15 Jul

Protecting Adjacent Buildings

When it comes to the protection of adjacent buildings, commonly used terms such as Exposure Protection and Spatial Separation should be familiar to most. The need to protect adjacent buildings arises from the possibility of spread of a fire from the building of origin to a neighbouring building/structure due to heat exposure from the fire [...]

07 Jun

Low, Medium, and High Expansion Foam Systems

Sumir Pattoo

1. Introduction: Foam systems use Low, Medium, and High Expansion foam concentrates to discharge foam into protected areas. Finished foam is a stable mass of small bubbles of lower density than most flammable liquids and water. Foam is a blanketing and cooling agent that is produced by mixing air into a foam solution that contains [...]

28 May

Determining Water Supply Requirements for Rural Firefighting

Kevin Kaye

An underlying firefighting assumption building codes make is that firefighting measures (full time or volunteer) are available to all buildings. Building codes do not assume that a specific level of firefighting protection will be provided (i.e. minimum equipment available, water capacity, pumping capacity, manpower, response time, etc.). The code assumes that between 10-30 minutes could [...]

30 Apr

Dealing with Vehicle Accidents Involving Radioactive Materials (Part 2 of 2)

Rudy Cronk

Please note this blog is a continuation, if you have not read the first part please click here to be redirected to part 1 of 2. Casualties Immediate action should be taken to administer medical attention as required, and they should be safely removed from the hot zone. Paramedics and the admitting hospital should be [...]

23 Apr

Dealing with Vehicle Accidents Involving Radioactive Materials (Part 1 of 2)

Rudy Cronk

Although an unlikely event, Fire Departments may have to respond to an emergency involving Class 7 radioactive materials. Many larger departments have Hazmat teams that are fully equipped and trained to manage this type of incident. This article is being provided to assist rural departments that do not have the in-house Hazmat teams available to [...]

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