Firefighting

FIREFIGHTING

By: Jennye Cooper

HISTORY

HISTORY OF FIRE INDUSTRY Firefighters have been around for many

years, dating back to ancient times (Freitag, 2012).

Firefighting has been going on long before they were established in the United States (Freitag, 2012). London was a big area in Europe that

developed departments(Carlson, pg.1). It was a large service area, where this type of service was needed.

Fire Departments were first formed as private entities, but are now turning to municipality status (Freitag, 2012). In London, departments were formed as

private entities.

HISTORY OF FIRE INDUSTRY In 1678, the first paid fire department

was organized in the United States in Boston, MA (Freitag, 2012). The department started with one fire

engine, but then grew to six fire engines by 1715.

The oldest fire department in the United States resides in Boston and was organized in 1837

EMERGENCY MEDICAL SERVICES (EMS) HISTORY EMS services have started to become

incorporated within fire departments across the United States.

It’s hard to trace back the start of EMS. People have been aiding others for many years. The first ambulance was incorporated in 1865 (West

Virginia Department of Edu). EMS was not always the same service as we know

today. It was “five different types of businesses: towing operators, medical equipment companies, funeral homes, hospitals, police, and fire departments” (“West Virginia Department of Edu”).

To be able to work in the EMS field, one has to obtain their Emergency Medical Technician (EMT)certification (“West Virginia Department of Edu.

ORGANIZATION SYSTEM

FIRE INDUSTRY ORGANIZATION SYSTEM

The fire and EMS industry both have adopted the principle to serve and protect people in the community.

It is known by communities around the country that firefighters are here to help fight fires, and that EMTs are here to help when people feel ill or are injured.

Both industries will continue to grow and function well, because there will always be fires and accidents where citizens need firefighter/EMT attention.

FIRE INDUSTRY ORGANIZATION SYSTEM Fire departments started out by helping to

protect against fires. However, fire departments have evolved to the needs of the community over time. EMS services are now included in most departments at least in Snohomish County (Flynn, p.3).

Additional services include (Flynn, p.8): Haz-Mat calls, which are calls that deal with

hazardous materials. Hazaradous materials are materials that are highly flammable, explosive, poisonous, or radioactive (Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary,2012).

Service Calls, which are calls that can range from checking smoke alarms and their batteries, or residential home inspections to look for fire dangers.

Business Inspections, which deal with the inspection of businesses to look for violations in fire codes.

STRENGTHS

STRENGTHS OF FIRE INDUSTRY Dedication is a very strong strength

within the fire industry. It’s very difficult to walk into a full time

career position as a firefighter (Freitag, 2012).

Most firefighters start out as a volunteer or part-time and work their way up to full time career position.

This means that it can take a long time to move up as full-time. It takes a lot of dedication and patience for this process.

Team Work is a big part of being a firefighter. They work together to fight fires and attend to sick or injured patients.

STRENGTHS OF FIRE INDUSTRY Firefighters are able to gain the community

trust easily. Most people know that firefighters and EMTs are in

their jobs to service others. Most people trust their doctors, and firefighters

and EMTs are the same way. Firefighters and EMTs are taught to not

discriminate against any individual—they are essentially health care professionals.

Firefighters and EMTs put their own lives on the line everyday, and the community recognizes this.

LIMITATIONS

LIMITATIONS OF THE FIRE INDUSTRY Unpredictability

This is a huge limitation of the industry. Firefighters and EMTs never know what kinds of cases they are going to be dealing with at work.

There is no way to pinpoint when a fire or injury will occur. However, Firefighters and EMTs can always learn from their cases and work on

future prevention. Fires are studied closely, and if there are certain factors that caused a fire that can be

used in the future to prevent another fire from occurring then “fire codes” may be revised or created.

It is stated that the National Fire Protection Association, “develops, publishes, and disseminates more than 300 consensus codes and standards intended to minimize the possibility and effects of fire and other risks” (NFPA, 2011)

Prevention: In relation to unpredictability, there is a huge importance of prevention. According to Ray (1998), “The United States suffers a higher fire rate, as well as higher fire death rates, than most European and Asian countries”. There are a significant amount of precautions that people can take to prevent fires and injuries. However, even when we take safety measures, we never know when an injury or fire could occur.

LIMITATIONS OF THE FIRE INDUSTRY One fire case that could have been prevented is the 2003 Station Night

Club Fire. This was a devastating event where many people died because certain fire codes were ignored or not established yet. This fire took 100 lives and injured many more (Bauer, pg.1).

This fire was studied closely and fire codes were created after the study to prevent future devastation.

Fire and injury causes: Pyrotechnics caused the fire Building had installation for soundproofing that was highly flammable No Fire Sprinklers Club was over occupancy Not enough exits

Fire Codes Administered after this event (NFPA, 2012): fire sprinklers in new nightclubs and similar assembly occupancies and in existing facilities

that accommodate more than 100 building owners to inspect exits to ensure they're free of obstructions The presence of at least one trained crowd manager for all gatherings, except religious

services. For larger gatherings, additional crowd managers are required at a ratio of 1:250 Prohibit festival seating for crowds of more than 250 unless a life-safety evaluation

approved by the authority having jurisdiction has been performed.

STATION CLUB FIRE PICTURES

I suggest that you Google “Station Club Fire”. It’s very fascinating, but devastating. There is actual video from this fire, and it’s very disturbing.

REFERENCE LIST Bauer, W. (2005). Public Management. West Warwick Copes with the Aftermath of a Nightclub Fire. , 86 (5), pp.7-

10.

Freitag, S. (2012, 5 18). The history of firefighting. Retrieved from http://www.emergencydispatch.org/articles/historyoffirefighting.html

Flynn, J. National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) (2009). Fire Service Performance Measures. Retrieved from: http://www.nfpa.org/assets/files/pdf/os.fsperformancemeasures.pdf

Lepore, P. (2006). Aspiring firefighters. Retrieved from http://www.aspiringfirefighters.com/faqs.html Merriam-Webster (2012). Hazmat definition. Retrieved from: http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/hazmat

National Fire Protection Association (2012). NFPA::Codes & Standards. Retrieved from: http://www.nfpa.org/categoryList.asp?categoryID=124&URL=Codes & Standards

Nightclubs/assembly occupancies. (2012). NFPA. Retrieved from http://www.nfpa.org/itemDetail.asp?categoryID=847&itemID=21076&URL=Safety%20Information/For%20consumers/Occupancies/Nightclubs/assembly%20occupancies/Summary%20of%20code%20changes&cookie_test=1

Patrascu, D. (2009). Fire truck history. DOI: http://www.autoevolution.com/news/fire-truck-history-7249.html Ray, J. National Fire Academy (2012). Fire Prevention Effectiveness: Can we measure what did not happen?.

Retrieved from: http://www.usfa.fema.gov/pdf/efop/efo28239.pdf

West Virginia Department of Education (n.d.). History of EMS. Retrieved from: http://wvde.state.wv.us/abe/Public Service Personnel/HistoryofEMS.html

THE END!