Friday, November 21, 2008
E85 Fuel Fires Mean New Tactics
Fire chiefs should be aware that E85 fuel, an alternative fuel composed of 85% ethanol and 15% gasoline, is gaining wider distribution. According to the U.S. Department of Transportation, fires involving E85 should be treated differently than conventional gasoline fires....
Blockwork Orange
By Douglas Page
Government researchers have found a simple, safe way of removing radioactive uranium from contaminated surfaces, soil and incinerator ash by using citric acid....
Repurposed Decon Trailer Allows Safety, Savings
Faron L. Livingston
In these times of strict budgets and more demands on service, innovation is the hidden gift that firefighters possess among many other talents. ...
No Messy Cleanup
By Gordon Lohmeyer
HAZWOPER identifies necessary elements and training competencies for emergency response plans. Make the most of its recommendations in your training....
Seeing is Believing: Hazmat Cam Gives IC Full View
By Douglas Page
Check out the Hazmat Cam, a wireless camera system that can be carried by emergency responders to a hazardous scene....
Chemical Test Develops Magnetic Traits
By Douglas Page
A new portable device may soon give homeland protection teams a better sense of chemical dangers. The tool makes it possible for the first time to perform...
Mobile Hazmat Lab to Hit Road Soon
By Douglas Page
A first-of-its-kind Mobile Molecular Testing Laboratory capable of force protection, rapid diagnostics, epidemiology, and preventive medicine will soon...
Chiefs Say Placards Critical
According the International Association of Fire Chiefs, 98% of U.S. fire chiefs responding to a survey consider hazmat placards critical and essential...
IAFF to Develop CBRN-Ready Turnouts
The federal government has awarded the International Association of Fire Fighters a contract to develop new structural firefighting personal protective...
Point & Click
By Pat West
When a fire or explosion occurs at a chemical plant, refinery or other site involving any of the thousands of dangerous chemicals and hazardous materials...
Initiative Yields Effective Anthrax Detection
By Douglas Page
Scientists continue to pursue better methods of detecting anthrax. An initiative conducted by AOAC International and funded by the departments of Defense...
Private Matter
By Timothy P. Butters
Last month, two train cars derailed and overturned in a Georgia rail yard, one spilling its cargo of styrene into a nearby dike. Styrene is a flammable...
Transit Tracker
By Pat West
In the early 1990s, a series of railroad and highway hazmat incidents turned into bigger disasters than they would have if emergency responders had possessed...
Hazard Down Below
Pipelines carry hazardous liquid and natural gas over more than 2.2 million miles across the nation. To help ensure the safety of America's vast and growing...
All-Hazards Training, 2002 March 2004
While the U.S. Fire Administration has been offering an all-hazards training curriculum since 1981, the events of Sept. 11, 2001, heightened awareness...
Bombs Away
By Jennifer Cox
One of the first formal bomb squads in North America was the New York Police Department's Bomb Squad, which celebrated its 101st birthday in April. The...
Too Close for Comfort
By David F. Peterson
Perhaps the most daunting task at hazmat emergencies is accurately and properly assessing the risk for responders. This is especially true for chief officers...
Extreme Heat Means Quick Decon
Researchers from the University at Buffalo claim a new technology can safely and inexpensively clear offices or buildings of airborne biological agents...
Off the Rails
By Pat West
Thousands of tons of highly radioactive waste from commercial utility companies may begin moving through the rail system about four or five years sooner...
Post-Salvage Spores
By David C. Comstock
A fire starts in the kitchen and spreads to the upper floor of a modern, 2-story home. A neighbor notices smoke and calls the local fire department. A...
Know the Smells and Warning Bells of WMD
[ John Linstrom ]
During the lion's share of my career, it was assumed that any incident involving explosives or weapons of mass destruction was a law enforcement incident...
DHS Approves CBRN Ensembles, Detectors
In late February, the Department of Homeland Security's Science and Technology Division approved standards for first responder PPE and radiological and...
The New Normal
By Mike McKenna
The world order is changing, and many of those changes will have a direct impact on the fire service's role as primary first responder. In that role,...
Powerful Lamp Destroys Anthrax Better Than Foam
By Douglas Page
Government researchers have announced they have come up with a quick and safe cure for anthrax bacteria contamination. Scientists at the Oak Ridge National...
GERM WARFARE
By Kathryn M. Hansen
Following the anthrax bioterrorist incidents in 2001, first responders and hazmat teams have investigated ways to respond to such attacks. Unlike explosions...
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