Glossary of Fire/Rescue/EMS Terms
I am truly sorry it took me so long to update! Lets just say things got really hectic!
I decided to add this glossary of terms to the story before it got deeply into any fire/rescue operations so the terms wouldn't completely confuse anybody. You guys can, of course either refer to this thing if you run up on a term you don't understand, or read it all the way through.. I tried to make it readable, interesting, and not too dry or boring.
This is FAR from being an all-inclusive list of fire and EMS terms...heck, it doesn't even make a dent! I tried to stick with terms that are used in the story, but I added a few that should help with the general understanding of the operations of a large suburban fire department ...even a fictitious one such as Atlantis FD, and one or two I just thought were interesting.
. Hope these terms help everyone understand what's going on in the rescue and fire scenes in the story, as well as the scenes that take place in the station. There's one more sort of set up chapter, then things really get rolling big time! Hope everyone's enjoying it so far!
A
Aerial ladder: A power (Usually hydraulically) operated multi-section ladder, mounted on a truck, used to access the upper floors of multi-story buildings. Standard lengths, extended are 50', 75', 85', and 100', though 110 footers are becoming more popular, and there have been some 125 and 150 footers built (Imagine climbing a 150 footer!) The ladders are built with telescopic sections, most 75 footers and longer are three or four section ladders, 50 footers are usually 2 section ladders.
Aerial Platform (Also Tower Ladder or simply Platform) An aerial ladder that includes a basket attached to the end of the ladder. Most aerial platforms utilize aerial ladders of 95 to 110 feet in length. Easily recognized on the road by the large, cage-like basket overhanging the cab. Extremely versatile piece of equipment that combines the advantages of the aerial ladder's long, power operated ladder with the large work platform. Crews can often work from the basket rather than having to climb out on an unstable roof, several people can be removed from the upper floors of a burning structure at the same time, and patient care can be started on an injured patient before they reach the ground. The baskets are always equipped with either one or two large capacity (500-2000 Gallon Per Minute) nozzles
Air Bag: A very heavy duty, rubberized lifting bag inflated with compressed air, used to lift heavy objects...vehicles, machinery, sections of collapsed walls, etc...off of trapped patients. Made in capacities from 1 ton to 50 or so tons.. When deflated they are only an inch or so thick, and square, when inflated they can lift an object...depending on the size of the bag...from six inches to about two feet. Far lighter, easier to position, and more versatile then the venerable heavy lifting tool it has, for the most part, replaced, the railroad jack.
Air Chisel: Air powered cutting tool used to cut thinner metal such a vehicle roof and door panels. Resembles an electric drill in appearance, utilizes a chisel-headed bit that reciprocates at high speed, creating a precise and controllable cut through a metal panel. Extremely useful, for example, if you need to cut an opening in th roof of a car that is on it's side, or though the side of a van.
Air mask: Technically termed SCBA, or self-contained breathing apparatus, this breating unit provides a firefighter with up to 45 minutes of breathing air( NOT oxygen, as many people think). It consists of a backpack style harness, a tank...or bottle...of air pressurized, in many modern units, to 4500 pounds per square inch, a face piece, and a regulator which steps the tank pressure down to the much lower pressure at which air is delivered to the firefighter's face piece. Most modern units are positive pressure units, which deliver the air to the face piece at a slightly higher than normal pressure. This allows the firefighter to breathe normally rather than having to inhale deeply enough to kick in a 'demand' type regulator. Additionally, it also keeps the mask clear of smoke and dangerous gasses, even if the seal between the mask and the firefighter's face isn't perfect. Interesting fact...though the bottles, technically, are good for up to 45 minutes, this is under ideal test conditions. A firefighter inside a burning building, exerting himself with the adrenaline pumping over time, can suck a bottle dry in about fifteen minutes.
Airway: The air path from the nose and mouth through the throat, trachea, and bronchial tubes to the lungs. It is VITAL that this be kept unobstructed, and is the VERY first thing that is checked when assessing a patient's condition. (If a patient is conscious and talking to you, the airway is open). If the patient is unconscious, you IMMEDIATELY check to make sure the patient's airway is unobstructed, and that they are indeed, breathing. If obstructed, immediate measures are started to open the airway, and restore breathing.
Airway Bag: A zippered, usually nylon bag, similar in appearance to a large gym bag, containing equipment for opening and maintaining a patient's airway. (Intubation kit for inserting a breathing tube into a patient's trachea, Bag-valve-mask, etc)
Alert Tone: A high-pitched tone that is transmitted over the radio immediately before an alarm is announced to the stations. The tone serves to alert personnel that a call is about to be dispatched so they can be prepared to copy the type, location, etc, and so they will know that the radio traffic that follows is indeed an alarm and not routine radio traffic. . It also gives the firefighters who may be say, eating or taking a shower the opportunity to comment colorfully on the timing of the alarm. Many departments also use a second , different tone to alert personnel that an announcement (Road closure, hydrant or unit out of service, etc) is to follow
ALS or Advanced Life Support: Patient care provided in the field to seriously injured or ill individuals in which cardiac monitors and defibrillators can be employed, IV fluids and various medications can be administered, and procedures such as crychotomies (Opening a breathing hole in the trachea) and chest decompression can be performed. Personnel must be trained, in the Commonwealth of Virginia, where the fanfics is set, to at least the level of Cardiac Technician to perform these procedures in the field.
Alarm Activation: Activation of an automatic fire alarm system (Smoke or heat detector, sprinkler system, etc) in a building. The activation sends a signal to a monitoring service, such a ADT or Wells Fargo, they in turn notify the appropriate fire department. Apparatus is then dispatched to investigate. . The great majority of these calls are due to system problems or an accidental activation caused, say, by personnel testing the system. This type of call has the evil tendency to occur at (A) mealtimes, (B) Oh Dark Hundred in the morning and (C) ten minutes before shift change.
Arrival Report: Report radioed to the dispatch center by the officer in charge of the first arriving piece of apparatus at a fire or incident scene. On a fire call, the report would briefly describe, for example, the type of building (Or vehicle, or approximate area, and speed of spread of a brush fire) involved, if any fire or smoke was visible, if any other buildings or vehicles were endangered, and the status of any occupants, if known. The sides of a building are designated by either numbers or letters as follows, 1 or A, front: 2 or B, right side as you face the building; 3 or C, rear; 4 or D, left side as you are facing the building, so it would sound something like this.
