Tuesday, December 2, 2008
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....
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...
Jet engine exhaust is the new weapon in mine fire suppression
Douglas Page
Extinguishing underground coal mine fires may not be rocket science exactly, but it's a step closer thanks to an innovative Australian fire suppression...
San Francisco airport hopes new system will thwart WMD attacks
Douglas Page
Building on the success of a program first used in the Washington, D.C., Metro subway system, researchers at Sandia National Laboratories in California...
Eyes on the Truck
By Craig Stark, National Sales Manager, Bendix Commercial Vehicle Systems Elyria, Ohio
An apparatus-mounted night-vision camera can improve driver safety while offering an entry into thermal imaging–assisted size-up....
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...
Take a closer look at wildfire's worldly role
Mike Flannigan and Laurie Martinelli
As American firefighters face the intensity of their wildland fire season, the International Journal of Wildland Fire offers a global perspective....
Fire shelter overhaul
By Leslie Anderson and Tony Petrilli
This summer some firefighters will carry a redesigned wildland fire shelter developed by the U.S. Forest Service's Missoula (Mont.) Technology and Development...
Trial by fire
By Deputy Chief Robert Weller, Colorado Springs (Colo.) Fire Department
A statewide communications system that built on some existing infrastructure played a large role during Colorado's Hayman blazes last summer....
Time to burn?
Peter Robichaud, Ph.D., P.E., Rocky Mountain Research Station, and Jim Bilskie, Campbell Scientific
A new Forest Service tool for measuring moisture content can determine when to conduct prescribed burns....
NWS develops experimental prescribed burn planner
Bill Gabbert
One day late in 2002 Pat Murphy and Andy Bailey, fire weather forecasters at the National Weather Service office in Rapid City, S.D., were discussing...
BLM manages IT alarm innovation
Douglas Page
Not all pop-ups on computer screens are annoying. Information technology technicians at the Bureau of Land Management have joined a growing number of...
Russia introduces new detection instrument
Serghey Stelmakovich, Russian News Editor
The Russian Federation Ministry of Natural Resources has launched a new wildfire detection and monitoring system that uses space downlink stations that...
Lab-on-a-chip tests troubled waters
Douglas Page
Government researchers recently demonstrated a highly sensitive, inexpensive lab-on-a-chip that provides warning within seconds of even trace amounts...
Nomex-based coveralls fireproof U.S. soldiers, save money
Douglas Page
The U.S. Army is making a fashion statement in Afghanistan. Nomex coveralls sent to a group of combat support soldiers participating in Operation Enduring...
Internet protocol may solve communications interoperability
Douglas Page
Since the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, emergency communications have taken on stark importance. The need for public safety agencies fire, police...
Point-and-shoot
By John Raimondi, Product Line Manager, MSA, Pittsburgh
A new generation of thermal imagers is finding its way into more and more departments and onto more scenes than just the fireground....
Device offers insight into what fuels Hot Shots
Douglas Page
Hot Shots firefighters burn calories at levels equal to mountain climbers and combat soldiers, according to a new study that sheds light on the energy...
NASA launches biohazard detector
Douglas Page
Researchers at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif., have demonstrated a prototype reminiscent of smoke detectors, only this device continuously...
NIST fire quenchers are good to the last drop
Douglas Page
Researchers at the National Institute of Standards and Technology think the behavior of tiny droplets of new liquid fire suppressants soon may play a...
Blue-ribbon panel announces aerial findings
The Blue Ribbon Panel on Aerial Firefighting revealed its findings at a December news conference in Boise, Idaho. The panel was chartered in mid-August...
Redesigned lights shine under stressors
Bill Gabbert
For the last 20 years wildland firefighters have had very little choice about what light to use when working on a fire at night. The four AA battery design...
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