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May 2009

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On the Cover

Eight departments, including a rapid intervention team, responded to a fire in a garage with possible extension to a house. The fire occurred in Genesee, WI, on Jan. 10, 2009.

Dedication

This month's Firehouse is dedicated to Fire Police Captain Albert G. Eberle Jr., 74, of the Roslyn, PA, Fire Company; Firefighter Timothy Nicholas, 26, and Lieutenant Johnnie Hammons, 49, of the Craigsville-Beaver-Cottle Fire Department in Craigsville, WV; and Firefighter John Adams, 45, of the Silver City Volunteer Fire Department in Jennings, OK, who died in the line of duty, February 2009.

Incident Report

BLOWN AWAY

On Sunday, May 25, 2008, at 4:59 P.M., Parkersburg, IA, a city of 1,889, was struck head on by an EF5 tornado. An EF5 tornado is the worst kind. A tornado of this magnitude generates winds greater than 200 mph and is capable of doing incredible damage. Strong frame houses disintegrate or are lifted off foundations and carried considerable distances; cars fly like missiles through the air; trees are debarked and other incredible phenomena occur.

Incident Report, Cover Story

Incident Safety in the Rural Environment:

What is the "rural environment?" Many people have definitions for the term "rural," but seldom are these rural definitions in agreement. For some inhabitants, rural can't be defined, but they know it when they see it.

Seventy-five percent of the U.S. population lives in cities and suburbs, but cities occupy only 2% of the country. Rural areas occupy the remaining 98%.