Academic literature on the topic 'Fire departments, juvenile literature'

PurposeThe purpose of this research is to review literature about the performance assessment (PA) in urban fire departments (FDs) to gain state-of-the-art of the fire departments' performance assessment (FDPA) and identify its most applied methods and indicators.Design/methodology/approachA five-stage structured literature review (SLR) is conducted to review the FDPA-related studies; then, the statistical analysis is applied to reveal more information from the extracted data and design a general framework for FDPA.FindingsThe systematic literature review resulted in 336 independent variables for FDPA and finding the data envelopment analysis (DEA) as the most applied FDPA method among the mathematical and statistical models in the reviewed papers. By using analysis outcomes, a general conceptual framework for FDPA is proposed.Research limitations/implicationsThe reviewed studies were limited to assessments at the strategic level and urban fire protection services.Practical implicationsThe results of this research can support fire protection service managers, decision-makers, PA researchers and academicians to have a better understanding of FDPA and state-of-the-art in this field.Originality/valueA considerable number of studies have been done about the FDPA to provide methods to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of FDs. Although there are reviews about PA in fire service areas, to the best of our knowledge, no study has been done about FDPA.

Introduction. When determining the number and technical equipment of fire departments, regulatory documents on fire safety do not take into account natural, climatic and geographical features of the subjects of the Russian Federation in an explicit form. At the same time, there is some information in scientific literature about the influence of certain natural and climatic factors on the effectiveness of fire protection actions in extinguishing fires. The aim of this study was to determine the influence of the system of natural, climatic and geographical characteristics of the subjects of the Russian Federation on the rapid response indicators of territorial fire departments. The results obtained are recommended for further use in rationing the number and technical equipment of fire departments.Materials and Methods. A factor analysis of statistical data for 2020–2022 was carried out. The statistical data were obtained from the Federal State Information System "Federal Database "Fires", from the website of the Federal State Statistics Service of the Russian Federation and from other sources. For the analysis, the authors selected ten indicators characterizing natural, climatic and geographical features of the subjects of the Russian Federation, two indicators of the rapid response of territorial fire departments and four indicators of the fire situation.Results. Five significant factors were identified, the change of which explained the change in the observed indicators. The first factor characterized the relationship of climatic conditions with fire situation indicators. The second factor connected the indicators of the rapid response of fire departments with the terrain features of the subjects of the Russian Federation. The third factor described the relationship between fire situation indicators and rapid response indicators with population density and forest cover of the territory. Other factors did not significantly contribute to the indicators of fire situation and rapid response.Discussion and Conclusion. By means of mathematical analysis and factor modeling, the authors investigated the interdependence of natural, climatic and geographical features of the subjects of the Russian Federation, fire situation indicators and indicators of rapid response of fire departments. The most significant factors influencing these indicators were identified. They included the average air temperature, the area covered by forest, the presence of mountain ranges, and population density. These indicators should be taken into account when determining the number and technical equipment of fire departments to increase the efficiency of their functioning.

A significant amount of research has been conducted on the resource allocation in fire departments (RAFD) and literature reviews about the fire protection service (FPS), but to the best of our knowledge, no literature reviews have been conducted about the RAFD. Therefore, the purpose of this research is to review literature about allocating resources to urban fire departments (FDs) to gain state-of-the-art knowledge of RAFD and identify the most frequent methodologies and measures in the studies. A five-stage structured literature review (SLR) is undertaken to analyze the RAFD-related studies; subsequently, statistical analysis is used to disclose additional information from the retrieved data and develop a general framework for RAFD. According to the structured literature review, which yielded 417 independent variables for RAFD, integer programming (IP) and data envelopment analysis (DEA) are the most common approaches for RAFD among the mathematical and statistical models in the evaluated articles. Based on the findings, a general conceptual framework for RAFD is suggested. The findings of this study can help public and private FDs and FPS managers, decision-makers, resource allocation (RA) researchers, and academicians gain state-of-the-art knowledge of RAFD. The proposed RAFD framework can provide the FPS decision-makers with the appropriate method and variables for allocating their limited resources in a more efficient way within their FDs.

