Firefighter Code of Ethics its about time

The Cumberland Valley Volunteer Firefighters Assoc. Has conceived and now produced a
Fire Fighter Code of Ethics
Which is below . They are to be commended for there hard work on it. However there are some firefighters and fire depts I have run across in 30+ years of working with and around fire depts and firefighters who have routinely violated most or all of these ethics.
Ethics are fine if your going to follow them but this is just words on paper for some firefighters who are nothing more than trailer trash.
Its a shame but it is true. Because they bring down all the hard work of the CVVFA and every other hard working firefighter out there. Some of these firefighters think because they volunteer fight fires and save lives this makes them heroes and absolves them of there duty's as respectful ethical citizens.
I often talked about a firefighters hall of shame to expose all the poor practices of some fire company's and firefighters out there. So they know there actions are not to be tolerated.
So with in next few posts I hope to have up memories of past where firefighters did excellent and did poorly. In the mean time read and enjoy this excellent work by CVVFA.

I understand that I have the responsibility to conduct myself in a manner that reflects
proper ethical behavior and integrity. In so doing, I will help foster a continuing
positive public perception of the fire service. Therefore, I pledge the following …….
• Always conduct myself, on and off duty, in a manner that reflects positively on myself,
my department and the fire service in general.
• Accept responsibility for my actions and for the consequences of my actions.
• Support the concept of fairness and the value of diverse thoughts and opinions.
• Avoid situations that would adversely affect the credibility or public perception of the
fire service profession.
• Be truthful and honest at all times and report instances of cheating or other dishonest
acts that compromise the integrity of the fire service.
• Conduct my personal affairs in a manner that does not improperly influence the
performance of my duties, or bring discredit to my organization.
• Be respectful and conscious of each member’s safety and welfare.
• Recognize that I serve in a position of public trust that requires stewardship in the
honest and efficient use of publicly owned resources, including uniforms, facilities,
vehicles and equipment and that these are protected from misuse and theft.
• Exercise professionalism, competence, respect and loyalty in the performance of my
duties and use information, confidential or otherwise, gained by virtue of my position,
only to benefit those I am entrusted to serve.
• Avoid financial investments, outside employment, outside business interests or
activities that conflict with or are enhanced by my official position or have the potential
to create the perception of impropriety.
• Never propose or accept personal rewards, special privileges, benefits, advancement,
honors or gifts that may create a conflict of interest, or the appearance thereof.
• Never engage in activities involving alcohol or other substance use or abuse that can
impair my mental state or the performance of my duties and compromise safety.
• Never discriminate on the basis of race, religion, color, creed, age, marital status,
national origin, ancestry, gender, sexual preference, medical condition or handicap.
• Never harass, intimidate or threaten fellow members of the service or the public and
stop or report the actions of other firefighters who engage in such behaviors.
• Responsibly use social networking, electronic communications, or other media
technology opportunities in a manner that does not discredit, dishonor or embarrass my
organization, the fire service and the public. I also understand that failure to resolve or
report inappropriate use of this media equates to condoning this behavior.
_____________________________ Signature _______________ Date

A stand alone Smoke Detector that Notifys Authorities

A new stand alone Smoke Detector which Utilizes Cellular Communication and costs $9.99

a month for service is available from Direct Connect 911

https://directconnect911.com/index.php

Ideal for cases where you want the advanced protection of a monitored fire system with out all the equipment and costs, you would normally have utilizing a full security/fire system set up in An Elderly Parents or vacation home etc. or any where you want extra protection with out all the complications of running wires ,long term contracts etc.

The unit is no bigger than a standard smoke alarm and uses standard AA house hold batteries.

When activated the smokes cell unit sends an emergency signal to a 24 hr monitoring center who notify' s 911 for you. A video on the unit in action is available at link below.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g1ZU3NyoF2Q

The Large Salad Bowl caused the False fire Alarm?

Well when it comes down to tracking down strange things causing false fire alarms
I have seen it all over the years.

Take the Grade school in the North Hills of Pittsburgh I took care of before coming down with cancer.
Seems like every Thursday during lunch they had a false alarm .
The problem was every time I got there everything was just fine with the system. It had been reset and no way to track down what tripped unlike newer systems. Ok time to put on the detectives cap as the fire Marshal was getting upset and I had no answers .
Which then got me to tracking down where and what time the alarms where coming in.
well it was always the cafeteria area. But why?
I talked with the head of the cafeteria and asked her what they did different on Thursdays during that time period. Well it turns out every 2 weeks on Thursday they set up a buffet line for the kids with big salad bowl etc. the kids just loved it.
Then I asked Ok we have to be dealing with some kind of heat or cold problem setting the system off because there's only heat detectors in this area which should be 185 fixed temp.
so I was wondering do I have a faulty one?
So I asked them to show me where they set everything up and yep you guessed it there was a large salad bowl with ice set up right under a heat detector. So I got out a ladder and checked it and sure enough it was the wrong one it was a 135 degree rate of rise not fixed unit. So every time they pulled the bowl of ice away from under the heat a flash of heat from the kitchen would set it off and by time I got there it had reset.
With this knowledge I checked them all and found 3 which needed changed to fixed detectors and there where no further false alarms at lunch.
the Fire marshal had a good laugh and the case was solved.

this all was completely avoidable had the proper heat detector been installed as the plans called for 185 fixed not rate of rise.
again lazy ass installers who could care less and bosses who just want the damn job done.
putting volunteer firefighters lives at risk every time they responded.

