance.
• 60 mph equals 403 feet of total stopping distance.

Although it may not seem like a big difference when you are behind the wheel, you can see that driving 40 mph instead of 30 mph will add 75 feet to your total stopping distance. Seventy-five feet could be the difference between stopping safely and slamming into another vehicle.

Road Conditions

Now let’s examine how the road conditions will affect the stopping distance of the fire truck. Obviously the slicker the road, the longer it is going to take the fire truck to come to a stop. However, we tend to jump behind the wheel, turn on the magic lights and sirens, and think that they will protect us from the effects of driving recklessly in inclement weather.

We have previously calculated the

Honeywell has announced the list of winners of full scholarships to FDIC International 2016. These 20 firefighters will receive a full-paid scholarship, including travel and accommodations, to attend the industry’s premier safety and training event. Winners will receive admission to FDIC International 2016, which includes classroom training, seminars, and exhibits.

Below is a list of the recipients:

1. Scott Peterson, City of Fulton & Montgomery Protectlon District
2. Carmen Delia, Wilmington Fire Department
3. Neal Schweiner, De Pere Fire Rescue
4. Randy Aust, Richland Fire &Emergency Services
5. Stoney Mathews, Bradley County Fire Rescue
   
6. Brent Muller, Northville Township Fire Department
7. Mark Toohey, Ashburn Volunteer Fire Rescue Del)6rtment
8. Jimmy Greene, Harrisburgh Fire Department (Charlotte, NC)
9. James Greenwood, Boise Fire Department
10. Brandon Maurer, Wichita Fire Department
11. Chris Hill, Holly Springs Volunteer Fire Department
    
12. Candace Wetter, Solon Township
13. Kelly Meyer, Canadian Forces Base (CFB)/Suffield Fire Services
14. Dan Krushinskl, East Franklin Fire Department
15. Gary Smiley, Albrightsvllle Fire & Rescue Department
16. Joe Brooks, Denver Fire Department
17. Pike Krpan, Hamilton Fire Department (Ontario, Canada)
18. Michele Ehlinger, Baltimore County Fire Department
19. Mlchael Welchman, Pine Island Fire Department
20. Chris Holcomb, Raleigh Fire Department

Congratulations to all the winners. For more information, vist honeywell.com.

By Robert Tutterow

In last month’s column, I addressed the issue of firefighter personal protective equipment (PPE) for the head, eyes, and face.

My concluding paragraph was: “My recommendation is to forget the faceshields and flip-downs. Purchase ANSI-compliant goggles and keep them stored where they are accessible and protected from damage. Despite the confusing/conflicting shortcomings of National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) 1971, Standard on Protective Ensembles for Structural Fire Fighting and Proximity Fire Fighting, you will be compliant. Hopefully, the hot mess of NFPA requirements will be sorted out in the near future. NFPA 1971 is currently open for public comment.”

The “inspiration” for these two columns was a discussion at last September’s NFPA Structural and Proximity Fire Fighting Protective Clothing and Equipment Technical Committee meeting as it reviewed public inputs into NFPA 1971. The discussion was about five proposals (public inputs) to keep face and eye protection (faceshields, flip-downs, and goggles) from being attached to the helmet. In short, goggles attached to the helmet pose a cancer risk to firefighters, and faceshields/flip-downs provide only partial protection, add weight, impact the helmet’s center of gravity, and are rarely maintained or replaced when needed.

Current Donning Procedures

Another rejected proposal would allow the hood to be integrated into the helmet. The proposal would not mandate it to be integrated but would allow for that design. The current wording is design-restrictive. Through proper design, the integration of the hood and the helmet would make an improvement in the PPE donning sequence from the shoulder area and above. Here are the typical steps required (the steps may vary somewhat in sequence):

1. Don the hood and pull it all the way over the head and down around the neck.
2. Don the self-contained breathing apparatus (SCBA) face piece.
3. Adjust the SCBA face piece straps (with most manufacturers, this is five straps) and check for a good seal.
4. Pull the hood back over the head and carefully make sure it interfaces with the mask.
5. Tuck the hood inside the coat, assuming the coat is already donned.
6. Don the helmet.
7. Adjust the helmet chinstrap.
8. Adjust the interface areas (collar and helmet chinstraps).
9. Don the SCBA (adjust the shoulder straps and connect the waist belt).
10. Connect the regulator to the face piece.

It is basically a donning process that is used and accepted in the United States fire service. However, from an efficiency standpoint and an outside perspective, “it’s nuts.”

Possible Donning Procedures

There are designs that accomplish the same thing with half the steps. Consider the following:

1. Don the helmet.
2. Secure the chinstrap.
3. Close the hood.
4. Attach the SCBA face mask to the helmet.
5. Connect the regulator to the mask.

The sequence just described above takes a fraction of the time than described in the first sequence. It uses a helmet that has inherent ear protection (no earflaps) and can have an int

By Robert Tutterow

In last month’s column, I addressed the issue of firefighter personal protective equipment (PPE) for the head, eyes, and face.

My concluding paragraph was: “My recommendation is to forget the faceshields and flip-downs. Purchase ANSI-compliant goggles and keep them stored where they are accessible and protected from damage. Despite the confusing/conflicting shortcomings of National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) 1971, Standard on Protective Ensembles for Structural Fire Fighting and Proximity Fire Fighting, you will be compliant. Hopefully, the hot mess of NFPA requirements will be sorted out in the near future. NFPA 1971 is currently open for public comment.”

The “inspiration” for these two columns was a discussion at last September’s NFPA Structural and Proximity Fire Fighting Protective Clothing and Equipment Technical Committee meeting as it reviewed public inputs into NFPA 1971. The discussion was about five proposals (public inputs) to keep face and eye protection (faceshields, flip-downs, and goggles) from being attached to the helmet. In short, goggles attached to the helmet pose a cancer risk to firefighters, and faceshields/flip-downs provide only partial protection, add weight, impact the helmet’s center of gravity, and are rarely maintained or replaced when needed.

Current Donning Procedures

Another rejected proposal would allow the hood to be integrated into the helmet. The proposal would not mandate it to be integrated but would allow for that design. The current wording is design-restrictive. Through proper design, the integration of the hood and the helmet would make an improvement in the PPE donning sequence from the shoulder area and above. Here are the typical steps required (the steps may vary somewhat in sequence):

1. Don the hood and pull it all the way over the head and down around the neck.
2. Don the self-contained breathing apparatus (SCBA) face piece.
3. Adjust the SCBA face piece straps (with most manufacturers, this is five straps) and check for a good seal.
4. Pull the hood back over the head and carefully make sure it interfaces with the mask.
5. Tuck the hood inside the coat, assuming the coat is already donned.
6. Don the helmet.
7. Adjust the helmet chinstrap.
8. Adjust the interface areas (collar and helmet chinstraps).
9. Don the SCBA (adjust the shoulder straps and connect the waist belt).
10. Connect the regulator to the face piece.

It is basically a donning process that is used and accepted in the United States fire service. However, from an efficiency standpoint and an outside perspective, “it’s nuts.”

Possible Donning Procedures

There are designs that accomplish the same thing with half the steps. Consider the following:

1. Don the helmet.
2. Secure the chinstrap.
3. Close the hood.
4. Attach the SCBA face mask to the helmet.
5. Connect the regulator to the mask.

The sequence just described above takes a fraction of the time than described in the first sequence. It uses a helmet that has inherent ear protection (no earflaps) and can have an int