Saturday, November 7, 2009
Incident Command
Beware the Hazards of La-Z-Boy Learning
By Ronny J. Coleman
I am particularly dismayed when the death of a firefighter is called "an unfortunate accident." There is nothing accidental about going to the scene of a fire. We go on purpose and everything we do there also should be on purpose....
Q&A with USFA's Gaines About National Preparedness Month
By Mary Rose Roberts
September is National Preparedness Month. Glenn Gaines, the U.S. Fire Administration's deputy assistant director, and Chuck Burkell, training specialist for the USFA's executive development program, share core lessons learned about recent disasters to hit U.S. soil....
Are We There Yet?
By Donny Jackson
Public-safety communications infrastructure has improved greatly since 9/11 and Hurricane Katrina. But questions persist as to whether the policies and plans currently in place are adequate for another event of that magnitude....
Fire Departments Slow to Adopt NIMS
By Mary Rose Roberts
Implementing the FEMA-mandated National Incident Management System in every fire department in the nation has hit some roadblocks, as many fire service leaders reject the system in place of legacy strategies....
Pass it on
By Paul Wormeli and Andrea A. Walter
A federal program aims to standardize information collection and sharing across emergency agencies....
Heavy Lifting
By Janet Wilmoth
Departments need specialized equipment and tactics to extricate morbidly obese patients....
OnSite ERT Tracks Firefighters at Scene
By Mary Rose Roberts
ERT Systems recently released OnSite ERT, a rapidly deployable system for tracking emergency personnel and equipment at a scene, said company president Dennis Carmichael. ...
In Working Fires, Bigger Often is Better
By Robert R. Rielage
While a pre-connected 2½-inch line may take a bit longer to deploy, it puts a higher volume of water on the fire to overcome the BTUs of a modern apartment or single-family dwelling....
A Walk in the Park
By James Pellitteri
Preparation and training are the keys to effective high-angle rescue....
Rail Pass
By Janet Wilmoth (janet@firechief.com)
D.C. Chief Dennis Rubin discusses incident command, multiagency response and media management at a recent train crash....
Back to School
By Dave Plank
A new DHS training program aims to develop and certify communications team leaders....
Nerve Center
By Mary Rose Roberts
Modern emergency operations centers are changing the nature of a fire chief's job....
Central Nervous System
By Jesse Theodore
The Orange County Fire Authority uses computer mapping to coordinate the activities of all parts of its organization....
Indirect Supervision
By David C. Comstock Jr.
Acts or omissions by a fire officer at an incident that ultimately cause injuries may violate firefighter civil rights....
Regardless of Incident Type, Advance Planning is Key to Response
By Glenn Bischoff
Responders at inauguration, Minneapolis bridge collapse employ CAD, talk groups and more to ease interagency communications....
Letters to the Editor
Reader responds to March 2009 issue, one article at a time....
Hush
By Rick Markley
They're loud, bright and cool, but some departments think lights and sirens can be deadly....
NIOSH Releases Report on Charleston Fire
National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health released a report on the Charleston Sofa Super Store Fire that details failures in the way the Charleston Fire Department attacked the fire, and also lists several recommendations for avoiding similar disaster in other departments....
NIST Studies Safe Crew Sizes
The National Institute of Standards and Technology, in cooperation with Worcester Polytechnic Institute and International Association of Fire Fighters, is conducting a study to determine the difference crew size can make in an emergency situation. ...
FEMA Seeks Comments on Personnel Guideline
The Federal Emergency Management Agency is accepting comments on the National Incident Management System Guideline for the Credentialing of Personnel....
Teching Out IM
By Rick Markley
Tropical Storm Fay battle-tested a Florida jurisdiction’s GIS incident management system. ...
Governors Tackle Interoperability
To help states ensure their communication capabilities are adequately prepared to respond to an emergency, the National Governors Association Center for Best Practices announced that Arizona, Arkansas, Idaho, Massachusetts, New York and Washington have been selected to participate in the Public Safety Interoperability Communications Policy Academy: Focus on Governance....
Mix and Match
By Pruett Small
A Phoenix-area hostage drill emphasized the importance of standardization in multi-agency response....
Weather Report
By James Careless
Portable monitoring devices and software applications provide vital intelligence for fires and hazmat threats....
Tall Stories
By Ken Newell
Costs and ADA requirements weigh heavily on decisions to build up or out. ...
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