New high Mist Sprinkler System gets the job done

Theres a lot of old firefighters who are totally outdated with there firefighting techniques . Who tell you the only way to attack a fire is with a straight on nozzle stream WRONG .
if you want to get a fire out fast a Fog Nozzle is best the extremely small water droplets suppress by cooling surfaces and cutting oxygen to fire.
One big danger thou is steam that's why it must be properly used and applied or you can end up with scalded firefighters like lobsters in a pot. So that's why they do not teach it.
They would rather your house burn down and they look heroic trying to put it out than to do it with science and technology. same reason they will not use CAF system which uses compressed foam . Because waters free why should they pay for and use foam and save your house and knock the fire out 10 times faster, with less damage.
same with fog nozzles less water faster suppression. With this in mind

UTC Climate ,Controls & Safety company Marinoff

http://www.marioff.com/

http://www.utcclimatecontrolssecurity.com/

Has been using the technology for over 20 years in special applications but now has gotten UL OH1 and FM approval to use it for its new Hi- Fog general purpose sprinkler systems.

The system covers and cools more surface area and helps cut oxygen to the fire and also save significantly on water usage .Which makes it idea for areas with low or limited water resources.

Less water also means significantly less water damage to the structure as well one of the big problems when systems activate when accidentally triggered.

high pressure fog type systems have been used by European firefighters for many years now but as usual the fire service always proves its own worse enemy when you have dinosaur firefighters out there who refuse to update there skills and get educated about fire.Then they wonder why they have trouble getting volunteers.

When Installing Wiring Tight or Loose it Depends?

When we wire with wiring above 50 volts you always want wiring connections tight and cabling installed orderly and with little slack.

However when it comes to low voltage wiring below 50 volts AC or DC you often want to have the connections tight but the wiring run loosely.
If you run any type of wiring which has data over it be it telephone , alarm ,internet the worst thing you can do is run and pull it tight you might as well step away from the job and forget ever getting it to run correctly.
The picture at left may look sloppy but the system works they way it is suppose to because you can not pull data wires tight they need to be loose with slack . or they will not transmit data correctly.
Read any manufacturer of Cat5 wiring and components instructions they want loose and flowing not tight .

I have a very good customer who has a couple of relatives involved in alarm business and they always criticize my alarm and data wiring for being loose and sloppy looking.
But then my customer jabs them in the ribs and reminds them when Nick installs something for me It works and there's no call backs like when you install something.
Why? it gets back to how the wiring is installed and terminated.
Take your average alarm system the field wiring to the devices you want to run with out slack
but the 4 conductor wire you run for the keypad contains data on 2 of the wires. install it with straight UN-twisted wiring and install it tight and the data path becomes interrupted and the noise made by the data path can be injected into near by music system or computers.

This is exactly what happened at my customers home when his relative installed an extra keypad on the system with out twisted wire crossed over a stereo wire in ceiling and every time he went to play music it had a data buzz noise over the speakers ,because the wrong wire was used and it was transmitting into the stereo wire. same thing in his office when they ran the cat 5 wiring too tight constant computer errors while my jacks and wiring work just fine.

This same thing happened at a high end restaurant I was doing a sub contract job installing an integrated system in when I got sick with stage IV colon cancer and had to stop and I warned the people taking the job over they must run cat 5e for the keypads and addressable data path and they did not listen and noise bars and hum came over the TV's in the bar area and sound system . They had to rip everything out and start over. they never ever did get the system working properly when I got better I had to go back and Finnish it.
Some people never learn when it comes to dealing with data cheap out the job it will never work.

How many times do I see the wrong wire being run or very cheaply made wire and devices being used you are going to have nothing but problems cheapening things out.

Its just like people who tightly roll up the wires behind the computers and components your doing nothing but interfering with the data path.

I see this all the time with door entry and intercom systems on buildings where installers refused to install them with proper wire and components same thing my systems work fine while other some times or not at all.
This was particularly true with Nutone Commun-com Intercom systems for apartments it says very specifically in the instructions to use only there Nutone brand wire which is of course is more in cost then other wire so installers buy and use the cheaper wire and the system does not work properly all the time if at all or frequently breaks down. Why because the Nutone wire has a very specific twist to it unlike cat 3 or 5 wire. Thats why Nutone insists you buy there wire. But the usual excuse from installers it does not matter what wire you use its a crap system either way. then what are you doing installing a crap system?
I have Nutone systems that are over 15 years still operating out there just fine. Of course I also surge protected them as well to protect them against storm damage etc. but again same excuse I only put in what I am told, surge protection does not work does not matter how you install it.
When the truth is the wire run correctly is the whole answer.

