Term Paper on "Fire Protection"

Term Paper 6 pages (1677 words) Sources: 1+

[EXCERPT] . . . .

Fire Science - Firefighting Equipment

THE EVOLUTION of MODERN FIREFIGHTING EQUIPMENT

Firefighting in organized form began in New Amsterdam in 1648, sixteen years before the colony was renamed New York. In those days, firefighting equipment consisted of nothing more than leather buckets, hooks, and ladders all transported by hand and horse-drawn carriage. At that time, the primary duty of the fire brigade was to patrol the streets for nighttime fires from 9:00 PM until daybreak

The addition of hand- drawn pumpers took another 74 years, when the city procured two British-made pumpers from England in 1731, designated as Engine Company 1 and Engine Company 2 (NYFD 2006).

Over the following two centuries, firefighting, fire science, fire prevention, and arson investigation evolved from ad-hoc procedures and equipment to highly standardized techniques and specialized equipment that characterizes the modern field of professional firefighting today (Finucane 2007). Contemporary firefighters have the benefit of sophisticated communications equipment, computerized dispatch, integrated municipal water supplies, motorized vehicles designed for specific purposes, high-power extendable hoses, and hydraulic extraction tools.

Self-contained breathing equipment and protective fire-retardant gear allow prolonged access to fires, and aircraft provide both aerial delivery of water and fire- retardant foam in large quantities to extinguish large outdoor and industrial fires. Some of the latest technological advances include infrared sensing equipment capable of assessing the extent and seriousness of fires from outside. Nevertheless, most modern firefighting equipment is not particularly high-tech, but reflects the gradual evolution of standardized firefighting techniques for which time and experience have suggested the need. Protective Gear and Equipment:

Modern firefighters are protected from the heat generated in close proximity to fire by helmets and face masks made from advanced plastics and fiberglass and by insulated fire-resistant external clothing known collectively as bunker gear. Jackets, collars, gloves, and pants are typically made from specialized materials such as Nomex or Aramid capable of withstanding prolonged exposure to much higher temperatures than unprotected flesh and even momentary direct exposure to raging fire (NFPA 2005).

Bunker gear is employed in conjunction with an open circuit self-contained breathing apparatus (SCBA) that filters out smoke and other air-borne toxins. Prolonged exposure to compromised air quality environments requires the use of closed circuit SCBAs, which completely insulate the firefighters air supply from the external environment by recirculating and reoxygenating exhaled air (Wright 1997).

Air monitoring meters and multigas detectors are used to detect concentrations of selected gases, most typically oxygen, carbon monoxide, and dangerous organic and chemical compounds in the air. Where firefighters encounter dangerous levels of toxic gases or airborne contaminants indicated by monitoring devices, a fully encapsulated HAZMAT suit is used for protection.

A personal alert safety system (PASS) device is used to alert firefighters to other firefighters in trouble. Implemented either in an integrated manner with SCBAs or alone, the PASS device may be activated manually by a firefighter in trouble; most often, the device is set to sound an alarm after detecting 30 seconds without any movement or change in relative position of the individual firefighter (NFPA 2005).

Access and Extrication Tools:

Some of the most important modern firefighting equipment consists of low-tech but very highly effective mechanical tools used to provide quick access to premises and to internal areas closed off by walls and locked doors and windows. Likewise, rescue efforts often hinge primarily on the speed with which firefighters can reach individuals trapped by debris or collapsed structural materials or vehicle compartments, with seconds sometimes making the difference between life and death (Wright 1997).

One of the most basic tools of firefighting is the modern version of the age-old firefighter's hook which comes in several varieties specialized for specific purposes.

Generally, the hook is used to pierce through building materials and pull out sections to provide quick access behind walls, under floors, and above ceilings. More particularly, a shorter pike hook is employed at close distances and a longer San Francisco hook is used to increase its range of use. Universal hooks provide two hooks at different points, while different configurations of the gypsum hook, Boston rake, and ceiling hooks are employed to pull plaster apart and access ceilings quickly.

The pickheaded axe has an equally long legacy in firefighting and consists of a heavy-headed cutting edge and a pointed pick on the opposite side. The Eckart hook has a sharp edge used for cutting through aluminum siding and other metallic sheeting materials commonly used in building materials (Finucane 2007).

Firefighting hooks and axes are used in combination with other access tools such as J-bars and K-tools for reaching inside door handles and disabling cylinder locks. A Denver tool is a combination tool capable of performing the individual functions of a sledgehammer, axe, ram, and pulling or separating tool for enabling quick rescue entry into buildings and vehicles. The Halligan tool, also commonly referred to as a "Hooligan" by traditionally Irish New York City firefighters of the World War II era, was invented by NYFD Deputy Commissioner Hugh Halligan in 1948. It is a particularly useful type of claw hook with a sharp point at a right angle employed for the removal of padlocks, doors, and windows in combination with a flathead axe; together, they are commonly referred to by firefighters as "the irons." (Finucane 2007). In addition to low-tech mechanical levarage tools, modern firefighting equipment includes hydraulic-powered devices capable of directing humdreds of times more energy than possible with hand tools in a fraction of the time. The so-called jaws of life is a hydraulic power tool used to spread apart crushed vehice compartments and other similar materials for extricating trapped victims of vehiclular crahses and collapsed materials. A variation of the jaws of life is the Hurst tool which adds ram-jacking and cutting capabilities. A Rabbet tool is a specialized hydraulic spreader specifically designed for insertion between a door and door frame to permit fast access to locked dwelling units and heavily reinforced indistrial facilities (Finucane 2007).

Fire Suppression: Two of the most important firefighting tools in the modern firefighter's arsenal are the motorized trucks known as engines and ladders. Fire engines are trucks used for pumping water, while ladder trucks provide access to high points, either for entry or for directing water onto the source of a fire from above. Ladder trucks are equipped with a turntable that allows the ladder to swivle in any direction. Engines provide several different mechanisms for applying water to fires, including deck guns operated from the top of the fire engine and deluge guns under the direct control of the ranking commander.

Pumper trucks also power the main attack line hoses used to apply pressurized water onto fires; generally, its devices and hand-carried fire hoses are tipped with adjustable nozzles that allow firefighters to change the stream output for specific purposes. (Jones 2008).

In the United States, the promary water suppression technique is the high pressure solid water stream, because of its ability to penetrate many materials and maximum reach; in Europe, construction materials are more conducive to the succesful implementation of the high pressure fog (HPF) stream for its efficient cooling, economic use of water, educed structural water damage, and comparatively greater ease of control at the fog nozzle than at the smooth-bore nozzle used for solid streams (Jones 2008).

Bresnan cellar nozzle is used to spray water in a circular pattern from the end of a hose, typically, after inserting it through a hole cut into a floor or ceiling. Supplementing the primary attack lines are booster lines normally wound and unwound on motorized (or hand-cranked) reels; they are used to extinguish small fires quickly without having to be connected to external water supply systems.

Engines are also capable of directing aqueous film forming foam (AFFF or "Triple F") onto fires involving Cass B. fuels such as ordinary woods and… READ MORE

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