As a social experiment, FireRescue1 offered their Facebook fans a magic wand to change one thing about their PPE.  They received some innovative answers, some goofy ones and even a few from folks who don’t think anyone with a wand should be in the fire service. Which suggestion do you agree with most?

• “SCBA mask you can wear with a short beard.” – Mike Cantu
• “More padding in the knees!” – Jade Robinson
• “Make it light as a feather!” – Rick Sisson
• “Ergonomic design geared toward spinal movement.” – Renee Foster
• “Grab loops on the bottom of pants for better grip during S&R, and light-up boots to help keep track of each other during S&R.” – Paul Dudley
• “Thinner structural firefighting gloves that would withstand the same (or higher) temperatures but offer improved dexterity. These gloves would also have the ability to dry out in an instant.” – Allen John Cameron
• “I’d make it like Iron Man’s suit except with cool pinstripes, and it would be able to do hose testing and plug checking by itself.” – Fernando Danger Videgaray
• “Built-in Kevlar vests.” – Scott Morse
• “Make it affordable for small departments like ours. That way we can get nice gear, not gear that is old and worn-out.” – Jason Clatt
• “Install a TIC inside the mask.” – Logan Thrash
• “Here’s an idea for the SCBA: Air purifier. Takes in the smoke, filters it, cleans it and produces air for us to use. Lightweight and powered by us breathing.” – Will Hilliard
• “Put a temperature failure sensor in bunker gear that would vibrate at the wrist on the coat or the waistline on the pants when you reach temperatures reaching failure.” – John D. Findlay Jr
• “It would fit my small frame better.” – Shawna Hardman
• “Lighter, safer and more dexterity.” – Derek Ferguson
• “Internal air conditioning.” – Bob Chilton

In a post-911 world the fire officer is faced with the routine fire calls, hazmat spills, and now, an increased potential for a chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear, and explosive (CBRNE) event. The threat of a terrorist attack needs to be considered by all front line first responders. If this a concern for you, read on.

To help you, the Canadian Centre for Security Science has developed new methodology in risk assessments, built on best practices in the emergency-management community. The Canadian Centre for Security Science is participating in a joint endeavour with Public Safety Canada to provide science and technology services for national public safety and security.

Through this initiative, future trends and threats are identified, and support and services are provided for all-hazards vulnerability and risk assessment, technology forecasting and operational analysis.

For the fire officer, this research allows for the co-ordination and implementation of fire-suppression operations, which include the following tasks:

• assessing the scene
• assigning resources
• establishing an incident-command system (ICS) consistent with the command system used by the authority having jurisdiction (AHJ)
• communicating the status of the situation
• requesting additional resources
• establishing a safe perimeter
• evacuating persons in danger
• rescuing trapped victims
• conducting fire suppression
• determining the cause of the fire(s)
• ensuring the area is left in a safe condition.

To read more, click here.

By Anna Gorman
For the Los Angeles Times

Just before 10:45 a.m., Keith Marks called 911 and the Los Angeles County emergency response system sprang into action. A fire engine, a paramedic squad and a private ambulance — eight men in total — rushed to the Martin Luther King Jr. urgent-care center in Willowbrook.

When they arrived, Marks, 56, was sitting calmly in a wheelchair just outside the entrance. His complaint: he was having joint pain from gout and wanted his medication refilled.

“I can’t walk,” he said. “I need to go to the closest emergency room.”

The paramedics checked his vital signs. Marks told them he called 911 after the county clinic wouldn’t see him for free because he had other insurance. Then the paramedics did what Marks wanted — sent him by ambulance to St. Francis Medical Center.

During an eight-hour period at L.A. County Fire Station 41 last week, paramedics responded to a handful of calls but only one actual emergency — a man who reportedly had a seizure while driving on the 105 Freeway. Several other calls, they said, could have been handled differently if there were other options. The call from Marks was one.

“Really, what are we going to do for gout?” Capt. Ernie Clayton asked.

The incident illustrates a chronic problem — unnecessary 911 calls that result in costly trips to already crowded ERs, which divert resources from true emergencies. Increasingly, uninsured patients rely on 911 as their only way into the healthcare system.

Now, four decades after public safety agencies began launching fast-response paramedics, counties around the nation are overhauling the 911 system to save money, improve care and reduce ER overcrowding, an especially acute problem in the Los Angeles area. Federal health reform is driving the changes, as hospitals try to reduce readmissions and the healthcare system prepares for more patients

Click here for the full story.

Photo credit: Allen J. Schaben for the Los Angeles Times

What does it mean to be an innovative organization? To be an innovator, do you need to have a certain product or follow a certain way of doing things? How much does innovation truly matter? And how do you know if you are doing it right?

As I walked the exhibit floor at the FDIC conference in Indy last month, these questions kept going through my head.