I install and use very high end very complicated Honeywell fire and security systems and never have problems with them while other installers and dealers will tell you there crap. Sorry this is not the case its your poor installation skills which make them operate like crap.
I never to very rarely ever have to replace boards do to surges etc. When I replace them its to upgrade the systems to do more . Mean while walk into any supply house and see all the boards other dealers bring in to be repaired every time there is a storm. Not me.
Its back to keep the wiring loose and surge protect things or loose them period.

I have phone, fire, card access,intercom and security systems I installed 30 years ago still running and working fine.
because they where wired correctly with correct wire the correct way with proper grounding and surge protection. So do not tell me how crappy a product is its more than likely a crappy installing alarm company doing the work and causing the problem.

So what is Integration and what is an Integrator?

Simply put Integration is the tying together of various systems to make one powerful system which fully functions with another system.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Systems_integration

Take an average business in days of old you would hire a company to install a separate burglar alarm , separate Fire Alarm, Separate card Access, separate entry system and separate camera system. then you also had to call a telephone vendor and separate data people for wiring in and setting up your computers.

Sometimes you where dealing with up to 12 different contractors when setting up your new store or business.

But what if you could combine systems and services so they all flowed together and now you only needed 1 or 2 people to handle everything.

Thats what integration does for you. When systems can communicate with each other to provide more services that's even better.

So when you arm your alarm at night lights automatically turn on or off as need thermostats turn back temperature and your sent either an email or text who armed it when they armed it

etc.

Now combine the cameras and card access system so when some one enters building the door camera takes a full face picture of then lights turn on etc so they can find there way in and system has automatically disarmed it self.

In days past this took lots of wire and many relays and timers and did not give all the extra features today's modern systems do. off site notification was limited in what messages could say But with new systems ,like the Honeywell/Ademco Vista 32-128 -250 FB-BP and BPT series of panels where most functions are done off of a two wire addressable buss cable vs 30 or more wires going everywhere.and full contact ID reporting to central station and complete detailed emails and texts you get the best of both worlds safety and convenience all rolled in one.

So what does an Integrator do?

That's some one like me who takes the time and sits down and researches a job site needs and puts together and then installs the best of all technology available for a customer with in there budget. It can be a fully blown out automated system or Just an very advanced Fire or burglar system which provides extra duties.

While most integrators come from the IT side of technology and get involved with camera and card access set ups . There are Integrators like my self with heavy IT training and also have electrical, electronic and even Lock Smithing , HVAC or other heavy mechanical backgrounds.You find us involved more with Heavy commercial and Industrial concerns Vs. high end residential, retail and corporate offices. but some of us also service those customers as well.

Because we offer a completely different level of services to industry vs a standard integrator.

Where we are controlling and interfacing with industrial controls and machinery. to report problems etc. some times we even build interfaces for equipment as well. While IT guys where Dockers and sport shirts where more blue collar dressed. Wearing Steel toes and protective gear.

Many in the alarm industry feel integrators are above them and are special "the old your shits smells better than ours" . The truth is To be able to do integration properly you must have mastered many building codes and rules and have extensive skills and be multi talented. If not you are putting peoples lives at risk and just kidding your self . You have to be very proficient with computers and data cabling etc. something no standard alarm company even comes close to. The technology we work on is way over there heads.But there is nothing from stopping them from learning how to do it either it just takes education and effort. But too many lazy people ruin it all the time.

Which unfortunately this also means there are to many big name integrators running around my area who have no idea what there doing with codes and care not to follow them and this allows people to get trapped in fires when doors do not open etc.
With more computer company's and 911 nerds getting into integration and not knowing codes like what happened at one of my institutional clients where they had to rip out everything they put in and never did get it operating properly this is more the normal than should be.

Integration is just like anything else it must be properly designed installed and maintained or its just as worthless as every other product with a much bigger waste of money.

Wheres the ground on this machine?

Once again another case of a lazy ass hole putting lives at risk and violating NEC and Major OSHA
Rules but what does he care he got the machine wired and working .

The machine in question is used to grind and sharpen very large size drill bits like those used in machine shops. It can be wired for either 230 or 480 3 phase power.
Normally this would be done with a piece of 14/4 rubber SO style cord.
But apparently this machine was wired with metal green field which is allowable as it provides for a proper ground but the problem it the idiot instead put a 3 wire plug on the end of the greenfield which is not permitted by NEC code . The plug is designed to be used with flexible SO and SJO type cable only . Instead It should have been terminated into a grounded metal junction box.
With this set up there is no safety ground to remove electrical current on the metal case of the machine in case there would be a malfunction in the machine which would allow a live conductor to make contact with the case, any one going over and starting up this machine could receive a severe to fatal electrical shock because the ground is not present.

At one time back in late part of the 1800's up till 1940's it was common practice not to ground machines so that they could stay operating until a line of machines could be shut down and repaired. This prevented the whole line having to be shut down and productivity could be maintained. The shop power bus would have 3 usually red light bubs tied to it and when one of the bulbs went bright it warned there was a problem.
If a bulb went out it meant a phase went out and the line needed shut down till the phase came back on. Unfortunately with this situation electrical engineers eventually found out this was a very bad arrangement because ground faults would not be repaired and eventually you could have a catastrophic run away surge which would take out all motors on the machines on the power bus. With properly grounded motors not only do you have safety but you avoided the run away surges.
Obviously who ever wired this machine was from the old school of wiring where we never ground anything But more than likely it was a do not give a dam to care I can wire anything idiot.
Putting any one operating this machine in danger.

