Archive for December 5th, 2014

Researcher blasts lightweight fire hose

The BostonHerald.com has an article which discusses a safety problem with fire hose:

A leading fire safety researcher is sounding the alarm over faulty fire hose, warning that the popular lightweight version — similar to the one that burned in a Beacon Street blaze that killed two Boston firefighters — are failing nationwide.

“This is a problem that has just bubbled to the surface. It’s a tsunami,” said Kathy Notarianni, an associate professor in the Fire Protection Engineering Department at Worcester Polytechnic Institute. “We’re finding more burn-throughs around the country of fire attack hoses. This knowledge needs to get out there so firefighters can buy thicker hoses.”

WPI, one of only three fire safety research centers in the nation, was recently awarded $75,000 from the Last Call Foundation to study fire hose and develop one that will be more fire-resistant. The foundation was started by Kathy Crosby-Bell — the mother of Boston firefighter Michael Kennedy, 33, who died March 26 along with colleague Lt. Edward Walsh Jr., 43, in a nine-alarm fire at 298 Beacon St.

But three weeks into her research, Notarianni said she’s already spotting flaws in attack fire hoses.

“My phone started ringing and my inbox started going crazy when everyone learned we were looking into this,” she said. “I’m now alarmed we have a bigger problem than we first thought. “I’m very afraid of what’s happening and we’re only seeing hints of what could be out there,” she added. “The hose is failing where we don’t expect it.”

Dennis LeGear, a nationally known firefighting consultant from California, said the WPI research has hit on a problem that can be partially traced to fighting fires in high-rise buildings. The lighter attack lines are easier to carry, fold up quickly and cost less than larger hoses. And many fire departments are buying them and using them at routine house and apartment building fires.

“Lightweight hoses were designed only to be used for firefighters carrying hoses into high rises,” LeGear said. “To me it’s like a disease. If you get a hose into a high-rise system, someone in your department might suggest it go into your rigs.” Finding a fix for the flammable light hoses, LeGear said, is a gargantuan undertaking.

The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health is investigating the Beacon Street fire, with a final report due in the coming year.

Boston Fire Department spokesman Steve MacDonald defended the use of lighter hoses, which meet national safety standards.

Notarianni said the WPI team will test hoses on the market, study national standards that date to 1961, collect data on hose burn-throughs around the country and identify materials for a “next generation” product. The school hopes to bring everyone involved in the manufacturing and the use of fire hoses together in March.

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Mundelein Fire Department updates

This from Mark Gaunky:

  • Here are a couple of pictures of our new engine, it did not arrive in November as we hoped. But, looking at the pictures it’s getting close to completion and we expect it in December.
  • The tower ladder that we purchased is not yet in-service as we are finishing up the training on it. It has though responded on a few calls already while department personnel have been out on driver’s training. All of the equipment is installed, but we are waiting for the new signs to come for the side of the ladder, and we are upgrading the emergency lighting on the basket and rear of the vehicle.
  • I am attaching a picture from a structure fire we had last month, which started in the fireplace area showing what first arriving units found.
fire engine being built

Mundelein Fire Department photo

fire engine being built

New engine being built by KME for Mundelein. Mundelein. Fire Department photo

chimney fire alongside a house

Mundelein Fire Department photo

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High angle rescue in Chicago 12-4-14

Tim Olk photos from the scene at 77th and State where Chicago firefighters rescued a worker stuck on a cell tower

Tim Olk photo

Tim Olk photo

Tim Olk photo

Tim Olk photo

Tim Olk photo

Tim Olk photo

Tim Olk photo

Tim Olk photo

Tim Olk photo

Tim Olk photo

 

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