You are a firefighter and upon arrival at the scene of a working fire you have a lot of decisions to make. One of the most key decisions a chief officer, or firefighter following standard operating procedures has to make in the early stages of a building fire is whether to ventilate or not? The strategy of venting fire buildings must be approached from many angles. In the United States it has long been accepted that there are three criteria for making that decision. Vent for life, safety or the fire with that in mind firefighters must make themselves aware of the effects of ventilating structure before making the that decision. All fire departments should have a set of standard operating procedures (SOP’s) that serve as a frame of reference for firefighters when determining how best to handle a fire situation. Venting for life is a situation that is routinely part of those SOP’s. The Jefferson Parish Louisiana Fire Departments SOP’s relating to venting for life states: “Firefighters may create openings, or break windows, to gain access from an exterior position to carry out a primary search in a high-risk area of the structure.” These openings are most often windows that can be in an area adjacent to the fire or in another area of the fire building that is deemed most effective. This method of ventilation is called V-E-S (vent, enter, search) and while it is a common practice among fire departments it is a strategy that is often filled with hazards but may produce great rewa...
Since the introduction of the fog/combination firefighting nozzle by Dr. Oyston Charles in the 1960 's, the discussion between the traditional smooth bore nozzle vs. fog/combination nozzle for fire attack has been ongoing and heated at times. My research has informed me that the debate between the smooth bore nozzle and fog nozzle has always and will continue to be openly controversial, particularly over the last two decades as the fire service has taken a deeper interest in firefighter safety and accident prevention. To date, my thesis statement is as follows: The benefits of the smooth bore nozzle make it a safer and more effective nozzle for direct fire attack compared to the fog or combination nozzle. This report will examine two sources that contain contrary perspectives to the above thesis statement.
In making the decisions to protect people’s lives from hazards and disasters, evacuations sometimes become necessary. Of course early in the reaction to the incident, or the response phase, this may become a decision for local and state emergency managers. The San Diego, California wildfire which occurred in October 2007 caused a large scale evacuation. This essay is an analysis, and identification of lessons learned from the evacuation incident. As well a plan of personal recommendations and improvements will be made based on information covered in the National Housing strategy, and Robert Stafford Act.
The Worcester cold storage fire that occurred in Worcester Massachusetts on December, 3 1999 provided us with another tragic example to the lurking dangers to the United States fire service. The Worcester fire claimed the lives of 6 firefighters who came to work that morning not realizing that this would be their last shift . The strategic and tactical lessons that were learned from this fire need to be heeded by fire department nationwide. However another important lesson is not as well know. The lesson learned by the Worcester Fire department is that the law is very instrumental to emergency services operations.
Are you willing to do anything in order for you to survive? Go to the extent of crossing many boundaries? Not everyone is willing to stand till the end. Born on February 1, 1927 Galway Kinnell has always been a fighter. He had served in the United States Navy and completed extensive tours of Europe and the Middle East, primarily in Iran and France. After the wars, he returned home as a field worker and became an activist in the Civil Rights Movement. Kinnell often writes about his struggles as a soldier and his experiences as a reform activist (Poets.org). In his poem, The Bear, Kinnell writes about a man who, upon discovering a steaming dropping made by a bear in the snow, sets on a hunt for a bear. The hunter faces several obstacles, but manages to overtake his prey. Kinnell uses the poem to show what it means to be a survivor and what it feels like to express yourself.
