Sherry Brooks | 10/14/2011

One of my favorite things is to hear from our readers, or from those in fire rescue EMS across the U.S. I got a call from Chief Larry Phillips from North Dakota the other day. I was wondering about the purpose of his call, and when I finally spoke with him it was a funny story. Chief Phillips told me that he had ordered some Matchbox Fire Engines off eBay and when he received them they were wrapped in pages from the Carolina Fire Journal. He has a publication for the North Dakota Fire Chiefs, “Northwest Region Fire Rescue,” and he says he’s always interested in other similar magazines and this may be the most unusual way he has discovered a n... Read More...

Relevant Tags: FROM THE EDITOR, from, fire, fall, ems, editor, rescue, training, from editor, fire rescue, rescue ems, north dakota

Lee Sudia | 10/14/2011

Over 10 years ago an event took place that changed the whole attitude of not just a country, but a world. Homicide terrorists targeted innocent people in an attempt to prove a point. Three hundred and forty-three brave men and women of FDNY answered that attempt, along with members of the NY Transit Police, NYPD and NY City EMS, paying with their lives. Read More...

Relevant Tags: Forum, emergency, people, emergency services, emergency responders, lessons learned

Jason Krusen | 10/14/2011

The report of a suspicious package these days has become the fire services new general fire alarm. Like a fire alarm the suspicious package is a false call 99 percent of the time, yet we tend to respond to both of them as if they are false 100 percent of the time. Ten or 15 years ago the suspicious package, if even responded by anyone other that law enforcement was a low frequency call. Unfortunately these days with the concerns of terrorism, this call has become a high frequency call, and for a good reason. Read More...

Relevant Tags: Hazmat, package, fire, suspicious, agencies, involved, suspicious package, law enforcement, fire alarm, fire service, lessons learned, haz mat

Glenn Clapp | 10/14/2011

Whenever hazmat responders discuss the most exciting and interesting facets of the hazmat response world, decontamination is usually not at the top of the list. Decontamination is, however, an essential and technical part of the entire hazmat response that may not appear to be as glamorous as entering the hot zone, but is as vital to the safety and well-being of Entry Group personnel as any other action performed on scene. In reality, Decontamination Group personnel oftentimes spend longer periods of time “suited up” in their personal protective equipment (PPE) than Entry Group personnel, and perform true manual labor work. Read More...

Relevant Tags: Hazmat, personnel, level, decontamination, hazmat, responders, decon group, group personnel, hot zone, responder decon, decon area, mass decon, technical responder, hazardous materials, technician level, operations level

David Greene | 10/14/2011

A series of explosions occurred in Henderson, Nevada (a Las Vegas suburb) on May 4, 1988. The explosions virtually destroyed two industrial facilities, cracked windows and buffeted a Boeing 737 on final approach at McCarran International Airport seven miles away, and damage extended for a radius of up to 10 miles away. The explosions were registered on the Richter scale at an observatory in California, left a crater 15 feet deep and 200 feet long, and the resulting fire produced smoke that rose to an altitude of several thousand feet. — visible almost 100 miles away. After reading our case study for this issue ( United States Fire Administrat... Read More...

Relevant Tags: Hazmat, fire, material, ammonium perchlorate, henderson nevada, un/na hazard, hazard class, virtually destroyed

Ron Cheves | 10/14/2011

Earlier this year about 125 leaders of volunteer and combination fire departments were asked to come to Washington, D.C. to put together a blueprint for the future of volunteers in the fire service. The ultimate goal of the summit is to examine the challenges faced by our fire departments manned by volunteer or part-time firefighters and help develop a long term plan to carry the volunteer and combination fire service into the future. Read More...

Relevant Tags: fire, service, volunteer, training, level, departments, national, volunteers, fire service, fire departments, combination fire, volunteer combination, leaders volunteer, fire training, level training