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I guess bomb squad or hazmat REP unit?

For anyone who's a huge fan of the band Disturbed, such as myself: (From the Disturbed email list)

Reposted with permission from "The Secret List" http://www.firefighterclosecalls.com

From an email today (4-11-08) posted to the Greenburgh Town Supervisor's email list:

I personally have many oppurtunities throughout the year to see many new engines. Many new deliveries come nowadays with Class A Foam, CAFS (Compressed Air Foam System) I'm curious to know why the northeast is so resistant to this technology, when it has many more benefits then drawbacks? I am 100% positive that CAFS will a "standard feature" on all pumpers one day, just like SCBA's and other items that were initially resisted are. The CAFS systems nowadays are simple to use, compared with the first generation of CAFS systems. CAFS found it's start with brush fires, but many major departments are now embracing and succesfully using the technology for everyday structural and routine fire use. Many newer systems just require a flip of the switch for the pump operator. Some of the benefits of CAFS: 1. Use less water. Great for areas without hyrdrants, and areas with poor hydrant pressure or no hydrants at all, such as highways. The use of less water also reduces water damage, especially in mutli level OMD's. 2. Lighter handline weight. The newer systems, even with kinks, can still flow the proper water/foam mixture at the proper pressure. This makes manuvering a hoseline a lot easier, reducing firefighter stress and fatigue. 3. All you need is a smooth bore or straight stream automatic nozzle. No eductor, no foam tip, no foam nozzle. Most CAFS systems can provide foam from any discharge. 4. Can easily knock down a small dwelling fire without having to make entry, and worry about the traditional "pushing" of the fire more into the structure. 5. It reduces surface tension, and allows the water to penetrate the over much more area and deeper in the fuel then water alone. 6. It knocks down the fire, and the tempature, much quicker than water alone, and also produces less steam. 7. Very low maintainence, many apparatus and pump manufacturers, including Pierce and Waterous, make systems that intergrate with pumps and devices that make it simple for the pump operator. 8. The newer systems make the "air filled" hoselines virtually a thing of the past. 9. Exposure protection. Exposures can be "pre-treated" to protect them from fire. 10. The "we need a 750 gallon tank for car fires" would be a thing of the past....... 11. Water conservation in the event of a drought. 12. Brush fires. Where CAFS originally entered the US Fire service. Makes extinguishing a brush fire 100 times easier and faster, and with less water. Why do you think it's almost a standard feature on all brush trucks nowadays? With all these benefits, why aren't more departments spec'ing CAFS? I strongly believe that CAFS should be the major focus when spec'ing new suppresion apparatus. It really, really improves suppresion in so many ways, how can departments not spec it? Some complain about the cost, but don't take the whole picture into account, like life safety and property loss reduction. Also, maybe if some departments trimmed back on the chrome and other uneccasary features that are hardly used on an engine, there would be enough for a CAFS system.

The comment regarding Southern California, Florida, and Texas being far ahead of the Northeast was related to CAFS. These departments are embracing CAFS now for "everyday" structural use, after being proven in these state's extensive wildfire and interface situations. These departments are also succesfully using it for car fires, dumpster fires, etc. Los Angeles County did a breakthrough, extensive study regarding CAFS, which was done scientifically and involved live burns of 3 houses. Texas was THE first state in the nation to use CAFS. As far as Europe CAFS goes, you obviously have more knowledge from experience....I'm just going by what I was told by friends who work in London and someone I met from the UK who was riding with a busy US department to see CAFS in action.

Excellent synopsis, Ed!! Personally, I feel that any apparatus operator who can't operate one of the very user friendly foam systems, CAFS or otherwise, has no business being behinf the pump panel. Also, if the pump or foam system is too complicated or laid out poorly and doesn't fit with the department's needs, then you have also have an apparatus comittee who has no business being such. CAFS and foam systems have come a LONG way in the past couple of years. With the upcoming trade show season, I encourage everyone to take a look at how different manufacturers and agencies set up CAFS and foam systems on new apparatus. I think you'll be impressed..... That's not my point.If you put out a R&C fire with 100 gallons on the 3rd floor of a wood frame OMD, where is the majority of that 100 gallons going? What if you could put out the same fire with 25 gallons plus CAFS? What would the difference in property loss be? Southern California, Florida, and Texas are WAY, WAY ahead of the northeast. Also, in Europe, they have a very limited water supply, and consequently, in many cities water runoff from a fire scene is seen as a failure. They use steam to help extinguish a lot of the fire, but a system similar to CAFS is rapidly becoming popular for urban fires.