Split main breaker panels they hurt rookie electricians

Split Main Electrical Panels and badly Designed Breakers

An accident waiting to happen

In your home or business

Before they where banned in early 1970’s

The Split Main Electrical Panels where very popular in all electric homes.

The original intent of the design was to prevent accidental overloads and tripping out of the main breaker

and or Main Fuse and losing all power.

When an Air conditioner, electric dryer and electric stove might all be turned on at once.

But the panels came with a very big danger. In order to accomplish this feat the heavy 230 volt 2 pole breakers or 60 amp side fuse pulls where attached directly to the main panel bus and there was no main breaker or fuse protection.

So to the unsuspecting individual who would work in these panels when they turned off the main Lighting breaker or fuse they often times where not aware the 230 volt breaker or fuses where still sending power thru them.

You where powered directly out to the street.

The part of panel which was not protected by the main where only suppose to have 230 volt 2 pole breakers rated 30 amps or higher but often single pole 15-20’s where put in the spot causing an even bigger danger to an unsuspecting home owner who might try working on the panel.

To make the situation even more dangerous is the fact many of these panels have in them

Federal Pacific Breakers which have seen several recalls due to failure to trip on an overload.

But Federal pacific is not the only breakers with bad history’s.

Ask any experienced electrician who does trouble shooting on a regular basis and the Names

Zinsco and Murray will often come into the conversation.

Older Murray panels have a very badly designed main breaker which instead of being bolted to the panels main bus bar is just stabbed on like a regular breaker and only a small amount of metal makes contact to the bus bar and over time will heat and loosen with heavy use.

ITE split main panel   where red label is located these breakers mnust be 30 or more amps and have no main protection

The Zinsco panel breakers like the Federal pacific breakers will not trip on overload and recently from the field I am getting a lot of reports that GE breakers manufactured in last few years are starting to exhibit this same problem.

A different type of problem plagues the older ITE / Bull Dog Pushmatic Panels.

The panels which are no longer made where actually very well designed with each breaker having to be bolted down on the bus bar instead of just stabbed in but the problem developed when electricians failed to properly install the breakers screw to the bus bar and many where stripped or cocked into place not making full contact to the bus bar

Now add in the dangers of aluminum romex and you have the makings for a fire.

Often times problems with electrical equipment happens because of bad install by the electricians who did the work or wrong panel was used for a job where a commercial panel board instead of a breaker box should have been used .But too many times it is badly designed equipment. Here is an excellent video on You Tube showing one as well as n inspectors blog with pictures

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8dn1t5BBPIU

http://www.buellinspections.com/split-bus-electrical-panels-no-main-breaker

I work regularly with the CPSC The Consumer Products safety Commission in the reporting of bad products in the field ,but the problem is when electricians encounter problems they correct them and never make note of them or report them.

Arson Fire Spree and Redevelopment there is no coincidence?

Seems like the Arson bug or bugs are at it again in Mckeesrocks Pa. this time along Chartiers Ave
since the end of November there have been almost a dozen fires some suspicious some accidental along with the fires have been 2 fire deaths .
Now given the fact McKeesrocks has a supposed Indian curse placed upon them because an Indian Burial Mound was disturbed . I think redevelopment via Arson is going on.
lets look at whats been going on down there it was announced last year that the Old railroad yards of the Pittsburgh & Lake Erie Railroad known as P&LE which where burned down in an arson fire by the way 20 years ago
are going to be redeveloped into light manufacturing and flex office space and storage.
Which means jobs and opportunity. How ever to attract people to come and open a business there ,
the town needs a little spring cleaning and if shopping and housing are convenient for workers all the better.
What better way to clear property scare out the undesirables and then scoop up the lots using shill buyers at a cheap price than with Arson.
The same exact thing I suspect going on in the City of Duquesne .with the plans for the new pipe plant and Cochran Towne development.Along with an announced water park expansion.
I saw the same thing going on in Hazelwood .Braddock and other towns when the Mon Valley expressway was going to be put in after they announced was cancelled all the fires stopped.

Lets face it to have so many fires in Mckeesrocks accidental or other wise is a statistical anomaly
there is that many.
Plus it is easy enough to make a fire look accidental and if investigators make mistake's and rule fires arson when there accidental .Its just as easy to rule a fire accidental and it is arson.
with so many things coming out about junk science and fires yes it is a real mess.
I am not saying investigators are incompetent but like all areas some are better trained than others etc. and if an arsonist is intent on making it look like an accident and there's complete destruction and no flammables involved to start it how do you prove it is arson unless some one is seen fleeing etc.

I am not saying the people who are doing the redevelopment have any thing to do with the fires its the opportunists taking advantage of the situation.

Now yes take into fact Mckeesrocks has lots of old wooden structures with bad wiring every other town does to so why are there not as many fires in these towns as well?

