Editor's Dispatch

The wildfire season in 11 Western U.S. states has started out slower than last year, although deadly fires could still develop in the second half of the season, as they did last year. Meanwhile, wildfires in the Arctic have reached new levels, especially in Alaska and Siberia. Wildfires in the West killed 160 people and caused $40 billion in damage in the past two years, according to the National Centers for Environmental Information. The trend is toward larger fires burning more acres –...

Dame Judith Hackett’s recommendations to the U.K. Government after the Grenfell Tower fire in 2017 were that the competence of the individuals working in the construction and life cycle of Higher Risk Residential Buildings (HRRBs) needs to improve and be clearer. Work had already started in many fire protection sectors to create fully recognized qualifications, and these help raise the benchmark. Improving fire safety training A force driving improvements in training is the Fire Industry...

After the World Trade Center attack, First Responders had difficulty communicating quickly and comprehensively. Other crises and emergency events such as the Sandy Hook School shootings, Hurricane Katrina, the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, the Parkland School shootings and many more have continued to validate the desperate need for interoperable communication among First Responders. First Responders, first line of defense In emergency situations, First Responders are the first line of defense f...

One lesson of Grenfell is how many fire system technicians operate without the appropriate qualifications. Since the Grenfell tragedy, Dame Judith Hackitt has called for all relevant trades to hold formal qualifications, and for industry to implement a system in which clients and end users can be assured that operatives are fully competent. Another lesson is that fire service audits of buildings are no longer fit for purpose. For instance, the current system does not require proof that a fire s...

When it comes to physical fitness, every fire department’s approach is different. Some have invested in a fitness initiative, others haven’t. Some struggle to create culture change and an environment where physical fitness is a priority and not an afterthought. Other departments don’t know where to begin, or they approach the issue of health and fitness randomly with approaches that may not be based on science. Firefighters physical health Worse, some departments embrace syst...

The Los Angeles Fire Department (LAFD) is setting the standard for the use of drones in firefighting applications. As one of the first major metropolitan fire departments to have a significant drone program, LAFD has flown more than 175 missions in less than two years, including the Skirball fire that burned the Bel Air neighborhood in December 2017. Since Skyfire Consulting, a drone services and training company, helped LAFD secure a Certificate of Authorization (COA) for the drone program, th...

FIREX International, 18-20 June, 2019, at ExCel London will feature 25-plus hours of seminars and panel discussions along with an exhibition of 130-plus manufacturers showcasing products for fire safety. A Sprinkler and Suppression Presentation Area will highlight the important category. Also, for the fourth year, the International Tall Building Fire Safety Conference will take place alongside FIREX International. There will be 18,000 fire prevention and protection professionals from over 70 c...

More firemen die of suicide each year than are killed in the line of duty. For example, in 2017, at least 103 firefighters and/or Emergency Medical Services (EMS) workers in the United States committed suicide, but only 93 firefighters died in the line of duty. Mental Health Disorder Effects The grim statistic is a wakeup call to the tragic effects of depression, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and suicide on firefighters and EMS workers. Between 14.6 and 22% of firefighters experience P...

From students to policymakers, safety professionals at all levels will gather at the NFPA Conference & Expo, June 17-20, at the Henry B. Gonzalez Convention Center in San Antonio, Texas. The multi-faceted event will include a technical session addressing standards development, a product and services exhibition, and education sessions about a range of topics, some of them relating to the fire service. The NFPA Technical Meeting, also known as ‘Tech Session,’ is an important eleme...

There are 200 video cameras keeping watch throughout five Western United States to provide early warning of wildfires. In the near future, the number of cameras will be growing dramatically. Soon there will be more than 1,000 of the cameras in California alone, keeping watch on thousands of acres at risk of destructive events like last year’s deadly Camp and Woolsey wildfires. The ALERTWildfire cameras are installed through a consortium of universities – the University of Nevada, R...

For the last 200 years, firefighters have been using inefficient manual methods to track their crews’ movement. Incident commanders need to know the location and status of responders on site. Technology adds a new element to tracking crews’ movements. Firefighters on scene can now be electronically tracked to ensure they are rotated out of danger before their allotted time expires. The officer in charge – standing outside the scene with the rugged tablet in hand – can mo...

Firefighters bravely worked through the night on April 15, 2019, to control and extinguish a fire that was threatening to destroy the beautiful and historic Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris. Working nine hours into the early hours of April 16 to extinguish the fire, firefighters are credited with saving the 850-year-old architectural masterpiece from complete destruction, and with rescuing the historic relics and artwork inside the cathedral. 500 Firefighters Involved Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo her...

