So you want to be a firefighter?

Freelance writer Mike Lauterborn recently got a firsthand taste of what it's like to be a firefighter at the FireOps 101 program at the Fairfield Fire Training School on One Rod Highway. The annual program, organized by the Fairfield Fire Department and several others in the area, is designed to introduce the public officials and others to the rigors of firefighter training and the challenges they face daily. Here is his account.

They say the only way to truly appreciate what someone does is to walk a mile in their shoes -- or, in this case, boots and toting close to hundred pounds of gear and equipment.

I recently had the opportunity to embed with career firefighters at the Fairfield Fire Training School on One Rod Highway to do just that. The program involved exercises providing education about firefighters' roles and an understanding of equipment and manpower needs that can give officials insight.

More than 40 firefighters, drawn from Fairfield, Westport and Stratford, were on hand to shadow a half-dozen participants, help operate equipment and lead demonstrations of both equipment and firefighting processes.

Overseen by Fairfield Assistant Fire Chief Scott Bisson, the incident commander for the day, the morning began in a classroom setting with a short film, "Smoke Showing," giving an overview about command hierarchy, firefighting strategies and safety advisories. Bisson said there are four essentials that determine the outcome of a fire: training, technology, staffing and notification.

Organizers on the drill grounds -- which includes the training center, an annex classroom, propane fire area, four-story tower, two-story burn building, vehicle "boneyard" and a new flashover simulator -- wasted no time in immersing me in the most demanding of activities: attacking a structural fire.

Suited up from head to toe in full gear and outfitted with an air tank and mask, I was placed at the head of a hose line and sent into the burn building with a support crew of "wranglers" to battle the blaze. Hay and wood pallets had been ignited in a bottom floor room, producing thick smoke that carried upwards in the unventilated structure. The result was almost zero visibility, making keeping a hand on the hose line a critical measure to safely navigate the structure.

"Typically," Assistant Chief Chris Tracy said, "an interior is fully charged with velvety black smoke, there's no clear indication of a fire and you have to listen for the pops, crackles and small explosions to find it. Guys on the line shout to each other or use signals or back slaps to communicate: one for stop, two for go. Then we look to hit the seat, or hottest point, of the fire."

At the next activity station, focused on emergency medical services, Lt. Erik Kalapir said, "Sixty to 70 percent of our calls are medical based. In Fairfield, private service AMR is the responder, however, firefighters are the first responders. With five fire stations across town, we can get to almost any home in four to six minutes, to do defibrillations, administer medicines, provide oxygen therapy and more. With the downturn in the economy and an aging population, we're being asked to do more with less. We're losing a piece of the budget pie to other community needs and constantly having to reorganize and reinvent ourselves."

The program's forcible-entry and search-and-rescue station, operated by Firefighters Salvato, Goletz and DeNitto, involved the use of "irons" -- a Halligan bar and flathead ax -- to bust through a commercial door and the "Braille" method location of a victim in a pitch black room filled with thick smoke.

A roof exercise followed, led by Stratford Lt. Sean McKenney and Firefighter Bryan Williams, who led the way up a 100-foot truck-mounted ladder to a rooftop.

"The job of the suppression crew is to open up the highest point of a structure, to help lift the smoke inside, prevent flashover, reduce property damage and save lives," McKenney said.

Ventilation was performed using a circular or vent saw. Here again, available resources were an issue.

"A properly staffed ladder company should have a minimum of four men," Williams said. "We're operating with two to three, risking injury to firefighters, forcing time constraints, preventing the saving of lives and allowing greater property damage."

The extrication station, led chiefly by Stratford Firefighter Doug Ashe, focused on the safe removal of a victim from a vehicle in a serious accident scenario.

"We assume spinal injuries, so it's safer to remove the car from around the person than to remove the person from the car," Ashe said.

Using irons to break and remove glass, a hydraulic-driven spreader to pop doors off hinges and a powerful pruner to cut through roof posts, the task is accomplished. Ashe noted that frequent changes in chassis reinforcement, live wires and airbags requires continual training.

There was one clear takeaway from the morning: these guys are passionate about their occupation and consider it their calling.

Linehaul Heavy Duty Joins VIPAR Network

Linehaul Heavy Duty LLC has joined the VIPAR Heavy Duty network of distributors. Linehaul Heavy Duty was formed in August 2011 after Michael Thiers and his wife, Courtney Bennett, purchased the Fairfield, Ohio, branch of Louisville, Ky.-based Republic Diesel.

Linehaul's core business is in heavy duty truck parts, servicing both on-highway and vocational customers in the metro Cincinnati, northern Kentucky, southeastern Indiana and western Ohio areas. With a strong focus on wheel-end and undercarriage parts, the company’s inventory also includes a broad offering of well-known products and brands. In addition, Linehaul Heavy Duty provides flywheel resurfacing, hydraulic hose service and general drive-in truck repair.

“We are pleased to welcome Linehaul to the VIPAR Heavy Duty family of distributors,” said Jim Pennig, vice president, business development, VIPAR Heavy Duty. “Though new to the marketplace as Linehaul, their business has a strong reputation among customers for its great selection of products and outstanding customer service.”

Prior to starting Linehaul Heavy Duty, Thiers was sales manager for Republic Diesel since 2006. He has many years of experience in the industry, having spent four years as vice president of sales for DST Inc., two-and-a-half years as western regional manager for ArvinMeritor and six years as product manager for NuWay Anchorlok.

