Author(s): Kenneth W. Fent, PhD, CIH; Judith Eisenberg, MD, MS; Doug Evans, PhD; Deborah Sammons; Shirley Robertson; Cindy Striley, PhD; John Snawder, PhD; Charles Mueller, MS; Vance Kochenderfer; Joachim Pleil, PhD; Matthew Stiegel, PhD; Gavin P. Horn, PhD
Release date: 2013
Publisher: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
The Health Hazard Evaluation Program carried out a study at a fire service training facility to determine if airborne polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and other aromatic hydrocarbons generated during live fire training contaminate and pass through the skin of fire fighters.
What We Did ● In each of two rounds, we evaluated three controlled structure burns (one per day). Five fire fighters participated in each burn. ● We sampled PAHs, volatile organic compounds (VOCs), and particulate in air.
Publisher: Environment Protection Agency ; Occupational Safety and Health Administration ; Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives
The advisory provides lessons learned for facility owners and operators, emergency planners and first responders from recent incidents, including the explosion in West, Texas, involving AN in order to prevent similar incidents.
Author(s): Svensson Stefan ; Cedergårdh Erik ; Mårtensson Ola ; Winnberg Thomas ; Hardestam Per
Release date: 2009
Publisher: Swedish Civil Contingencies Agency
Emergency response operations are complex. The work in connection with emergency response operations must be based on the need for assistance. There are resources available which must be managed and applied expediently. Decisions must be based on solid evidence and take into account resources, damage, injury, the object and the assistance need in general.
Natural disasters related to mass movements, such as landslides, can be complex and, therefore, difficult to riskassess. These response guidelines are intended as support for the analysis of risks and decision making during the emergency response operation. The guidelines are chronologically structured but the response measures and their sequence depend on the given situation.
Author(s): ngason Haukur ; Kim Hak Kuen ; Lönnermark Anders
Release date: 2010
Publisher: SP Tecnical Research Institute of Sweden
The main purpose of this study is to develop operational procedures for fire brigades in road tunnels. Although much progress has been achieved in various fields of fire safety in tunnels, very little attention has been paid specifically to fire fighting in tunnels. This study is focused on obtaining more information concerning how effectively the fire brigade can fight road tunnel fires and what limitations and threats fire brigades may be faced with.
The report compiles the results from the METRO-project. The different parts of the project; design fires, evacuation, integrated fire control, smoke control, extraordinary strain on constructions and fire- and rescue operations are presented separately. The most complicated and expensive part of the project was the performance of the large scale fire and explosion tests in the Brunsberg tunnel.
The book is primarily intended for the training activities of the Swedish Rescue Services Agency. Chapters 1-4 include theoretical concepts of fi re ventilation, the fundamental principles for fire gases, pressure and temperature conditions in buildings. The book also describes how fire ventilation ought to be implemented in practice, which problems and opportunities can be expected when creating openings in different types of structures, and the essentials of positive pressure ventilation (chapters 5-8). In chapter 9 there is a general reasoning on tactics during fire ventilation.
The aim of this book is to help provide a deeper understanding of how fi re behaves during enclosure fi res. It focuses on understanding the processes involved in an enclosure fi re. The main purpose, however, is not to look at how to actually fi ght this type of fi re, by using smoke venting or applying a particular extinguishing medium, for instance, even though appropriate actions like these will be discussed in some sections. When discussing fi refi ghting measures, reference will be made instead to relevant manuals dealing with smoke venting and extinguishing media.
Various safety systems are presented first and then we describe how different fuels affect the work of the emergency services. We later describe the road environment, equipment, organization of the work on scene, and extrication in accordance with various flowcharts. The book concludes with a section on various measures that ought to be taken after an operation.
