FIRE ENGINEERING
June 1986
Volume 139 No. 6
DEPARTMENTS
EDITORIAL 6
Haz-mat references—build your own
VOLUNTEERS CORNER 8
Effective communications leads to smoother operations
TRAINING NOTEBOOK 10
Using an initial offensive exterior attack
DISPATCHES 20
Call for retrofit of respirators USFA retrofit grant awarded Sprinkler ordinance in effect Sprinkler trailer demonstration
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR 12
NAMES IN THE NEWS 82
EQUIPMENT DIGEST 84
COURSES/COMING EVENTS 86
APPARATUS DELIVERIES 87
CLASSIFIEDS 90
READER SERVICE CARD 91
Photo by Bob Athanas, Brooklyn, NY.
Second class postage paid at New York, NY 10001. and at additional mailing offices.
FEATURES
UNDERWATER BREATHING SYSTEMS 23
Three different underwater breathing systems, their advantages and disadvantages, are discussed in this third article in the dive/rescue series.
BY WALT HENDRICK
DOWNSHIFTING 27
There are ways to get maximum use out of both the engine brake and the automatic transmission without tearing them up. BY WESLEY S. TRINDAL
SULFURIC ACID 30
This article begins an informational series on those chemicals that are transported and used in the greatest volumes—and that firefighters run the greatest risk of encountering. BY FRANK L. FIRE
THE MYTHING LINK IN FIRE PROTECTION 38
The fire protection field is fraught with myths, the fallacy of a few being the focus of this article. BY FRANCIS L. BRANNIGAN
VOLUNTARY COMPLIANCE 44
Whenever someone readily complies with an order based on an internalized set of values, he is demonstrating one of the highest forms of authority acceptance in our society, voluntary compliance. Yet, this admirable level of self-commitment can be downright dangerous when complusively practiced during fire service operations. BY HUGH J. CAULFIELD
REFRESHER TRAINING 48
Even the most informative training program will fall short of being successful unless presented in a dynamic and challenging manner. Here is a fresh approach developed by the Philadelphia Fire Department.
BY BERNARD D. DYER
UPDATE OF THE FIRE FLOW FORMULA 52
The fireground is no place to calculate complex equations. In this thirteenth article in the series on the National Fire Academy’s (NFA) model incident command system, the authors discuss a new fire flow formula that was derived by the NFA’s course development team.
BY BURTON W. PHELPS and EDWARD J. MCDONALD
VERTICAL STOKES LOWER VIA A ROOF SYSTEM 56
Attempting to remove victims from above (or below) grade level with rope techniques requires special consideration and training. Here is a rope rescue procedure that works on the basis of anchoring.
BY KENNETH J. BRENNAN
BUYERS’ GUIDE 61
The 1986 Buyers’ Guide is a listing of firefighting equipment and the various manufacturers. Also included is a directory containing the names, addresses, and telephone numbers of the manufacturers.