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Distribution System Requirements for Fire Protection, M31 Get specific guidance on designing, operating, and maintaining water distribution systems as they relate to fire protection and fire suppression activities and maximize fire protection benefits, while delivering safe, potable water to customers.
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Eating Smoke : Fire in Urban America, 1800–1950 During the period of America's swiftest industrialization and urban growth, fire struck fear in the hearts of city dwellers as did no other calamity. Before the Civil War, sweeping blazes destroyed more than $200 million in property in the nation's largest cities. Between 1871 and 1906, conflagrations left Chicago, Boston, Baltimore, and San Francisco in ruins. Into the twentieth century, this dynamic hazard intensified as cities grew taller and more populous, confounding those who battled it. Firefighters' death-defying feats captured the popular imagination but too often failed to provide more than symbolic protection. Hundreds of fire insurance companies went bankrupt because they could not adequately deal with the effects of even smaller blazes. Firefighters and fire insurers created a physical and cultural infrastructure whose legacy--in the form of heroic firefighters, insurance policies, building standards, and fire hydrants--lives on in the urban built environment. In Eating Smoke, Mark Tebeau shows how the changing practices of firefighters and fire insurers shaped the built landscape of American cities, the growth of municipal institutions, and the experience of urban life. Drawing on a wealth of fire department and insurance company archives, he contrasts the invention of a heroic culture of firefighters with the rational organizational strategies by fire underwriters. Recognizing the complexity of shifting urban environments and constantly experimenting with tools and tactics, firefighters fought fire ever more aggressively--"eating smoke" when they ventured deep into burning buildings or when they scaled ladders to perform harrowing rescues. In sharp contrast to the manly valor of firefighters, insurers argued that the risk was quantifiable, measurable, and predictable. Underwriters managed hazard with statistics, maps, and trade associations, and they eventually agitated for building codes and other reforms, which cities throughout the nation implemented in the twentieth century. Although they remained icons of heroism, firefighters' cultural and institutional authority slowly diminished. Americans had begun to imagine fire risk as an economic abstraction. By comparing the simple skills employed by firefighters--climbing ladders and manipulating hoses--with the mundane technologies--maps and accounting charts--of insurers, the author demonstrates that the daily routines of both groups were instrumental in making intense urban and industrial expansion a less precarious endeavor.
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Enhancing Individual and Team Performance in Fire and Emergency Services This book provides an overview of state-of-the-art research that has been conducted within Australia, funded by the Bushfire Cooperative Research Centre. The chapters source and contextualize their own research practice within the context of the international research literature. Therefore, while the research has occurred within Australia it will be of particular interest to scholars, students and practitioners in a number of other countries, particularly within the United States of America and in Europe. The fire and emergency services is a particularly large industry - in Australia alone it employs 250,000 personnel - yet there is very little by way of published human factors books addressing this sector directly. Emergency events frequently involve problems for which there may be unanticipated consequences and highly interdependent consequential effects. In short, emergency events are not necessarily as containable as may be work in other domains. As Karl Weick once commented, emergency events do not 'play by the rules'. This means that these research chapters tell us something about a potential future world of work that is highly dynamic, interdependent and for which improvisation and critical thinking and problem-solving are necessary pre-requisites. The discussions about individual and team performance will also be pertinent to others working in similar high-reliability, high-consequence domains. The chapters connect into an integrated body of work about individual and group performance and their limitations.
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Fire-Raising: Its Motivation and Management In recent years, fire-raising has become an increasing problem in Britain and elsewhere, and now involves many professionals in the investigation and management of those who set fires. The motives of fire-raisers are complex and their behaviour is hard to change. Herschel Prins sets the problem in an historical and anthropological context, examines the size of the problem, its investigation and motivation, in a way which will enable more effective management.
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Fire Debris Analysis The study of fire debris analysis is vital to the function of all fire investigations, and, as such, Fire Debris Analysis is an essential resource for fire investigators. The present methods of analysis include the use of gas chromatography and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry, techniques which are well established and used by crime laboratories throughout the world. However, despite their universality, this is the first comprehensive resource that addresses their application to fire debris analysis. Fire Debris Analysis covers topics such as the physics and chemistry of fire and liquid fuels, the interpretation of data obtained from fire debris, and the future of the subject. Its cutting-edge material and experienced author team distinguishes this book as a quality reference that should be on the shelves of all crime laboratories. Serves as a comprehensive guide to the science of fire debris analysis Presents both basic and advanced concepts in an easily readable, logical sequence Includes a full-color insert with figures that illustrate key concepts discussed in the text
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Guidelines for Determining the Probability of Ignition of a Released Flammable Mass Complemented by an estimating tool spreadsheet based on a fixed set of chemicals to assist in risk estimations, Probability of Ignition of a Released Flammable Mass converts a "best guess" to a calculated value based on available information and current technology. The text documents and explains the science and background of the technology-based approach. The tool, when populated with appropriate data, yields an estimate of the probability that a defined release of a flammable material will ignite if exposed to an ignition source. This information can be used to make risk assessments with a higher degree of confidence than estimates made before and it provides valuable information for use in the development of a facility′s Emergency Response Plan.
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Handbook of Fire and Explosion Protection Engineering Principles Handbook of Fire and Explosion Protection Engineering Principles: for Oil, Gas, Chemical and Related Facilities is a general engineering handbook that provides an overview for understanding problems of fire and explosion at oil, gas, and chemical facilities. This handbook offers information about current safety management practices and technical engineering improvements. It also provides practical knowledge about the effects of hydrocarbon fires and explosions and their prevention, mitigation principals, and methodologies. This handbook offers an overview of oil and gas facilities, and it presents insights into the philosophy of protection principles. Properties of hydrocarbons, as well as the characteristics of its releases, fires and explosions, are also provided in this handbook. The book includes chapters about fire- and explosion-resistant systems, fire- and gas-detection systems, alarm systems, and methods of fire suppression. The handbook ends with a discussion about human factors and ergonomic considerations, including human attitude, field devices, noise control, panic, and security. People involved with fire and explosion prevention, such as engineers and designers, will find this book invaluable. A unique practical guide to preventing fires and explosions at oil and gas facilities, based on the author's extensive experience in the industry An essential reference tool for engineers, designers and others facing fire protection issues Based on the latest NFPA standards and interpretations
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Hazardous Materials : Handbook for Emergency Responders Hazardous Materials Handbook for Emergency Responders breaks down the hazards and response priorities according to the nine classes of hazardous chemicals defined by the U.N. and the U.S. Department of Transportation. Designed to prepare HazMat professionals for all three levels of response, as defined by OSHA, the Handbook: Offers the most complete and current coverage of control and mitigation techniques for chemical emergencies. Provides extensive treatment of transportation and storage vessels. Helps users comply with all relevant government regulations and standards, including OSHA and NFPA training requirements.