February 2025

Issue Description: The February issue of Firehouse includes feature articles on apparatus bay storage, pumpers designed to move big water and a special preview of the 2025 Station Design Conference.

Cover Description: Twenty-one hours into the Eaton fire in Los Angeles, a crew from Riverside County Engine 64 works on Jan. 8 in Altadena to keep a heavily involved wood-frame house fire from spreading. The hydrant system had failed, and Engine 64 was using water from its booster tank sparingly. Engine 64 was part of the four strike teams (20 pumpers) that Riverside County sent to the Los Angeles fires. Photo by Dave Dubowski

Dedication: Five U.S. firefighters recently died in the line of duty—Chief Robert Chandler, Firefighter Ralph Meyer, Firefighter Richard Sanders, Capt. George Turley and Chief Joseph Murray. This issue of Firehouse is dedicated to these firefighters.

February 2025

Apparatus Bay Storage: Nothing Taken for Granted

Ryan Baker

Feb. 21, 2025

Departments do themselves and their members a disservice when they don’t take into consideration the opportunities that a well-organized bay affords in the realms of firefighter...

Figure 1. A 10-cell lithium nickel cobalt aluminum oxide (NCA) 18650 cell battery pack during its peak heat release rate (HRR).

Operations & Training

Research Corner: Lithium-Ion Battery Heat Release Rate and Explosion Hazards

Dan Madrzykowski

Feb. 20, 2025

Daniel Madrzykowski and Nathaniel Sauer provide the details of the Fire Safety Research Institute's testing that shed more light on the dangers posed when li-ion batteries are...

Combustion results from an increase in temperature, energy and pressure. Therefore, the application of water as a cooling agent also must have the capabilities to overwhelm the pressure and the energy.

Operations & Training

Fire Studies: Fireground Strategies: The Science of Suppression vs. Extinguishment

Michael Daley

Feb. 19, 2025

Michael Daley explains why the way that water is applied must be combined with the amount that's delivered to achieve successful outcomes.

volunteer fire department fire chief increasing volunteers Nick Way Bridgeport California Fire Protection District

Leadership

Volunteer View: A New Chief’s Guide to Increasing Volunteers

Nick Way

Feb. 18, 2025

Nick Way explains how committing time to producing meaningful trainings, pursuing every means for improving PPE and showing appreciation in even small ways leads to increases ...

fire chief mental health Justin Sherwood Bemidji Minnesota Fire Department

Safety & Health

Health & Wellness: Am I Out of the Game or in a Different One?

Justin Sherwood

Feb. 17, 2025

Justin Sherwood tells fire chiefs that their effectiveness will go as far as the amount of time and effort that they dedicate to their own personal well-being.

More content from February 2025

Minneapolis Fire Department Engine 27 reported a row of garages fully involved and requested a second alarm.

Operations & Training

Hot Shots 2/25

Rich Dzierwa

Feb. 17, 2025

Minneapolis Fire Department Engine 27 reported a row of garages fully involved and requested a second alarm.

Careers & Education

Fire Law: Five Important Fire Service Law Trends in 2024

Curt Varone

Feb. 14, 2025

Curt Varone believes that each of a handful of tendencies in fire service law in 2024 will remain prominent going forward.

paramedic administered whole blood Scott Egan Orange County Florida Fire Rescue Department

EMS

EMS: The Life-Saving Role of Prehospital Whole Blood

Scott Egan

Feb. 14, 2025

Scott Egan provides the ins and outs, including specialized equipment, of a fire-based EMS program that saved the life of 50 patients in nine months.

Leadership

Leadership Lessons: Leadership and Professional Development

Jeffrey Tomovcsik

Feb. 13, 2025

Jeff Tomovcsik tells of how his eyes were opened to all that a fire service leadership role encompasses and requires when he was promoted to fire chief.

Preplanning for when a traveling carnival takes up residence in a department’s response area should include work with the carnival company to ensure that the tallest ride is located in an area where an aerial apparatus is capable of accessing the highest point of the ride (here, 60 feet).

Rescue

Tech Rescue: Carnival & Amusement Park Rides: Thinking Outside of the Box

Robert Policht

Feb. 13, 2025

Robert Policht opens eyes to the possibilities for what will be encountered when things go awry with machinery at carnivals and amusement parks.

fire department station public safety facility Station Design Conference

Stations

Station Design Conference 2025: One Focus

Janet A. Wilmoth

Feb. 12, 2025

Turning fire station concepts into reality is complicated. Consideration of today’s and tomorrow’s needs is challenging. The slate of presenters and exhibitors at the 2025 edition...

Freeland, PA, Fire Department (FFD) Engine 54 is a 1992 Seagrave that was ahead of its time with respect to incorporating multiple attack lines, split beds for large-diameter supply line, and portable and fixed master stream appliances.

Apparatus

The Apparatus Architect: Pumpers Designed to Move Big Water

Tom Shand

Feb. 11, 2025

Tom Shand and Michael Wilbur explain why pumpers that operate out of two Pennsylvania departments exemplify the importance of balancing water supply with rig wheelbase, length...

Fire Department Officers Responsibilities John J Salka Jr

Operations & Training

The Fire Scene: The Front Seat Assignment

John J. Salka Jr.

Feb. 11, 2025

John J. Salka Jr. covers response destination, firefighter assignments, fireground tactics, communications and additional resources in reminding officers about their responsibilities...

2025 California Fire Storm

As Firehouse Sees It: January’s Wrath

Peter Matthews

Feb. 10, 2025

Amid the aftermath of devastation, Peter Matthews urges conversations about construction in rural/rugged environments, defensible space, noncombustible building materials and ...