Columbus Fire Department (Firehouse 1)

INTERVIEW QUESTIONS: Dispatcher, Medic, and Firefighter

  • Most dangerous situations a firefighters could face?

Traffic accidents in freeways and EMS runs are dangerous.  Gas leaks are, too, as they are often unpredictable.  There are meters to detect gas leaks, but smell is key.  Vacant houses tend to have more hazards.  

  • Which areas in residential and commercial structures cause the most problems? (stairwells, etc.)

For commercial structures, forced entrance can cause problems.  The buildings are usually larger as well, which presents challenges.  This also means the situation can change continuously depending on where you are in the building.  However, most have alarm and sprinkler systems, which is a positive feature.    

For residential structures, the building materials are often lightweight, which poses a lot of problems.  Also, hoarding in homes is a big problem.   

  • Going in, search and rescue, operating hoses or other equipment, driving to the scene, etc. – which aspects of firefighting are especially dangerous?

Skipped Over

  • Which calls are you responding to most?  (vehicle accidents, kittens in trees, house fires, etc.)

About 80-85% of the time, we are responding to EMS calls.  A lot of times these are vehicle accidents.  Usually, there is at least one fire per day in Columbus, and a lot of times there are as many as five.  

  • Most useful, least useful, and most dangerous tools? Which tools do you wish you had?

Some of the most useful tools are the thermal imaging handheld device.  This can be problematic if you depend on it too much.  One thing I wish we had was a working radio.  Lots of times, the radio cuts out in shielded spaces like garages or basements.  This is a major issue, as the radio is a firefighter’s lifeline.  

There are way more tools on the firetruck than are generally used.  Needles tend to be the most dangerous for medics, and using a chainsaw on a roof is a very dangerous situation.  We do need a better lift system to put the gurney back into the ambulance.  In many large cities, they have a Stryker lift assist.  However, it’s too expensive for us.  The system runs about $10,000 a truck.  

Stryker Lift Assist Video (1.5 min)

Stryker Lift Assist Spec Sheet

 

  • Is there something that people could have in their homes that would help you do your job more safely and efficiently?

Carbon Monoxide alarms are useful.  An all-in-one detector is too expensive for the general public.  Flammable gas detectors for all ranges of dangerous gases would be very useful.  If they had an alarm, it would help detect which house the gas is coming from.  

  • Do intergenerational homes (grandparents, small children) cause greater issue for S&R?

Elderly parents in hospital beds at homes are a challenge to get down.  The current solution is a Mega-Mover, which is essentially a large tarp with handles.  Its advantage is that it is easy to move.  A lot of times there are too many people in small houses as well, which is a hazard.  In Columbus especially, the infant mortality rate is extremely high.  

  • What is currently available for fire safety for pets? (Ex. Professor’s dog burrows into back of the closet if fire alarm sounds, is there any method for searching for pets?)

The department has risked a lot in the past to go after a pet, but sometimes the risk is not worth it.  There’s no exact routine for saving a pet, so the first priority is fire fighters and people, not pets.  Usually pets are looked for during the secondary search.  There are stickers for windows that are used to alert firefighters of kids and pets.  They tell us to look for them in the case of a fire.

  • Would a survey for the department be useful? What’s the best way to distribute?

For surveys, the response rate is usually low.  We would need to talk to administration first.

  • Can you work with us all year?

The Green shift works every third day, one on, two off.  It’s hard to know who is in this fire house every day as personnel shifts often.  

 

Shadowing

The following pictures were taken while visiting Fire Station 1 of the Columbus Fire Department. Exercises with thermal imaging equipment, personal protective equipment, and ambulance patient protocol are documented below.

Through the shadowing experiences at Fire Station 1 we discovered several other potential areas of improvement. One area stuck out to us was the process of loading people into ambulances while they are laying on the gurney. The main problem was that the fire fighters had to physical lift one side of the gurney up to slide it into the ambulance. This can cause back injuries to the firefighters if people are overweight. The second area is visibility while in a house. The house is going to be filled with smoke and visibility will be basically zero so a thermal imaging device is use to help the firefighters see through the smoke to be able to efficiently  move through the building. The problem that arises with this is if the thermal imaging device dies they have zero visibility again and have no bearings on where they are in the building and how to get out. They are effectively stuck and if they move they risk injuring themselves over obstacles in the building. The final main area we identified had to do with a reoccurring themes we heard from both fire departments, safety on highways/roads while dealing with vehicle accidents and applying ems. The picture below shows the safety vest they wear while at the scene if they aren’t already in full gear. This is a “high visibility” jacket which they said does somewhat help, however they are still extremely exposed and this won’t make a difference if the driver isn’t looking in the direction of the firefighter. So increased safety for first responders while on a roadway is a large area that we feel has opportunity for improvement.

 

Date: 2/6/17

Location: Columbus Division of Fire – Station #1 (Downtown)

Attendees: Adam interviewed firefighter D. Behrens

 

Ideas presented: Basically gave presentation from class on monday (1/30) to one firefighter. This included going over the sketch prototypes and feasibility of door stops, LED vests, and safety barriers.

 

Take-aways:

Door Stops: great for a front door of a structure fire, particularly residential. Added feature that would be really cool is a light or flasher. Concern is actually space on firefighter’s body to carry additional tools, need to make product small and portable.

 

LED Vest: Current vests used are virtually required by emergency responders on scene. Current solution is reflective material, but the loose fitting/adjustable bests become hard to put on properly in a hurry. Would have to make vest easier to put on quickly. The current vests have no structure and get fabric tangled with arm holes.

 

Barriers: Solution to reduce storage space and increase visibility would be awesome and likely used. Firefighter liked each of the design concepts, including collapsible cone. Setting up caution tape is a necessity to keep unaware people out of the emergency scene. LEDs often change visibility depending on direction pointed. Cops and firefighters are very concerned about getting hit while on the roadway.

 

Added Suggestions:

Contact ‘State Farm’ guy about use of roadway barriers.

 http://www.dot.state.oh.us/Services/State-Farm-Safety-Patrol/Pages/default.aspx

Firefighters love cool product names (vindicator, mega blasters) and paint it black.