Burning Questions.
A number of questions usually get asked which maybe need a bit of clarification and below is the start of Q and A for the Fire Brigade.
If you would like to have a question answered I will try to do my best and post the answer below.
Question:
I have heared that the 8 points of a UK Fire Brigade badge has some meaning.
What is it?
Answer:
The fireman
The fireman must be physically fit, for work at a fire will almost always involve
considerable physical exertion. He must be courageous and yet be calm, for on
these qualities will depend his reactions in an emergency. He must be patient,
for often he will need patience when dealing with persons whose property is
involved or threatened by fire and who are in a state of considerable mental
distress. He must have initiative and must possess the will to keep going for
long periods under adverse conditions. He must cultivate his powers of observation
to the utmost and must also possess an enquiring mind. He must have a keen sense
of discipline, for unless he himself is able to obey orders without question
he cannot expect others to carry out his orders. Finally, he must never forget
that as a member of a local authority fire brigade he is a servant of the public,
and that it is to him that the public turns in an emergency. His duty may be
summed up as, firstly to save live, secondly, to prevent the destruction of
property by fire and, thirdly, to render humanitarian services.
The fireman who wished to progress in his profession should study every outbreak
which he has the good fortune to attend and endeavour to learn something from
it. Thus, after a few years, he will have built up a store of practical knowledge
which will equip him to deal with most of the problems which come his way.
(Manual of Firemanship)
- Physical
- courageous
- patient
- initiative
- tenacity
- observation
- enquiring mind
- discipline
Question:
I have seen fire engines rush through the traffic with thier flashing lights and horns going and then turn them off when they have passed all the traffic. whats going on?
Answer:
The Fire Service has radio equipment on all appliances (Fire Engines) and in some Brigades a radio message may come back from an appliance at the fire to tell any other appliances that are going to the same fire to proceed at normal road speed. This may be because the fire can be safely dealt with by the appliances at the fire already or it may be a malicious call, in either case all on comming appliances can safely proceed.
Question:
I have heard that firemen sit around all day waiting for a call and playing snooker. is this true?
Answer:
In a word NO. The Fire Service has a very full day with operational fire fighters undertaking a duty system of:
2 days on at 9 hours per day.
2 nights on at 15 hours per night.
4 days rota.
During the day & night shift a heavy programme of Training, Fire Safety Inspections and Equipment Maintenance takes place. All this has to take second place to Fire Calls of course, that are received and acted upon. Check out the pages for Whole Time & Part Time Recruitment on this server.
Question:
Do Fire Brigades charge for putting out fires?
Answer:
NO. There is a duty by law to provide a Fire Brigade and Extinguish fires and to give general fire safety advice. However a number of Brigades do make a charge for what are termed "Special Services" these are other call outs that may include pumping out swimming pools or other non emergency call outs. Each Brigade has its own costings and circumstances, for further information contact the Brigade concerned.
Question:
Could you possibly highlight the diffrences between the following type of appliance.
- Pump
- Pump Escape
- Water Tender (WrT)
- Water Ladder (WrL)
Are these classifiacations the same for all brigades or could one brigades Pump
be another brigades Pump Escape ?
Answer:
What is a PUMP
- The Britsh Fire Service have a specification that is laid down by the Home
office. In short it states that a Dual purpose appliance, as pumps are called,
must have the following:
- A self propelled appliance having a built in pump with a minimum capacity of
2270 l/min. It can also carry a 9m or a 10.5m extension ladder and hosereel
equipment with a water tank capacity of not less than 364 litres.
- The abbreviation for this appliance is P.
- If the appliance was carrying a ladder than was 13.5 m or more. the Abbreviation would be PL.
- If the appliance was carrying an wheeled escape ladder the abbreviation would be PE
The specification by the Home Office goes to 16 pages and covers all aspects of the vehicle.
What is a Watertender
- The Britsh Fire Service have a specification that is laid down by the Home
Office. In short it states that a watertender B type must have the following:
- A self propelled appliance having a built in pump with a minimum capacity of
2270 l/min. It can also carry a 10.5m extension ladder and hosereel
equipment with a water tank capacity of not less than 1820 litres or more than
2270 litres.
- The abbreviation for this appliance is WrT.
- If the appliance was carrying a ladder than was 13.5 m or more. the
Abbreviation would be WrL.
- If the appliance was carrying an wheeled escape ladder the abbreviation
would be WrE
The specification by the Home Office goes to 14 pages and covers all aspects of the vehicle.
Question:
Why are windows broken or holes cut in the roof?
Answer:
As a fire burns, it moves upward then outward. Breaking the windows and /or cutting holes in the roof (called ventilation) stops that damaging outward movement and enables fire fighters to the fire more efficiently, resulting in less damage to the structure in the long run.
Question:
Why are holes cut in walls and floors?
Answer:
This is done so that the Fire Brigade is absolutely sure that the fire is completely out, and that there is no fire inside the walls or other hidden places.
Question:
Is it possible to obtain a copy of the fire report?
Answer:
Reports can be requested in writing. Send your request to your Local Fire Brigade
Headquarters check out the list for yours.
Question:
Does the fire brigade refill fire extinguishers?
Answer:
No. For refilling fire extinguishers, check the yellow pages under Fire Extinguishers.
Question:
Does the fire brigade do chimney inspections?
Answer:
No. For chimney inspections, check the yellow pages under Chimney Cleaning.
Question:
Will the fire brigade remove stranded cats from trees/telephone poles/off roofs?
Answer:
No. Only on the request of the RSPCA, try opening a can of tuna and waiting for the cat to get down on its own.
Question:
How can I dispose of expired Marine Flares?
Answer:
Signal flares should be replaced when they meet their expiry date. To
dispose of ,contact your nearest Coastguard station and they will
normally be pleased to accept them and dispose of them. DO NOT discard
any other way, they can seriously burn or mame if used incorrectly.
Question:
How can I schedule a fire engine or a firefighter at my function?
Answer:
Call the Local Fire Brigade Headquarters (Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. - 5 p.m. ) for the phone number of your nearest Fire Station
And remember to give plenty of notice before the event
Question:
How do I become a firefighter?
Answer:
See employment details
Question:
Is it illegal to have a fire and not call the fire service? Example is a
row of old cottages that the owner decides to burn down as he no longer requires
them. I realise our powers of entry in section 30 FSA & even if they said it
was controlled burning they would have to satisfy that it indeed was controllable.
What about a place of work??
Answer:
This is not a difinitive legal answer but in general the answer is it is legal
for a person to burn his/her own property, as long as he/she does not endanger
life (including his/her own), surrounding property or break one of the many laws
of pollution and environmental safety. If a call was made to the Fire Brigade
from an onlooker the Officer in Charge of the fist appliance would have to make
these decisions if the owner was present and said that he did not want to have
the fire put out.
