Increasing Communication In Firefighters

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Jamison Kampmeier, Matthew Renaud, Robert Bebee, Robert Garner, Anne Sullivan, Anthony Phillips, Louis Matthews, these are the names of just a few firefighters who have fallen in the line of duty. They are all heroes, however, their lives were a senseless loss and with better technology they might have survived. In 2013, a total of 97 on –duty firefighter deaths occurred in the United States, a huge increase over the last several years. The number one cause of death for a fire-fighter on duty is overexertion and stress. The second largest cause of death is rapid fire progression and explosions.(NFPA) Both of these categories could see a significant drop if firefighters had new technologies to keep them safe. The tools and technologies …show more content…
Proper direction should be taken to ensure the safety of everyone, both the victim and the firefighters. There are several reports involving firefighter fatalities and injuries that may have been avoided if adequate communications were provided.(USFA-TR099) The United States Fire Administration Major Fires Investigation project reports that insufficient communication has had a negative impact on the safety of emergency workforce and maybe to blame for injuries or deaths of firefighters, and civilians reported throughout the United States. To eliminate these tragic accidents better communication has been developed for the firefighters. In the past, communications between firefighters depended on communicating face to face, this proved dangerous and difficult when often the communication had to be shouted in order to be heard, risking a command being misunderstood or information lost over the loud environment such as a roaring fire or screaming sirens. Recently developed technology has enhanced communication making it possible for a team of firefighters to communicate with each other through their helmets. The Mask-to- mask VOX communication system is a hands free system that allows up to five men to communicate at once rather than just one at a time. In many of the fatalities fire fighters were left in the building …show more content…
The Personal Alert Safety System (PASS) is another device to insure the fireman’s safety. (NISTIR). The Pass is designed to signal aid for a fire fighter if they become incapacitated. A PASS is an electronic device that is located either on the Fire Fighters SCBA , self contained breathing apparatus, or on the firefighter’s suit. The PASS comes in two different designs, one is called an integrated device that is automatically activated with the SCBA and the other is manually activated which is the more common PASS device in most fire houses. The PASS is designed to emit a 110 decibel alarm to alert other firefighters that one of their team members is in danger. The PASS’s technology automatically sounds if the firefighter has remained motionless for longer than twenty-five seconds, alerting others if a firefighter is trapped or injured. This new added safety feature is invaluable when a firefighter is unconscious and is unable to call for help. (Firefighter Nation) In the Cherry Road Fire, both Fire Fighter Anthony Phillips and Fire Fighter Louis Matthews wore PASS devices. Phillips wore an integrated PASS device and Matthews wore a manually activated Pass device. Too often, because Fire Fighters have less than 90 seconds to gear up, they forget to activate the manual PASS devices, which was the case with Firefighter Mathews. When
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