Chris Mc Loone

They allow us to find our way out if we become disoriented, and when used to properly apply water to a fire, they help make conditions within a burning structure more tenable for all inside. We test them annually to ensure they can withstand the pressures we put through them to achieve proper flows. We maintain them, and we pack them. When we need them, we expect them to deliver water to the seat of the fire every time. However, in recent months, fire hose failure after being exposed to extreme temperatures during fire attack has garnered increasing attention. This is a storyline everyone in the fire service should be paying attention to. We shouldn't be monitoring it because we seek to assign blame for an incident's resolution but because of the lessons it reminds us about.

No fire hose manufacturer is going to sell a fire department a product that has failed a pressure test or that fails to comply with National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) 1961, Standard on Fire Hose. And, fire departments are going to then test that hose according to NFPA 1962, Standard for the Care, Use, Inspection, Service Testing, and Replacement of Fire Hose, Couplings, Nozzles, and Fire Hose Appliances. So, we know that there are standards in place to ensure that what we are purchasing has been tested and that there are criteria in place for us to annually document that the hose still meets a nationally recognized standard. Some might decry the fact that it took so long for this to finally gain attention, but let's look at the good that is coming from it.

Unfortunate though it is, sometimes it takes more time than we'd like to recognize an issue. Yes, there have been documented cases of burnt-through hoseline failures in the past. But, for reasons we don't know, they did not receive the attention they deserve. However, now we are in a position to start scrutinizing fire hose construction to see when, how, and why hose fails when its outer layer burns through. The Worcester Polytechnic Institute recently received $75,000 to study hose and develop one that will withstand greater temperatures without failing. How we arrived at this point does not matter. It's good news for firefighters because the outcome will be a lifeline that we can be confident will not fail in certain conditions.

But more importantly, the recent news about this hoseline study should remind all of us that it is never OK to stop asking, "Why?" when it comes to the standards with which our equipment complies. Questioning the rationale behind a standard's requirements shouldn't only be encouraged, it should be required.

Despite what some believe, the standards on which the apparatus we ride and much of the equipment we carry are based on and seek to ensure firefighter safety on the fireground. It is hard to argue with something that has our ultimate safety in mind. Be that as it may, we should never just accept a standard without question. The results of the Worcester Polytechnic Institute study will hopefully justify a change to NFPA 1961-if a change is warranted.

There is an old expression that says it is not about the journey but the destination. If hoselines are failing because they are burning through and fireground tactics are not to blame, then we should absolutely be asking why. Is it manufacturing defect? Is it because the standard to which it is measured is not stringent enough? Should the standard be changed to address the reports about burnt-through hoselines failing on the fireground? These are all

By Alan M. Petrillo

FDNY Assistant Chief Ed Baggott says requests for proposals (RFP) for a radio frequency identification (RFID) fireground accountability system have been issued and were returnable before the end of 2014. The RFP calls for developing an automatic accountability system based on lessons learned from a demonstration program the FDNY ran in conjunction with the NRL where officers and commanders could automatically see the number and identities of firefighters on an apparatus or nearby at the scene of a call.

The NRL system uses an RFID tag carried by each firefighter, says Rob Roberts, program manager and section head of the FDNY RFID personnel location system at the NRL's Space Systems Center for Space Technology. "This is what's called an active RFID tag, which means it has a battery in it that sends out a ping every five seconds," Roberts says. "The pings are picked up by a radio receiver on the fire vehicle, which builds a table of identifiers. That table of every firefighter either on or near the vehicle gets displayed on the vehicle's mobile data terminal (MDT)."

Roberts says the RFID tag is small-one inch wide by two inches long by ¼ inch thick. "It's very light and is sealed in plastic so it's waterproof," he adds. "Essentially, it looks like a small key fob."

Baggott points out that the RFID tag used in the FDNY program was sewn into each participating firefighter's bunker coat. "The key to making it a part of the gear is that everyone would be wearing their tag and they can't forget it," he says. "When a firefighter steps into the apparatus, the system automatically picks up a signal from the chip in the RFID tag that has information encoded from a database."

1 The Fire Department of New York (FDNY) had the Naval Research Laboratory (NRL) develop a radio-frequency identification (RFID) tag worn by firefighters that provided information into an automatic accountability system on their apparatus. The NRL demonstration program involved 15 pumpers and aerials and one rescue truck. (Photos courtesy of U.S. Naval Research Laboratory.)

Program Origins

David DeRieux, NRL Space Systems associate superintendent for Code 8100 Space Systems Development Department, says the demonstration program with FDNY had its birth five years ago when NRL personnel were brought to New York to talk with FDNY officials about programmable radios. "We met Deputy Chief Joseph Pfeifer then, and he asked us if we had a solution for the problem of determining who was on a fire truck at any particular time," DeRieux says.

He notes that Pfeifer explained the difficulties facing commanders in keeping track of firefighters and apparatus during the September 11, 2001 World Trade Center incident and says Pfeifer noted he sometimes has firefighters become dazed and confused during an operation where they may not make it out of a building, or they might end up in the wrong area for roll call.

"At the time, I was using an EZPass (traffic toll pass) on a daily basis and tho