Put the Wet Stuff on the Red Stuff

Kevin sits down with Keith Larson of Fireboy to discuss unique fire suppression systems. They talk about the common challenges of fire suppression systems in rooms. Fireboy’s new MAE is pre-engineered to make setting the system up simple and easy. As technology advances protecting server rooms from a fire has become a higher priority for companies. Fireboy has developed a safe and effective tool to suppress fires in server rooms.

 Knowledge is power, and a lack of knowledge can lead to disaster. Firefighters exercise to keep in shape and be sharp on the job. Unfortunately, it’s not uncommon for firefighters to have deficits in their training. A great deal of these deficits come in the more technical aspects of operating the engine and fire hose. First-In Last-Out trains firefighters to overcome these technical shortfalls. 

An issue First-In Last-Out frequently runs into is fire departments not having a system. The moment an engine arrives on the scene, water needs to be put on the fire inside of 90 seconds. Without a system, a fire department will have a difficult time making that mark. Having no system is one problem, but having a mixture of techniques can create significant problems. By implementing a single system, every firefighter will know their role and what’s demanded of them upon arriving at a fire. 

Another problem they see in the fire industry is a training bias. Firefighters will train in areas they feel most comfortable and avoid training skills they don’t feel comfortable. Unfortunately, this creates a bias for a certain type of training and a deficit in skillsets. Firefighters who let training bias take over will find themselves unprepared when something unexpected happens at a fire. 

Firefighters should never stop training because it’s not just one person’s life on the line it’s an entire team. If you want to learn more about First-In Last-Out visit their website

Rural fire departments often do not have the proper funding to afford the tools and equipment needed to fight fires. Fire departments rely on their own personnel to refurbish and recycle old equipment. Brothers Helping Brothers hopes to lend a hand to these struggling departments. Brothers Helping Brothers is an organization that raises funds to helps rural fire departments purchase the tools and equipment they need. 

One trait that all firefighters share is the passion to help people. Art Springer was a volunteer firefighter who embodied this trait. Whenever his department didn’t have the tools or gear to fight fires safely, he’d go out and purchase them himself. What he couldn’t purchase he refurbished. Unfortunately, Art’s life was cut short after battling the H1N1 virus, but his passion inspired his firefighting brothers. Brothers Helping Brothers was started to help raise money for Art’s medical expenses, but after Art passed, they continued to help their firefighting brothers to honor Art’s memory. 

The cost of fire gear isn’t cheap. Each year more equipment used by rural fire departments becomes obsolete or broken beyond repair. If you want to help these departments consider donating to brothers helping brothers here: https://www.brothershelpingbrothers.org/donate/

You can the Brothers Helping Brothers website here: www.brothershelpingbrothers.org

 Kevin sits down with Samuel Goldberg, the producer of the film Silo, Dennis Hildebrandt VP of Turtle Plastics and Liz Demetriou President of Turtle Plastics. They discuss the prevalence of silos within the farming culture, silo accidents, training, and what can be done to reduce these disasters.

Silo is a film about the danger of grain entrapment. Grain entrapment occurs when a person standing on a pile of grain becomes submerged. Most often grain entrapment occurs in silos. The grain in these silos can sometimes clump up and create a structure that supports the grain above it. When the grain is drained the clumpy structure becomes a bridge at the top of the silo, leaving an empty space in the core. When a worker disrupts this structure, it collapses. This sudden change can pull a person down surrounding them by grain.

It might not seem like much but being submerged in grain is incredibly dangerous. The weight and impact of the grain can be lethal. If a person survives the initial impact, they will immediately begin to suffocate. Most workplace accidents in the U.S have been on a decline except for grain-entrapments, which had an annual high as recently at 2010. Alarmingly most grain-entrapment deaths are by minors.

Most silos are found on farms in rural areas, which makes it difficult for experienced rescuers to arrive on time. When rescuers arrive, they need to be cautious about making the situation worse. Agitating the grains could cause the trapped person to sink further down. A person that is only partly submerged is still at risk of spinal injury from being pulled out.

The best way to lower the danger of grain entrapment is to prevent it from ever happening. Grain typically clumps up when it is spoiled, simply reducing spoilage will decrease the chance of grain entrapment. The other strategy is to create stricter policies when workers break up these clumps and requiring the rescue equipment to be nearby.

To find out more about Silo visit https://silothefilm.com.

Lou sits down with Mike, Robotics Business Development Manager, at Darley. They discuss the history of drones in the first responder industry, how Darley got started in the robotics industry, and how drones are benefiting the first responder industry.