Despite the heterogeneity of juvenile firesetters, the literature lacks empirically based classification systems. Existing typologies have been descriptive, arbitrarily segregate subtypes based on univariate characteristics, and lack empirical validation. In the present investigation, cluster analysis was used to develop a classification of juvenile firesetters based on both fire-specific and general individual and environmental variables associated to firesetting severity and recidivism. Participants included 240 firesetters aged 4 to 17 and primary caretakers who were referred to The Arson Prevention Program for Children. Findings indicate that juvenile firesetters are a heterogeneous group that can be empirically separated into conventional-limited, home-instability-moderate, and multi-risk-persistent firesetters. These subtypes differ on fire-specific characteristics, individual and environmental variables, and firesetting recidivism and general outcome. The implications of this classification system for conducting fire-risk assessments and implementing prevention and treatment strategies are also discussed.

Сохранение жизни и здоровья людей, тушение пожаров на различных объектах экономики в целом и в зданиях повышенной этажности в частности — ключевые задачи пожарной охраны. Неснижающееся количество погибших на таких пожарах обострило вопрос качественного обучения личного состава подразделений пожарной охраны и обусловило актуальность данного исследования. Авторами указано на необходимость организации в процессе специального профессионального образования непрерывного, качественного, методически грамотно организованного обучения пожарных на местах для повышения эффективности деятельности личного состава подразделений пожарной охраны по тушению пожаров в зданиях повышенной этажности. С помощью методов теоретического анализа литературы и служебных документов, определяющих обучение личного состава подразделений пожарной охраны, наблюдения за учебной деятельностью пожарно-спасательных подразделений осуществлен мониторинг системы обучения личного состава подразделений пожарной охраны тушению пожаров в зданиях повышенной этажности. Представлены результаты мониторинга системы обучения личного состава подразделений пожарной охраны по тушению пожаров в зданиях повышенной этажности, определены «узкие» места, проблемные вопросы, требующие рассмотрения при проведении исследований по заданной проблематике. Рассмотрены возможности продолжения качественного профессионального обучения пожарно-спасательных подразделений на месте службы. Обозначены перспективы дальнейших исследований и работы, которые могут быть связаны с рассмотрением отдельных элементов системы обучения пожарных на местах, начиная с совершенствования педагогического мастерства руководителей (организаторов) учебного процесса и заканчивая обучением особенностям работы с новыми образцами пожарной техники, оборудования, приборов и устройств, обеспечивающих бесперебойную подачу огнетушащих веществ на высоту. The key goals of fire departments consist in preserving lives and health of people, extinguishing fires at various economic facilities and in high-rise buildings in particular. The non-declining number of deaths in such fires calls for quality training for personnel of fire departments and determines the relevance of the present research. The authors point out the need to organize, in the process of special professional education, continuous, high-quality, methodically well-organized training of firefighters on their sites to increase the efficiency of the personnel of fire departments in extinguishing fires in high-rise buildings. Using theoretical analysis of literature and normative documents prescribing training of personnel of fire departments, monitoring training activities of fire and rescue departments, a monitoring system was carried out for training personnel of fire departments to extinguish fires in high-rise buildings. We describe the results of monitoring of the training system for personnel of fire departments to extinguish fires in high-rise buildings, bottlenecks and problems that require consideration when conducting research on a certain issue. The research also discusses possibilities of continuing high-quality professional training of fire and rescue units at firefighting stations. The prospects for further research and practices are outlined. They are related to individual elements of the local firefighter training system, from improving the pedagogical skills of leaders (organizers) of the academic process training in work with new firefighting equipment, instruments and devices that provide steady supply of fire extinguishing agents to heights.

