Monthly Archives: April 2014

A parapet is the portion of an exterior wall that extends above the roof line. On commercial buildings it is not uncommon for a parapet to extend several feet above the roof to conceal ventilation equipment. Laddering the roof at the front of a commercial building can be difficult; a firefighter who climbs an aerial or ground ladder to the top of a parapet can find himself several feet above the roof. Parapets are prone to collapse because they are …

Our gasoline-powered rotary (K-12 and K950FD) saws are powerful and effective rescue, forcible entry and ventilation tools. The saw’s safety, performance and reliability depend on how well the saw is inspected at shift change and after each use, the skill of the operator and the operator’s knowledge of cutting techniques. Our saws have the potential to seriously injure an operator and firefighters working near its operation. There are three main causes of injuries from rotary saws; they are: Accidental contact …

Recently MDFR units responded to a fire in a one story commercial building. The fire building was a one story single bay warehouse with concrete block walls and a roof consisting of precast Twin-Ts. This fire presented firefighters with some life-threatening hazards; hazards that they avoided by attacking the fire with a defensive, exterior attack (Photo #1). FIRE RESISTIVE VS NONCOMBUSTIBLE There is a vast difference between fire resistive and noncombustible construction. A building classified by the building code as …