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June 1, 2014
FDNY members and Firefighters from all around the country constantly repeat similar tasks during a regular work tour. Firefighters tend to run into the same problems during training and when they find something that works, they stick with it. There are certain items a ladder company […]
June 1, 2014
It is very rare that predictions made from engineering research are so clearly demonstrated in the real world. But that is exactly what happened on February 19, 2014, when the bowstring roof structure collapsed at a CVS drugstore at 694 Burke Avenue in the Bronx. A […]
June 1, 2014
Editor’s Note: This two-part article will focus on mill construction features and fire protection in the first part. Construction features Mill, also called “heavy timber” and “slow burning” constructed buildings, generally are built as isolated structures to reduce the hazard of fire spreading from one building […]
June 1, 2014
On July 22, 2013, Manhattan Box 1584 was received via a verbal alarm at the quarters of Engine 80/Ladder 23. The fire building is on 139th Street, across the street and several buildings down from the firehouse. Engine 80 promptly transmitted a 10-75 for a fire […]
June 1, 2014
A fire in a building’s cockloft is a game-changing development and, provided the necessary actions are not executed within a few crucial minutes, could mean the eventual loss of an entire building. What may seem like a routine and easily controllable, one-room fire on the top […]
June 1, 2014
At 0616 hours on May 2, 2013, Engine 63 was assigned to Box 3677 for a reported non-structural fire in the rear yard of 685 225th Street in the Bronx. While responding, Engine 63 was informed that the Box was being filled out for a second […]
June 1, 2014
Editors Note: This is a siebar to an article on the Metro North train derailment. See feature article. Upon arrival at the Spuyten Duyvil train derailment, the scope of the incident appeared that numerous technical rescues would be needed for extrication. However, gathering situational awareness and […]
June 1, 2014
On December 1, 2013, at 0719 hours, a southbound Metro-North passenger train out of Poughkeepsie, New York, en route to Grand Central Terminal, derailed just north of the Spuyten Duyvil Railroad Station in the Bronx. The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) reported the train’s estimated speed […]
March 31, 2014
FDNY carries a variety of gasoline-powered equipment that is required to be operational at a moment’s notice. Condition of both tools and fuel–especially ethanol-blended fuel–is extremely important. The operational readiness and serviceability of FDNY’s equipment are the subject of this article. The Clean Air Act Amendment […]
March 31, 2014
Building inspection is a critical core competency of FDNY field units. Inspections are carried out for two primary reasons: safety of the public and safety of Firefighters. Safety of the public is enhanced when field units identity hazards that endanger occupants of a building. Such hazards […]
March 1, 2016
In August 2014, months before FDNY successfully transported its first Ebola patient, it was my responsibility as FDNY’s Chief Medical Officer and Special Advisor to the Fire Commissioner on Health Policy, to provide the Department with advice on what was needed to safely respond to, stabilize […]