"Engine 28 on scene, single story frame dwelling, fire showing side 1, similar structures 25 feet, sides 2 and 4, occupants unknown"
On an accident, the report would advise the number of vehicles involved, any hazards, if any of the vehicles were occupied, and if anyone appeared to be trapped. Example:
"Rescue 3 on scene, two vehicle accident, both vehicles occupied, no hazards visible, no one appears to be trapped at this time"
Attack Line: Hose line that is advanced from the engine to the fire to attack the fire. Usually 1 ¾ inches in diameter, on larger fires, 2 ½ inch lines are used
B
Backboard. A firm wooden or fiberglass panel tapered at one end and equipped with runners on the bottom and openings for securing straps and/or hand holds along the edges. Usually about 6 to 7 feet long by 2 ½ feet wide. Patients who could possibly have suffered spinal injuries in a fall, accident, etc are secured to the board and, also using head restraints and cervical collars, immobilized as a unit to stabilize the spinal column and minimize any damage that might have occurred. EMT instructors delight in having an unfortunate volunteer secured to a board by his students, and then having them flip the board over to see if they did it right. If the patient is secured properly, trust me...he or she won't move.
Back draft: A phenomenon that occurs when a fire inside a building has reached the smoldering stage and smoldered for an extended period of time, depleting most of the oxygen, and filling the building with superheated smoke and combustible gasses. (Smoke, by the way, is flammable) If air is suddenly admitted into the fire area, ALL of that smoke and combustible gas will ignite explosively. I have seen a back draft blow the walls out of a building, and send a rooftop air-conditioning unit sailing about 50 feet into the middle of a parking lot. If extremely heavy smoke is showing from a building, and actually looks as if it's sucking back IN at places, you HAVE to open the roof up and vent the building before you even think of trying to send a crew inside.
Basket: Term used for the open topped cage on the business end of an elevating platform, tower ladder, or snorkel. Carries two to three firefighters, often a short hose line, breathing air outlets, and any number of pieces of firefighting gear. ALWAYS equipped with one or two high capacity nozzles.
Basket Nozzle: Large capacity, permanently mounted and piped nozzle(s) capable of flowing up to 2000 gallons per minute mounted on the basket of a platform, tower ladder, or snorkel. Can be mounted either singularly, or in pairs. Rigs with twin basket nozzles often mount two 750-gpm nozzles that can be operated independently of each other,
Basket Stretcher: A stretcher formally made of heavy gauge wire and metal tubing, now usually made of fiberglass that resembles a long, rectangular bowl. Designed so a patient secured to back board can be placed in the stretcher The patient can be placed inside the stretcher, and secured for removal from rough terrain, excavations, winched up into a helicopter, lifted out with a n aerial ladder or crane, etc. Also known as a Stoakes Stretcher, or Stoakes Basket. Kelly's dad was placed in one of these at the rescue scene in 'Cadet Kelly'.
BLS: Patient care provided by Personnel not certified in advanced life support procedures. They can either be treating a patient who does not have life-threatening injuries or illnesses, providing initial care to a critical patient until ALS personnel can arrive, or backing up an ALS provider by setting up IVs, taking vital signs, etc.
BLS personnel (EMTs) can administer oxygen, oral glutose, assist a patient with the administration of his own meds, check a patient's blood sugar and blood oxygen level, deliver babies, perform CPR, take vital signs, set up cardiac monitors and attach patients to them, perform any noninvasive procedure such as splinting, controlling bleeding, stabilizing a flail chest, and any of dozens of things that need to be done on calls. These guys and gals are the backbone of EMS. (Yeah, I was one for a LOOOONG time!)
Booster Line: Also known as Booster Reels Small diameter hose lie (Usually 1") mounted on a reel either on top of or at the rear of a pumper. The reels hold anywhere from 150' to 400' of hose, but the all but universal standard length was 200' Used for small fires such as trash fires, dumpster fires, brush fires, etc. Few modern pumpers are equipped with booster lines any more, much to the chagrin of firefighters everywhere. It's a lot easier, after extinguishing a 2AM dumpster fire when it's 25 degrees out, to rewind a booster line than it is to drain and repack even a 100 foot 1 3/4 " 'Trash Line'
Booster Tank Water tank on a triple combination pumper (All modern pumpers are 'Triple's) with a capacity of anywhere from 250 to 750 gallons. The standard is a 500-gallon tank, though many rigs used in rural or semi rural areas are equipped with 750-gallon tanks. Anything with an 800 gallon or larger tank in considered a tanker
Brush Truck: Small, maneuverable all wheel drive pumper specifically designed to handle brush fires. Brush trucks ALWAYS have booster reels. They can be anything from pick-up mounted pump and tank combinations to highly sophisticated rigs with hundreds of feet of forestry hose, a couple of tons of equipment, a generator and lights, special foam which is formulated to saturate mulch, attack deep seated fires and cling to vegetation ahead of a fire to impede fire spread. Oh, and just because they're designed for brush fires, that doesn't mean that's all they can fight. More than one car or dumpster fire has been knocked down by a brush truck crew, and a good crew can even put a dent in the average one or two room and contents house fire. In many departments, brush rigs roll on EVERYTHING during heavy snow.
Bucket: slang term for an aerial platform or snorkel
Bunker Gear Firefighting clothing consisting of specially designed and constructed turnout coat, pants, boots, gloves, hood, and helmet. These days everything but the boots and helmet is made in large part of fire resistant Nomex. Coat and pants are multi-layered and constructed with an outer shell made of Nomex or a similar fire resistant material. Also, and possibly more commonly known as turnout gear, or turnouts
Bunker pants: specially designed and constructed firefighting trousers. Like the coat, multi layered with the outer shell constructed of Nomex or a similar fire resistant material. They are also designed to be folded down on top of the boots so, when a call comes in, the firefighter can step in the boots, and pull the bunker pants up over his uniform pants in all but one motion.
Bush beater: Firefighter's slang term for a brush truck.
C
C-Collar: A specially designed plastic and foam collar designed to be placed around the patient's neck, supporting the chin and immobilizing the head in an upright, forward facing position. This stabilizes and immobilizes the all important cervical spine, the vertebrae of the neck. At best an improperly handled severe injury to the C-spine will result in the patient being a quadriplegic, at the worst it could result in death, Used ANYTIME that the cervical spine might be injured and this includes just about ANY serious accident or traumatic injury a rescue unit might respond, and ANY traffic accident or fall. It's far better to be safe than sorry in these situations.
