Thursday, December 19, 2013

Yosemite Fire

The Yosemite National Park is a must go place when you're visiting California. It has beautiful scenery and amazing tours but this year there was a record breaking fire that burnt 400 square miles, with a solid 60 square miles burnt so intensely that it is a moon-like landscape. Weather News.com shows you pictures and facts about this horrible fire. Being one of the top three California fires ever recorded, this is a very serious issue for the environment and people living close by. Experts are saying it was started from a hunter's illegal fire that got out of control. A senior fire ecologist with the U.S. Forest Service, said "In other words, it's nuked" which will take years and years to heal and be back to the beautiful forest that it once was. Scientists are saying there has been a fire to cause such a charred and barren landscape since the Little Ice Age which began in 1350. T.M & I.S.


I believe that they could have prevented the fire from spreading so much and doing so much damage. Also I think that they should have had a lot more personal there than they did so that the fire wouldn't have been almost record breaking for doing the most damage. I feel that the person, who caused the fire, should have very excessive charges and should be considered to some type of community service or jail time due to the acres burned and people will not be able to look at for a while till it grows. Furthermore, I think that the Yosemite Park itself will lose a lot money because people don't want to look at burnt forest and it shouldn't be the parks fault, it should be the hunter's fault. Another issue is that there are numerous people without their homes because they got burnt down because of the fire, without food, clothes, and water.  T.M.

I also believe that there shouldn't be any hunters in a national park that could be any danger to the parks wildlife or tourists visiting. It's a national park, it’s meant to preserve wildlife and save it for future generations, why did they allow a hunter to be there with the ability to start a fire. Although there camping grounds in the park, you shouldn't allow people with the intent to go out and camp without anyone knowing and letting a fire get that out of hand. The fire as of writing this now gone but the after affects are still present by scaring the land and leaving trees charred. Where the fire was more intense, all vegetation is gone and animals have ran away to avoid smoke and flames. There is hope though, after four weeks from the fire, life is returning to the park, with hundreds of ferns sprouting up to show rebirth of the forests. I hope that Yosemite can one day stop fires there completely, along with the other national parks around the world. These places are beautiful and getting smaller and smaller as time goes by, they're getting less and less funds from the government. Just recently when the government shut down, every park got closed, which affected jobs and money flow from tourists and gas prices going up. The reason why it's burned so intense was from fire prevention itself. Not allowing fires to burn like they would on their own made vast quantities of fuel for it when it got out of hand for the hunter. The Yosemite fire was very destructive but with this fire burning years of dry brush and under foliage, it is unlikely we will see a fire this bad for years to come. I.S.

Wednesday, December 18, 2013

My Opinion on Firefighter's Pay



I personally think that firefighters are under paid. My reason that I think they are under paid is because of their job title. Also the have to go in to 1000 degree burning buildings and save lives every day. Another reason is that when there are traffic collisions on busy streets or high ways the take the risk of getting hit by someone who is not paying attention. When firefighters risk there life for us as citizens they're our everyday heroes without firefighters the people will not have a chance to save their house or if they get hurt in a car accident. Also I think that Cal Fire is over paid for many reasons. One reason is that they get a raise in pay if they go out on fires but if they are sitting at the station doing absolutely nothing there over paid. Also I feel that city firefighters are underpaid for their job title because they do more dangerous things than Cal Fire does. Please comment with your opinions I would like to hear other people’s opinions on this topic.

Tuesday, December 17, 2013

The Firefighters Pledge

I promise concern for others. A willingness to help all those in need. Promise courage - courage to face and conquer my fears. Courage to share and endure the ordeal of those who need me. I promise strength - strength of heart to bear whatever burdens might be placed upon me. Strength of body to deliver to safetyall those placed within my care. I promise the wisdom to lead,
the compassion to comfort,
and the love to serve unselfishly
whenever I am called.

Never give up,
Never give in,
Fight 'til you lose...
Or fight 'til you win.

Never let up.
Never let down.
Never let the frightened...
See you frown.
Wield your weapons.
Conquer all fears.
Work 'til your sweat...
Replaces their tears.
Learn from your losses.
Savor your wins.
Prepare for the next one.
And battle again.

Friday, December 13, 2013

Thermal Imaging Camera

Tanner and I are demonstrating how a Thermal Imaging Camera is used and a helpful source in the fire technology industry.

Tuesday, December 10, 2013

History of Fire Technology

Fires has always been a danger to people and animals since the dawn of time. It has only been recently, starting during Ancient Rome, that we as people have tried to prevent them. These brave men would find where the fire was, locate the closet water source and pass buckets full of water down the line to put it out. In London fires were little concern until a bakery fire, Great Fire of London, burned up two square miles and left thousands homeless. It was in Jamestown that the first "Firefighters" were needed, although there was a lot of fires previously, there was no name for these heroes and frequently were soldiers for the king. Since the organization of Firefighting many famous people have stepped up to help save lives, such as George Washington. It was in 1818 when the first female firefighter came to be, Molly Williams, who during a massive blizzard pulled the pumper to the fire through the deep snow. Through the years the amazing people had given up a lot for no pay and little respect, that they deserve.  On April 1st, 1853 that the first "official" fire department was made in Cincinnati, OH, which had full time employees and pay. In 2010, about 70% of firefighters are volunteer, with only 5% of calls being real fires and the rest false alarms and medical aid. Throughout history firefighters have been there to save the day, save lives, and will hopefully continue to for generations ahead.

Friday, December 6, 2013

What is Fire Technology

What is Fire Technology? Fire Technology is a peer-reviewed journal publishing scientific research dealing with the full range of actual, possible, and potential fire hazards facing humans and the environment. Answers.com says it is the application of results of basic research and of engineering principles to the solution of practical fire protection problems, but entailing, in its own right, research into fire phenomena and fire experience. NFPA is a great site for somebody looking to find local ways to help your Fire Department. This last site Free dictionary.com says Fire Technology is the basic research and of engineering principles to the solution of practical fire protection problems, but entailing, in its own right, research into fire phenomena and fire experience. All of these sites are very helpful for learning about Fire Technology.

Thursday, December 5, 2013

The book Firefighting is a very historical book

The book Firefighting written by Jack Gottschalk in 2002. This book is a well organized with lots of helpful information and will help you with any research that you need. This book also is intended for adults in training or other people who want to learn about firefighting and also about the job its self. This book also talks about all the major events that have happened from firefighting. The book has very informational stories, accounts from other Firefighters and has taught us a lot about the job that we never knew before.

The book Emergencies can steer your career

The book Emergencies was written Peggy Schmidt in 1993. It was written for an audience looking for information on firefighting and police work. It is well written and has a lot of sections with actual firefighter answers to some very tough questions like "why did you decide to become a Firefighter?" and "How do you feel about people thinking you play cards and eat doughnuts all day?". The book has a lot of interesting facts about the job with real stories that happened to real people. Even if your interested in becoming a Cop or an EMT driver, the book has sections for that job as well.

Friday, November 22, 2013

Why Fire Technology?

We chose Fire Technology because we are interested in becoming firefighters and helping to advanced further technology. Also, we want to learn how the technology is used and how we can improve it in the near future. Fire technology plays a big part in today's world for the firefighters, but there still and always will be room for improvement. Firefighters use their technology to save lives by using some cameras such as the TIC (thermal imaging camera). There is always room to get higher technology, not only to save lives but also to keep the firefighters safe in whatever aspect of firefighting.