Mighty Aphrodite, Kylie Minogue On Tour, Part 2: The Water

Kylie Minogue’s Aphrodite – Les Folies world tour’s grandest surprise—and the most jaw-dropping—is the extensive use of water. Hidden within the depths of the stage are 11,000 gallons of water, unleashed into various areas, including the two main stage pools, mostly 8" deep (for fountain integration) with 36" deep sections for aerialist submersions. The B-stage is itself a pool with shallow and deep sections, at the center of which is the three-tier scissor lift. The lift consists of two rings and a center platform, all hydraulically actuated. Both the outermost (rises 42" above stage height) and inner (rises 109") rings can rotate 360° and have 12 fountains each. The lift is run by one 15hp hydraulic pump. “It’s a completely custom lift—no electronic parts in it, because it gets completely submerged at one point,” says lighting/production/technical designer Nick Whitehouse. “Normally hydraulic is not very precise, but they’ve made this very precise.”

The water sequence happens during the last two songs and is introduced during “On A Night Like This.” Anderson composed a new opening for the song, which was used by Stephan Miermont to choreograph a team of synchronized swimmers filmed for the screens. “The beginning of the water programming happens in the intro and the main fountain stuff in the body of the song,” says Anderson.

The Fountain People, in coordination with Tait Towers, designed and integrated the water effects and supplied the custom water lighting fixtures. A variety of fountains grace the stage. The B-stage has thin fountains that surround the tiered lift. Ten fountains in the main stage pools add air to the streams, making them appear bulkier. Each runway has six vertical shooters that can reach 30' high. Five arching jets shoot down the runway, and two cross-stage shooters reach the opposite runway. The main stage and runway fountains, and the B-stage pool have custom LEDs installed. An array of 2.5hp and 7.5hp pumps circulate and drive the system, and the water is always circulating and heated.

“We have a series of 11 tanks under the runways and two tanks under the stage,” says Zangen. “Each runway has three platforms making up the area of the series of fountain heads. There are the thin pieces in the middle that have all the mechanics, solenoids, switches, and functions, and the outer pieces are filled with the holes for the catch. So essentially, one runway section is made up of five parts: catch basins, the three platform pieces, and the tank.”

Covering the stage in water required a lot of planning from the designers and engineers. “We were really conscious of safety,” says Whitehouse. The catch system and waterproof decking are keys to the success of the water integration. “The runway platforms are aluminum frames, and inset into each one is rubber material on marine plywood with all sorts of marine-grade glues,” adds Zangen. After trying nearly 50 materials, recycled rubber flooring made from old tires was picked for the deck surface, with holes for drainage. The water drains into sheets of bent, flexible plastic located underneath the deck, with funnels emptying directly into the tanks. The water is then reheated and recirculated. Carrying the water is approximately 1π miles of green hose, nicknamed “Medusa” in the shop during construction.

Controlling the water is another undertaking. “There are 300 axes of motion in the stage—more than most installed Vegas Cirque shows,” Whitehouse says. “The water system alone has 230 of them.” Each fountain has numerous control parameters, including pump speed, which sets shooting distance, solenoids that open and close the system, recirculation, and velocity, among others. This level of control is time-consuming. “We had three weeks of tech to do everything,” adds Whitehouse. “There’s a lot of programming for the water. It’s only eight minutes of the show, but it’s a spectacular eight minutes.”

The water elements, flying, and stage lifts are controlled from one FTSI automation systemlocated at front-of-house. Evacuation of the system is surprisingly fast, taking only 30 minutes for the entire system using a dedicated evacuation unit with fire hoses. “The stage on its own weighs 60,000lbs when full of water,” says Whitehouse. “So it’s not a small hunk of machinery.” Huge as it is, the entire stage load-in takes approximately eight hours, plus four for rigging, and it loads out in only three.

Given the potential complications of touring water, the crew supported the idea, and venues actually welcomed it, knowing the precautions. “No one’s ever toured this much water and this type of system,” explains Zangen. “At certain points, we’ve had tanker trucks show up with water to speed up the process, but other times, we just used the venue’s water supplies.” Still, there were some skeptics, according to Anderson. “The idea of taking water on the road was one everyone advised us against, which is, of course, why we did it and proved them all wrong,” he says.

New police plea after fire station raid

A FRESH appeal has today been made by police investigating the theft of valuable rescue equipment from a South Devon fire station.

Police are asking eagle-eyed residents to look out for special markings on a dual hose reel, a hydraulic pump and a set of spreaders taken from a Moretonhampstead fire engine between May 19 and 21.

The life-saving equipment, now valued at around £11,500 was taken from storage compartments on the outside of the appliance parked outside the station in Station Road.

PC Sarah Evans said: "These items can be identified with the number 271 written on yellow bands.

"The three items are quite heavy although a single person could lift them.

"It is more likely that two people would have removed them."

She made a direct appeal to residents.

She said: "Could you please check the ground surrounding your properties in case these vital items have been dumped nearby."

The raid on Moretonhampstead Fire Station was one of two.

Chagford's station was also hit by the thieves on Saturday, May 21.

Unusually, the appliances were outside the buildings as both are being refurbished.

Side compartments of the two vehicles were opened.

A range of road crash cutting and spreading gear was taken.

A pump and two hydraulic hoses were also taken by the thieves.

Speaking after the incident Gary Brown, crew manager at Moretonhampstead, said he was appalled by the crime.

He said: "This equipment saves lives — and the consequences don't bear thinking about."

"Those responsible can't have a conscience."

Fortunately the thefts were noticed by fire crews before they were sent to any incidents on 999 calls.

The fire service has said the consequences of the thefts could have been more serious if the thefts had not been detected earlier.

One theory is the equipment may have been stolen for criminal use.

Information can be passed to police by ringing 08452 77744 or the confidential Crimestoppers service on 0800 555111.