New Firefighting Techniques, Equipment, Laws, or Training That Are Being Developed or Modified

Introduction

Firefighters perform a crucial role in the functioning of a society. The primary function entrusted to this force is to protect the members of the public in emergency cases. In their jurisdiction, they are always alert for emergency calls as a result of car crashes, fires emanating from chemical spills, flooding fires, and other severe situations. In addition, the firefighting crews are trained to offer first aid skills to the affected before ambulances arrive to pick the affected individuals. Some of the roles of the fire-fighting department are promoting safety talks by providing safety training and mentoring sessions, use of sophisticated equipment in their line of duty, and regularly checking on safety standards in residential homes as well as commercial premises. Similarly, the group is equipped with the tasks of teaching the public on the use of the firefighting equipment, creating a working environment with other agencies such as the police among other many functions. The fighting agency has adopted the use of new equipment, firefighting techniques, laws, and training mechanisms that have made their role better than before. The current paper discusses these new trends in the firefighting departments that have made their functions effective.

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New Firefighting Techniques

Firefighting has since the past been progressively developing towards using new methods in their role. Traditionally, they used to pour water manually on fire flames. With the advancement in technology, the firefighters have become interested in creating more complex and efficient mechanisms to extinguish the fire. With this trend, there are three categories into which firefighters use to deal with the fire. One of them is the preemptive role where technology is used to prevent the fire before it happens. In this role, the firefighting agency checks on safety measures that various members of the public have adopted to avoid fires or to deal with it in case it erupts. For example, it determines the installation of firefighting equipment and other safety measures. The other method is the suppressive role which is used to put out the flames that have already in flames. The final technology is the survival technology that is employed when both the civilians and firefighters are trapped in dangerous situations. The technique is applied to save both parties from the severe effects of fire flames, smoke, as well as debris that may cause injuries.

Firefighting Equipment

Futuristic Firefighting Helmet

One of the new equipment in the firefighting efforts is the futuristic firefighting helmet. The device is one of the latest developments that integrate complex technologies (Engineering). To a certain extent, it resembles the usual firefighter's helmets that are used, but some modifications have been done to this equipment. For instance, this helmet is fitted with specific critical information that is projected to a lens that is instrumental in providing a bright display and illumination of a scene. In addition, it is crucial for indicating temperature details as well as the remaining amounts of carbon (IV) oxide and oxygen consecutively (Engineering). In addition, this new device is equipped with a thermal imaging camera that has proved essential in maintaining visibility even in cases where thick smoke or huge fires are dominant. The helmet works with the help of cloud computing technology to relay such critical information to the firefighters in their rescue missions. Undoubtedly, this new development in the firefighting industry has proved crucial for fire rescue missions.

Fire Extinguishing Explosives

The use of the extinguishing grenades is one of the ancient methods that have been in use for many years. Previously, there was the use of a fire grenade that was a hand-blown device in a glass bottle fitted with salty water. When used, the glass would be thrown and explode once in a blaze, and to some extent, it helped put out the fire. However, this grenade has not been dropped or disregarded, but complex modifications and improvements have been done to this device. The initial use of water in the grenade has so far been replaced with carbon (Engineering). In case of fire, the glass releases the ball fixed to it containing the fire extinguishing compounds thus putting the fire off. It is a new development that has revolutionized the firefighting traditional fire extinguishing methods.

Use of Fire Shelters and Suits

After a series of harmful effects of fires such as the Yarnell Hill in Arizona in the year 2003, there are attempts to provide safety measures for Firefighters. In this case, there is the use of space-age technology that is deemed at sheltering the Firefighters when in such critical conditions. The development of this technology would be vital in ensuring that the firefighters have advanced protection against fire effects. The development offers protection, makes it easy to communicate, and provide the mobility of the experts. It is expected that these developments will be integrated into the attire that is used by the firefighters to protect them against fires.

Laws or Training

The firefighting department has been experiencing several changes and other laws that have become mandatory for the role to be performed effectively. For instance, the Ontario new firefighters new regulations those are under the Fire Prevention and Protection Act (Scott). According to this legislation, firefighters are required to undergo training to ascertain that they have fully qualified to undertake the whole process. After the training process, the National Fire Protection Association does certification for the successful ones (Scott). All these regulations are deemed at streamlining this role and enhance professionalism among firefighters.

On the other hand, the firefighting services are handled differently in other regions. For instance, according to the New Hampshire Department of safety, there are two categories of firefighters. One of them is the volunteer category and permanent firefighters. The difference lies in the remuneration patterns where the volunteer ones are trained to provide civil services to their communities. The permanent ones are remunerated after undergoing a thorough training on firefighting techniques. To become permanently employed, one experiences an extensive training and interview process that determines the credibility of a person to join such an institution ("Becoming a Fire Fighter - Division of Fire Standards and Training & Emergency Medical Services, NH DOS"). In addition, it is mandatory that one acquire Firefighter II status within the first year of employment.

Conclusion

All in all, firefighters play a crucial role in the daily lives of the members of the public. Entirely, they are trusted with providing fire extinguishing services in case of fires or other situations that need their intervention. In this field, new developments are ranging from new techniques to adopting complex equipment that has made their work easier. Additionally, new regulations and laws have been enacted in various countries to make this role a professional one in combating fires.

Works Cited

"Becoming A Fire Fighter - Division Of Fire Standards And Training & Emergency Medical Services, NH DOS". Nh.Gov, 2018, https://www.nh.gov/safety/divisions/fstems/training/becomff.html. Accessed 24 Oct 2018.

Engineering, Interesting. "Technological Advances Take Firefighting To The Next Level". Interestingengineering.Com, 2018, https://interestingengineering.com/technological-advances-take-firefighting-next-level. Accessed 24 Oct 2018.

Scott, Lauren. "Ontario Proposes New Regulations Under The Fire Protection And Prevention Act". Fire Fighting In Canada, 2018, https://www.firefightingincanada.com/headlines/ontario-proposes-new-regulations-under-the-fire-protection-and-prevention-act-25693. Accessed 24 Oct 2018.