The Fire Department Instructors Conference attracts attendees from across the U.S. and around the world, and this year, 30,000 people attended. The crowds were huge, and the fire engines on the floor were massive. As someone new to the industry, but with years of software experience, I opted to research the fire service’s software technology. This gave me the focus I needed to understand a very different customer group than what I was used to.

What wasn’t new: as with any industry, the level of technology adoption varies greatly by department and jurisdiction. It’s not a secret that lack of funding continues to impact the ability of the fire service to take advantage of new advances. Although I knew this walking into the conference, I was still surprised at the breadth and depth of technologies being showcased.

I took a step back and took off my technology hat to help me better understand this market. Once I did, my perspective on what it means to be innovative evolved. Innovation isn’t about new products. Innovation involves making processes, technology, or equipment better, to improve productivity, efficacy, and efficiency.

Read the full blog post on Fire Service Today.

Often it is asked, ‘What is the minimum difference in THL that is perceivable by (or meaningful for) a firefighter during use?’ When answering this question, the first thing that needs to be understood is that, in general, the higher the THL the better the potential for heat stress reduction – even when considering the existing and valid complications such as air gaps, additional material layers, etc., that come into play with garments as compared to just composites.

The ability to answer the question precisely is limited by the variation in both materials and the THL measurement, and also by the variation in people and the measurement of people’s responses. These four sources of variability hinder the ability to measure and predict what the minimum perceivable THL difference is due to the limited sensitivity of the measurement devices involved in making those types of determinations (including skin temperature measurement devices, core temperature measurement devices, etc.).

Lab measurements and lab predictions always need to be correlated to actual field experience in order to be trustworthy. But in conjunction with the limited sensitivity of the measurement devices, science is also constrained (or at least affected) by the test design and test protocols typically used in physiological trials. Making sense of each of these limitations and/or constraints is where statistics come into play. Applying good statistical evaluation to all of the design, sensitivity and data collection factors allows a researcher to determine what is the strongest (most confident) statement that can be concluded from the study conducted and data collected, and also, applied to a general population.

These considerations are helpful in trying to associate the above statistical statement with the documented outcomes of the 1998 Indianapolis (Indy) Physiological Field Trial. The test design (i.e., activity protocols) and the sensitivity, in particular, of the measurement devices available at that time, generated the following statistical summary conclusions for the Indy Trial:

For 90% confidence (i.e., 90 out of 100 people would behave this way), garments different by 40 W/m2 were able to make a statistically significant (90%) difference in core temperature reduction.

For 95% confidence (i.e., 95 out of 100 people would behave this way), garments different by 65 W/m2 were able to make a statistically significant (95%) difference in core temperature reduction.

Note 1: Social sciences will often accept confidence levels from 75% and up as good for the assumption of predictability/correlation. Physical sciences/engineering, however, typically like to see confidence levels of 95% or more to assume reliable predictability.

Subjective responses (‘how I feel’) were unanimous for all FF as better with higher THL garments.

Because the Indy Trial conclusions flow out of the rigor of the experimental design and extensive statistical evaluation, they (the 40 & 65 W/m2 differences) are said to be what is (would be) necessary for an accurate prediction for a general population of firefighters with all different levels of physiological response and awareness.

Secondly, and in direct response to the question, it has become common understanding in the industry that a difference of 20-25 W/m2 is necessary for a firefighter to begin to be able to perceive a difference in a garment, with variation in that value being dependent on the acuteness of a firefighter’s own physiological sensitivity and awareness. In general, sensitivity of the human body is quite individual, and people can often train themselves to be more aware of the signals it is providing.

But Remember – while THL is an important and valuable feature for the reduction of FF heat stress, it is still – absolutely – SECONDARY in value to good hydration, and then physical fitness. Weight reductions (especially on the legs), increased mobility/low encumbrance, etc., – and things similar – are also all good contributors to a certain degree for achieving heat stress reduction.

Note 2: Regarding measurement instrumentation, a major consideration deals with the issue of the signal-to-noise ratio of what you are trying to measure. The following explanation might be helpful:

The signal that one is looking for in any measurement has to be (significantly) larger than the noise that is ‘mixed-in’ with it. Unfortunately for human subject studies of any kind, the noise will most typically be quite large. The key to good experimental design for trials involving human subjects is to use lots of subjects to overwhelm the variability, or if constrained to smaller studies, to minimize/limit the variability (i.e., extent of the noise) with good experimental technique.

In the Indy study, a strong enough signal was recorded that enabled the results to conclude with 90% confidence that garments that were different by 40 W/m2 produced a physiologically significant difference in core temperature. Likewise, a strong enough signal was recorded that enabled the results to conclude with 95% confidence that garments that were different by 65 W/m2 produced a physiologically significant difference in core temperature.

