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Wednesday, August 18, 2010

Question of the Day #9

Time to reach for the stars... or at least get to the upper floors......

Here's your next Fire Trivia Question....



Who had the longest (Example: 50 ft, 100ft) snorkel manufactured in the US?


A. Seagrave's Firebird

B. American LaFrance Aero Chief

C. Pierce Snorkel

D. Pirsch Snorkel
 
 
 
 
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Friday, August 13, 2010

Question of the Day #8

Some people are blabbermouths... others never give enough info... but people like to talk....

Communication is essential in our line of work... be it Fire or EMS... the flow of information is vital to a life being saved....

With all that said... here is you Trivia Question of the day....


In what year was the walkie-talkie introduced in the fire service?

A. 1923

B. 1933

C. 1940

D. 1945
 
  Answer Posted Below.....



 
 

In what year was the walkie-talkie introduced in the fire service?


C. 1940



 
  In 1940 is when FDNY introduce the first fireground radios known as “Walkie-talkies.” They operated in the ultra-high frequency, 2-meter band, weighted approximately 15 pound, measured 9 by 5 by 13 inches and were carried in a backpack. The “Walkie-talkie” received its first actually test under real conditions in July 1940 at the Algonquin fire. The radio did not get much fame until 1945, when they used Motorola’s handie talkie at the site of the B-25 crash into the Empire State Building, when pictures of their firefighter were taken using the radio at the incident.
 

Monday, August 9, 2010

Question of the Day #7

Think you're the schnizzle when it comes to fire-buff trivia ?   Sink your chops into this all-to-important blast from the past !

Take a guess... leave a comment.... but don't cheat yourself buy checking Google......




When the National Institute for Occupational Safety & Health investigated this fire, they issued 12 recommendations- many of which involved preplanning- for similar firefighting situations:


A. Worcester Warehouse Fire

B. Hackensack Ford Dealership Fire

C. 23rd Street Fire

D. The Triangle Shirt Waist Fire
 

 
    ANSWER POSTED BELOW.......








Most comments yet..... @leatherheadff and Eric were correct..

When the National Institute for Occupational Safety & Health investigated this fire, they issued 12 recommendations- many of which involved preplanning- for similar firefighting situations:




A. Worcester Warehouse Fire
 

On December 3, 1999, The Worchester Fie Department received a call at approximately 1800 hours for a possible fire at the former Worchester Cold Storage and Warehouse. When the Fire Department arrived on scene, there were reports of 2 homeless people trapped inside and 2 firefighters entered the structure to search for the people. While searching, the 2 firefighters became disoriented and started to run out of air. When they realize that they were in trouble they called in a “Mayday!” Four firefighters heard their “Mayday” and rushed into the structure. All 6 firefighters died as the result of the conditions inside the structure during the 6 Alarm blazed that burned for 24 hours. During the investigation, NIOSH issued 12 recommendations.....


1. Conducting pre-fire planning on vacant buildings

2. Marking dangerous, vacant buildings

3. Implementing an Incident Command System at fire scenes

4. Using a separate Incident Safety Officer at Fire scenes

5. Using adequate equipment and adhering to standard operating procedure

6. Incident Command must account for personnel at scene

7. Using ropes, lines, and lights

8. Ensuring a Rapid Intervention Team is in place

9. Implementing a health and safety program

10. Using a marking system during searches

11. Enforcing mask rules

12. Using thermal imaging cameras
 
This fire was a catylst to changing the way we do business on the fireground. It kills me a little more each time a Firefighter falls... 6 Brothers lost, but, in my humble opinion, hundreds and more have been saved because of the implimentation of changes made after this tragedy.
 
Rest in Peace, my Brothers

The Worcester 6
Pictured top-Botom, Left to right:
Lt. Thomas Spencer, James Lyons,Paul Brotherton
Timothy Jackson, Jeremiah Lucey, Joseph McGuirk
 
 

Thursday, August 5, 2010

Question of the Day #6

American History is rittled with violence. . .  and fires.. lots of fires... even from the very beginning... here's a chance to check your american history knowledge coupled with your knowledge of the fire service.....

as always... no oogling Google  :-) and leave some comments....


During what war was the White House set on fire by the invading army?


A. The American Civil War

B. The War of 1812

C. The Spanish-American War

D. The Mexican-American War of 1846-1848



ANSWER POSTED BELOW.......






During what war was the White House set on fire by the invading army?


B. The War of 1812





During the War of 1812, The British burned Washington, DC. On, August 24, 1814, the British reached Washington, and found the city largely deserted, with the only resistance being ineffective sniper fire from one house. The first order of business for the British was to attack the Navy yard... which they burned. British troops next arrived at the US Capitol, which was still unfinished. According to later accounts, the British were impressed by the fine architecture of the building, and some of the officers had qualms about burning it. According to legend, British Admiral Cockburn sat in the chair belonging to the Speaker of the House and asked, "Shall this harbor of Yankee democracy be burned?" The British Marines with him yelled "Aye!" Orders were given to torch the building. The British troops worked diligently to set fires inside the Capitol, destroying years of work by artisans brought from Europe. With the burning Capitol lighting the sky, troops also marched to burn an armory. At about 10:30 pm, approximately 150 Royal Marines formed up in columns and began marching westward on Pennsylvania Avenue, following the route used in modern times for inauguration day parades. The British troops moved quickly, with a particular destination in mind, The White House, which they in turn set ablaze as well. The British troops then turned their attention to the adjacent Treasury Department building, which was also set on fire. The fires burned so brightly that observers many miles away recalled seeing a glow in the night sky.

“Capture and Burning of Washington by the British, in 1814,” an 1876 wood engraving.

Is that a tornado ?

Driving back from lunch today in the Engine, the whole crew talking about how surpisingly not horrible the meal was, I looked out into the Desert (ok.. not a very far look) and something odd caught my eye.  Is that smoke ?  Looks like it... but that's a hell of a column... and a little light... light enough it was almost impossible to see without good sun-glasses on.
Dust Devil at Ramadi
Drove on, a little further, and it became aparent what we were looking at..... Does Iraq have Tornados ?

Yes.. I saw my first "REAL" dust devil today.... was quite amazing to see a small twister of sand stretch about 200' into the sky. It actually crossed the road right in front of us (sand-blasting the Tahoe that chose to drive through) LOL. Yes.. I'm easily amused... but this was pretty cool to be that close to it.... watched it trek and grow for about a mile ... unfortunately.. now there's a ton of sand thrown up in the aire that has to come back down.... and I just swept my floor this morning...
...aaaand, of course... I didn't have my Camera with me... but, I'm sure it won't be the last... just the first (big one).