FDIC 1998 Final Report
Angeli/ Steelman
(Indianapolis, IN) - 1998's Fire Department Instructors' Conference has
ended, but the dust generated during this year's show will take months,
maybe years, to settle. What has been the most tradition-bound of the
emergency services has taken on a new attitude and as one Long Island
firefighter noted, "We're goin' kicking and screaming into the next
millenium."
This year's FDIC provided some of the strongest informational programs
in the conference's history, with firefighter health and safety taking
the forefront. The other major buzz phrase coming out of the show is
"customer service", and like the terms "incident command", "quint" and
"jaws", the concept is destined to become part of fire-rescue's daily
vocabulary.
Before your agency spends money on new equipment, you should consider
reviewing new technology that was introduced on the floor of the
Convention Center and Dome.
Of special note is Cairns new "hand-held" thermal imaging camera, which
uses next generation technology to increase resoultion and performance.
According to Cairns' Bill McCutcheon, it was introduced to compete with
other hand-held cameras in the market, and not as a replacement for the
helmet-mounted Iris.
For those of you who've been disappointed in existing piercing nozzles,
Augustus Fire Tool introduces a line of nozzles that actually really do
pierce! Speaking of nozzles, TFT displayed its new 4,000 GPM Master
Stream Automatic. Hey Messrs McMillan, how do we feed that monster? BTW,
sorry about Valpo's loss!
On the rescue side, manufacturers presented enough ropes, harnesses and
rigging to circle the globe a couple of times. And Dick Otte from
PowerHawk gets this year's master showman award for having the most
interactive booth and product display.
"Sorry, but there's next year," to the Japan-based firm who were
demonstrating their mini jaws and cutter. Show management closed them
down for not using proper eye protection in their live demos.
Maintenance personnel from the RCA Dome will be working for weeks trying
to clean the stadium's HVAC units. There was more dust kicked-up in the
apparatus venue during this single event than there's been in over 10
years.
Nearly every manufacturer has incorporated some sort of European
engineering in their vehicles, and of course, "who owns which company"
is a quiz we'll all be playing for months.
>From a personal standpoint, it was good to see LTI returned to the hands
of its founder Mahlon Zimmerman, and his son Kevin, along with a
consortium that includes Freightliner, ALF and Mercedes. There were
dozens of other allegiances being formed at the show as well, and it'll
be interesting to see the outcome of these "mergers" when the trade show
season ends at the IAFC in Louisville.
We saw lots of visitors from places other than Jackson Hole, Wyoming.
There were hundreds of fire officers and manufacturer's reps from around
the globe, who were here looking to share their technology and tactics
with our own instructors. Hopefully they'll take home some good old
American "Know-How" to share with their personnel.
Communications and information brokering is a burning hot issue this
year's FDIC. Two new magazines were introduced, and for those of you who
were fans of "Firefighters' News" Magazine, that format has been
resurrected under the moniker of "National Fire & Rescue".
The Internet is hot, and for those of us who use the web for information
and entertainment, look for dozens of new sites to be introduced during
the Spring months.
Of course what's an event like this without the social comraderie that
sets our business off from every other. For me, it was great to assign a
face and voice to those people who have been just email addresses. I had
the opportunity to share conversation (and an ocassional beverage) with
some of the movers and shakers of fire-rescue. John Buckman (IAFC
Volunteer Sector), George Burke (IAFF Headquarters) and Chief Larry Curl
(Wayne Twp. FD) just to name a few.
Special thanks to the brothers and sisters at Indianapolis Fire
Department, Greater Indy Firefighters, and Wayne Township VFD for their
hospitality, and of course a hearty congratulations to the FDIC Staff
and Fire Engineering Staff for their outstanding performance and
presentation. Great work Lila!
It's off to San Jose for the California State Fire Instructors show,
which has become a major stop on the Fire-Tour Circuit. We're also
looking foward to reporting from PA's Harrisburg Expo in May, and the
revamped New York State Chiefs show from Syracuse in June.
Submitted by:
Lou Angeli
http://www.firestation24.com
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Safe is Good!