Active and Engaged: or Passive and on the Sideline?

Have you made your plans for 2012 International Fire/EMS Safety and Health Week? This is a joint initiative of the International Association of Fire Chiefs and the National Volunteer Fire Council.

Defining Building Categories and Systems for Today’s Fireground

NIOSH Report highlights collapse considerations during defensive operations that contributed to FF LODD

Civilian Fire Injuries in Residential Buildings (2008-2010) is part of the Topical Fire Report Series. Topical reports explore facets of the U.S. fire problem as depicted through data collected in NFIRS. The Report focuses on the causes and characteristics of fire injuries in residential buildings.

“Firefighter Falkenhan was a well-respected and experienced firefighter. He died performing his duties during a very complex incident with severe fire conditions and unique fire behavior coupled with the immediate need to perform multiple rescues of victims in imminent danger. It would be easy if one particular failure of the system could be identified as the cause of this tragedy. We could fix it and move on. Unfortunately it is not that simple. No incident is “routine”. MarkÂ’s death and this report reinforce that fact”. From the Baltimore County (MD) FD LODD Report.

A new USFA topical fire report, Civilian Fire Fatalities in Residential Buildings (2008-2010), examines the characteristics of civilian fire fatalities in residential buildings. Unintentional/careless actions and smoking are the leading causes of these fatal fires.

A primer on past Structural Collapse research and insights.

Residential Fire Injures Seven Firefighters: Wind Driven Conditions Suspected. Apparent wind driven condition contributed to rapidly escalating fire conditions resulting in extreme fire behavior during initial fire suppression operations being coordinated at a single family residential dwelling (SFD) fire Friday night February 24th in Riverdale, MD

This incident appeared from the onset to be a routine “room and contents” fire that the SFFD encounters on a regular basis. As the Companies were performing standard fireground operations, the incident rapidly deteriorated due to a hostile fire event. The failure of a window in the fire room allowed fresh oxygen to enter the room, providing a fire that was deprived of one of the key elements of combustion to rapidly intensify.