C-Spine. 1) Verbal shorthand for the cervical spine. 2) Verbal short hand for the act of pulling spinal traction on an accident victim's cervical spine to stabilize it and keep it in line until a collar can be applied., as in ' Stu, get in the back seat, and hold C-spine on the driver'. It's accomplished by , if the patient is seated , reaching around from behind the patient and cradling the patient's lower jaw and face in both hands, fingers spread slightly, with the thumbs behind the ears, and gently pulling the head straight upward slightly. If the patient is on the ground, the EMT kneels at the head, places a hand, palm in and flat, on either side, cradling the lower jaw, and again exerts gentle linear traction.
Cascade system. A system of connected large capacity air bottles used for filling air mask bottles, either on a fire scene or at the station. Not as prevalent as they used to be on fire scenes as most departments now have specialized rigs with engine driven compressors and filtered air filling systems for filling air bottles on scene.
Chemical engine: I included this just as an interesting historical note. Long extinct type of rig that carried either one or two 50 to 100 gallon cylindrical tanks containing a vial of hydrochloric acid and a vial of bicarbonate of soda at inside the tank at one end. Upon arriving at a scene, the driver used a large crank to operate a mechanism that dumped and mixed the two chemicals, creating carbon dioxide, which forced the water out of the tank and through a small diameter hose line. In effect, it was a giant soda-acid extinguisher. This is what was used on small fires in the day of steam pumpers (Most hose wagons were equipped with a chemical system) and before booster tanks came into vogue on motorized rigs. The only problem was, once you had water flowing, you couldn't shut it off...you had to wait for the tank to dump!
Code: 1) Verbal short hand for full cardiac and respiratory arrest 2) to go into full arrest (The patient coded on the way in)
Coffin The very accurate slang term for the engine cover on custom-built fire equipment. On cab forward rigs, the engine is located behind the driver and shotgun man, between the jump seats, and is enclosed with a slant-topped diamond-plate cover that does, indeed, look like a coffin.
Crash Team: A Police Department vehicle accident investigative team that investigates major accidents, especially those that involve or may involve a fatality, with multiple vehicles/ multiple critical injuries, or any accident with a complicated cause or that occurs under unusual circumstances. If a road is still closed hours after an accident, it probably means that the crash team is at work.
Crash Truck: 1) A specialized airport fire unit specifically designed to handle aircraft crash fires. They're all wheel drive, carry huge quantities of foam and water, and mount several high capacity nozzles that can exhaust the rig's water and foam supply in one or two minutes. The whole shooting match can be controlled from inside the rig's cab. Designed to reach a downed aircraft fast, and affect a quick knockdown of the fire, hopefully allowing the passengers to be rescued. 2) Originally, the second definition meant a rescue truck designed primarily to handle vehicle accidents of all kinds. This term is used almost exclusively by volunteer rescue squads, and actually has come to mean any volunteer rescue squad rescue truck. And believe me, many of the volunteer squads have some truly sophisticated and truly good looking rigs.
Cribbing: Wooden blocks, often connected in pairs by a short length of rope, used to build supporting structure beneath an unstable section of a collapsed structure, unstable wreckage, or an unstable vehicle or portion of a vehicle while rescue operations are underway at an accident scene. Can also be used as solid support for chain or cable being used to pull a portion of a vehicle (Such as a steering column) aside, and to turn the chain or cable so it's pulling at a better angle. Has somewhere around ten thousand uses on an incident scene, believe me. Can also be...and often is...used in conjunction with wooden wedges.
Cross-Lay: A traverse hose bed, usually directly behind the cab and above the pump panel of a pumper. Usually separated into two or three bays by metal partitions, each bay holding anywhere from 150 to 250' of small diameter (Usually 1 ¾") attack line. Pre-piped so the hose line is preconnected, and packed into the bed so that it can be pulled and advanced quickly and easily. A good crew can put a preconnected attack line in service in well under half a minute
D
Deluge set (Also deluge gun, deck set, deck gun, deck pipe) A large nozzle and pipe assembly traditionally mounted above the pump on an engine. It can be either demountable and (Relatively) portable, or pre-piped and permanently mounted. Designed to flow large quantities of water, anywhere between 500 and 2000 Gallons per minute. Used at when a structure fire has reached a point where interior firefighting has become impossible, and large volumes of water are needed...in other words, the big ones. Also useful at scenes (such as a large dump fire, wood chip pile fire, etc) where large quantities of water are required to affect complete extinguishment.
Disentanglement: The act of, literally, removing a wrecked car from around a trapped patient by removing the roof, doors, steering wheel, moving the dash, etc. A good rescue crew can pretty well disassemble the average car in ten or so minutes at a training exercise, a little longer at a scene due to the care that is taken not to further injure the trapped patient.
Defibrillator: A device designed to pass an electrical charge through a heart in Ventricular fibrillation...beating erratically without moving any blood...thereby restoring a normal, or at least life sustaining heart beat.
Due (1st due, 2nd due, 3rd due, etc): Term used in describing the order in which apparatus will be dispatched, or will arrive at a given location. The closest unit to a scene is said to be 'first due', next closest '2nd due', and so on. In simplest terms, an engine company's first due area is the area surrounding the engine's station, while a truck company or a rescue company is first due in the area where it is closer than the next nearest truck company or rescue. Also, engine companies respond on every fire call...and most rescue calls...in their first due area, plus structure fires in their 2nd, 3rd , and sometimes 4th due area on the first alarm.
Truck companies only respond to structure fires in their first and second due area on the first alarm, plus specific types of other fire or rescue calls in their first due.
Rescues are the jacks of all trades. In Atlantis they are considered part of the engine company for fire fighting purposes, so they can go to anything the engine stationed with them can go to,(Though give the guys a break. You won't hear them dispatched to, say, a dumpster fire) plus all structure and vehicle fires and rescue calls in their own first due
Truck and Rescue companies tend to have larger first due areas than engines because there are fewer trucks and rescues than there are engine companies Atlantis for example, supposedly has 52 stations, all of which have engine companies. Only 27 of them have truck companies, and only 21 have rescue companies (And in the real world, it would likely be even fewer truck companies and rescues. Nice thing about making up a fictional fire department...you don't have to worry about a budget!) so each truck company would have an area encompassing at least two engine company first due areas, and each rescue's first due would encompass two to three engine company first due areas.