Drones have been around in one shape or another since the Wright Brothers first flight. In the early '80s drones became a much more common tool used by militaries. Surprisingly recreational drone use has only recently taken off. Many municipalities saw commercial drones has an expensive toy. Initially, the public safety industry viewed drones as a novelty, and a device with a very narrow use, unlikely to be worth its cost. But as the cost of drones has fallen and their versatility has increased, drones are being adopted by municipalities at an exponential rate.

Darley was one of the first companies serving the public safety market to begin offering drones. Darley entered the market by building drones. However, after some deliberation, Darley decided to partner with drone manufacturers. Today, Darley offers drones from a variety of manufacturers and assists departments in getting their drone program up and running. 

Drone deployments have gone up as drone costs dropped. Drones are being deployed in search and rescue operations, wildland operations, event management, and fire situational awareness processes. Search and rescue operations drones are used to cover ground quickly and access locations that are difficult to reach. Firefighters have been deploying drones to wildland fires to help them monitor the fires heading and locate areas surrounding the fire that is heating up. First responders are more and more first being used in crowd control scenarios. Drones are used as eyes in the sky to help first responders react quickly to problems. Finally, fire chiefs are using drones to review their deployment of personnel and equipment after a fire scene has been cleared. 

Drones more than ever are being used to aid first responders in keeping people safe. If your department wants to set up a drone program contact Mike Mocerino or visit Darley.com/robotics to learn more.

Lou sits down with District Chief Michael Mitchell to discuss NIPSTA, young firefighters, and learning from mistakes.

Mike Mitchell is a District Chief who works as a boots-on-the-ground instructor at NIPSTA. NIPSTA is a public safety training academy, that develops and provides high-quality educational programs for the training requirements of fire, police, EMS, public works, hazardous material, and disaster response personnel. 

One trend Mike’s noticed is firefighters coming into the field today have less experience with basic tools. In the past, many firefighters would work a trade job and have some experience using basic tools which translated to better equipment use. This trend puts pressure on academy’s like NIPSTA to put more emphasis on tool training than in the past.

Mike believes every call can be a learning experience. On a recent call, his department had to adapt to a small staging area and limited information. Despite being successful Mike notes a variety of areas they could improve including communication and organizing in a less than ideal staging area.

You can learn more about NIPSTA here.

If you want Lou to discuss a specific topic on the show, contact Lou. You can email him at [email protected].

  Marco “Budda” Ordaz was a firefighter/medic for the North Aurora, Illinois Fire Protection District. Marco was diagnosed with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia (ALL), on February 6, 2006, he was 26. After two years battling the disease he lost his life on January 25, 2008. The Budda Brotherhood Foundation was formed in his memory.

During Marco’s battle with the disease, he and his wife Tricia were met with the high cost of medical and travel expenses. Fortunately, firefighters are always there for each other. The North Aurora Fire District and their friends rallied around Marco and his fight. Overwhelmed by their brotherhood, Marco had a vision for a foundation that would rally around firefighters stricken with cancer. Tragically Marco was unable to fulfill his vision, but his wife, Tricia, developed the Foundation in his memory.

Today Budda’s Brotherhood Foundation rallies around firefighters battling cancer. If you are interested in the Budda Brotherhood Foundation visit: https://www.buddabrotherhood.org

Introducing Lou Vicelli, the host of W.S. Darley's new podcast Put the Wet Stuff on the Red Stuff.

Learn about Lou and how he became interested in firefighting, and how he got roped into hosting a podcast.

Do you have a topic you want to have discussed? Or If you have questions for Lou? Email [email protected]

 Kevin sits down with Chief Martinez of the Corrales fire department, to discuss the hydrant booster systems they have purchased and their experience with them.

Firefighting in a rural area is far different than firefighting in an urban environment. First, a small towns water distribution system isn’t as powerful. Which in turn reduces the number of hydrants and the water pressure at these hydrants. The lack of water pressure puts stress on firefighters who manage the tankers. The Hydrant booster is a system that increases pressure in the water distribution system, saving firefighters time when filling tankers and increasing access to hydrants.

The Hydrant Booster is a stationary pump that pumps up to 3,000 gpm at 250 psi. The booster also receives the equivalent ISO reduction as a Class A pumper. The Corrales fire department, for example, installed three hydrant boosters and saw their community ISO rating drop from Class 7 to a Class 4 rating.

The Hydrant Booster provides a boost to a water distribution systems pressure and lowers the communities ISO rating. Rural communities have enough challenges don’t they deserve a solution just for them.