For the first time Fire Incident Commanders can view air status to optimize safety and assignment of firefighters

Extensive product testing in fire departments around the country proves life-saving capabilities of software designed to inform real-time decisions for firefighter assignment, evacuation and rescue

BALTIMORE, Md. & OTTAWA, Ontario–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Adashi Systems LLC, a premium provider of First Responder software including Critical Incident & Command (C&C), Alert and RollCall, announced today the integration of its C&C software with the 3M™ Scott™ Self Contained Breathing Apparatus (SCBA) for firefighters.

Leveraging real time data, Adashi’s C&C software provides fire incident commanders and safety officers continually updated information about each firefighter’s air status, cylinder pressure level, Personal Alert Safety System (PASS), self-evacuation status and a built-in electronic personnel accountability report (ePAR) designed for incident command to perform checks and immediately account for each firefighter with a press of a button using a dedicated “mesh network” formed by multiple SBCA in operation, eliminating radio traffic.

The new one of a kind solution combining incident command with accountability activates the moment the SCBA is turned on. Incident commanders can view the C&C dashboard indicating critical information for each firefighter anytime including instant alerts activated when life- threatening issues are detected. The combination of multiple SCBA in operation during an incident forms 3M™ Scott’s™ patented communications “mesh network” extending the range and connecting all firefighters in an incident.

“Effective fire incident management is complex, dynamic and capable of saving countless lives. As an active firefighter, I have first-hand knowledge of the importance of providing incident commanders and safety officers with critical information vital to the safety of firefighters facing volatile and dangerous situations,” said Sanjay Kalasa, Director and Project Lead, Adashi Systems, LLC. “Adashi’s C&C software integration with the 3M™ Scott™ gives incident commanders unprecedented data and bi-directional communications tools between each firefighter and the Adashi C&C software to make informed life-saving decisions to ensure firefighter safety and the most effective use of personnel across every phase of a fire incident.”

“Adashi C&C software makes effective use of the telemetry data for air management from the 3M™ Scott™ SCBA to provide fire incident commanders intuitive and enhanced incident management and firefighter-monitoring capabilities,” said Longin Kloc, Global New Product Introduction Manager, 3M Fire and SCBA.

Over the past year, extensive testing of the C&C software integration with the 3M™ Scott SCBA was conducted with fire departments across the country, including New Haven, CT, Stamford, CT and Asheville, NC.

“The combined Adashi and 3M/Scott solution will definitely help save firefighter lives,” said Chief John Alston, Fire Chief, New Haven Fire Department, and Producer/Host, The Fire Officer Trust Podcast. “Proper air management is critical to firefighter safety. The real time view of the air status of all the firefighters inside a building, along with situational awareness provided by Adashi C&C will help the IC make good decisions.”

“Giving the commander a never before available view of the air status, assignment of firefighters and automated mayday alerts will empower commanders with critical information to make good decisions before a firefighter is in trouble,” said Miguel Robles, Stamford’s Assistant Fire Chief. “Adashi’s C&C integration wit

By Bill Adams

At morning coffee, it was my turn in the barrel. One geezer harassed me about using the word “kibitzing” in a recent column. He said you shouldn’t use words you don’t understand. I retorted that kibitzing is just offering an opinion or breaking someone’s private parts—regardless if deserved or in jest. He must’ve looked it up in the dictionary because he fired back “it’s someone who looks on and offers unwanted advice and you do that quite often.” Although not every Raisin Squad member is guilty, there are younger active members who are convinced any white hair’s opinion is unwanted advice. In this raisin’s “opinion” they’re wrong.

Many moons ago, my old fire chief never openly chastised a volunteer’s wrong doing; years later, he said there were two reasons why. One was he didn’t want to embarrass the guy (we were all guys back then) and possibly make him quit. The other was if he expressed his displeasure in the form of a question, it might influence the guilty party and other volunteers who were listening “to stop and think” and that’d make them better firemen (that’s what we were called back then). It made sense.

Questions

Still on topic of questions, some vendors as well as active firefighters can get their bunkers in a twist if they’re asked a question they can’t or don’t want to answer. It doesn’t matter if you’re just “chewing the fat” (aka kibitzing) in the firehouse kitchen or if you’re seriously looking for an answer. A few examples:

*If firefighters have to be “seated and belted” when riding in the apparatus cabs, why do they demand raised roofs on them?

*Ask the same question in a different way—If the NFPA says firefighters aren’t supposed to wear helmets in the cab, why do you manufacturers keep putting raised roofs on them?

*If you only have three or four people riding the rig to alarms, why do you insist on buying cabs with six or more seats?

*In speaking of raised cabs, how come apparatus manufactures don’t make the roof raised on the whole cab, like European-style rigs? I think some of the new electric-style fire apparatus do—or at least it looks like they do.

*If we’re not at war and there’s no chance of being bombed into the stone age because an enemy can see a light or reflection, why is all the chrome and shiny stuff on some fire trucks “blacked out”? Does it make the rig less visible to radar?

*Does painting a fire truck’s roll-up (shutter) doors make them last longer or increase their warranty?

*When pumpers carried 2½-inch and 3-inch supply lines, they always carried a hose clamp. How come with the 4- and 5-inch supply lines commonly used today you seldom see pumpers carry an appropriate-sized hose clamp?

*How come some pumper-rescues (or rescue-pumpers) have 200- to 300-foot-long preconnected hose lines but their preconnected electric cord reels only carry 150 feet of cable?

*With all the battery-powered hydraulic rescue tools, smoke ejectors, and lights, as well as 12-volt LED chassis scene lights, why do fire departments keep specifying large-capacity generators on their rigs?

*If you really want to fire up the young crowd, ask them if they put their fire department’s name on both sides and possibly the front of the rig is because they can’t remember the name of the department they belong to!

Crashes

Accidents involving fire apparatus make for sensational media coverage—especially when they have tragic results. Unfortunately, in most instances media conjecture appears to be any accident occurring when the apparatus is responding “could be” the fire truck’s fault. Amazingly, when a parked rig is struck at the scene of an emergency, it seems the media infers the fire truck shouldn’t have been parked the

Midwest Fire—Tipton County Fire Department, Drummonds, TN, pumper-tanker. Freightliner M2 106 cab and chassis; Cummins L9 350-hp engine; Hale RSD 1,250-gpm PTO pump; APR polypropylene 2,000-gallon water tank; Newton 10-inch stainless steel dump valve with telescoping chute; Zico electric portable tank carrier; All-Poly™ construction. Dealer: Joe Hlushak, Midwest Fire, Luverne, MN.

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Poway city council recently voted to purchase a $1.65 million replacement ladder truck, reports sandiegouniontribune.com.

It won’t be delivered for about two years, but when it arrives it will replace a 2006 model.

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The price would be 7% more ($110,000) if the department waited until May to purchase the truck, the report says.

Once it arrives, its predecessor will be used for spare parts and the rest auctioned off.