The Communications Workers of America (CWA), a labor union, is promoting awareness of the benefits of FirstNet, an independent government authority established in 2012 to build and deploy the first-ever nationwide broadband network dedicated to first responders. “Once people know what it is, they get excited,” says Bianca Garcia, CWA's FirstNet Program Coordinator. AT&T, the only unionized wireless carrier, was chosen as the private company tasked over 25 years with building ou...

North America’s largest fire event, FDIC International, brings together more than 34,000 fire industry professionals this month (April 8-13) at the Indiana Convention Center and Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis. First constructed in 1928, FDIC continues today in its original tradition of providing a forum for networking about the most vexing issues and sharing the most promising solutions to concerns that face the fire service. FDIC provides opportunities to learn new techniques, train a...

The aftermath of the 9/11 terrorist attacks in New York City highlighted the critical need for dependable communications among first responders during emergencies and disasters. In response, Congress established (in 2012) the independent First Responder Network Authority (FirstNet) to deliver a nationwide broadband network dedicated to public safety. AT&T was later chosen as the private company tasked over 25 years with building out the network. This month marks the first full year of Firs...

The Fire Safety Event, 9-11th April, at the National Exhibition Center (NEC) in Birmingham, UK, is the fastest growing exhibition for the fire safety industry in the United Kingdom in terms of both exhibitor and visitor numbers, say the organizers. The growth can be attributed to the exhibitor lineup and full program of seminars and features. Visitors can also expect live demonstrations, world-class speakers and a keen focus on the issues most pressing in the industry today. This content is man...

Five Wilmington, Del., firefighters and two police officers were hospitalized last September when they inhaled the opioid fentanyl while responding to a drug overdose call. A family member had turned on a fan, which blew white powder onto the firefighters and police officers. Last August at a prison in Chillicothe, Ohio, there were 28 people – guards, nurses and one inmate at the correctional facility near Cincinnati – who were treated for exposure to a mixture of heroin and fentan...

The power of data provides numerous benefits to the fire service, and today’s data collection and analysis software tools are making data more valuable than ever. Data collection and records management have been a core requirement in the U.S. fire service since the Federal Fire Prevention and Control Act of 1974 established a necessity for state and local governments to develop fire reporting and analysis capabilities. The National Fire Incident Reporting System (NFIRS) requirements cove...

Recruiting and training enough firefighters to meet community needs has been a continuing challenge for decades, especially in the case of volunteer firefighters, who make up 70% of the fire service in the United States. In some areas of the country, the problem has reached a critical stage. A recent report by a commission of lawmakers, city officials and emergency service personnel in Pennsylvania, for example, notes that the population of volunteer firefighters in the state has dwindled from...

The immense scope and scale of this month’s California wildfires are a timely reminder of a “new normal” that includes a catastrophic toll in human tragedy and presents new challenges for fire service professionals. Some have pointed to the increased frequency of wildfires as a consequence of global warming, and the resulting higher temperatures, less humidity and changing wind and rainfall patterns. President Trump has blamed “poor forest management” (an assertion...

From a dozen or more perspectives, the tragic fire at London’s Grenfell Tower was a wakeup call. The shear scope of the tragedy – 72 deaths, 70 injuries in the worst United Kingdom residential fire since World War II – is a stark reminder of the importance of fire prevention, and the catastrophic consequences of its failure. There are additional lessons to be learned from the fire service response to the blaze, which burned for 60 hours and involved 250 London Fire Brigade fir...

During the shooting at Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla., on Feb. 14, the gunman activated a manual fire alarm and shot at students as they left the building. The alarm promoted confusion during the calamity, in part because there had been a fire drill earlier in the day. It's not the first time a fire alarm has played a role in an active shooter scenario. Twenty years ago, a similar tactic was used at the Westside Middle School shooting in Jonesborough, Ark.  A fire alarm als...

The dangers of firefighting make it unfriendly to the concept of the learning curve. Before they put their lives on the line, firefighters should have knowledge and experience. But gaining knowledge and experience in the firefighting environment presents its own dangers. Virtual reality (VR) is an emerging tool for training in the fire service. Recreating the firefighting experience realistically in a virtual world is a useful – and safer – alternative to on-the-job training. It is...

Drones are an important new tool for the fire service and have already proven their ability to save lives. Willingness to embrace drones (or unmanned aerial vehicles [UAVs]) for fire applications varies widely by department, and it’s not just larger departments that are making the investment. Some smaller departments are investing in drones in a big way, even as some larger departments are reticent. Firefighting Drone Programs Departments may start with a small drone just to “try i...