Introduction. Throughout the entire time a person uses fire in everyday life and at work, water continues to be the main extinguishing agent. Because it is the most accessible and universal resource. At the current level of technological development, it is still impossible to completely replace water with another more effective and affordable means. At the same time, with the growth of the technological level in the social and industrial spheres, the complexity of fires increases, for extinguishing which means of the appropriate level, including water, are required. The tasks of the research are to develop a universal calculation method for determining the water consumption for extinguishing each fire separately according to information from the Federal Database on Fires registered in the Russian Federation. Methods. Big Data technologies based on the methods of mathematical statistics of the Panda and NumPy software modules of the high-level programming language Python 3 are applied. Scientific significance. The documents regulating the activities of fire and rescue units currently apply a universal approach that is uniform for everyone, regardless of socio-economic, climatic and other conditions of activity. Using the example of water consumption standards for external fire extinguishing, the article offers a scientific analysis of the prerequisites for the development of a differentiated approach, taking into account existing developments in regional studies, climatology and other scientific disciplines Results and discussion. The fire registration cards contain information that allows you to determine the types and number of devices for supplying fire extinguishing agents to the fire hearth (fire nozzles). The reference literature provides tactical characteristics of fire nozzles. In addition, the physico-chemical foundations of the development and extinguishing of fires are known, namely the effect of water jets on the fire zone. Previously published scientific articles provide a sufficient number of descriptions of methods for determining water consumption for extinguishing fires. Generalization of the accumulated experience allows us to derive a calculation formula for determining water consumption by fire and rescue units for extinguishing fires. Conclusions. The analysis of the results of the effectiveness of the functioning of the fire and rescue battalion and fire and rescue units can be carried out on the basis of calculation methods. As one of the main methods, it is proposed to use the calculation of the water consumption indicator for fire extinguishing. Keywords: water consumption; operational activities; time of employment; mobile fire and rescue equipment; fire extinguishing agent supply devices; fire nozzle.

The vast majority of fire-related deaths occur in residential buildings. Until recently, the fire risk for these buildings was only considered through static risk assessments or period-based assessments applying to certain periods of the year, e.g., Christmas holidays. However, for homes with indoor wooden panelling, especially in the ceiling, a dynamic fire danger indicator can be predicted for cold climate regions. Recognising the effect of fuel moisture content (FMC) of indoor wooden panelling on the enclosure fire development allows for the prediction of a wooden home fire danger indicator. In the present study, dry wood fire dynamics are analysed and experimental observations are reported to support in-home wooden panel FMC as a suitable wooden home fire danger indicator. Then, from previous work, the main equation for modelling in-home FMC is considered and a generic enclosure for FMC modelling is justified based on literature data and supported through a sensitivity study for Norwegian wooden homes. Further, ten years of weather data for three selected locations in Norway, i.e., a coastal town, an inland fjord town and a mountain town, were analysed using a three-dimensional risk matrix to assess the usability of the fire risk modelling results. Finally, a cold climate wooden home fire danger index was introduced to demonstrate how the risk concept can be communicated in an intuitive way using similar gradings as the existing national forest fire index. Based on the generic enclosure, the findings support FMC as a fire risk indicator for homes with interior wooden panelling (walls and ceiling). Large differences in the number of days with arid in-home conditions were identified for the selected towns. The number of days with combined strong wind and dry wooden homes appears to depend more on the number of days with strong wind than days of in-home drought. Thus, the coastal town was more susceptible to conflagrations than the drier inland towns. This aligns well with the most significant fire disasters in Norway since 1900. In addition, it was demonstrated that the number of high-risk periods is manageable and can be addressed by local fire departments through proactive measures. In turn, the fire risk modelling and associated index respond well to the recent changes in Norwegian regulations, requiring the fire departments to have systems for detecting increased risk levels. Testing the modelling for a severe winter fire in the USA indicates that the presented approach may be of value elsewhere as well.

