FDNY Editor

March 31, 2013

The Personal Safety System (PSS)

Mayday! Mayday! Mayday! Firefighters on the roof! You need to send a rope over the side! Mayday! Mayday! Mayday! A whole company just jumped!    January 23, 2005, known as “Black Sunday” for the FDNY, was a day of horrific injury and tragic loss. The sacrifices of the dead and injured resulted in the development and […]

March 31, 2013

The Role of the Counseling Service Unit (CSU)

The Role of the Counseling Service Unit (CSU) by Captain Frank Leto, Deputy Director of CSU The mission of the CSU is to assist FDNY members and their families reach their optimal level of mental health through assessment, intervention, treatment planning, treatment, referral and follow-up. The staff of the CSU works in concert with the […]

March 31, 2013

Warning Signs of PTSD — Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder

The United States has been at war for more than a decade and our society has grown desensitized to the global war on terror. This conflict of attrition has challenged the country’s fighting men and woman of the armed services, affecting their families as well. The majority of citizens has limited or no direct contact […]

March 31, 2013

The Importance of BISP — Building Inspection Safety Program

What is commonly known as fire prevention really consists of two distinct and separate functions. The first part is the actual prevention of fire from starting. The second part is loosely known as fire protection. All fires cannot be prevented, but much can be done to limit the spread of fire horizontally or vertically or […]

March 31, 2013

Microturbines and the Fire Service

Microturbines are a relatively new technology used for stationary energy-generation applications. They are small-scale electricity generators that burn gaseous (natural and bio-gas) and liquid (gasoline, kerosene and diesel) fuels. Their electrical outputs, in general, range from 25-500 kW, while conventional gas turbine sizes range from 500 kW to 250 megawatts (MW). Low output microturbines are […]

March 31, 2013

The Pak-Tracker, an Electronic Locator System

The Pak-Tracker, one component of FDNY’s Fireground Accountability Program, can be used to locate a signal coming from any member’s self-contained breathing apparatus (SCBA), whose PASS device is in full alarm mode. The Pak-Tracker then will emit an audible alarm when the signal is received and display the identity (unit and assignment) of the member’s […]

March 31, 2013

Engine Companies that Will Double as Communications Units

In the early 1980s, the Department designated engine companies around the City as field communications satellite units. The purpose of these units was to augment the operations of the Field Communications Unit. Although the concept was a good one, it eventually failed because training was not maintained and the program was rendered ineffective. Since 2001, […]

March 31, 2013

The Personal Safety System (PSS)

Mayday! Mayday! Mayday! Firefighters on the roof! You need to send a rope over the side! Mayday! Mayday! Mayday! A whole company just jumped!    January 23, 2005, known as “Black Sunday” for the FDNY, was a day of horrific injury and tragic loss. The sacrifices of the dead and injured resulted in the development and […]

March 31, 2013

The Role of the Counseling Service Unit (CSU)

The Role of the Counseling Service Unit (CSU) by Captain Frank Leto, Deputy Director of CSU The mission of the CSU is to assist FDNY members and their families reach their optimal level of mental health through assessment, intervention, treatment planning, treatment, referral and follow-up. The staff of the CSU works in concert with the […]

March 31, 2013

Warning Signs of PTSD — Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder

The United States has been at war for more than a decade and our society has grown desensitized to the global war on terror. This conflict of attrition has challenged the country’s fighting men and woman of the armed services, affecting their families as well. The majority of citizens has limited or no direct contact […]

March 31, 2013

The Importance of BISP — Building Inspection Safety Program

What is commonly known as fire prevention really consists of two distinct and separate functions. The first part is the actual prevention of fire from starting. The second part is loosely known as fire protection. All fires cannot be prevented, but much can be done to limit the spread of fire horizontally or vertically or […]

March 31, 2013

Microturbines and the Fire Service

Microturbines are a relatively new technology used for stationary energy-generation applications. They are small-scale electricity generators that burn gaseous (natural and bio-gas) and liquid (gasoline, kerosene and diesel) fuels. Their electrical outputs, in general, range from 25-500 kW, while conventional gas turbine sizes range from 500 kW to 250 megawatts (MW). Low output microturbines are […]

March 31, 2013

The Pak-Tracker, an Electronic Locator System

The Pak-Tracker, one component of FDNY’s Fireground Accountability Program, can be used to locate a signal coming from any member’s self-contained breathing apparatus (SCBA), whose PASS device is in full alarm mode. The Pak-Tracker then will emit an audible alarm when the signal is received and display the identity (unit and assignment) of the member’s […]

March 31, 2013

Engine Companies that Will Double as Communications Units

In the early 1980s, the Department designated engine companies around the City as field communications satellite units. The purpose of these units was to augment the operations of the Field Communications Unit. Although the concept was a good one, it eventually failed because training was not maintained and the program was rendered ineffective. Since 2001, […]