There have been multiple other physiological field studies that have not been able to find/measure this level of dependence between THL and core temperature, probably because the noise in those studies was higher (making the signal-to-noise ratio lower, therefore making any statistically solid conclusions difficult to impossible). If one could run a study that used more subjects or had less noise, it may be possible to measure a core temp dependence for clothing systems with even smaller THL differences. In that view, it is important when looking at THL values to not let the noise in any field study (which weakened the statistical confidence) to lead you to conclude there is some limit to what constitutes a meaningful THL increment for an individual person.

In theory, every THL increment has the potential to lower heat stress. However, with logistical limitations to the potential size of field trials, and with accuracy/sensitivity limitations of the instrumentation available (both in the THL measurement itself and in the uniformity of people), it would be a rather significant challenge to measure the impact of garment THL more precisely. From this perspective, it is also clear why composite THL results should be viewed/compared in small ranges, and not with differences reported in decimals.

If you were at the FDIC this past April, you may have noticed or even experienced the BullEx Fire Safety Trailer that featured kitchen, bedroom and industrial emergency scenarios. It even simulated an earthquake with lighting, sound effects and realistic props.

FIRE CHIEF Editor Glenn Bischoff spoke with Russell Herman, BullEx’s senior account executive, about some of the new technologies and capabilities that have been added to the company’s fire-prevention safety trailer.

Click here to watch the video.

To learn more about the Fire Safety Trailers, visit the BullEx website.

By Lt. Michael Swiman
of the Lake Forest FD

This has been on my mind recently with all the events around the country with budgets: brothers doing harm. I had found this while doing research for a project and this resonates so true. I could have not said it any better. Please take a moment to read

“We know that the sheep live in denial; that is what makes them sheep. They do not want to believe that there is evil in the world. They can accept the fact that fires can happen, which is why they want fire extinguishers, fire sprinklers, fire alarms and fire exits throughout their kids’ schools. But many of them are outraged at the idea of putting an armed police officer in their kid’s school. Our children are dozens of times more likely to be killed, and thousands of times more likely to be seriously injured, by school violence than by school fires, but the sheep’s only response to the possibility of violence is denial. The idea of someone coming to kill or harm their children is just too hard, so they choose the path of denial.

The sheep generally do not like the sheepdog. He looks a lot like the wolf. He has fangs and the capacity for violence. The difference, though, is that the sheepdog must not, cannot and will not ever harm the sheep. Any sheepdog who intentionally harms the lowliest little lamb will be punished and removed. The world cannot work any other way, at least not in a representative democracy or a republic such as ours.

Still, the sheepdog disturbs the sheep. He is a constant reminder that there are wolves in the land. They would prefer that he didn’t tell them where to go, or give them traffic tickets, or stand at the ready in our airports in camouflage fatigues holding an M-16. The sheep would much rather have the sheepdog cash in his fangs, spray paint himself white, and go, “Baa.”

Until the wolf shows up. Then the entire flock tries desperately to hide behind one lonely sheepdog.” – Lt. Col. Grossman
“This is dedicated to all the sheepdogs out there, underappreciated though they may be, that hunt the things that go bump in the night and keep the wolves at bay”. – rangerup.com

This is not limited to our brothers in Law Enforcement, but to what we do day in, day out in our profession. We work a thankless job, never seeking rewards or praise. We do what we do for the love of the job. Yes there are people out there that are in this job for the wrong reasons AND there are plenty of people that criticize what we do, why we do things and want justification on why the fire truck is at the store buying groceries or out training. Politicians want to cut our funding, asking us to do more with less. WE ARE THE SHEEPDOG.

Colorado Springs Fire Chief Rich Brown plans to turn several southeast fire stations into basic preventive-care clinics where residents can stop by for such things as blood pressure and blood sugar checks.

A two-hour blood pressure check clinic at three fire stations on Tuesday was just the beginning of Brown’s vision, he said. In the coming weeks, he hopes that people can go to fire stations for non-emergency check ups, such as getting an EKG done, instead of calling 911 for basic problems.

“We are going 100 miles an hour towards that end,” Brown said.

Brown briefly discussed the clinic intiative at Mayor Steve Bach’s second Town Hall meeting Wednesday night at the Southeast YMCA off Jet Wing Drive. About 100 residents listened while Bach discussed his plans for improving housing quality, parks, and job opportunities in that part of town.

Deputy Fire Chief Tommy Smith, who also attended the meeting, described the clinic program as a way for people to have access to basic health care, a step to take before visiting the doctor or emergency room. Nearly 70 percent of the 56,000 calls the department handles every year are medical calls, Smith explained.

“You hear a lot of talk in the news about health care,” he said. “The fire department is a huge part of health care. We’re the only ones that still make house calls.”

Details of the station clinic program are being ironed out, Smith said. Although firefighters are always available for blood pressure checks at a station, the clinics will bring in health-care volunteers to perform basic procedures and discuss general health with walk-ins. Community Health Partners will help staff the clinics, Smith said, and firefigthers will help out when not responding to 911 calls.

Read the full article on The Gazette.