NEAFC 32nd Annual Conference.pdf - New England Association of ...

NEW ENGLAND ASSOCIATION OF FII~E CHIEFS
allowed in the grading or rating of a Fire Department, whether they do or do
not have radio equipment.
However, the rating schedule is now under revision, and I am confident
that there will be some provisions in it calling for radio equipment on fire apparatus,
so that we may be in a position where credit can be allowed.
Now, just digressing a bit, about some of the new things, that have come
along in the Fire Departments, you will recall that many of the people now
are crying about having aerial laboratory trucks; unless, it is a city or town that
has tall buildings, no credit should be allowed. ~
Those are the things that we are .thinking about and we .are weaving them
into a revised rating schedule for Fire Departments.
I can assure you that there will be some credit allowed for radio equipment
on fire apparatus.
MODERATOR WOOLLEY: Thank you very much. Do you mind if we
kind of lean on you, then. It is said that i£ .you want anything done, get a
busy man tO do it, because nobody else has the time. That is th-e ~ kind of man
we have just heard £rom. And I am ..sure our own interests, will be pretty well
taken care of down there in that o~ce.
Does that answer the question? I believe it does, and we. don’t need to
carry on this discussion any £urther.
Speeding along a little bit, we have an interesting question, here, which
I think could be touched upon quickly, too.
Should a blow torch be used in the removal of paint?
Now, that’s a good question. Is there any one. on the Panel who. has. any
valuable thoughts on that, any positive thoughts.? Do we want to go down
the line and commit ourselves, on that?
CHIEF CORCORA2~T: We all know what it is to use a blow torch On a house,
in removing paint. Many of the tradesmen will come to the Fire Chief and ~ask
him: "What am I going to do, Chief? Have I got to get a permit?"
Now, from my observation, and I have looked into the matter, I have
asked individuals in the insurance game, and they say that it might be a smart
thing for the individual to get some sort of waiver on his. insurance policy,
in. the event of anything happening.
, Other than that, if he is going to take control of the situation, to remove
paint by means of a blow torch, he is really on his own, and if a fire occurs, of
course he is going to get protection from the Department. But, as far as
saying not to do it is concerned, he is entirely on his own, it is in his. own hands.
CHIEF MARSHALL: We all know that we have had serious fires, from this,
and in some cases, you may go back to the same house a couple of times. They
have a garden hose, there, and extinguishers. However, fro m every Fire Chief’s
point of view, blow torches should not be used for removing paint.
CHIEF POTTER: Naturally, it does. present somewhat of a hazard, and a
Fire Chief would be amiss in his duties if he didn’t recommend against this
practice..
However, I don’t believe that the record is very bad, when you consider
the number of cases in which these blow torches are used, as against the number
of fires that actually occur from that source .... ~-_ ...... - ~ -~ - .
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