The subject of the research of the scientific article is the peculiarities of the process of formation of the educational and pedagogical base in educational institutions of the fire department of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the USSR in the 60-70 years of the XX century on the territory of the Irkutsk region. A brief analysis of the transformation of structural units of educational and pedagogical orientation is given, and a list of heads of educational cycles and departments is indicated at the stage of formation and development of the Irkutsk Fire Technical School of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the USSR, as well as the Irkutsk branch of the Higher Engineering fire Technical School of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the USSR. The research methodology includes a concrete historical approach (M.V. Astakhov, I.D. Kovalchenko, V.F. Kolomiytsev, A.P. Pronstein, etc.), as well as generalization, comparison, synthesis, classification, concretization; analysis of archival documents, legislation and scientific literature; retrospective analysis; method of historical analogies. The novelty of this scientific article lies in the fact that during the scientific research, historical and pedagogical sources, archival data describing in detail the history of the formation and development of the structure of the educational and methodological base in educational institutions of the fire department of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the USSR were identified and summarized. The conducted research is of interest to a wide range of readers, since the study of educational, pedagogical, structural and organizational activities in educational institutions of the fire department of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the USSR is a very important component in the study of the formation and development of departmental education of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the USSR in the territory of the Baikal region in the XX century. The scientific article analyzes the features of the implementation of pedagogical activity at the stage of formation of educational institutions of the fire profile. Examples of professional development of educational and structural units of cycles and departments of these educational institutions are considered, indicating the academic disciplines taught. The list of heads of these structural divisions at the stage of formation and development of the Irkutsk Fire Technical School and the Irkutsk branch of the Higher Engineering fire Technical School of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the USSR is considered.

Firefighters are intermittently exposed to complex, mixed pollutants in random settings. Of those pollutants, PAHs (polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons) are the most commonly studied and best understood. PAH exposure can occur via multiple routes; therefore, the levels of hydroxylated metabolites of PAHs in urine have been used as a biomonitoring tool for risk assessment. We performed a systematic review and meta-analysis of the literature to estimate the levels of urinary hydroxylated PAH (OHPAH) among firefighters, determine risk attributions, and, finally, evaluate the scope of preventive efforts and their utility as diagnostic tools. The meta-regression confirmed increases in OHPAH concentrations after fire activities by up to 1.71-times (p-values: <0.0001). Samples collected at a time point of 2–4 h after a fire suppression showed a consistent, statistically significant pattern as compared with baseline samples. The National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) standard 1582 Standard on Comprehensive Occupational Medical Program for Fire Departments lists various health examinations, including a urinalysis for occupational chemical exposure if indicated and medical screening for cancers and cardiovascular diseases. Biomonitoring is a valuable screening tool for assessing occupational exposure and the results of this meta-analysis support their inclusion in regular health screenings for firefighters.

Operating in extreme environments is often challenging due to the lack of perceptual knowledge. During fire incidents in large buildings, the extreme levels of smoke can seriously impede a firefighter’s vision, potentially leading to severe material damage and loss of life. To increase the safety of firefighters, research is conducted in collaboration with Dutch fire departments into the usability of Unmanned Ground Vehicles to increase situational awareness in hazardous environments. This paper proposes FirebotSLAM, the first algorithm capable of coherently computing a robot’s odometry while creating a comprehensible 3D map solely using the information extracted from thermal images. The literature showed that the most challenging aspect of thermal Simultaneous Localization and Mapping (SLAM) is the extraction of robust features in thermal images. Therefore, a practical benchmark of feature extraction and description methods was performed on datasets recorded during a fire incident. The best-performing combination of extractor and descriptor is then implemented into a state-of-the-art visual SLAM algorithm. As a result, FirebotSLAM is the first thermal odometry algorithm able to perform global trajectory optimization by detecting loop closures. Finally, FirebotSLAM is the first thermal SLAM algorithm to be tested in a fiery environment to validate its applicability in an operational scenario.

This chapter discusses implementation of the techniques covered in the Guide, their intent, and some of the sources for these techniques. It addresses who the Guide is intended for. The chapter states the importance of including and training mental health practitioners in the assessment and treatment of fire-involved youth, and collaboration with key community resources such as juvenile justice services, schools, child protective services, or fire departments. It provides a series of lessons learned from clinical practice. The chapter stresses integrating the practitioner’s clinical skills and knowledge with the information in the Guide, to best suit each individual case. It concludes with some home practice techniques for clients, and a discussion of how to use this Guide.