|
![[Under Construction]](images/undercon.gif)
| |
|
SVFFA Safety Bulletins |
Potential Hazards of Photovoltaic (PV)
Systems - Posted July, 2009
|
Fire safety is typically the last thing people think of
when planning their rooftop solar-electric system, but it quickly becomes a hot
topic when a blaze ignites. Here’s a look into the potential hazards of PV
systems when a fire breaks out and how to minimize risks to firefighters. |
CLICK
HERE TO READ THE ENTIRE ARTICLE
| |
| Asbestos
Exposure: Important Information for Firefighters - Posted
September, 2008 |
|
Firefighters clearly face an array of occupational hazards,
including the risk of falling when climbing tall ladders or the potential for burns while fighting a raging fire.
The risk of exposure to asbestos, however, is an equally dangerous hazard for firefighters
that we may not consider. Previous exposure to asbestos has been linked to the development
of pleural mesothelioma,
a fatal type of cancer that
has no cure. |
| CLICK
HERE
TO READ THE ENTIRE ARTICLE |
| return to top of page |
| Sask Power
Emergency Personnel Hand Book - Posted June, 2003 |
| The handbook was developed to provide safety guidelines and
information to emergency services personnel, including fire, police, and ambulance personnel involving electrical facilities and situations before the arrival
of SaskPower personnel on the scene. |
| Copies of the handbook are available by phoning (306) 566-3170, or by email
at inquiries@saskpower.com. A copy of the program can be down loaded in PDF format by
(Clicking Here)
The file is very large (5MB) and will take quite awhile to download especially if you are using dial up internet. You may wish to order a copy from them. |
| return to top of page |
| Children and Fire Helmets - Posted October, 1999 |
|
This advisory applies to children
trying on adult-size firefighting headgear. The weight of these helmets
may seem insignificant to a fully grown adult, but there may be a serious
safety hazard should a child try one on. With the increasing frequency
of firehall tours, especially during
Fire
Prevention Week, fire departments must remain
vigilant so that the potential for injury is minimized.
A notice was issued from the Waldron,
Arkansas, fire department and explained how a child had placed a regular
firefighting helmet on his own head, leaned forward, and subsequently heard
his own vertebrae cracking. Apparently, the weight of the helmet
is just too much for children under 11 years to safely bear. The
child in this case recovered without permanent injury, but only because
he recognized what had happened and received immediate assistance.
There are two practical methods
to help minimize the risk. One is to not allow the use of full-size
adult helmets by children. Instead, provide them with lightweight
plastic imitations until they are big enough to handle a full size helmet. The other approach, if adult size helmets are to be used, is to ask the
kids to stand still while a fire helmet is placed on their heads by a firefighter. The kids are not to be allowed to wear it for an extended period of time,
and should be asked not to move around too much (trying to keep the weight
of the helmet as vertical as possible). The kids should not mind
at all.
|
| return to top of page |
|
FIREHALL LIGHTING - Posted July, 2000
|
| You never know until it's too late just how hazardous
a place your firehall can be. No matter how many times you've wandered
through it, you've never really recognized the hazards - because the lights
were ON when you were there. Now picture the same firehall, the same
bustling of firefighters and their machinery, with a complete power failure.
Imagine responding to a serious MVA call or structural fire at 2 a.m.-
IN THE DARK! Stumbling around without proper building lighting delays
the response and can result in injuries to firefighters. Take this
opportunity to provide emergency standby lighting in your firehall.
Some types can be switched on as needed, and others switch themselves on
during a power failure (some even having motion detectors that preserve
the battery until the time it is needed). The cost of these devices
will be neglible to the time they save in a response and their diminishment
of the possibility of injuring a fellow firefighter. |
| return to top of page |
| FREON REPLACEMENTS - Posted September, 2000 |
|
A number of combustible gas based replacements are now
available as alternatives to freon. The replacements are marketed
under various trade names, including DuraCool and Cooltron, and their intended
market is industrial cooling and refrigeration. Their chemical foundation
is a propane or butane base, combined with a flame retardant. Under
normal circumstances and proper operating conditions (i.e. an industrial
cooling plant), this freon replacement poses no special risk. However,
there are a number of cases under investigation in Saskatchewan where this
gaseous mixture is being blamed for mini-explosions in the cabs of agricultural
machinery (tractors, combines, etc.). Some users have attempted to
recharge their air-conditioning units with this inexpensive substitute -
in some cases simply using pure propane. This practice poses a
SERIOUS
danger to the equipment operator and to any firefighters that should encounter
it in a burning vehicle or tractor.
Please be aware of the possibility of highly flammable
replacements being used in older style air conditioning equipment, and
discourage this practice whenever it occurs. The original danger
of toxic gases being generated by freon contacting heat have now been replaced
by the graver risk of an explosion hazard.
The U.S.
EPA
has specifically banned the use of Duracool as a replacement for CFC 12
outside of industrial applications because of the risks it poses.
|
| return to top of page |
| | |
