Thursday, August 7, 2008
Government Initiates Warning Light Study
A Staff Report
Why do emergency vehicle's warning lights cause driver disorientation and what can be done to minimize this confusion? The U.S. Fire Administration, the Department of Transportation and the Society of Automotive Engineers have teamed up on a new study of warning lights to mitigate the problem....
12 STEP PROGRAM
By Joel Domangue
Buying fire and rescue apparatus is always a big task that requires research, planning and organization. But because of its complexity and the multitude...
Rescue Walk-Through
By James Hyles
One late afternoon, a rescue truck arrived at a washed-out bridge where a pickup had been swept into the water and was lodged on its side against some...
Tech Transfer
What a wonderful world it would be if the fire service had access to the armies of engineers developing technologies for the military and NASA. Emerging...
Freightliner Publishes Multiplex Wiring Brochure
Freightliner Trucks has published a new brochure for the Multiplex Wiring System that is standard on the Business Class M2 truck line....
Federal Signal Trademarks the Q Siren Sound
Federal Signal has trademarked the sound produced by its Q siren. The siron joins other notable sounds, such as the rumble of the Harley Davidson motorcycle and the MGM Lion....
Technology Transfer: Hazmat Sampling and Transport System Commercialized
Pat West, Senior Editor
The National Technology Transfer Center has announced it is helping to commercialize an easy-to-use, self-contained kit for proper sample collection and transportation of hazardous materials....
Classic Fire Opens Doors in Ocala, Fla.
A Staff Report
Jim White, former vice president of manufacturing for E-One, has opened the doors on a new fire apparatus manufacturer making slide-in skid units on commercial pumpers....
Pierce's Arrow XT Passes Crashworthiness Tests
Chris Cavette, Senior Editor
Pierce announced that its new Arrow XT heavy-duty cab passed the tough ECE R29 crash tests....
Interoperability Top Concern After Firestorms
The Wildland Fire Lessons Learned Center published a study in December on the 13 wildfires that ravaged Southern California in late October and early...
Handheld Layers
By Andrew Martin, Principal Planner South Alabama Regional Planning Commission
Planners with the South Alabama Regional Planning Commission are using a Global Positioning System, commonly known as GPS, to assist in inventorying and...
Storm-Chasing Radar Now After Wildfires
By Douglas Page
When he isn't raising a little dust of his own barreling down some Prairie back road trying to outstrip a Sooner wind, storm chaser Josh Wurman can sometimes...
Simulator Goes to Head of Class
By Douglas Page
As every firefighter knows, to learn how to fight a fire you have to train in an actual blaze. The question is, how do you properly prepare for that first...
EVOLUTION'S EXPENSE
By Mark A. Kopunek
Ever since the horse-drawn, steam-engine fire pump was invented, fire apparatus have been on a fast track to greater efficiency and effectiveness. But...
Dispatcher-in-Sky Looks for Wildfires
By Douglas Page
A new satellite system may allow firefighters to roll sooner on new forest fires. The system, developed by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena,...
PopSci Features Pierce Mobile Command Post and More Industry News
FIRE CHIEF Staff
The December issue of Popular Science named the Mobile Command Post by Pierce Manufacturing Inc. as one of the top 100 technical innovations of 2003 and...
Searchable Compendium of Terrorism Training Launched on the Web
FIRE CHIEF Staff
The Department of Homeland Security launched a new Web-based compendium in November to provide state and local officials a single location to quickly...
Free GIS Tutorial Available on CD-ROM
FIRE CHIEF Staff
The U.S. Fire Administration is distributing a free CD-ROM-based tutorial to help fire departments implement a geographic information system and its applications for displaying their data reported to the National Fire Incident Reporting System....
At the Foam Forefront
Firefighting alternatives to water have come a long way over the years, and Clarence Grady has been with them much of the way....
Class Warfare: Is A Better Than B? Does It Matter?
Mitch Hubert, Research and Development, Ansul Inc., Marinette, Wis.
Class A and Class B foams both produce foam. From the standpoint of formulating for performance on these two types of fuels, that is where the similarity...
Bright Ideas
By Alan Saulsbury
Proper selection and balance of scene lighting can improve effectiveness and save hundreds of thousands of dollars in lighting costs....
Firefighter, Protect Thyself
By Bttn. Chief Donna Brehm, NFPA 1971 Technical Committee
As review begins for the 2005 revision of NFPA 1971, take a look at the challenges of minimum design and performance criteria and the test methods for protective clothing for structural firefighting....
Unfriendly Skies
By Chief Donald L. Shinnamon Sr. Director of Public Safety, City of Holly Hill, Fla.
Aviation is not inherently dangerous. But some of the things done with aircraft — such as firefighting — present a greater risk than other airborne activities....
Pierce handles apparatus rollovers with air
Douglas Page
It's one of firefighting's worst nightmares. An apparatus takes a corner too fast while responding to a fire and rolls over, resulting in firefighter...
Picture phone proves helpful at tanker fire
Sometimes high-tech gadgets can really pay off. Lt. Larry Grab of the Madison (Wis.) Fire Department reports that a Sprint cell-phone camera helped out...
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