The most pressing issue facing Detroit, in regard to fire, is the steady amount of burning vacant or delipidated buildings, and second to that is the high rate of home fires. For the purposes of this project, the capabilities of
Fire safety education is a crucial aspect of fire prevention. The general public needs to know how big of a threat fire is to them and how they can do things in their everyday lives to improve their safety, as well as preventing the threat of fire to begin with. The commission also realized that it was critically important that people know how to properly act once a fire has started. It is important that people have the knowledge to act quickly, safely, and effectively. When people don’t understand fire they can react in many negative ways such as panicking, not evacuating effectively, or by trying to fight a fire that they are not going to be able to extinguish. All these human reactions can decrease safety and end with tragic results. In the commission’s report they approximate that nearly 70 percent of all building fires were due to people acting carelessly because they did not understand the fire dangers that were present. The commission cited studies like one conducted in southeast Missouri. In the southeast Missouri community, a huge emphasis was put into public fire safety education because the fire death rate of the community was much higher than the national average. After increasing fire safety education in the community it was no surprise that the rate of deaths and injuries decreased
Firefighters are more than friends. You can't fight fires with friends. To fight fires you need a brotherhood. The men and women of the fire service across the globe consider each other family, this is one of the grand traditions of the fire department. Firefighters are constantly looking out for one another, thinking about the things they do and how it may affect the other’s lives and safety. Life safety is of the highest priority in the business of fire rescue. To achieve a safety standard there are many tasks that fire personnel are expected to carry out, for both a personal and a team related purpose. One of these tasks is the daily inspection of the fire apparatus upon arrival to the fire station. This task is with most certainty the most essential process that fire personnel are responsible for in order to get through the shift safely and efficiently.
...nd then fixing it, practicing fire drills at a proper time so that employees are informed about what to do in this instance, and following humane rules by letting workers out of the building in a case of an emergency. Also, this building was never intended to be as large as it was; owners need to abide by the authorizations.
For centuries, the men and women of the fire service have been pioneering new ways to “do more with less”. When faced with a predicament, these individuals use the resources available to them to find a suitable resolution. How will this be possible if those resources are not available?
The Vietnam War was a very confrontational issue amongst numerous Americans during the 1960’s and 70’s. Many young Americans did not agree with fighting in the Vietnam War. In the essay “On the Rainy River,” by Tim O’Brien explains the struggle of a 21 year old American man who has been drafted to fight in the Vietnam War. The essay proposes the narrators predicament of not wanting to go to war and displays his reasons why. The narrator states that “American war in Vietnam seemed to [him as being] wrong [and he] saw no unity of purpose” (40). One main reason that the narrator and many Americans did not see any importance of the Vietnam War is because know one had a clear understanding of the reasons why the United States of America was fighting it. O’Brien creates a strong argument of why the 21 year old man does not want to go to war because of its strongly supported use of values and emotions, credibility, and logical reasoning.
U.S. Department of Agriculture. Smoke exposure at prescribed burns: a study on the effects of smoke exposure on firefighters at prescribed burns. Portland: Forest Service, 1995.
Every year communities struggle each year around the nation with issues of life safety. In 2012, the nation’s fire departments responded to 31,854,000 responses that resulted in the deaths 0f 2,855 civilians and injuring 16,500 causing an estimated $12,427 million dollars in damage. (United States Fire Administration, 2014) These incidents put at risk 345,950 career and 783,300 volunteer firefighters that resulted in the deaths of 81 individuals (U.S. Department of Homeland Security, 2013) and nearly 70,000 reported injuries. ( Karter & Molis, 2013) These numbers represent incidents that are determined to be in the line of duty but do not take into consideration the long-term health risk issues that may develop. Evidence shows that he hazards associated with Fire and Emergency Services are consistent across the board whether paid or volunteer and jeopardize the lives and health of each individual, placing administrative and physical control measures reduces this risk to firefighter within an organization. While it is impossible to eliminate the hazards firefighters face, it is important to identify these hazards as the first step in reducing the potential for loss of life and wellbeing both physically and mentally.
This research topic is originated from my experience in working in the fire service since nineteen ninety seven. In the last sixteen years I have moved up the ranks from probationary fire fighter to fire lieutenant. I am currently hold the rank of fire lieutenant. This topic is very important to me because one day at work I can be the Incident Commander on a incident, to the o...
Adults more than likely most frequently set fires for monetary gain – such as insurance fraud but other reasons also abound (Bartol & Bartol). Revenge, vandalism, crime concealment or diversion, intimidation, terrorism, and sabotage are all reasons why fires are set. Many of th...
Creating the awareness among the students helps them on the various ways to avoid fires. If possible students are advised to ensure that all the fire alarms and extinguishers are in working conditions at all times. They should also be careful and alert when using any appliance that is likely to cause a fire and avoid using anything that is prohibited in the rooms.