Yes it is absolutely amazing the number of supposed accidental fires we have here in Pa.
when other towns and states around us are not having them. I can ride with my scanner on all day thru Ohio and W. Virginia not hear one fire call while once I am over the Pa. line multiple calls. So go figure its either an evil plot to conspire and use arson to redevelop or its just dumb luck.

If your going to install a new iGSMV Honeywell communicator better learn what a crossover cable is

I recently installed one of the new
Total Connect 2 Internet and GSM Cellular communicators Honeywell has come out with
the new iGSMV which looks similar to the unit at bottom of left picture.

Its primary path uses internet and its back up by cellular in addition to land line dialer a very secure unit with one minor problem in very small print they tell you in the manual you need a cat5e Cross Over cable .

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crossover_cable

Now why Honeywell does not prominently state this in the install manual is beyond me I can see installers and techs spending unneeded hours on the line with tech support and everything that goes with it.
I see this same problem all the time on T1 circuits used in business as well they often require a cross over between the T1 jack and modem interface and I have seen plenty of IT guys who do not know this and spend hours figuring out the wrong cable was used.
This should not be such a big issue but it is unfortunately there is a big lack of knowledge when it comes to different cable configurations and if your not IT savvy you have no business being involved in it but alarm company's do it all the time send out installer after installer after tech after tech because they will not properly train there people or equip them with proper tools and testers. I have the proper testers/ analyzer for networks I knew my cable was right I could pop up an IP number but saw no transmission /acknowledge lights flashing on communicator which told me to look for and as I figured correctly I need a cross over cable. Only took me 15 minutes not 3-5 days like I have seen other so called
integration company's techs take.

Their at it again pass worthless license alarm rule in Pa.

Yes the Pa. Burglar and Fire Alarm Assoc. is once more at it again trying to get a state license passed in this state. Only problem the state has no money to enforce it so like the registration law it is totally worthless and enforced by a paper tiger.
Contractors are laughing at the new registration law it just makes the slobs look more legitimate and there still ripping people off look at my friend Ceora and her roof the state has done absolutely nothing to the contractor.
All a license does is determine who works who does not that's it.The little guy contractor gets screwed again .


Look at the registration test and license in City of Pittsburgh on the very top of the permit line they ask for the contractors tax number, not license number first.

An alarm license in this state means nothing unless there is actual hands on testing inspection and enforcement. None of which will happen in Pa. the states broke and the state does not care.
and to even get a licensed individual now in this state thru a state board hearing and an action taken is almost impossible unless a criminal complaint is part of it.

Other groups including wedding photographers and Interior decorators have tried to get a Pa. state license as well. sorry we do not need to be like NY state.
Of course all the company's pushing for the new licensing are some of the biggest offenders to begin with. When it comes to properly installing burglar and fire alarms.
it requires a license a certification a registration which requires you to actually show skills hand on not just pass a written test and it requires follow up to make sure the jobs are being done right. just look at How many UL certificated Burglar Alarm systems I have found put in totally wrong over the years in jewelry and check cashing stores. By one of this assoc. own members.

No and dam no . No license today tomorrow or next year unless it has teeth and meaning.

A license, insured , bonded etc. etc. means nothing unless it is enforced. Otherwise it is a

disservice and insult and rip off to the citizens of the Commonwealth of Pa.. yes where actually a commonwealth not a state.

Why are partial protected sprinkler areas not more widely promoted

Why does the building codes and AHJ's not promote the use of partial sprinkler protection in basements , Janitors closets, storage rooms, furnace rooms etc.
The1-2 heads are tapped directly from the domestic water source no complicated expensive work involved.
High risk areas are covered with out the cost of deploying a full system. The use of these single heads and a full Fire Alarm System can provide more than adequate protection in many structures where a full sprinkler system is not really needed or can not be afforded.
Community's around me before the codes changed encouraged this practice and in fact several times these single head systems helped stop major problems and or gave occupants time to escape.
Your talking $20.00-$50.00 a head to do this depending if you your hiring some one or can DIY it.
But as usual no only full complete systems never promote a very cost efficient system which can be used in any home or business and easily retrofitted. At one time they even sold a kit you attached to your laundry sink and then hung the head above laundry equipment. But you know dam well UL and NFPA would have no such item on the market.

