Equipment

All firefighters and officers wear a balaclava under their helmets. This protective hood is regarded as an interface component – providing thermal protection for the face, neck, and ears. Windsor Fire & Rescue Services uses a long style hood so that the protection extends down under the collar of the bunker coat, helping to keep the hood in place. The balaclava must be kept clean for it to do its job properly, otherwise burns, injuries and disease can result. “This is not merely a question of style, neat appearance and comfort, it is a matter of life and death” (from the instruction manual supplied by the manufacturer).

There is a very wide variety of firefighting boots, although anything worn by a firefighter on duty must be NFPA approved. They have a steel shank, a puncture proof sole and steel toe protection.

Firefighting boots are either rubber or leather with a felt liner, flexible and engineered to perform on wet surfaces and keep the feet warm and dry.

Firefighting gloves are designed to provide limited protection against injuries to the hand, during conventional firefighting by trained professional firefighters who use due caution at all times. Included is a moisture barrier that provides the best chemical and viral protection while keeping your hands dry.

Windsor Fire & Rescue Services uses the Cairns .Ben 2 helmet by Morningpride. Both have the same profile, providing coverage down the back of the neck.

Mounted on the front of the helmet is a ‘passport’, which identifies the department and has a Velcro panel on which the firefighter attaches a tag indicating the vehicle to which he/she is assigned. When they are off duty, the Velcro patch on the helmet is one that displays the firefighter’s name for quick identification of the helmet.

The interior of the helmet is lined with either felt or suede over a plastic suspension system to provide insulating and protective air space between the top of the wearer’s head and the helmet shell. The plastic suspension system is adjustable by a ratchet system either made larger or smaller by turning a knob at the back of the helmet. Both helmets come in 3 colours depending on the rank of the individual.

Windsor firefighters have a storm collar attached to the helmet liner by Velcro. The storm collar adds an additional layer of protection over and above that provided by the balaclava. It also provides warmth during long hours at a winter fire or accident scene.

Since the introduction of turnout gear, today’s firefighter is totally encapsulated. This allows firefighters to be shielded from the extreme temperatures of today’s fire.

The downfall to being so protected is the condition of heat stress, which is the imbalance of heat gain to heat loss within the human body. This problem plagues every fire department and is a serious concern in the summer months. That is why rehabilitation (“Rehab”) on the fire scene is becoming more of a factor in firefighter health and safety.

“Rehabilitation is a post work or rest period management of the individuals environment, activity, condition, and clothing to limit the effects of heat accumulation from work in hot environments.”

Windsor Fire & Rescue Services has added a piece of equipment to its arsenal to increase firefighter health and safety. This is the KORE KOOLER REHAB CHAIR made by Morning Pride Manufacturing, who is also a leading manufacturer of firefighter protective ensembles.

The general public may not see the Kore Kooler Rehab Chair as a piece of safety equipment due to the perception that the firefighters on the scene are sitting down and are not actively engaged in firefighting activities but the reality is that the rehab chair has proven beneficial in increasing firefighter safety and allows the firefighters to be more productive on the fire scene.

It is a general practice within the Windsor Fire & Rescue Services that the Rehab chairs be used at any working structure fire or any other emergency incident when feasible.

Submitted by: Firefighter Justin Carson

Reference: Information and photo referenced from www.morningpride.com

The Leak Seal Kit contains a variety of items such as plugs, patches, bags, straps, screws, etc., which are used to seal leaks in drums, barrels, containers, railway cars, gas tanks, etc.

These tools are used in situations where non-sparking leak-stop equipment is required.

The photo to the left displays all of the items found in the Leak Seal Kit.

The Non Spark Tools for Hazmat Teams are:

Axe, Bung Wrench, Pipe Wrench, Scrub Brush, Pry Bar, and Shovel

These tools are designed to be used in rescue situations in explosive atmospheres. They can be used without the fear of creating a spark which could trigger an explosion.

The Plug & Wedge Kit is possibly one of the simplest systems used in a high tech industry. It contains a series of wooden plugs in a variety of sizes which are hammered into place to stop leaks in items such as natural gas lines, household gas lines, etc.

The pump panel is where it all begins: we have to have a starting point where the application of the water and foam is controlled as it is applied to the fire.

The panel is a mixture of gauges, inlets, outlets, lights and control handles that when operated by the pump driver is the beginning of the fire control. The fire hose is the lifeline to a firefighter, if when in a fire, the fire hose that he or she is operating fails, that firefighter is now in danger. So the job of the pump operator is very important, and the pump panel is his tool to do his job. For every fire hose that is fed by the pump, there is a gauge to tell the operator the pressure at which the hose is working, and a control handle that will turn the water supply on or off. To give the pump the water supply that is required to control the fire, there is a 5″ or 2 ½” inlet opening at the panel and also on the opposite side of the truck.

The Q-Siren has been part of the fire fighting tradition for decades. “The Electric F” appears in Federal Signal catalogues dating back to 1931. The grille was part of a Federal Coaster Siren, Model “4” with an 8” rotor. Earlier lines of mechanical sirens included Models O, G, C, W and WF. These models were the basis for the design of the now famous Q-Siren. Versions of these early mechanical sirens were used on top of police cards, ambulances and, of course, fire trucks. Development of electronic sirens came in the 1940’s and 1950’s using vacuum tubes prior to the general use of transistorized sirens in the late 1960’s. Despite the new technologies the Q-Siren has remained a constant on most fire trucks in the name of tradition and quality. In 2000, Federal Signal introduced the electronic version of the Q-Siren, the e-Q2B. This new electronic siren features the traditional Q-Wail while incorporating several features of a standard electronic siren including “yelp”, “air horn” “PA” and radio rebroadcast. Recently, Federal Signal took steps to ensure the integrity of the Q-Siren sound by pursuing a trademark for the sound of the Q-Wail with the intention of preserving the tradition for generations to come.

(reprinted from the May 2004 edition of Federal Signal’s “Hot Times” newsletter)

Technological advances in the firefighting field are an important component of a modern fire service. In the case of Thermal Imaging Cameras, the technology was developed by the American military and, over the course of several years, adapted for industrial use and then for use in the fire service.

The most powerful light produced cannot penetrate smoke, however thermal (infrared) energy does penetrate smoke. The Thermal Imaging Camera has the ability to transfer the thermal energy (infrared waves) into a visible image. The image produced is very much like an x-ray and it takes a trained person to correctly interpret the image. In a fire where the smoke is so thick a firefighter can’t see more than a couple of inches past his/her visor, the camera allows for a more effective search and rescue operation.

The Bell Rings, you are called to a working structure fire. On arrival you know you have to grab a tool, but you are not sure what obstacles you may face. An axe is a very popular choice for firefighters but we have all been in the position of running back to the rig to get another tool because we didn’t have the right tool at the right time.

Denver Firefighters Mark Trujillo and Robert Terry took it upon themselves to develop a tool that would prevent the above situation. They called it the “T-N-T Tool”(due to their last names), or in the fire service it is also known as the “Denver Tool”.

The T-N-T Tool is designed to be five (5) tools in one.  So no matter what obstacles you might face, the tool will be the right one.