For the past 28 years, the Fire Department Safety Officers Assocation (FDSOA) Apparatus Specification & Vehicle Maintenance Symposium has been educating fire service personnel on the latest in fire and emergency vehicle topics.
The Fire Apparatus Manufacturers’ Association (FAMA) cosponsors this event and provides many of the speakers. Traditionally held in Orlando, Florida, this year’s event, January 18-20, moves to Scottsdale, Arizona, and takes place just prior to the 2016 FDSOA Annual Safety Forum. The new location is more convenient for West Coast participants and will allow attendees to stay the full week, taking in the Safety Forum if they so wish.
The symposium targets topics around the entire life cycle of fire apparatus and ambulances. This cycle starts with understanding the applicable apparatus standards, continues with the specification and acquisition process, and finishes with the safe operation and maintenance of the in-service fleet. Speakers come from both the ranks of the fire service and the emergency vehicle and equipment supplier base.
Emergency Vehicle Standards
National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) standards for both fire apparatus and ambulances are changing this year, and they affect any vehicle contracted for after January 1, 2016. Attendees will hear about highlights of the apparatus standards for both municipal and wildland applications. The ambulance standards are more complicated, and an entire session will be dedicated to how the various standards from the General Services Administration (GSA), NFPA, Commission on Accreditation of Ambulance Services (CAAS), and Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) either complement, contradict, or supplement one another.
Specification and Acquisition Process
Whether you are just beginning the process of acquiring a new apparatus, in the middle, or just contemplating it, the Symposium features a number of educational opportunities that can help. This year’s presentations will cover best practices in specifications, the politics of specification writing, and the impact your spec can have on your ISO ratings. FAMA experts will describe specification decisions and new technology covering aerials, pumps, brush trucks, and mini pumpers. Nontraditional topics will also be included, with one presentation describing the highlights of Intershutz 2015 and another presentation on the use of drones.
Safe Operation and Maintenance
Safety is always center stage at the Symposium, and Jim Juneau returns after taking a year off with his usual high-energy look at emergency vehicle accidents, how to avoid them, and the legal trouble you can get into if you are not careful. FAMA’s presentation on an apparatus safety training program returns for those who missed it last year, and several great sessions are scheduled covering best practices in both engine emissions and aerial maintenance.
Connecting the Fire Service and Industry
One of the most unique aspects of the Symposium is the way it brings fire service representatives together with ambulance, fire apparatus, and equipment providers in an informal setting. While there are times to visit salespeople at their tables during the breaks, the presenters can be found listening in on the sessions along with the attendees. Whether you want your questions answered in the formal setting of the apparatus panel discussion or just want to chat with an engineer over lunch, the Symposium is a place where you have unfettered access to some of the most experienced folks in the industry. Evening receptions provide opportunities to network with other fire service personnel as well.
Presenters’ Passion
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Posted: Jan 7, 2016
By Alan M. Petrillo
Thermal imaging cameras (TICs) allow firefighters to see outlines of hot spots in smoky or pitch-black settings, whether those spots are humans or hot areas within a building.
Most TICs are handheld units, although some have been installed on apparatus, like on the tips of ladders, platforms, light towers, and masts. And, some self-contained breathing apparatus (SCBA) makers have been working on integrating a TIC into their controllers so images can be shown in a heads-up display (HUD).
TIC Offerings
FLIR Systems Inc. has been in the TIC fire market since 1999, says Keith Sawyer, FLIR’s sales and distribution manager for the fire service. “We introduced our K series with the K40 and K50 in January 2013 and two years later replaced them with the K45 and K55 TICs, also adding the K65,” he says. “In the K45, we added flexible scene enhancement (FSX), which increases the contrast ratios in blacks and whites and makes corners and edges sharper in the image.” The K55 has the same resolution, look and feel, and battery as the K45 but allows image and video capture. “It can take up to five minutes of video, play it back on the camera, and store up to 200 videos, which is 1,000 minutes of video capture,” Sawyer says. FLIR’s K65 TIC is its National Fire Protection Association (NFPA)-compliant model that also offers in-camera video capture and storage for up to 200 five-minute clips and has a screwed-down battery lock that makes the unit explosion-resistant and intrinsically safe, Sawyer points out.
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| 1 FLIR Systems Inc. makes the K65 TIC that has in-camera video capture and storage of up to 200 five-minute clips. (Photo courtesy of FLIR Systems Inc.) |
FLIR also makes the K2 point-and-shoot TIC as well as an aircraft rescue and firefighting (ARFF) model. “Our ARFF model is a hard-shell box-type TIC that often is mounted at the bottom of an aerial platform or on the end of a boom,” Sawyer notes, “and has pan-tilt-zoom features as well as high-resolution imaging and high frame rates.”
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| 2 A firefighter views the thermal imaging screen on a FLIR Systems Inc. K55 TIC. (Photo courtesy of FLIR Systems Inc.) |
Wells Bullard, vice president of Bullard, says her company got into thermal imaging in 1998, two years after the technology was declassified by the military. “We designed a thermal imaging tool for firefighters that is extremely durable, simple to use, and ergonomic,” Bullard says. The Eclipse LDX is Bullard’s most popular TIC model, she notes, with a 3½-inch display and an ergonomic design that fits in the palm of a hand. “It weighs only 1½ pounds, is exceptionally durable, and gives an extremely clear image in ambient and high-temperature environments,” she adds.