Beware Re- Packaged Products when you go to buy

I have one of those big DIY warehouse 5 minutes from me and its handy to pick small and last minute things up instead of running all the way to an electrical supply house.
The problem thou this warehouse along with many other places use a repackaging service.
When an item has been opened by the consumer and then brought back and can not be immediately restocked.
So at end of a week or month depending on the amount of returns , the re-packer comes by and collects all the items takes them to there plant where items are then checked out and repackaged to be sold as new.
One of these large re-packing services is located in Blawknox Pa. in the old Paper Craft Complex.
They inspect the product make sure everything is in the package and then repack it and seal it. to be sold as new. This is where I have a big problem no the product is not new it has been repacked and should be marked as such .
The reason how many times I have walked into Home Depot in Wilkins Twp. Pa. and ended up returning a light fixture which was a repack and was missing parts. I do not know who Home Depot uses or if its there own people doing it , but who ever it is they do a poor job repacking so I no longer stop and buy any light fixtures from there or any home depot any more. I have never had this problem with Lowes.
I also no longer buy plastic jars of wire-nuts at Home Depot either I often find the inner seals missing which means there's no 100 or what ever amount your buying there's less.
I have contacted Home Depot Corporate about this and told them about having there vendor put an outside seal on the containers so you can see they have been opened and also about the poor repack jobs.
They told me they are looking into it and let manager know any time I catch problems so they can make sure consumers get what they are buying. They are trying but as big as the chain is it is very hard to keep shrinkage from happening. Some times its outright theft some times its employee's helping out a shopper taking something out so they have a full package and then not making sure its been fixed.
End result you need to checkout items make sure there properly sealed from factory and not been tampered with. Even at the electrical supply houses I have hit out right fraud problems as well with bad or shorted products but not as often as at the Big box places.

One particular Lighting supply I use to buy from on Northern Light on Pittsburgh's North Side now closed was famous for showing one item and selling you something else. One of my high end customers saw this beautiful Italian glass wall sconce fixture hanging on the display $185.00 each ordered 2 and I picked them up for her , when we got them to here house and opened them up they where no longer glass but plastic which they brought out from the back. They where also famous for charging $40.00 for a roll of electrical tape or bag of zip ties on your invoice if you where not careful as well. Wonder why he had to go out of business.

Electra lighting in Monroeville which recently went bankrupt and is gone has been sued by Pa. Attorney Generals Office for not fulfilling orders and shorting people etc as well.

Unfortunately there are plenty of scum business people out there and we have way too many of them in Pittsburgh Pa.

So how do you tell It might be a repackaged item.
look at all the others if your package has clear tape on it and others have staples only holding it closed suspect a repack inspect it carefully before you buy it.
I just went thru this with a big box pharmacy when my mom bought a heating pad and it was missing an inner cover I had to drive out and exchange it.

Bottom line check the picture on the item makes sure its all there and check to see if the package has been opened. If it has clear tape over it suspect a repack.

Welcome NY Firemasters Blog

Here's another good blog on alarms to follow from Mike Sokoly and MES Security Systems

New York Firemaster's Blog

http://nyfiremaster.blogspot.com/

3 cents worth of tape stops Alarm system problems but Lazy ass installers and companys will not do it.

Just pennies worth of any type of tape will stop many alarm system problems but alarm company's will not supply there installers with a $1.00 roll of tape and installers will not buy it on there own.

The problem as shown in the bottom photo is the screw which stick out just slightly after mounting a keypad.
As you can see in the left picture which is the rear view of a keypad there are many small electronic leads which could bump against these screws and short or cause problems if some one with heavy fingers pushes on the keypad keys the result alarm system malfunction and false alarms .
The tape insulates the screws from the electronic leads and there by eliminates the problems. But as always is the case Alarm company's who money is the bottom line and installers who do not care install keypads all the time with out it and you the consumer pay for it.
A simple 3 cent trick the difference between a functioning alarm and a garbage install. As you stand there and explain to the Fire dept the keypad fire button went off all by its self.

Lazy ,Ignorant and Uncaring SLOB Contractors delaying jobs and putting lives on the line

Everyday I have to put up with uncaring lazy bastards and Asshole contractors who could care less if they slow you down and delay you trying to do your work and costing you money and they
show it in there work everyday when they put not only workers but innocent children's lives at jeopardy.
take the recent job site I was on where there building a couple high end homes in the city of Pittsburgh Mt Washington section and keep in mind there are occupied homes all along this street some with children and notice how an excavated ditch for putting in the foundation is not protected by anything to keep a person walking at night from falling in and getting hurt or killed. This is a serious Major
OSHA code violation as is the 2 - 300 pound Propane tanks out back not properly secured which if bumped could take off down the driveway and street and explode what a nice play ground this national home builder has done for kids to get hurt or killed. Nice job HL

Then theirs the lazy ass stupid I do not care slap it up Dry Waller's who bury wires and force me
to have to open holes in finished walls to find intercom wires they have buried and the lazy ass Roofers
who did not clean up there nails and I got one in my work boot and almost in my foot.

So I have notified building inspection who will be calling on this national builder and giving him several citations.
So what where the crews answers.
It was late etc tot tired to do it right etc. there is no excuse for this and if some one does get hurt The insurance the home builder has does not cover gross negligence which is what this is . He will have to pay the judgement which could be hundreds of thousands of dollars . Which he will not he will just go bankrupt and start under a new name. Thats what they always do because no one is ever held accountable in the state of Pennsylvania for there actions.
As usual people stand there shake there heads and say how could this happen.

Bosch Recalls Fire panels

Recall Alert

U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission

Office of Communications

Washington, D.C.

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February 15, 2012 Alert #12-721

Fire Control Panels Recalled by Bosch Security Systems Corp. Due to Alarm Failure Posing a Fire Hazard

The following product safety recall was voluntarily conducted by the firm in cooperation with the CPSC. Consumers should stop using the product immediately unless otherwise instructed. It is illegal to resell or attempt to resell a recalled consumer product.

