SAFETY ALERT.......SAFETY ALERT......SAFETY ALERT.........SAFETY ALERT.......

On December 14, 2006, Luxfer Gas Cylinders issued an announcement regarding SCBA cylinders, provided to Scott, MSA, Survivair, and Draeger, that may not have been properly tested to meet U.S. Department of Transportation requirements. To learn if your SCBA cylinders are affected read the entire announcement by clicking HERE.

703/273-0911 • www.iafc.org <http://www.iafc.org>     

Several Cases of  Firefighters Falling Through Floors Have Been Reported Fairfax, Va., Dec. 4, 2006... The Safety,  Health and Survival Section recently became aware of a potential hazard to  firefighter safety. They asked the IAFC to share the following  notification with all members. There have been several cases of firefighters falling through floors  made of composite structural components and an even greater number of  near-miss situations. This type of construction is being investigated as a  contributing factor in a line-of-duty death. There is a proliferation of engineered floor systems in residential  occupancies across the United States. Many newer residential occupancies  incorporate lightweight, engineered wood or composite structural  components, including trusses, wooden I-beams and lightwei ght flooring  systems. In most cases, these systems are structurally sound and designed  to support the appropriate loads under normal conditions; however, they  are likely to fail very quickly under fire conditions.  These components and systems are most often found in situations where  applicable codes do not require any rated fire resistance between floor  levels. They have much less inherent fire resistance than conventional  wood joist floor systems and conventional wood decking. Remember – many  codes do not require any fire resistance in residential floors! In the several cases of firefighters falling through floors, those  floors had been exposed to fire from below for relatively short periods.  Sometimes the weakened area is relatively small and the damage is  concentrated to the area immediately above the seat of the fire.  Firefighters should pay special attention when entering above a basement  fire, where the floor could have been weakened to the point that the  weight of a firefighter could cause a localized failure, dropping the  firefighter into a burning basement. This can occur with no indication  of imminent failure from above. Extreme caution should be exercised in any situation where entry is  made above a basement fire. Conventional methods such as sounding ahead  with a tool and checking for sponginess may not provide sufficient warning  of a weakened floor. Using a thermal image camera is recommended to sweep  the floor for hot areas before entering and to help avoid areas that  appear to be hotter than the surrounding flooring. Be aware that thick  carpets or tile floors may compound the risk by making it even more  difficult to detect hot spots. In summary, members should consider the following regarding lightweight  floor systems in residential occupancies:  

• Know the local codes that require fire resistive construction and/or  limit combustible storage in unprotected basements.  
• Conduct pre-incident surveys of new housing developments to check  the types of floor system being used.  
• Use extreme caution when fighting basement fires in all occupancies,  including newer residential occupancies.
  

 Work is being done by a number of our fire service partners to  investigate this phenomenon and more information will be provided in the  future. In the meantime, go to the following websites for more  information:

• http://www.ksdk.com/news/news_article.aspx?storyid=107868   
• http://firefighterclosecalls.com/weeklydrills.php  
• http://www.rapidintervention.com/media/monthly_training_topic/february2005/  
• <http://www.rapidintervention.com/media/monthly_training_topic/february2005/> http://www.firenuggets.com/dunn2.htm  
• http://www.cdc.gov/niosh/99-146.html