E
EMS: system, usually municipally staffed and funded, that provides emergency response, treatment, and transport for persons who become ill or who are injured. Usually, but not always integrated with the locality's fire department. An EMS system can be fully paid, fully volunteer, or a combination of the two (For example paid drivers, and volunteer crew)
Engine: A pumper. The terminology dates back to the days of horse drawn steam powered pumpers which were ONLY pumpers...they carried no hose or water tank. The rest of the equipment, hose included, was aboard another horse drawn rig known as a hose wagon. The rigs in use today are technically known as triple combination pumpers, so called because they carry a pump (Anywhere from 500 to 2000 GPM capacity) a water tank (Anywhere from 250 to 750 gallons) and hose, both supply (From 1000 to 2000') and attack lines. The rigs are sometimes referred to as 'triples' but usually simply as an engine...the last rig built that wasn't a triple combination was probably built, retired and scrapped long before most of you guys parents were born. (Historical note...originally a 'Triple' was a rig with a pump, hose, and a chemical system. Booster tanks didn't become widely used until the mid twenties or later, and there were still rigs with chemical
systems in service well into the '30s)
Engine Company: Company of firefighters assigned to an engine. Traditionally the primary responsibility at a fire scene is establishing a water supply and attacking and extinguishing the fire. Engine companies are first in on just about everything, from medical emergencies and vehicle accidents to major fires and often respond on medical calls, both to get trained personnel to the scene quickly if the engine is closer to the scene than the rescue unit, and to provide additional manpower at manpower intensive calls, such as full arrests
Exposure: Any building, vehicle, brush, or other object or area that is not yet involved in fire but is in danger of igniting due to it's proximity to a fire. Exposures can be external (A structure endangered by a brush fire, or a garage endangered by a burning house,) or internal (A uninvolved bedroom across the hall from a bedroom which is involved in fire)
Extrication: The process of removing a patient from a wrecked car, excavation, etc
F
Federal 'Q': A very high quality electric motor type siren, manufactured by the Federal Sign and Signal Corporation, which produces a very distinctive, rich wail. These sirens have been around since the '50's and are dearly loved by the fire service. They can either be flush mounted on the front of a rig or mounted on a fender, bumper, etc. Almost always chrome plated and easily recognizable by the very large diameter front housing which houses the rotor, The sides of the housing have the sound slots in them, the front has a very intricate grillwork pattern with a large upper case letter 'F' surrounded by a lightning bolt in the center.
Femur: The thighbone, the largest bone in the body. A fracture is extremely painful and very serious, because the broken ends want to over ride each other. A fractured femur can also cause a significant loss of blood. If not managed properly by responding rescue personnel, permanent disability is a very definite possibility.
Fill-in (Also called 'Move-up) : To move fire companies in from out lying areas to cover stations whose normally assigned companies are out on a major fire or rescue incident. This is done to prevent large areas of a community from being left uncovered...or covered by units a long distance away...in the event of a major fire or rescue incident. One or two companies are usually moved from each out lying area...for example, if six stations need to be covered in the center of Manhattan, a couple of companies would be moved in from the Bronx, maybe one from Harlem, one or two from Queens, and a couple from Brooklyn
Fire stream: The technical term for a stream of water used to attack a fire.
First Respond: (1) To respond to the scene of a medical call or accident and begin patient care prior to the arrival of the rescue unit. Engine and truck companies are often dispatched along with the rescue unit, especially if the engine is closer and can get to the location first. Engines or trucks are also dispatched to calls that might require additional manpower (Such as a medical call that could be manpower intensive, or a trauma call such as a fall where additional manpower is useful to immobilize and remove the patient.)Almost all salaried firefighters are medically trained at least to the EMT level. Engines also respond automatically on vehicle accidents and other possible serious rescue problems for hazard control and for extra manpower. (2) the formal term used when an off duty firefighter, EMT, or paramedic responds to a scene and begins patient care before the arrival of fire and/or rescue units
Flail Chest: Extremely serious internal injury caused when two or more adjacent ribs are fractured in two or more places.. A floating section of ribs is formed which moves opposite normal chest movement, it sucks inward when the patient inhales, moves outward when the patient exhales, creating severely painful and difficult breathing. The broken ribs can also cause further injury by, for example, puncturing a lung. Treated in the field by placing the patient on high flow Oxygen, securing bulky dressings over the affected area to stabilize the floating section of ribs, and getting the patient to the hospital as quickly as safely possible..
'Flap The Roof': To fold back the front portion of a wrecked vehicle's roof , thereby making both access to and removal of a trapped patient easier. Accomplished by cutting the windshield corner posts (Known technically as the 'A' posts), then using a tool such as a long pry bar to make a crease across the width of the roof (Small cuts can also be made at the edges of the crease) Then firefighters just fold the roof up and over at the crease and , voila! Instant convertible!
Flashover: Phenomenon that occurs when a fire (or example, a burning sofa or chair) in a room heats all of the contents of the room to a temperature at or above their ignition temperature. When this occurs, everything in the room ignites spontaneously and violently, often blowing windows out and quickly extending to other portions of the building. A very common occurrence and it doesn't take long for fire conditions to develop to the flashover stage. A foam-filled sofa in the average living room or den, when ignited, can bring the room to the point of flashover in less than five minutes.
Fog: In fire fighting terminology, a stream of water that is broken up into tiny droplets. Extremely effective, especially on interior fires. Almost all attack lines are equipped with fog nozzles, the fog stream can be adjusted from a very wide fog pattern to a straight stream.
Forcible Entry: Fire fighting term for the task of gaining entry into a locked structure, vehicle, or enclosure, be it for firefighting or to effect a rescue. A team of firefighters assigned to gain entry is termed a 'forcible entry team'
Frequent Flyer: A patient who constantly calls 911 complaining of trivial or non-existent medical problems. A true thorn in the EMTs side, both because of the extreme aggravation of going to the same address for nothing, sometimes several times a day, and because of the possibility of a legitimate emergency occurring while the unit is tied up on the call. Nothing's more frustrating than being out with a drunk complaining of a headache he had a week ago, and hearing the 2nd due unit dispatched to a serious medical call or accident at a location only a minute or so from your station.
Full Arrest: Condition in which the patient is in full cardiac and respiratory arrest, with no pulse and no breathing.
