• Home >
  • Back Issues >
  • Firehouse Magazine >
  • October 2012

    • October 2012

    More content from October 2012

    The 2012 Emergency Response Guidebook (ERG) is distributed to emergency responders nationwide through state coordinators in every state.
    The 2012 edition of the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) Emergency Response Guidebook (ERG) has been released, featuring new information about gases, placarding and responses...
    Oct. 1, 2012
    Firechiefinterview 10 12 Cod W 10762120
    Firehouse: The San Francisco Fire Department (SFFD) is down about 300 firefighters. Is there a plan for the future to hire new firefighters and promote EMTs?Hayes-White: In the...
    Oct. 1, 2012
    Photo by Damien Danis/President, NJMFPA
    HASBROUCK HEIGHTS, NJ
    HASBROUCK HEIGHTS, NJ, JULY 28, 2012 – The driver of a tractor-trailer truck was killed when he crashed into an office building. A second alarm was transmitted, followed quickly...
    Oct. 1, 2012
    Curtvarone 10767394
    It was a discussion that happened years ago, in a fire station, over dinner.“Hey, Chief, my wife is pregnant. Can I go on light duty?” the firefighter asked me in a baiting sort...
    Oct. 1, 2012
    Kimalyn 10773205
    In August, I started a five-part series about knowing your crew and the four different social styles on your team, based on the Merrill/Reid Social Style Model. If you haven’t...
    Oct. 1, 2012
    MSAsafety/Altair4X
    Multigas DetectorMSA has introduced the ALTAIR 4X multigas detector with XCell Sensor technology. The unit detects lower explosive limit (LEL), carbon monoxide (CO), hydrogen ...
    Oct. 1, 2012
    John Salka 10773511
    Have you ever heard an officer use the words “nothing showing” in the initial report after arriving at an alarm location? I often wonder exactly what those words mean to the other...
    Oct. 1, 2012
    Dennis Compton 10773526
    Throughout the United States, the primary elections are over and the November general elections are right around the corner. As we know, these November elections will occur at...
    Oct. 1, 2012
    Gary Ludwig 10773654
    I have the distinct memory some eons ago of working as a newly promoted captain/paramedic and going on a call at which the ambulance crew was already on the scene. When I arrived...
    Oct. 1, 2012
    Photo by Dennis Walus
    The measurement of response time frequently varies from one department to the next and measurement methods render comparisons inaccurate. Some jurisdictions measure response time from when the fire department is dispatched until the arrival of the first suppression apparatus. Others may begin the count when the call is received at the 911 center and stop the clock when the first emergency unit arrives on scene.
    Response time and available staffing are the two most important factors that influence fire department success at emergency scenes. There has been much debate in the fire service...
    Oct. 1, 2012
    Photo from Paul Hashagen Collection
    High-tech filming for its day, the early 1960s NBC-TV program “DuPont Show of the Week: Fire Rescue” featured FDNY Rescue 1 in what was perhaps one of the first reality TV shows. Airing for the first time on Sept. 30, 1962, the documentary depicted members as they responded to multiple-alarm fires, rescues, medical calls and other emergencies over a three-month period. Incidents included the death of a firefighter at a fire in the Hell’s Hundred Acres section of Manhattan (today’s SoHo) and a nine-alarm fire in a clothing store in Queens. The off-camera narrator was Walter Matthau.
    PENN YAN, NY: OCT. 6, 1912 – Late at night, smoke seeped into an upstairs bedroom in a home near Keuka Landing. The woman of the house, Mrs. Stowell, was awaken by shrieks of ...
    Oct. 1, 2012
    Photo by Mike Meadows
    A firefighter memorial service is that time to celebrate, decorate and commemorate the life of one who served.
    If one researches back in time, and I mean to the customs of ancient Rome, you will find that select professions established time-honored ceremonies. These ceremonies were with...
    Oct. 1, 2012
    Brad Harvey 1107 10775634
    One of the best and most popular uses for a thermal imager (TI) is during overhaul. A TI can be a blessing to you in determining how far a fire may have extended. Using a TI for...
    Oct. 1, 2012
    Firefighter Eric Keim gives a thumbs-up signal as his ride aboard a US Air Force Thunderbird F-16 begins.
    Flying HighHillsboro (OR) Firefighter Eric Keim recently got the ride of his life aboard a U.S. Air Force Thunderbird F-16. Keim was selected to ride with the Thunderbirds for...
    Oct. 1, 2012
    Photos by Brittany Mowery
    Photo shows the A/D corner of the vacant building shortly after a partial collapse of structure.
    CLEVELAND FIRE DEPARTMENTChief: Steve HaunPersonnel: 90 career firefightersStations: 5Apparatus: 5 pumpers, 2 aerials, 1 command vehicle, 1 tanker, 1 brush truck, 1 squad/air ...
    Oct. 1, 2012
    The author, fourth from left, visited the Goose Lake Fire Department in Iowa during his 2006 trip. He met with, from left, Randy Novak, director of the Iowa State Training Bureau; Allison Hart, senior staff to Senator Tom Harkin (D-Iowa); Andy McGovern, training officer for the City of Clinton Fire Department; the author, and Training Officer Paul Doyle and Chief Kevin Cain of the Goose Lake Fire Department.
    Let me start by saying that my son-in-law recently told me about attending a Bob Dylan concert. We discussed the man’s music and the lyrics of a number of his songs. I spoke of...
    Oct. 1, 2012
    Line-of-Duty DeathsFive U.S. emergency personnel recently died in the line of duty. Two career firefighters, one volunteer firefighter and one inmate firefighter died in five ...
    Oct. 1, 2012
    Photos courtesy of OnStar
    OnStar Advisors answer calls at three different call centers. Advisors who work emergency service calls undergo 15-plus weeks of additional training in order to efficiently handle these high-priority calls.
    SUBJECT: Vehicle Telematics SystemsTOPIC: Introduction to OnStarOBJECTIVE: Responders will become familiar with how the OnStar vehicle communications system is designed and functions...
    Oct. 1, 2012
    Photo by Mike Meadows
    The Williams Fire, shown during its first hour, was 83% contained at presstime after burning nearly 4,200 acres in the Angeles National Forest in California. The fire occurred 15 miles north of Glendora. Structures were threatened and evacuations and road closures were in effect. Tens of thousands of wildland fires have burned millions of acres in many parts of the country during this earlier-than-usual wildfire season.
    A few months ago, the FDNY 18th Battalion commander, Battalion Chief John J. Salka Jr., retired after 33 years on the job. A Firehouse® Magazine contributing editor for many years...
    Sept. 11, 2012