Instinct

Several months ago, I recall, a dispute erupted in city council. New Albany's fire chief Toran presented to council a revised method for selecting firefighter candidates. It seems that the supervisory staff of the fire department felt that the current plan gave too much weight to written test scores and wanted more flexibility in ranking candidates.

During the course of the discussion, which in the end yielded no change to the process, CM Larry Kochert opined that fighting fires was a far less dangerous occupation than it once was. Frankly, I forget which side Mr. Kochert was taking, although I remember he felt that we needed more EMT-qualified firefighters.

I remember feeling a quiver of disquiet as Mr. Kochert pointed out that firefighting is far less dangerous today, considering that building codes were more stringent and that fewer homes used open fires, wood-burning stoves, etc.

Something about his statement seemed to me to be wrong, but I couldn't quite put my finger on it.

Last evening, I ran across an article in Wired magazine that points out the following:

Over the last three decades, building materials have changed dramatically. Plumbing, flooring, siding, roofing - most are now made from synthetics. The same goes for the stuff inside the building, like foam rubber seat cushions, plastic computer cases, and nylon carpet fibers. As a result, today's blazes produce two to three times as much energy as a typical fire did in 1980, and most of that energy emerges as flammable gases. Those gases don't escape from newer buildings, which are well insulated and tightly sealed. Fires now project their energy much farther from their cores, making them more dangerous and more difficult to extinguish. (emphasis added)

Much after the fact, this is at least some evidence that supports that uneasy feeling I had this winter when CM Kochert offered his expert opinion.

Chief Toran, have you read this article in the June issue of Wired, "The Fire Rebels?"

It pretty much leads off with this zinger from Gresham, Ore. fire battalion chief Ed Hartin: "The fire service in the United States is a 200-year-old institution unimpeded by progress."

But the information it conveys might well turn out to be the most important news the chief could absorb as he leads our city's firefighting efforts. Please check out the article here.