Full Assignment: A specific number of engine, truck, rescue, and sometimes special companies (Such as foam units or Haz-Mat units) assigned to respond to a specific type of call on the first alarm. I have AFD set up, for example, with a full residential assignment being 3 engines, 1 truck, and a rescue, Commercial/industrial/apartment assignment is 4 engines, 2 trucks, and a rescue. An occupied school, day care, etc gets an additional rescue automatically. A traffic accident with persons trapped gets two engines and a rescue.
G
Golden Hour: A 60-minute block of time beginning the instant that a patient is critically injured. If a patient can be reached, extricated, transported to the hospital, and have emergency surgery started with-in this hour, it increases his/her chances of survival tremendously
H
Hand Light: A powerful, usually rechargeable battery lantern.
Hand Line: Firefighting term for a hose line that is advanced by hand from the engine to the fire. Another term, used interchangeably, for attack line.
Haligan Tool: A specialized prying tool developed for the fire service that has a wedge shaped combination prying tool and claw tool (A straightened, much larger version of a hammer's claw) on one end, and an adz (smaller wedge like prying tool) and pick, set at a 90 degree angle to each other. Made in several lengths, but 36" and 42" are the most popular lengths. An extremely useful tool, with thousands of uses on a fire or rescue scene.
Hard Sleeve: The large diameter, usually black pipes seen mounted on the sides of an engine. They are actually reinforced sections of hose, used to draft water from a static water source such as a pond, river, swimming pool, etc. One end is attached to the engine's intake, the other end is dropped into the water supply, then the pump is primed, drawing water into it, allowing the pump to draw water, via suction, from the water source and deliver it to the fire.
Head Blocks: Plastic covered foam filled blocks placed on either side of a patient's head to stabilize and immobilize it and the cervical spine while the patient is being transported to the hospital. Used in conjunction with a C-collar and a backboard. Secured by Velcro to a base plate, which is semi-permanently mounted on the head end of a backboard, and tightened down with a pair of straps, one of which goes beneath the patient's chin, the other across the forehead, just above the eyebrows.
Hurst Tool: The technical name for the Jaws of Life, manufactured by the Hurst Power Equipment Company. Operates hydraulically using a gas or electric power unit, which delivers hydraulic fluid under pressure to any of several devices through a small, very high pressure, double hose line. (A delivery line and a return line) The set, of course consists of the familiar spreaders (Available in several sizes and configurations) that everyone thinks of when they think 'Jaws of Life', but also includes 'Rams' (Used for lifting or separating) cutters (Used, for example to cut roof posts and remove the roof of a wrecked vehicle) and combination tools, usually a single tool that combines spreader and cutter, as well as several more specialized tools. The system can exert as much as 20k pounds of force against whatever has to be moved, lifted or removed. Most system also include a 200 foot reel for the hose, and a preconnected manifold that allows several tools to be connected and operated simultaneously
I
Incident Command System: A system of command used on incident scenes where an overall incident commander designates officers to handle 'sectors' of the scene; for example at a house fire you might have 'interior sector, exterior sector, water supply, ventilation, etc. At a vehicle accident, you might have extrication, triage, hazard control landing zone (If a medical helicopter is dispatched) Also, using this system, incident scenes are designated on the radio by geographical location, a call on Hillridge Parkway, for example would be designated as 'Hillridge Command' Makes things much more organized, especially at major incidents
Initial Attack: Technical term for the first water applied to a fire.
J
Jump Seat: Crew seating positions behind the driver and shotgun man in the cab of a piece of fire apparatus. While the traditional image of an engine responding to a fire call includes the crew riding on the back of the rig (Riding tailboard) this is rarely if ever done any more, never in large departments. All modern pieces of equipment have accommodations for the crew to ride inside the cab, and the newest ones aren't even set up for the crew to ride tailboard. (This is a good idea that finally made it 'Across the pond' European fire crews have ridden inside the rigs since the coming of motorized fire equipment)
Jump Bag: A zippered nylon bag containing any medical equipment that might be needed when initially reaching and treating a patient...BP cuff, stethoscope (Though most EMS personnel carry their own), Oxygen mottle, and masks, some basic trauma supplies, etc. This is the first thing the EMS provider grabs and takes to the patient, patient care can be started while any other needed equipment is obtained and set up.
K
K.E.D. (Kendrick Extrication Device) A vinyl vests-like device that with several vertical wooden slats enclosed within it to provide rigidity. It is designed to wrap around the patient's back, chest, and abdomen, and has a 'panhandle' that wraps around the patient's head and neck. It is secured with a system of straps, and is specifically designed to immobilize a patient's spine as he/she is being removed from a motor vehicle (It replaces the late and very much unlamented short backboard). The K.E.D. is applied; then the patient can be turned as a unit, laid down and slid or moved onto a backboard. Then the groin straps are released and the patient's legs straightened so she/he can lie flat on the board. (Also, esp. with a male patient, you gotta release the groin straps before you straighten the legs...trust me on this). Only used in less serious accidents where the patient doesn't have life threatening injuries due both to the time it takes to apply, and the time it takes to remove it in the ER.
Knockdown: The point during the fighting of a fire, that, while there is still active flame production, the fire is no longer increasing in size. (2) To decrease the intensity of a fire to the point where it is no longer increasing in size.
L
Ladder Pipe: A master stream device attached to the end of an aerial ladder for the purpose of a applying a large volume of water onto a fire from above, or directing a large volume of water into the upper floors of a burning building. There are two types of ladder pipe. A bed pipe is usually fixed and is attached to the end of the lowermost section...or bed section...of the ladder. It is usually supplied by a permanently installed pipe running along the underside of the bed section of the ladder.
A fly pipe is removable, stored in an easily accessible location on the rig until needed, and is attached to the very end of the upper most section of the ladder...it's name is derived from the term for the extendable sections of an aerial ladder, which are called the fly sections. A hose line is extended up the ladder to supply this device. Both can be used at the same time.
"Lay In" Also known as 'Laying a Line': To stop the engine at the at the water source (Hydrant, pond, etc), drop the end of its hose load, or 'supply line' off of the rear of the rig, then proceed to the fire scene, laying a line of hose behind the engine as it moves forward. The supply line is loaded or 'Flaked' into the rig's hose bed in folded layers so it will drop off of the rear of the rig as it pulls forward, leaving a trail of hose as it goes. The end of the hose at the water source is attached either to the hydrant, or most often to a discharge on the next in engine, which then either hooks up to the hydrant or drafts from the water source if it's a pond or similar body of water, and pumps water to the engine at the fire scene.