Although I know this pump panel location has been around for several years now, this is the first chance I've had to photograph it. From the looks of it, this doesn't add the wheelbase that a traditonal top-mount pump panel would, and it doesn't consume much more space than a traditonal pump enclosure. It keeps the pump operator out of traffic and away from the hoses, and also gives the pump operator a 360 view of the scene. For the above reasons, this is my favorite spot for a pump panel, and always wonder why more departments don't go for this option. Photo by me. P.S.: The builder of the body is Precision Fire Apparatus, on a Sutphen chasis.

You use MUCH less water, and it's going to cause a bigger mess? Have you had a fire on the fourth or fifth floor of an OMD, in 1 or 2 rooms? What happens to all that water you use? The difference between east and west is not aggresiveness, one embraces and is held back by tradition, one embraces technology that will save more lives and save more property.

As buildings today get taller and taller, construction lifts, such as the JLG lift, scissor style lift, and other types of lifts are becoming more and more common. So, let's take this scenario, and see what we can do with it. This building is 12 stories tall. The parapet you see is just that, a parapet that drops off about a story on the other side. While operating the lift, a structural defect caused the boom to jam, and the worker is unable to get out of the bucket. You don't have an aerial tall enough to reach the lift. EDIT: OK, let's kick this up a notch. A strong thunderstorm with dangerous lightening is rolling in. It's a Sunday afternoon, and the soonest you can get another lift there would be 2 hours. The worker is starting to freak out and attempting to crawl out of the basket down the boom. How would you attempt to remove the worker safely and efficiently?

CAFS has been proved to RAPIDLY REDUCE tempature and steam, and prevent flashovers. Also, with the current CAFS sytems out there, you can change from water to foam and back again almost instantly, with air from the line being bled at the pump side. Additonally techniques with CAFS can be used in backdraft situations. Class A foam breaks down surface tension, allowing it to soak into items, especially carbon based items such as wood. If you've used laundry or dish soap, you're using that to allow the water to penetrate whatever your washing. Here's an experiment. Get a piece of charred wood. Place a drop of water on it, and see how much it soaks in. Probaly will just pool on top of the wood. Then, add a drop of Class A foam, and watch how fast the water penetrates into and spreads into the charred wood. You can say that about SCBA's, Jaws, Haz-Mat decon equipment, power saws, AED's etc etc. I've had the oppurtunity to use CAFS at some controlled burns, including one nationally reconized study. I find many of the naysayer's have never used or witnessed the proper use of CAFS in everyday scenarios. I've personally witnessed firefighters come to these burns with negative impressions of CAFS, only to have it sell itself after they use it in live burn conditions. Here's a GREAT page to learn more about CAFS: http://www.cafsinfo.com/compressed_air_foam_systems.htm

After my last ACLS refresher, and by "studies" the past few years, I could see the writing on the wall......... NAEMD has actually been doing this for a while now.. FULL STORY: http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/H/HAN...EMPLATE=DEFAULT

I'm just trying to keep my skill levels up, and I must admit, coming from districts with 100% high pressure hydrants, and only drafting in Probie School, I've forgotten how to start and maintain a draft for waterflow, and I can't seem to find my pump operations book right now. Can anyone give me a quick, concise refresher here on the steps of drafting?

Tonight, on the Discovery Channel (10PM EST), there is a show called "Smash Lab". I've never watched the show, but the commercials for this episode have me interested. The show's motto is "Dangerous Experiments for a Safer World" Apparently, in this episode, they are going to explore using CO2 to end a vehicle pursuit. Should be interesting.

I've always wanted to broach this subject, but I always figured I'd get the answer "because the more cars on the road the better, and backup will be there within seconds anyways". Why don't PBA's mandate in their contracts, two-man patrol cars, especially at night in high-crime areas? Granted, it may not prevent violent actions toward LEO's, but it may give them a better chance, plus apprehending the suspect might be a lot easier. I'm not an LEO, but am curious about how LEO's feel about this?

