As per the 2013 National Fire Protection Association’s report, “Patterns of Firefighter Fireground Injuries,” between 2007-2011, residential fires accounted for about eight out of ten firefighter fireground injuries. The fire dynamics encountered during modern residential fires differ greatly from traditional models. The size and configuration of the typical single-family home, new construction techniques, high heat release-rate furnishings, and energy-efficient building technologies are increasing the risk to firefighters. The cumulative effects of these changes are faster fire propagation, excessive volumes of smoke, shorter escape times, decreased time to flashover, faster structural collapse, and reduction in time available for effective fire ground operations.
Many factors contribute to the number of deaths and injuries, but a likelihood is that many firefighters may not have been aware of the advancements that could have changed these tragic outcomes. Given the success that ALIVE (Advanced Learning through Integrated Visual Environments) has shown as a tool for training and disseminating information to firefighters, NYU-Poly researchers and the fire departments from New York, Chicago, and Bloomington, with support from the Assistance to Firefighters Grant Program (AFG), collaborated with subject matter experts from the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and Underwriters Laboratories (UL) to develop an ALIVE module to provide a basic understanding of the science of modern fires.
You and your department can now take advantage of this advanced multimedia interactive training at no cost. The scientists from NYU-Poly will work with your training academies to build a customized ALIVE portal for your department.
If your fire department is interested in utilizing this scientifically tested and proven training, please contact the NYU-Poly Fire Research Group at email@example.com.
Please visit www.poly.edu/fire for more information and to access this module.