Lay Out: To lay a line from the fire scene to the hydrant. Used when supplying a sprinkler or standpipe system, or when the hydrant is beyond the fire building and the next in engine is close behind the first due engine. In the latter example, the 2nd in engine drops a line at the fire scene and proceeds to the hydrant, hooks up, and pumps to the engine on the fire scene. (Of course, both units have to use adapters because the hose lay will be reversed. Discharges are always male threaded, intakes have female threads so the rig on the hydrant has to use a double male, the unit on the scene has to use a double female to connect to the supply line.)
Leads: Small electrical or fiber optic cables connected to a cardiac monitor that are attached to electrodes applied to a patient's chest so that the patients cardiac rhythm can be observed, monitored, and analyzed
L.D.H. (Large Diameter Hose) Hose larger than 3 ½ inches in diameter. Used as supply line, and able to move a tremendous volume of water with minimal friction loss. Often referred to a 'Portable Water Main' Made in 4, 5, and 6 inch diameters. Another advantage, it's usually equipped with sexless quick connect type couplings, which means you never have to use adapters if you lay out from the fire to the hydrant.
Line: (1) verbal short hand for a hose line. A line used to put water on the fire is known as an attack line, a line used to protect an exposure is termed an exposure line, and a line that brings water from a water source to a fire scene is called a supply line.(2) Slang for an I.V. To "Start a line" on a patient means to start an I.V.
M
Master Stream: Any fire stream in excess of 300 gallons per minute, applied to the fire with specially designed appliances (Ladder Pipe, basket nozzle, deluge set, etc) known collectively as Master Stream Devices. Used on major fires where large volumes of water are needed for extinguishment. (Also, at least once during a summer training exercise on a 95 degree day at a Richmond area high school, directed almost straight up, so a large group of cheerleaders, majorettes, and drill team members who were just finishing up practice could have a blast running around in the spray to cool off. They got to cool off, the crew (Who included the dad of one of the cheerleaders) got milkshakes bought for them when they got back to the station.
M.A.S.T. Trousers: Specially designed medical trousers, constructed of rubberized vinyl with three inflatable chambers (Right and left leg and abdomen) that are applied to a patient who has suffered severe traumatic injury. When the chambers are inflated (One at a time, extremities first) it decreases circulation to the abdomen and legs and forces blood to remain in the upper part of the body, ensuring adequate blood supply to the vital organs and helping to prevent shock. Can also be used to stabilize extremity and pelvic fractures. The letters stand for either Military or Medical Anti Shock Trousers...I've heard both.
Medical: Collective term for any problem that originates with-in the body, not involving physical injury. Examples, heart attack, stroke, asthma. allergic reaction, poisoning, seizures, etc
Monitor: (1) A piece of medical equipment that is used to observe and analyze a patient's cardiac rhythm. The tiny electrical impulses that trigger the heart's pumping action are picked up by electrodes attached to the patient's chest and transmitted by a cable to the monitor, where they appear as a pattern of moving lines or points of light on a small screen. All monitors also have the capability to print out a hard copy of the rhythm on a strip of specially treated paper, and to archive the recorded rhythms and events of a call for print-out later. All modern monitors are combined with defibrillators in a single unit. (2) Another term for deluge set or deluge gun.
M.P.O. (Motor Pump Operator) Official title given to the driver of an engine, who also operates the unit's pump
N
Nonrebreather: A type of oxygen mask that has an inflatable oxygen reservoir attached to the front of the mask. The reservoir is inflated with oxygen just before the mask is placed over the patient's mouth and nose. It is designed to deliver oxygen at high percentages (90 to 96%) at high flows (Twelve to fifteen liters/min.) and is used to administer oxygen to patients suffering from critical injuries or illnesses or who are suffering from severe difficulty breathing.
O
Outriggers: On an aerial ladder, aerial platform, or snorkel, large hydraulically operated braces that are lowered on either side of the rig to stabilize and level the unit so that the ladder can be raised and operated safely. Used in conjunction with hydraulically operated jacks at front and rear that actually lift the unit a few inches off the ground to provide the ladder or platform with a stable, rigid operating base.
P
Pneumothorax: A collapsed lung caused by air entering the chest cavity (Either because of a puncture to the lung itself, or because of air being drawn in through a chest wound. ) and preventing the lung from expanding properly.
"Punch Out": Slang term for dispatching a call. (Radio just punched Engine 28 out on a brush fire). Derived from both the alert tone, and from the page tones used by many departments to activate station bells, lights, and in volunteer departments, the volunteers' pagers and the station siren.
Q/R
Quick call (Or Quik-call) Page tones transmitted to activate station bells or klaxons, turn on lights, activate pagers, activates volunteer station sirens, etc. The sound they make is a reedy sounding 'BEEEEEEP-BOOOOOOOP' If you've ever watched the television show 'Emergency', the tones that sound just before a call is dispatched are quick calls. Motorola developed the first such system.
Rapid Extrication: A method of quickly removing a critically injured patient from a wrecked vehicle. The patient is carefully but quickly removed from the vehicle by several rescue personnel, keeping his/her spine stable by having one rescuer hold C-spine and other rescuers on either side 'cradle' the patient by passing and interlocking their arms beneath the patients back as they are removed from the vehicle. The backboard is positioned as close to the vehicle as possible, the rescuer at the patient's head (The one holding C-spine) controls movement (1-2-3-LIFT, etc). Used when the patient has life threatening injuries that precludes taking time to put the patient in a K.E.D.
Rear Mount: An aerial ladder or aerial platform that has the base of the ladder (The turntable) mounted on the rear portion of the unit. The great majority of modern straight frame aerial ladders (Aerial ladders that aren't tractor-trailers) are rear mounts.
Rescue: Fire department verbal shorthand for a rescue truck. These units can be very simple rigs...a pick-up chassis with a utility body...or extremely sophisticated units costing hundreds of thousands of dollars, unequipped, with another couple of hundred thousand dollars or so worth of gear on board. All usually carry a good sized generator (I know of rigs that have 25kw generators on board) lights (The larger rigs have pneumatically raised light towers that, in a pinch, can illuminate a football field) air bags, air tools, air masks, compressors, every kind of hand tool and forcible entry tool known to man, a big gasoline powered circular saw(Or two) with blades for metal, concrete, and wood, more kinds of rescue tools then I have room to list, protective clothing and equipment, an extensive inventory of medical equipment...and the Hurst Tool. GOTTA have the Hurst tool!