Name of Product: Fire Alarm Control Panel

Units: About 330

Manufacturer: Bosch Security Systems, Inc., of Fairport, N.Y.

Hazard: On all systems, when the alarm verification feature of the system is turned on, the control panel can fail to sound an alarm if a fire occurs. In addition, on systems with 50 or more reporting stations, a delay in sounding an alarm and reporting a fire may occur if the loop for the alarm system is broken.

Incidents/Injuries: None reported.

Description: The Bosch-branded fire alarm panel is locking red wall box with dimensions 22.7� high by 14.5� wide by 4.3� deep. The status, date and time can be seen through a glass screen on the panel door. The word �BOSCH� is printed on the right corner of the panel and the model number �FPA-1000-UL� is printed on the bottom left below the glass screen. The alarm panels featured software versions 1.10, 1.11 and 1.12, which can be determined by installers. They were designed to be used in small to medium-sized facilities in both public and residential buildings.

Sold at: Authorized distributors and installers nationwide from May 2009 through October 2011 for about $1,200.

Manufactured in: China

Remedy: All distributors and installers are being sent two technical bulletins. One provides instructions for how to implement a software change that will correct the verification feature. The second contains instructions for how to handle warnings from affected systems with 50 or more stations. Those who have not received the bulletins should contact Bosch.

Consumer Contact: For more information, contact Bosch Security Systems at (800) 289-0096 between 8:00 a.m. and 8:00 p.m. ET or visit service/customer care on the firm�s website at http://www.boschsecurity.us/en-us/ for instructions on how to download software to update the control panels or otherwise address the problems.

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The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) is still interested in receiving incident or injury reports that are either directly related to this product recall or involve a different hazard with the same product. Please tell us about your experience with the product on www.saferproducts.gov

CPSC is charged with protecting the public from unreasonable risks of injury or death associated with the use of the thousands of consumer products under the agency's jurisdiction. Deaths, injuries, and property damage from consumer product incidents cost the nation more than $900 billion annually. CPSC is committed to protecting consumers and families from products that pose a fire, electrical, chemical, or mechanical hazard. CPSC's work to ensure the safety of consumer products - such as toys, cribs, power tools, cigarette lighters, and household chemicals - contributed to a decline in the rate of deaths and injuries associated with consumer products over the past 30 years.

Under federal law, it is illegal to attempt to sell or resell this or any other recalled product.

To report a dangerous product or a product-related injury, go online to: www.saferproducts.gov, call CPSC's Hotline at (800) 638-2772 or teletypewriter at (800) 638-8270 for the hearing impaired. Consumers can obtain this news release and product safety information at www.cpsc.gov. To join a free e-mail subscription list, please go to https://www.cpsc.gov/cpsclist.aspx.

Where theres smoke theres fire? a strange Fire Investigation

Before my cancer battle I took care of a very large school districts alarms in the North Hills of Pittsburgh in an upper income area.
They had just opened a new middle school when I get called to reset the fire alarm and remove items in the computer lab after the sprinklers popped I get on site and get things secured and then in talking with the superintendent he asks me if I could help determine if there was a fire where it was and why the sprinkler heads went off.
I start by talking to the custodian a Volunteer firefighter who tells me he was sure he saw smoke in the hall way outside the computer lab but when he got there after hearing the alarms and starting down the hall the sprinklers went off and the smoke disappeared.By time trucks arrived. Ok but there is no smell of smoke was it electronic etc but what set the heads off not just smoke it takes165 degrees of heat and looking at the heads all 6 had there links melted. Things where just not adding up.
I then get up in the ceiling and notice everything is wet. Ok what is going on the pipes are also very warm. I then ask the custodian could that have been steam you saw which look like smoke and where any workmen in the school today and the light bulbs all start going on in all the school peoples head . Yes the HVAC guys where there and turned on the new central humidifier next to the computer room on today. We next opened up the ceiling above the humidifier and had our answer the fill valves stuck causing an overflow of water allowing the steam to build up inside the ceiling heating the pipes to the pint the sprinkler heads popped and it was steam that looked like smoke. The poor owner of the HVAC company showed up pale as a ghost and looking sick because tens of thousands in computers and data wiring where damaged and looked like he was on the hook for it. A mechanical engineer /fire investigator came the next day and came to the same conclusion I did the humidifier did the deed. the HVAC contractors insurance took care of everything and had the room back up and operating in short time.
Because I had photographed everything showing the steam and other marks before everything dried up it helped with the investigation. So this was definitely a strange type of Fire that was not.