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3 Bullard makes the Eclipse LDX TIC that weighs 1½ pounds and has a 3½-in
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Posted: Jan 7, 2016
By Alan M. Petrillo
Thermal imaging cameras (TICs) allow firefighters to see outlines of hot spots in smoky or pitch-black settings, whether those spots are humans or hot areas within a building.
Most TICs are handheld units, although some have been installed on apparatus, like on the tips of ladders, platforms, light towers, and masts. And, some self-contained breathing apparatus (SCBA) makers have been working on integrating a TIC into their controllers so images can be shown in a heads-up display (HUD).
TIC Offerings
FLIR Systems Inc. has been in the TIC fire market since 1999, says Keith Sawyer, FLIR’s sales and distribution manager for the fire service. “We introduced our K series with the K40 and K50 in January 2013 and two years later replaced them with the K45 and K55 TICs, also adding the K65,” he says. “In the K45, we added flexible scene enhancement (FSX), which increases the contrast ratios in blacks and whites and makes corners and edges sharper in the image.” The K55 has the same resolution, look and feel, and battery as the K45 but allows image and video capture. “It can take up to five minutes of video, play it back on the camera, and store up to 200 videos, which is 1,000 minutes of video capture,” Sawyer says. FLIR’s K65 TIC is its National Fire Protection Association (NFPA)-compliant model that also offers in-camera video capture and storage for up to 200 five-minute clips and has a screwed-down battery lock that makes the unit explosion-resistant and intrinsically safe, Sawyer points out.
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| 1 FLIR Systems Inc. makes the K65 TIC that has in-camera video capture and storage of up to 200 five-minute clips. (Photo courtesy of FLIR Systems Inc.) |
FLIR also makes the K2 point-and-shoot TIC as well as an aircraft rescue and firefighting (ARFF) model. “Our ARFF model is a hard-shell box-type TIC that often is mounted at the bottom of an aerial platform or on the end of a boom,” Sawyer notes, “and has pan-tilt-zoom features as well as high-resolution imaging and high frame rates.”
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| 2 A firefighter views the thermal imaging screen on a FLIR Systems Inc. K55 TIC. (Photo courtesy of FLIR Systems Inc.) |
Wells Bullard, vice president of Bullard, says her company got into thermal imaging in 1998, two years after the technology was declassified by the military. “We designed a thermal imaging tool for firefighters that is extremely durable, simple to use, and ergonomic,” Bullard says. The Eclipse LDX is Bullard’s most popular TIC model, she notes, with a 3½-inch display and an ergonomic design that fits in the palm of a hand. “It weighs only 1½ pounds, is exceptionally durable, and gives an extremely clear image in ambient and high-temperature environments,” she adds.
|
3 Bullard makes the Eclipse LDX TIC that weighs 1½ pounds and has a 3½-in
Read more
- 669
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Posted: Jan 7, 2016
By Alan M. Petrillo
Thermal imaging cameras (TICs) allow firefighters to see outlines of hot spots in smoky or pitch-black settings, whether those spots are humans or hot areas within a building.
Most TICs are handheld units, although some have been installed on apparatus, like on the tips of ladders, platforms, light towers, and masts. And, some self-contained breathing apparatus (SCBA) makers have been working on integrating a TIC into their controllers so images can be shown in a heads-up display (HUD).
TIC Offerings
FLIR Systems Inc. has been in the TIC fire market since 1999, says Keith Sawyer, FLIR’s sales and distribution manager for the fire service. “We introduced our K series with the K40 and K50 in January 2013 and two years later replaced them with the K45 and K55 TICs, also adding the K65,” he says. “In the K45, we added flexible scene enhancement (FSX), which increases the contrast ratios in blacks and whites and makes corners and edges sharper in the image.” The K55 has the same resolution, look and feel, and battery as the K45 but allows image and video capture. “It can take up to five minutes of video, play it back on the camera, and store up to 200 videos, which is 1,000 minutes of video capture,” Sawyer says. FLIR’s K65 TIC is its National Fire Protection Association (NFPA)-compliant model that also offers in-camera video capture and storage for up to 200 five-minute clips and has a screwed-down battery lock that makes the unit explosion-resistant and intrinsically safe, Sawyer points out.
|
| 1 FLIR Systems Inc. makes the K65 TIC that has in-camera video capture and storage of up to 200 five-minute clips. (Photo courtesy of FLIR Systems Inc.) |
FLIR also makes the K2 point-and-shoot TIC as well as an aircraft rescue and firefighting (ARFF) model. “Our ARFF model is a hard-shell box-type TIC that often is mounted at the bottom of an aerial platform or on the end of a boom,” Sawyer notes, “and has pan-tilt-zoom features as well as high-resolution imaging and high frame rates.”
|
| 2 A firefighter views the thermal imaging screen on a FLIR Systems Inc. K55 TIC. (Photo courtesy of FLIR Systems Inc.) |
Wells Bullard, vice president of Bullard, says her company got into thermal imaging in 1998, two years after the technology was declassified by the military. “We designed a thermal imaging tool for firefighters that is extremely durable, simple to use, and ergonomic,” Bullard says. The Eclipse LDX is Bullard’s most popular TIC model, she notes, with a 3½-inch display and an ergonomic design that fits in the palm of a hand. “It weighs only 1½ pounds, is exceptionally durable, and gives an extremely clear image in ambient and high-temperature environments,” she adds.
|
3 Bullard makes the Eclipse LDX TIC that weighs 1½ pounds and has a 3½-in
Read more
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