Reverse Lay: Operation where the engine stops at the fire, the crew pulls anything they might need at the scene (Ladders, attack lines, a gated wye (Fitting that splits one large hose line into two smaller lines, with gate valves for the smaller lines), air masks, forcible entry tools, etc, off of the rig. The driver then lays out to the hydrant. The rest of the crew connects the supply line and the attack lines to the gated wye; the engine is connected to the hydrant and pumps to the scene. Used when the hydrant is beyond the fire, and the next in engine is more than a few minutes out. I've seen a crew drop all of their equipment, lay out and have water flowing (at an actual fire, not a training exercise) in under three minutes.
Rig: Fire department slang for ANY piece of fire or rescue apparatus. Dates back to the days of horse drawn equipment.
Running Assignment: The specific engine, truck, rescue, and truck companies assigned to respond to a given location in event of a fire, rescue, or medical call. Usually set up through at least a third, and in larger cities, a fifth alarm. Almost ALL modern departments use a computer aided dispatch system that, when an address is typed in, brings up the full 1st through 3rd alarm assignments for that location. If a fire is already in progress, and some, or even all of the units are unavailable, it automatically lists the next nearest units, in order of response. When move-ups are made, the system automatically (After the move up is entered in the computer) makes the appropriate changes to the running assignment, making the relocated unit due on calls that would normally be handled by the unit it is replacing.
S
Siamese: (1) A hose connection that allows two or more hose lines to be connected to a single inlet, allowing several lines to supply a master stream device, sprinkler system, or standpipe system. Usually, they are equipped with gate valves on the inlets. Portable devices such as portable deluge sets have the Siamese built in as an integral part of the device. Permanently piped devices (Permanently mounted deluge sets, basket nozzles, bed pipes) have the Siamese mounted on the rear or side of the rig. The Siamese for a fly pipe is usually placed on the ground near the rear of the rig when the pipe is in service at a fire. (2) Hose connections that allow a pumper to supply water to a building's sprinkler or standpipe system. A sprinkler system or standpipe Siamese is usually on the wall of the building the sprinkler or standpipe system is installed in, though sometimes they are on a pipe near the parking lot. In event of a fire, the engine drops a line at the Siamese (Called the sprinkler connection or standpipe connection, depending on the type of system), lays a line out to the hydrant, and pumps into the system.
Silent Response: To respond to an alarm under nonemergency conditions, without lights and sirens. Usually shortened to simply 'Silent' on the radio (As in 'Engine 28, reduce to a silent and respond in to take a report')
Snorkel: A piece of aerial fire equipment using two jointed booms, with a basket on the end of the top boom. Built in lengths from 50 to 150 feet. First developed by the Chicago Fire Department in 1958. The shorter booms were often mounted on an engine, the larger ones on specialized chassis, much like an aerial ladder. These rigs are, for the most part, being replaced by aerial platforms.
Soft Sleeve: A short section of large diameter (Usually 4 or 5 inch) hose that is used to connect a pumper to a hydrant. Usually kept folded or rolled, and preconnected to the intake.
Spider Strap: (1) A wide nylon web type strap system consisting of a center strap with four or five pairs of straps connected to it. Used to secure an injured patient to a backboard. The two end-most sets of straps are attached to the center strap at about a 45-degree angle, the other sets are attached at a 90-degree angle. Each strap has Velcro at the ends, and is threaded through the slots on the edges of the backboard, tightened, and velcroed down. The straps are secured, from top to bottom, across the patient's shoulders, chest, hips, thighs, and lower legs. ALWAYS used in conjunction with a C-collar and head blocks (2) The slang term for the straps that secure a fire fighter's face piece (Of his air mask) to his head. Usually shortened in this usage to 'spider'
Spike: To insert the end of the IV tubing into the port on the bottom of a bag of IV fluid. So called because of the large plastic spike on that end of the tubing.
Squirrel: (1) Slang term for an individual who is extremely enthusiastic about the fire/rescue service.(2) Slang term for an individual who responds to a call while off duty. (3) Slang, verb, to respond to a call while off duty. (He squirreled the call and had CPR going when we got there).
Sprinkler System: An automatic fire protection system consisting of flower shaped sprinkler heads connected to pipes at the ceiling of a building. The heads are equipped with a fusible link that holds the head's valve closed, this link is set to break at a given temperature, opening the head and releasing water onto the fire. The 'blossom' of the flower is a deflector that distributes the water in a wide spray pattern. The system can be supplied by an engine pumping into a connection outside the building (See Siamese) These systems are right up there with sliced bread and the wheel...many buildings, and lives have been saved by them. Interesting note...Contrary to television and movies, (A), only the heads nearest the fire open and (B) you can't just turn a sprinkler system on.
Standpipe: A system of pipes and hose connections in a large building equipped with a connection on the exterior of the building that allows an engine to connect to and supply water under pressure to the system. This allows Firefighters to stretch hose lines to areas of the building that are to distant for them to stretch a line from the engine. Most of the connections have a hose line already attached (Called a 'House Line') but the first thing a crew does is disconnect that...They have specialized packs (Called, somewhat confusingly, high rise packs because they were originally developed for high-rise buildings ) consisting of 100 to 150 feet of 1 ¾ inch hose a nozzle, and fittings. In a large building with a large fire going in it, several of these packs can be utilized.
Stang: A particular brand of deluge set characterized by the single helical (Spiral) pipe leading to the nozzle rather that the two curved pipes utilized by most deluge sets. Extremely high quality, very effective, and it looks really cool mounted on top of a rig!
Steamer Connection: The large hose connection on a fire hydrant. Usually 5 or 6 inches in diameter.
Stick: (1) Slang term for an aerial ladder. Dates back from the days when all aerial ladders were constructed of wood. (2) The act of starting an IV...when a paramedic starts an IV, he is said to have 'gotten a stick'.
