Fire Protection

The key element for fire protection, emergency medical and rescue services is people. In order for these complex services to function properly people must be part of the equation. Over the past 25 years the population in the United States, let alone the entire world, has grown tremendously. As the number of people grow in this country so does the potential of more fires and hazards. During the period of growth the fire service used engineering, education and code enforcement to moderate the frequency and severity of fires and fire loses, and all other services required by the fire service.

Engineering in the fire service plays a very key role in today's growing population. Engineering programs can play vital part in prevention of fires because its gives the department a chance to review the development plans with in eye to fire and life safety issues. But, a fire marshal or inspector just cannot

change the development plans, their review requires coordinating the fire code with building, planning, transportation and environmental codes. They also require specific legal issues that a fire department,when it is involved in he process, must be pre paired to deal with.

"It is important for plan reviewers to decision makers (elected officials, city and county managers, and fire chiefs) to understand that buildings are approved and constructed for certain uses and that no one set of construction requirements will suit all types of use or occupancy. For example, the construction requirements for a public assembly occupancy usually include more exits than do the requirements for a warehouse structure of the same square footage .1" The reason being is the difference in of people per square foot is far greater in structure where the public will assemble than in a warehouse, and all those people must be able to exit quickly in the event of a fire or any other hazard.

Emergency exciting is very important but their are also about five thousands other things that play into this subject of construction and development plans. Fire departments in connection with new construction include fire department access, water supply for firefighting, and fixed fire protection features such as water sprinklers. Access is important so that emergency vehicles can respond and position themselves effectively during an emergency. Water supply is very important, of course for handling the fire. Examples include such things suck as the number and placement of fire hydrants. This is why it is very important and critical to have specialist and technical experts in the plan review arena.

Education and training is also another important issue with the growing of population. With the population growing (more then some areas) hazards become new or more frequent which might mean a department has to hire on or train a HAZMAT team, which in hand is going to cost more money and more staffing. Training centers that teach specialty topics additional physical facilities. For instance say an airport was built in a new outskirt outside the city of Indianapolis. That fire department will more then likely need a flammable liquid prop large enough to meet the size requirements set by the agency that regulates aviation fire protection. Certain centers that teach HAZMAT technicians, rescue technicians and so forth will need the props specific to those classes. Some of these props may be very large and expensive, whereas others can be constructed at very low cost, from what I've read.

Another major concern I'll touch on is those who chose to develop and operate fire emergency response training centers is the environmental impact of the center. Strict regulations apply to these centers, especially to the ones that use flammable liquids. Certain pollution's must also be considered, that's why its important to having an environmental agency at every step of the way.

My final principle that I'll touch on is the enforcement of fire codes and developing them.