This from Eric Haak:
The still time for this fire was 1702 hrs. Although the fire was out before I arrived, I wanted submit these because it was kind of an interesting job. This vacant 2.5 story frame was located in the middle of the 6900 block of south Winchester. The block has a cul-de-sac at the south end of the block. What was really odd was that there was a block party going on when this happened! A couple of hundred people barbecuing and dancing with kids playing up and down the street and then this house just “randomly” catches fire and gets this advanced before any companies could arrive. No one on the scene reported seeing anything unusual happening. One witness just stated that one minute the home was fine and the next there was fire everywhere. Engine 101 used their deck gun to knock it down and kept it from communicating. I was only about 2 miles out when Engine 101 reported on scene and there wasn’t much to see once I got there. Engine 129 and Truck 50 were the other still companies along with Truck 41.
Eric Haak photo
Eric Haak photo
Eric Haak photo
Eric Haak photo
#1 by Scott on August 26, 2013 - 9:07 PM
JR, the heck with your extensive studies about lights, there is a reason why CFD uses Green lights. Check that in your research.
#2 by DH on August 21, 2013 - 10:11 PM
JR, why ask a question when you already knew the answer or want to cause a flame war about who is right? You asked a question, he gave his best known answer…you didn’t like it, now you get mad?
Makes a lot of sense. Suggestion: Don’t ask questions.
#3 by Jr on August 21, 2013 - 4:54 PM
Where is your data and information from? “Safety…many, many studies show that blue is the most noticeable color LED.” Anyone can make an off the cuff statement like that. The article doesn’t mention blue because it clearly says “white is the most visible color for warning lights.” Though their applications are limited to the front of the vehicle and reverse lights due to blinding and glare issues when stationary. If blue was that great don’t you think the article would have touted its benefits?
Contrasting light colors, light type, height, retro reflective markings etc all figure into the “most noticeable” warning package, color is only a facet of the overall vehicle warning package. Read some of these excerpts, do some actual research, then feel free to comment.
1) “It has often been said that blue is very effective at night (consistent with the idea that the blue sensitive rod photoreceptors are strong contributors to driver vision at night), but that blue lights provide weak stimuli in daytime.”
2)Light Color – Light color is an important factor in visual conspicuity. From a scientific standpoint, given a halogen light and a set of the four most common lens colors that a white lens allow almost all of the light to pass through. Amber (60%), red (25%), and blue (15%) allow lesser amounts of light to pass through.
3)“Red is the most common color used in the U.S. to denote an emergency vehicle. With the exception of law enforcement vehicles in certain states, red lights are commonly used on police, fire, and EMS vehicles (Figure 6.7. p. 78)”
“In a 2004 Florida Highway Patrol Study, the worst lights for signaling relative motion (is the patrol car moving or not?) Were lights that alternated flashes from side to side. Also, the study indicated that when it comes to color, red LEDs are more visible in daylight than either blue LEDs or blue halogen lights. This is a combined effect of the red LEDs having more light output than blue, and the red light being more readily detectable in bright environments.”
Discuss, without getting you panties in a bunch Francis……and please provide sources, not just off the cuff comments.
http://www.iaff.org/hs/evsp/Best%20Practices.pdf
#4 by FFEMT on August 21, 2013 - 3:42 PM
Uhm…Jr….your except doesn’t even use the word “blue” whatsoever, much less compare blue to the other colors. I never said it was the “best” what I did say was it was the most noticeable…which is true.
Here’s the link to the entire article Jr is referencing:
http://www.emergencydispatch.org/articles/warningsystems1.htm
…and the article does not discuss blue lights at all. JR, if you want to correct somebody….please actually make a correct statement.
#5 by NJ on August 21, 2013 - 11:12 AM
An interesting study (actually quite a few) showed that all the bright LED lights tend to distract drivers and cause them to do unexpected and undesired actions. More colors = more distraction. Brighter = more distraction.
Let’s face it, pulling up a scene with multiple apparatus is usually blinding at night. That does not help drivers to make the right decision.
One of the results of the study showed that orange/amber lights used in the back of emergency vehicles had the highest rate of causing drivers to change lanes and drive away from the vehicle(s). Most CFD rigs do have an amber light in the back. However, they are often swallowed up by all the ultra-bright lights. Another outcome of the study (and others like it) was the move to equip emergency vehicles with reflective chevrons on the back and cut down on the lights. They found this to be less distracting and effective.
We went from small domes which were too little to way too many lights. I suspect we’ll see a moderation in the near future.
#6 by Jr on August 21, 2013 - 10:35 AM
Blue is far from the best color, as a matter of fact its one of the worst, an excerpt from a paper regarding warning devices on emergency vehicles.
“It is established that white is the most visible color for warning lights, followed by green, amber and red (18). White is effective in gaining attention but fails to identify the vehicle; it is therefore rarely used alone (7). Green is also visually effective but has similarly failed to gain widespread use because green is a “go,” or “safe,” color in our society (6). Yellow and red are colors that signify “danger,” and this has led to their popularity as warning and caution identifiers. Yellow, at threshold levels, is often mistaken for a white flash (15). Red, too, has been criticized for being weakly visible (11), easily lost in tail lamps (7), and psychologically associated with rage and passion (10).”
My real question was why is CFD using blue lights after all these years, I thought blue was CPD’s color?
I mean the NFPA only reccommends use of red,white, blue and amber, but Chicago is historically pretty slow to begin following many NFPA reccommendations. Green is not one of the colors they recommend, though CFD used it for years, I thought the reasoning was to stay away from blue because it was CPD’s. Apparently green is a good color according to the excerpt from the study? But it correlation to “Go” in our society is a valid reason to stay away from it. I thought a main consideration in using red was because people “should” stop, or at least slow down, when they see red. Thoughts….
#7 by Mark on August 21, 2013 - 5:21 AM
That spontaneous combustion will sneak up on ya if you aren’t careful
#8 by FFEMT on August 21, 2013 - 12:06 AM
Safety…many, many studies show that blue is the most noticeable color LED.
#9 by Jr on August 20, 2013 - 4:30 PM
Off topic but…. Drove by E89’s house on the way to work the other day and saw T56 heading out on a run. Their newish Spartan/Crimson has blue LED flashers in the rear, what’s with that?
#10 by Greg on August 20, 2013 - 11:22 AM
It’s Chicago… whether it’s politicians or people on the street, they usually don’t know or didn’t see nuttin. Nice photos as always.
#11 by Josh on August 20, 2013 - 8:13 AM
Looked like it was fully involved on arrival
#12 by Tom on August 20, 2013 - 5:15 AM
I believe that I saw this fire as I left Midway Airport (after attending Fire Rescue International) on a flight that left at about 4:50 pm. I saw the column of solid black smoke as we taxied and as we took off and climbed out was just able to make out what appeared to be a well involved building without any fire department presence (from more than a mile high, so I may have missed something).