Fire
U.S. making progress in preparing for external threats and natural disasters
FEMA and its partners recently released the 2012 National Preparedness Report (NPR). The report included a number of findings....
Fearless fire crews need to do more risk/gain analysis
Experts believe that the fire service's bravado-steeped culture is a leading factor in the serious injuries and deaths that routinely are suffered by firefighters in the line of duty....
New technologies and alliances in fire equipment
Before I even set foot on the Fire Department Instructors Conference exhibit floor last week, I had heard the buzz about changes in the fire truck industry....
Profiler has tips on detecting potential arsonists
To help fire chiefs and the community recognize the motives behind an arsonist, Pamela Kulbarsh, RN, BSW, a psychiatric nurse located in Arizona, offers a profile of those who use fire to do harm. Kulbarsh has been a psychiatric nurse for more than 25 years and has worked in patrol with officers and deputies as a member of San Diego's Psychiatric Emergency Response Team and at the Pima County Detention Center in Tucson....
Fire departments can apply to get free DuPont gear
DuPont Protection Technologies and Globe Manufacturing are working with the National Volunteer Fire Council to donate 125 sets of gear in 2012 to deserving fire departments....
When to update or replace fire equipment
In this blog post, the author offers views from officials at several equipment manufacturers. The topics: when to refurbish fire apparatus and engine regeneration. ...
Diversity remains a challenge in the fire service
Considering that four out of five firefighters in the U.S. are white males, it seems clear that diversity remains an enormous challenge for the fire service. It's time to move this important issue off the back burner....
Report looks at the consequences of widespread obesity among firefighters
The rate of firefighter obesity outpaces the national average with about 73% to 88% cases in the fire service, so found a National Volunteer Fire Council and U.S. Fire Administration–funded obesity report. HOPE Health Research Institute conducted the report on behalf of the NFVC and USFA to document the causes of obesity in the fire service and provide action steps to reverse the potentially life-threatening trend....
For firefighter safety, cities must tear down abandoned structures
Cities are starting to place stronger focus on the threat abandoned buildings pose to firefighters. This emphasis comes at least in part due to lawsuits like the one filed by the family of Chicago Firefighter Edward Stringer, who died in 2010 while searching for possible squatters in a vacated dry-cleaning business. ...
Job-stress ranking puts firefighting at No. 2 in stress
A new job-stress report by CareerCast.com found that firefighters have the second most-stressful job in the country, exceeded only by those enrolled in the military. ...
Texas fire station gets rebuilt, thanks to ABC’s ‘Extreme Makeover’
ABC's Extreme Makeover: Home Edition is building a new home for volunteer firefighter Mizzy Zdroj, who lost her home in the massive Bastrop Fire in September, as well as improving one of her fire department's stations....
App speeds extrication at MVA scene
Widespread smartphone and tablet adoption continues to drive the demand for mobile applications, for both consumers and first responders in the field who must perform myriad tasks. What’s exciting about the development for the fire service is that firefighters often are the inventors of many apps now available on the market for all-hazards response....
Federal safety agency making progress as it analyzes firefighter exposure to toxins (with related video)
The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) has provided a status update on its long-term firefighter cancer study, conducted in partnership with the U.S. Fire Administration and the National Cancer Institute. The goal of the study is to determine whether firefighters have a higher risk of cancer and other illness due to on-the-job toxin exposure....
Survey measures current needs and resources of fire departments in each state
The National Fire Protection Association released a state-by-state fire service needs assessment based on findings from its "Third Needs Assessment of the U.S. Fire Service," a study that looked at the current needs of U.S. fire departments compared to the findings of its 2001 and 2005 studies. ...
Android app provides firefighters with GPS-based driving directions to an emergency
Firefighters continue to develop technologies for the fire service, this time with the FirefighterLog app available for download to Android devices. The app converts text dispatch data into Google navigator and provides firefighter-engineers with GPS-based driving directions to an incident, said Patrick Jackson, the app’s developer and a career fire engineer with the Rocky Mount (N.C.) Fire Department. ...
Cell phone that detects life-threatening chemical exposures gets tryout
The Department of Homeland Security’s Science & Technology Directorate demonstrated in front of invited media and webcast guests the first-ever cell phone capable of detecting life-threatening chemical exposures, dubbed the Cell-All. The S&T worked with commercial vendors to miniaturize environmental sensors and embed them in commercial devices. ...
We Remember: Govpro looks back at our 9/11 coverage through the years
Here are links to a few of the 9/11 articles from Govpro.com over the past 10 years that address a variety of security, preparedness and health topics....
A look back: Firefighters and emergency crews remember 9/11
Members of the fire service look back at 9/11 and observe changes that have taken place as a result of the events that day....
Location tracker for firefighters will deliver in 2012
The Department of Homeland Security’s Science & Technology Directorate announced that a firefighter location-tracking technology has graduated from research and development and is ready for market after nearly a decade of extensive testing by engineers and fire departments....
Mayday software tool tracks firefighter’s location in emergencies
After a 90-day field test and more than one year in research and development, the New York City Fire Department has installed the Electronic Fireground Accountability System (EFAS), a citywide, data-based accountability mayday system that more effectively pinpoints the location of firefighters and reduces radio ID confusion....
Fire departments scramble for new revenue sources
Squeezed by the economy and diminishing tax dollars, fire departments from coast to coast are embracing alternative methods of generating revenue and cutting costs....
Broadband for First Responders legislation should be passed, says head of fire chiefs group
IAFC President Jack Parow recently testified before the House Committee on Homeland Security, declaring his association's support for the Broadband for First Responders Act of 2011. Parow said that the act's passage would support the build out of a national public-safety interoperable broadband network to be used during local and/or multiagency incidents to securely transmit mission-critical data, video and voice across jurisdictions....
Pierce truck rescue crews get unrestricted view as they approach incident
Pierce Manufacturing's newly unveiled DASH CF (cab forward) offers greater space in the driver and officer area, more shoulder and elbow room in the back of the cab and greater visibility on all three sides of the cab....
App displays medical images on the Apple iPhone and iPad
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration cleared a mobile radiology application that lets physicians view medical images on the Apple iPhone and iPad....
Departments upgrade equipment for foam firefighting
In today's economy, many departments are postponing new apparatus purchases and keeping existing apparatus in service. Many of the existing apparatus may be candidates for foam or CAFS retrofits....
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