Straight Tip: A funnel shaped nozzle that discharges water in a straight, solid stream. Utilized most often on 2 ½-inch hand lines and master stream devices. Designated by the size of the opening on the discharge end of the nozzle... ½ ", ¾" 1 ½ ", etc. A straight stream from a big straight tip on a deluge set or basket nozzle can, and has been used to knock unstable walls back into the building so they won't collapse out into the street, endangering personnel.. They are threaded on each so several can be connected together smallest on top. When this is done, the connected nozzles are known as 'Stacked Tips'. Water can be flowed through them in this configuration, if you want to go to a larger tip, you just shut down long enough to remove the smaller tip, or tips, then open it back up.
Submarine: Term used when an unrestrained driver or front seat passenger slides partially off of the seat and beneath the dash in a traffic accident.
T
Ten Codes: Radio codes, starting with the number 10 (10-4, 10-8, 10-20, etc) used to designate some types of calls, and designate certain actions or conditions. Used for brevity more than secrecy...it's no great trick getting hold of a list of a given departments ten codes. Actually going out of fashion as more and more departments go to plain English on the radio. Atlantis uses some ten codes. The ones that will probably be used in the fanfics are used below.
Atlantis Fire Department 10-codes
10-1 Unable to copy radio transmission 10-12 Stand By
10-2 Your traffic is clear 10-13 Progress Report
10-4 Ok, or affirmative 10-20 Location
10-6 Busy 10-22 Cancel your Response
10-7 Unit out of service 10-23 Arrived on Scene
10-8 Unit in service or available 10-24 completed last assignment
10-9 Repeat traffic 10-50 Vehicle Accident
Timmons Splint: A splint constructed of vinyl with enclosed wooden slats to provide rigidity. Made in several sizes for arms and legs, designed to be wrapped around the fractured limb and secured with Velcro straps. (Velcro is ANOTHER invention that is right up there with sliced bread! Originally, these things were made of cloth and were secured with a narrow leather thong that was threaded through metal eyelets, with the excess wrapped around and around and around the splinted limb. We still had a few of those museum pieces when I was still running fire calls. They were a pain to use. One of those could NOT have been used the way a modern Timmons is used in the fanfic.
Tower: Verbal shorthand for a Tower Ladder or Elevating Platform.
Traction Splint: A splint used on a fractured femur. Consists of a metal frame with straps that secure the leg, a harness for the foot, and windlass that is connected to the harness and cranked down to pull traction on the leg. This pulls the broken ends apart (In a Femur fracture, the bone ends usually try to over ride each other) and keeps them lined up. One catch...it can't be used if there is also a knee injury, and/or a tib-fib (Lower leg) fracture.
Trauma: Technical term for any physical injury to the body caused by outside forces (Accident, gunshot, etc)
Triage: (1) At an incident scene with multiple injured patients, to separate the patients into groups by severity of their injuries, with the worst getting treated and transported first. Color codes are used. Red= Critical life threatening , Yellow = non life threatening serious to moderate, green =minor, gray= DOA. At major incidents, such as a bus accident, color-coded tags are attached to the patients clothing so incoming personnel will know the status of each patient. (2) The sector of responsibility tasked with triage at an incident scene where the Incident Command System is being utilized (3) The fire or EMS officer in charge of triage at a incident scene
Tractor Drawn: What most people think of when they think 'Ladder truck' An aerial ladder mounted on an articulated chassis (Tractor-trailer) with the trailer wheels steerable as well as the front wheels of the tractor. The rear steering position is known as the tiller, with the person riding that position known as the tiller man. A good driver-tiller team can put one of these rigs almost anywhere. A favorite trick is, when getting back to the station, for the tiller man to crank his wheel hard to whatever side the station's on...the rig actually rolls down the street with the trailer at about a 60 or 70 degree angle (Or more) to the tractor. The driver then just has to straighten the tractor up as he's backing in...the trailer's already aimed for and lined up with the bay door!
Truck or Truck Company: When firefighters speak of a 'Truck', they are actually referring to an aerial ladder or platform. In fire department terminology, A Truck Company is responsible for ventilation, forcible entry, getting utilities shut off, rescue, and just about anything that doesn't involve actually putting water on the fire.
Turntable: The rotating metal platform that the base of an aerial ladder or aerial platform is mounted on, allowing the ladder to be turned in a full circle.
Two Piece Engine Company: An engine company with two pumpers assigned to it. They respond together to all calls, at a structure fire the first rig (Known as the 'Wagon') which carries most of the crew, drops a line at the hydrant or water source, lays in, and the crew attacks the fire. The second piece...Known as the 'Engine', usually with a driver only, takes the hydrant and pumps to the wagon. The terms engine and wagon date back to the time of steam-powered pumpers, when all engine companies were two piece companies, the 'Wagon' was indeed a horse drawn hose wagon, and the 'Engine' was a steamer. Going out of favor, most engine companies now days are single piece companies, though some cities still run a few two-piece companies.
U/V/W
Ventilate: (1) To open up a burning building in order to vent smoke and hot gasses, allowing the firefighters working inside the building to more easily reach and knock down the fire. If the attic is involved, or the fire is in a single story building, or on th top floor, the roof is opened up directly above the fire, or as nearly so as possible. In fires on the lower floors of a multi story building (An apartment building, for example) The roof may be opened, windows taken out to vent smoke and heat from the upper floors to make it easier to search for and rescue any trapped occupants. In a house fire, windows will be taken out in the involved section of the house. This not only improves conditions within the building, but also helps to limit fire spread and helps to prevent flashover and back drafts (2) To assist a patient who is having difficulty breathing by using mechanical means, such as a bag valve mask or demand valve, both of which force high concentrated Oxygen (95-100%) into the patients lungs. If the patient ins unconscious, they will most likely also be intubated (A breathing tube is placed in the patient's trachea). The ventilation device is then connected directly to the tube, allowing Oxygen to be delivered directly into the lungs.
Water flow or water flow alarm: An alarm signal sent to a monitoring company automatically when a sprinkler system activated, triggered by a drop in water pressure in the system. The monitoring company then notifies the appropriate fire department. (Also see Alarm Activation) When dispatching the call, the fire dispatcher will announce the type of call as 'A Water flow alarm'. If it is confirmed that the system is flowing water...that a head has popped, and is flowing...then the call is dispatched as 'A sprinkler system activation'
Working Fire: Technically, it means that all personnel at the scene are being utilized, but to a firefighter it means fire or smoke showing from the building, and that actual firefighting is about to take place. When a firefighter says that a fire was a working fire, he or she means that there was fire and/or smoke showing from the building, and that some effort had to be expended to control and extinguish it.