Tag Archives: fire

Many developers and builders may not be aware that they can obtain up to 5 DCA Websitepoints—as part of their Development Design Criteria—when they include HEHLT on the electric ranges for their project.

See how Union City, GA, the Department of Defense, a growing number of colleges and universities, and more are eliminating FOS fires using HEHLT!

Your department’s website still needs to be the bedrock for your Internet presence, but with Web 2.0 there is so much more. Let’s take a look at some of the tools in the toolbox, shall we?

I’ve got a huge sign under the lid on my washer machine that tells me at least 10 things that I should not do when using the machine, e.g., don’t put gasoline or oil soaked clothing in the machine as this can create an explosion hazard. Shouldn’t we at least require such labeling on occupancies not protected with fire sprinkler-based suppression systems?

Put simply, long work hours -- defined as shifts lasting more than 10 hours -- have been clearly linked to errors in tasks that require vigilance and focused alertness, such as driving an ambulance and providing patient care.

Consider this: when a fire sprinkler is “called upon” to do its job it means a fire has started. After the sprinkler does its job the owner or occupant still has a clean up and restoration problem, albeit MUCH smaller than if the sprinkler had not been present. With HEHLT installed on the stove top, the owner or occupant has significantly reduced the potential for a fire to start in the kitchen.

More importantly, why do we--Yes, WE in the fire service--continue to view residential sprinklers as a "threat to our way of life" rather than as the only true lifesaving weapon in our battle against fire? Why do we keep pursuing better equipment and protective clothing and SCBA to fight fires in dwellings that become more hazardous to our health and safety every year?

I brought their concept home and immediately began using it with the company officers in my battalion. I was a new battalion chief at the time and found that it helped me establish credibility and trust with my new team. (I had a battalion at that time of six stations and eight company officers.)

Why do we continue to "hold on to" a fire protection model that is "overloaded" with risk and expensive to operate? There is a better way, but it's a way that requires a fundamental shift in responsibility in our society: the individual is responsible for not having a fire, rather than the locality is responsible for putting out a fire when it occurs. Fire service leaders and local political leaders need to "re-engineer" the fire protection model for their communities using the "Three E's": Engineering, Education, and Enforcement.

While there are certainly many aspects of this shift that Fire & EMS leaders need to address, I believe one of the most critical is the communication of organizational knowledge from one generation of members to another.