Not just what and how, but why!
Things to Think About Methods of heat transfer are often presented to firefighters in a simplistic way with the expectation that they will understand the basic concepts and are assessed on their ability to recall the definitions of conduction, convection, and radiation. Unfortunately this does not provide a solid basis for understanding phenomena encountered on … Read more
As with many other questions, it is likely that the answer to the question of which nozzle is best is it depends. As discussed in Effective and Efficient Fire Streams, Safe, effective and efficient fire control requires: Water application to control the fire environment as well as direct attack on the fire Appropriate flow rate … Read more
I am using this series of posts to work through the process of developing a chapter on the foundational scientific concepts related to practical fire dynamics and fire control theory. My hope is to take the middle ground between the oversimplified and unsupported explanations provided in most texts intended for firefighter training and the higher … Read more
Quick Review The previous post in this series presented a video clip of an incident on the afternoon of February 18, 2010 that injured four Chicago firefighters during operations at a residential fire at 4855 S. Paulina Street. First arriving companies discovered a fire in the basement of a 1-1/2 story, wood frame, single family … Read more
Updated March 7, 2010 with Longer Video Clip of this Incident On the afternoon of February 18, 2010, firefighters in Chicago responded to a residential fire at 4855 S. Paulina Street. First arriving companies discovered a fire in the basement of a 1-1/2 story, wood frame, single family dwelling and initiated fire attack and horizontal … Read more
Everyday Concepts Firefighters, like most everyone else, have a commonsense, everyday understanding of energy, heat and temperature. However, this everyday understanding is likely to be considerably different than the way these concepts are defined and used in science. Think about how heat and temperature are used on a day-to-day basis. On a sunny summer day, … Read more
A Quick Review As discussed in the previous posts in this series, military battle drills are an immediate response to enemy contact that requires fire and maneuver in order to succeed. Battle drills are initiated with minimal commands from the unit leader. Soldiers or marines execute preplanned, sequential actions in response to enemy contact (see … Read more
A Quick Review As discussed in the last post in this series, military battle drills are an immediate response to enemy contact that requires fire and maneuver in order to succeed. Battle drills are initiated with minimal commands from the unit leader. Soldiers or marines execute preplanned, sequential actions in response to enemy contact. This … Read more
The Problem NIOSH has investigated a number of incidents in which firefighters trapped by rapid fire progress did not take appropriate survival action. Last September, I was reading NIOSH Report F2007-02, which outlined the circumstances surrounding the death of Firefighter Steven Solomon in Atlanta, Georgia. Firefighter Solomon was severely burned after being caught by rapid … Read more
At a formal dinner on 23 January 2010, Chief Ed Hartin was recognized as an honorary member of Company 1 Germania of the Valdivia, Chile Fire Department. In addition, he was awarded a commendation for supporting the ongoing professional development of the members of Company 1 Germania of the Valdivia, Chile Fire Department and encouraging … Read more