We in Howard County are used to seeing our County recognized in so many ways. Top schools, renowned Library, good government and a high quality of life in so many ways just to name a few. We can add a first class Fire and Rescue Service to that list.
I was impressed with how the Fire Service has moved into a direction of developing modular units which can be customized to meet the specialized equipment needs of their response.
These modular units can be placed on flat bed trucks and more easily access locations where they are needed. An added benefit of this system is the cost savings of not having to buy an entire vehicle for each specialized purpose.
One of these modular units pictured above is being designed to respond to a large scale mass casualty event. We have been fortunate not to have had a large one yet but we are in the flight path of BWI airport, near NSA and DC and have trains and trucks carrying hazardous materials through our County. Below is a hazmat suit from that unit.
In a building collapse the crane pictured above is used to lift heavy objects to get to trapped people. I got to try my hand at controlling the crane by remote control.
With the video camera shown above the Department can probe into areas that maybe unsafe or unstable to identify if there are people trapped.
The highlight of the day for me was when I was able to try some of the equipment like the saw above and the acetylene torch below used in collapsed buildings.
I must have sweated away a few pounds in that suit that felt like it weighed 30 pounds. No fun in 85 degree weather.
P.S.
I made the mistake of saying "fireman" when the term is now the gender neutral "fire fighter".
#hocoblogs
Great post! I'm so glad you could join us for the HCDFRS blogger event. And don't worry about saying "fireman." I make more mistakes than you can count. I also finally learned that if I can't tell someone's rank, I just call them Chief. It's better than downgrading them!
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