For starters -
This 3 minute video will show you how a typical structure fire is handled in the USA http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=waCkPlSLgXk
This video shows a simulated fire attack on a building fire in Asia http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pj_E_Sytal0 (they run back and forth to relay orders, get hose, check for kinks, etc - portable radios have probably changed this procedure somewhat)
http://www.nfpa.org/assets/files/PDF/iroquois.pdf - If you need a reminder about how bad a fire can be, here is a report on the 1903 Iroquois Theater Fire in Chicago that killed 602 people
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1rK462ieRP0 - 2007 - Amsterdam firefighters put on airtanks and gear enroute to a call
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KoGeJhRDHYg - Aug 2008 - bus fire in Amsterdam - notice that 1 fire truck carries 6 or 7 men - notice that some of them get out of the truck with their airpaks already on - the driver goes to the rear to run the pump
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WUx7DPXCG9g - Kirk Fire Station In Amsterdam - 2003 - again, notice that some of the firefighters have their airtanks on their backs already as they get out of the fire truck
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jlWghGG6LlE - apparently 3 of the Amsterdam firefighters can put on airtanks as they respond to the fire - out of 7 men?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xq3QSlrzCqo - Jan 2010 video - house fire in NY - break windows - smoke and fire comes out - water hits fire from inside - all done!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-6-CvCNxwjE - Montreal firefighters roll out of the station in one minute
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Arlington - population 44,000 - 5 square miles - 1 or 2 serious fires per year
Fire department budget - $4.5M - approx 80 fulltime staff
3 fire stations
Central Fire Station - Arlington Center - Engine 1 - Ladder 1 - C2
Highland Fire Station - Mass Ave at Brattle St - Engine 2 - Rescue 1
Park Circle Fire Station - Park Ave at Park Circle - Engine 3
"Engines" (aka 'pumpers') have crews of 1 officer (lieutenant) and 2 firefighters - Ladder 1 also has a crew of 1 officer (captain) and 2 firefighters - Rescue 1 has a crew of 2 firefighters - C2 has 1 Deputy Chief
Vehicles - "Engines" are vehicles that carry 500 gallons of water, a bunch of hose, and a big pump - "Ladders" have the big 100 foot steel ladder, and a bunch of portable ladders - Rescue 1 is an ambulance - C2 is a SUV
Ranks >>> Firefighter > Lieutenant > Captain > Deputy Chief > Chief - everyone above the 'Firefighter' rank is considered to be an "Officer"
Work Schedules - just about everybody works a 24 hour shift followed by 72 hours off (1 day on - 3 days off). The Fire Chief, the Fire Prevention Officer, the Training Officer, and the secretarys work weekdays.
Salaries - Firefighters earn approx $50,000 per year - Lieutenants make $60,000 - Captains make $70,000 - Deputy Chiefs make $90,000 - the Chief makes $110,000 per year - something like that - years of experience is a factor - as is rank.
Personal protective equipment - each FD member has a helmet, heavy coat and heavy pants ('turnouts'), gloves, boots, man down alarm, flashlight, and two way radio. Air tanks and face masks provide breathing air.
Response Levels - minor calls get 1 unit - building fire calls get 3 or 4 units - for example - if a house fire is reported in East Arlington, the dispatcher will send Eng 1, Eng 2, Lad 1, Rescue 1, and C2. If units arriving at the scene want more help, they can request a "2nd alarm". The dispatcher will then send Eng 3 and a mutual aid Engine and a mutual aid Ladder.
High hazard locations in Arlington - nursing homes - elderly housing - schools - apartment buildings - gasoline tanker trucks - airliners - school buses - etc
Fire hydrants are located 400 feet apart and typically supply enough water for 10 or more hoselines - the black 'low pressure' hydrants are in East Arlington - the red "high pressure" hydrants are in the Heights and Morningside - East Arlington is level ground at sea level - the rest of Arlington is hilly ranging up to 400 feet above sea level
Arlington FD Radio Channels - Channel 1 - Primary Channel - 460.60 R - Channel 2 - Fireground Channel - 460.60 - (lets see you figure that one out)
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9/8/09
This map shows the 1 mile distances from the fire stations that border
Arlington. It is obvious that large amounts of mutual aid coverage of
available for East Arlington, and half of Morningside.
All units typicaly have 3 people on duty 24/7/365. Therefore, a
station that has 2 units, such as Belmont Center (Belm Engine 2 &
Ladder 1) , Teele Square in Somerville (Som Eng 6 & Som Ldr 3), or
Arlington Center (Arl Eng 1 & Arl Ldr 1), will have 6 people staffing
the station 24/7/365.
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Here is an interesting newspaper article about "turnout times" - http://sammamishreview.com/2009/07/28/new-time-standards-for-efr
In New Zealand, kids answer 5 fire prevention questions to enter a lottery to win a ride to school in a fire truck -
http://www.gimme.co.nz/competition/win-spin-fire-truck-5312
10 Oct 2009 - Brown County Wisconsin Fire Depts agree to consolidate - http://www.nbc26.com/Global/story.asp?S=11290416
10 Oct 2009 - Australia - flee, dont fight - http://www.theage.com.au/national/new-fire-policy-flee-dont-fight-20091010-grmi.html - last year, a major wildfire killed 173 people in Australia - this year, authorities will urge civilians to flee rather than defend their homes - this could be considered a major policy change that followed a disaster (within 1 year)
27 Dec 2009 - http://www.dandunn.org/park.html#history - Dan Dunn's opposition to the Park Circle Fire Station rebuild
29 Dec 2009 - http://www.entrepreneur.com/tradejournals/article/188423767.html - Oct 2008 - turnout times being lengthened
29 Dec 2009 - http://www.gilroydispatch.com/printer/article.asp?c=260913 - a little background on the NFPA 1710 standard
9 Jan 2010 - http://www.osha.gov/Publications/fire_features3256.pdf - fire protection features of buildings - general info from OSHA - 2006
21 Jan 2010 - http://firechief.com/suppression/tactics/firefighting_no_timeouts_tactics/ - a July 1 2006 article by Ronny J Coleman - I call the article - "What is a 'response time' anyhow?"
26 Jan 2010 - http://www.arlingtonfincom.com/databank.htm - the 2002 fire station study for Arlington by MMA is available on the FinCom website
4 Feb 2010 - http://www.eagletribune.com/punews/local_story_034012402.html - public comments are not terribly supportive of the Lawrence FD
24 Feb 2010 - http://www.rgj.com/article/20100224/NEWS/2240423/1321/news - Sparks / Reno Nevada - firefighters urge creation of regional fire department