Interview

Interview with Battalion Chief from my Local Fire Department

To better understand how fires are handled currently, I interviewed Battalion Chief from my local fire department. The chief has served at the fire department for 15 years, and is a dedicated member of my community. He kindly answered my questions about fire safety, and showed me some of the tools used by fire fighters to evacuate individuals. (I also sat in a fire truck!)

How do fire fighters currently deal with evacuating disabled individuals?

Typically, when the fire has not yet spread to the room the individual is in, the person is advised to keep the door shut, stay in the room, open the window, and be seen and/or heard to gain attention. This applies to all individuals who may not be able to self-evacuate until fire fighters arrive. (Paraphrased)
What are proactive measures one can take to stay safe during a house fire?

Having clear exit points and a clean floor space is essential in quick escapes. It is also important to practice standard fire safety measures that can be inspected by your local fire station. These practices include having operational smoke alarms and sleeping with the door closed to contain any fires that occur. (Paraphrased)
What tools would you recommend for future development?

TIC (thermal imaging cameras) would be helpful in extremely smoke filled situations, as they can see through smoke. Although the night vision camera is helpful in moderately smoke-filled conditions as it can see despite the darkness caused by the rising smoke, in situations where the fire has progressed to a size in which nothing is visible, a TIC camera would be helpful. (Paraphrased)