Donald Frazeur recently was named chairman of the National Fire Protection Association Fire Department Apparatus Committee. That committee oversees NFPA 1901, Automotive Fire Apparatus; 1906, Wildland Fire Apparatus; 1911, Inspection, Maintenance, Testing, and Retirement of In-Service Automotive Fire Apparatus; and 1912, Fire Apparatus Refurbishing.

Frazeur, an assistant chief with the Los Angeles Fire Department, spent 10 years in the department's supply and maintenance division, where he was responsible for the purchase and maintenance of apparatus.

NFPA committees are made up of one-third each manufacturers, end-users and special interests. I understand that you're looking for new members for the users' group?

As we deliberate before the full meeting, we break off in task groups for specific functions or areas of interest, and those task groups are open to anybody. The manufacturers will send a whole bunch of representatives, but where we're under-represented is by the users. The key for me going forward is to get the users involved so that their voices are also being heard. Without the users to talk about how they use the apparatus, we're working in a bit of a vacuum.…

You don't have to be on the committee to attend the meeting and voice your opinion, and that's the beauty of the task groups. When we start talking about the aerial ladders, you can come in and voice your opinion at the meeting. You won't get a vote, but you'll get to speak and tell us about your operations and needs.

Where can users find out more about these meetings?

The best way to find this information is through the NFPA Web site [www.nfpa.org]. Look up the specific NFPA standard, in our case NFPA 1901 … and it will state the next meeting's location, date and time. If people have questions, they can contact Carl Peterson at cpeterson@nfpa.org.

What goals do you have as chair of the NFPA 1901 Technical Committee?

My first goal as chair is to see to it that we get the 1901 standard published on time. It's supposed to come out in 2008 and it will be the 2009 standard, so we've got a lot to accomplish. We still have to go through public comment and resolve all those issues. We'll be able to do that.

Longer term, … the biggest thing I see is that we have a segment of our industry that is not covered right now, and that is ambulances. Fire departments are transporting 45% of all the patients that are going to the hospitals right now.… Just on my department alone, over 80% of the calls are EMS calls. I think we're ignoring a huge segment of that market. It's unthinkable to me that my firefighters go from an apparatus that considers safety in 1901 or 1906 to an ambulance that has no standard out there at all.

How can ambulances not have a standard?

Typically what happens is that ambulances are being built to the federal government's specification … and that's the [General Services Administration's KKK-A-1822: Federal Specifications for Ambulances]. The thought process is that's the best thing out there right now. If the government is going to research it, departments will put a few things into their purchase specification.

Look at crash statistics; safety is not being included on ambulances, and that tells me there's a need for it. My challenge is to facilitate a structure that can come up with a standard and then make sure the EMS community is included so that we meet their needs. It's just like the users that we talked about for 1901.… We'll build on the 1901 standard, but we'll have some new groundbreaking to do as well.

What's the process to create an NFPA standard for ambulances?

Somebody needs to make a recommendation to the NFPA Standards Council. By doing our homework, I will make that recommendation, and then it's going to have to be finessed with ambulance providers and fire departments out there. That may be a good reason for establishing a whole new standard … instead of carving out a part of the 1901 committee.

Do you have any advice for chiefs?

I believe that we have to be open to technology, but we have to keep it in context. There are times when technology is not a panacea for progress and sometimes it actually sets you backward.…

In 1999, we introduced multiplexing with 27 new pumpers in our department. I was surprised at the push-back that I received, first from my mechanics who refused to go to training and learn about it, and then my firefighters [who] found that an apparatus wouldn't operate because a sensor was out.… I recognize the value of technology, but I also recognize how hard it is to implement.