Yonkers FD may be able to make use of it. Maybe even New Rochelle. But, as you said, after sitting outside in the elements all this time...it's just sad that it was let go to waste. I know if Mount Vernon FD's sole mechanic had an actual proper staff to maintain a sound fleet, and, like many cities give their shops, a budget AKA MONEY, the situation would be different. I hate to see things go to waste. There are so many departments, especially in the Southeast, that would LOVE to have what we throw away. Each time I see a Coca-Cola truck at Brookfield, I cringe, when I think about how some departments would be estatic to have a rescue. Given some modifications and maintainence, I'm sure this could or could have made an excellent tanker in a rural area that has in-house talent. (Some departments are still using old oil trucks from the 1960's- with no baffles!)

Looks sharp with the new E-Series chasis! Nice and compact, yet still looks like plenty of room and built pretty durable What brand is the module? Thanks for sharing the photos!

Again, thanks for sharing, Tim! Hartsdale refurbed their 1976 Ward Lafrance's in 1986, adding an aluminum body and enclosing the cabs, but I don't know if rust was a factor. Work was done by Ranger Fire Apparatus (of Providence, RI I believe?) When I worked in Hartsdale, one of the Wards (former 170, now E-171) was still an active reserve, over 30 years after being delivered and over 20 years from being refurbished. Despite scratches and neglect, I'd say it's in excellent shape. Given a replacement of some parts in the cab and pump panel, and updating the lighting package, I'd hope Hartsdale FD will give it to a needy department when this apparatus is replaced later this year. How did Fairview dispose of E-175- is it still alive somehwere, or did it go to Brookfield?

Thanks guys! I feel refreshed, lol! I really appreciate the knowledge you all shared....even learned some things I didn't know. In regards to salt water, besides flushing the pump, is there any other maintainence that would need to be done after drafting salt water due to its corrosive properties? Any other tips or tricks...keep 'em coming!!

I'm just curious why there isn't an escape ladder on Mount Vernon FD TL-1 (Seagrave-Aerialscope) The two rumors I heard when it was first delivered was that they were going to add it when funds permit, and that it didn't fit into the firehouse with the escape ladder. To my knowledge, it's the ONLY Aerialscope WITHOUT the escape ladder. http://www.fdnytrucks.com/files/html/other...nt%20Vernon.htm Now, someone brought up a good point in another topic, which reminded me of this issue. Isn't it a safety concern, if let's say, the bucket somehow fails, and fire is close to or threatening the members in the bucket? How do they escape? I guess the same would be true for a Snorkel, but don't those have an emergency escape system as well?

The Aerialscope escape ladder does have collapsible handrails (shown in the stowed position here). Again, I'd MUCH rather look at this than the boom with nothing on top of it!!

I know both departments have members that are talented in hockey and are active in leagues, but do WP and Yonkers have active department teams? Best of luck to both this afternoon, it's nice to see this kind of rivalry! FULL STORY: http://www.lohud.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article...qSR5SakK0xJI%3D

Although I agreee it's not much time that's left, one can still train intensively over the next couple of days, eat right, and hydrate, and then properly rest preceeding the test.

The MOST important part about CPAT is ENDURANCE- that's what the test is looking at, to see if you have the strength and stamina to work a fire scene. You want to cross-train for the CPAT to build endurance. Buying the weight vest at http://www.weightvest.com is a great start. It's also a great tool to stay in shape after CPAT. (Caution: DO NOT run with the vest unless you want to destroy your knees!) Kepp yourself well hydrated and full of good carbs. Find a parking garage or other tall public facility, and hit the stairs. Push until you're completly exhausted. Start with a weight your comfortable at, and then keep adding until you're at 75 lbs. Even though you're only on the stairmill for 3 minutes, do as long as you can with the 75, then shed to 50 until you're exhausted. Once you're strong on and conquered the weight vest portion, that's a tremendous advantage you've gained on the test. A lot of people say that the stairmill is what kills your energy. FINALLY, and most importantly, REST AND EAT RIGHT for the couple days preceeding the test.

Found this posted on FirePics. Reposted with the permission of Glenn Usdin of http://www.sellfiretrucks.com. Thought quite a few members here would be interested in this story. I hope to have photos soon.