Once again a Valuable Lesson could have been learned and Fire service Ignored It

Yes unfortunately every day the Fire Service proves it is its own worst enemy take the very valuable field training exercise and Video opportunity which could be used in the class room that could have been theirs for absolutely nothing. Instead they choose to ignore it and some firefighter has been seriously injured some where in Pa. because of it,because they would have known the dangers these cathedral roofs pose.
One of my customer's purchased and old very large Social Hall in the Olde Dutch Towne section of Pittsburgh's North Side .
It sat for many years neglected and the gutters filled up with debris and after a severe winter with plenty of ice a 40 ft section of roof collapsed bringing down with it a 15 foot round wood and steel chandelier and 12x12 inch wooden beams. Thank god it happened at night and no one was in the building.
Seeing an excellent once in a life time training opportunity for fire rescue personnel to actually come on site and see with there own eyes the damage and see all the signs of what had happened and then video everything to be able to share what they saw and learned exactly how everything sat and see how the roof actually moved because a rescue did not have to take place.
The would have gotten to see it fresh. Actually see the whole ceiling ripped open the beams sitting off kilter etc etc.
But no they ignored it. I contacted the County Fire Academy gave them all the contact info and that the owner and insurance company would wave off all injury claims etc.
To allow for this once in a life time opportunity no strings attached and they BLEW IT. They never bothered to call.
So firefighters never got to see the collapse and to learn first hand in an untouched environment.
The pictures above show the roof as it was being repaired.
There was never any further danger of the roof going and with safe boundary set it all could have been captured and used for training but why they ignored it go figure?
My customer a professional photographer with expert video staff offered to help do the video and everything else and take it off as a tax deduction as well.
When I told other firefighters and showed them pictures they where outraged that the Academy decided to do nothing.

Also to rub salt in a wound the owner of this property next door also had a 6 story brick and wood timber building he bought and was renovating he offered to allow rescue crews come in and use there tools to force entry on doors cut thru various walls etc and set up rescue scenarios
including the old freight elevator shaft and was refused as well. It all came down to one PHerson being an ass and stopping it all.

I Know Sprinkler Companys are not properly testing the systems.

At left is a picture of damage from a $300,000.00 water damage claim in a restaurant .
Because a Fire Suppression Sprinkler System was not properly tested and maintained .
The reason I know this is because when we looked at the tag for the last inspection and it says they checked all valves and switches I know for a fact they did not. How do I know because modern Addressable Fire Alarm Systems have very extensive logging capability which tell if items where tested or not and when I looked at the log there where no activations meaning the tests where never done. the log has storage for 1500 entry's six months of data capability . The flow switches, the tamper valves and pressure switches where never activated or tested.
The logs and pictures are now in the hands of lawyers and insurance investigators who surely will recommend a lawsuit be filed against the sprinkler company for not doing there job correctly in an attempt to recover what they had to pay out.

Unfortunately I run across this all the time my customers pay a sprinkler company to come on site and properly inspect and test the system and it is never done. I also know it is not being done because the sprinkler company if doing the test properly should be calling the monitoring center to put the system on test so Fire Trucks do not respond and they do not get called.
I figure upwards of 50% of my customers do not get what they pay for which can be as much as $350.00 for a full test and inspection. and nobody cares nobody wants to know as long as the paper work is signed. Then its duck and cover your ass. Shameful. It happens with fire extinguishers and fire alarms as well.

Is there a Aluminum Wire Killer Hiding in the wall of your 1960's era Home?

If you own a home built in the 1960's or had an addition added to your home in the 1960's you may well have a Killer hiding in the wall waiting his time to kill you.
You see he waits a long time he may never even strike. But he is there waiting to get you at any time day or night.
The killer I am talking about is Aluminum Romex type wiring which was substituted for copper during the copper shortage and strikes of the 1960's.
This type of Aluminum was used for wiring outlets and switches and came in 10 gauge Romex looking type wire.
The Consumer Products Safety Commission has outright banned it and recommends ripping it out where possible.
after a series of horrific fires and deaths in the 70's

https://www.cpsc.gov/CPSCPUB/PREREL/prhtml74/74040.html

This takes a properly trained electrician and expert to evaluate and repair not your cousin or brother in law want to be electrician or you can make things much worse.

The problem starts where copper and aluminum was tied together. The two metals are dissimilar and corrosion slowly starts till the wire starts working loose and a high resistance is caused which causes heat . any time you tie copper and aluminum you must use special marked connectors and lugs with AL/CU marked on them that physically separates the two metals

Aluminum also must be properly sized up to handle the amperage as well by at least 30% over copper that means number 10# wire vs 12# wire for a 20 amp circuit.

Additionally depending on the device or lug being used a special anti corrode paste such as Noalox must be applied to keep heat to a minimum .

Like I said this is no job for any one other than an expert to handle.

What can be done to protect your house is

1# if you can get to the wiring rip it out and replace it with copper where you can .

2# Replace outlets and switches with proper pigtailed copper devices and or device rated for aluminum

3# redo all splice points with proper connectors.

4# use anti corrode paste at all breaker and neutral bar connections etc.

5# Consider installing the circuits on Arc Fault breakers or outlets which detect problems and shut down circuits.

6# make sure your smoke detectors are working and adding additional units.

All of the Aluminum Romex I have come across is black jacketed and has the words Kaiser or Alcoa on it.

Do not confuse the large aluminum usually gray in color feeder wires in a house with the Romex aluminum

Size 6# and larger is still permitted to be used but must be properly installed .

Also older homes with knob and tube wiring may look aluminum it is really tinned copper but it still takes an expert to determine this.

signs of danger which goes with all wiring .

Dimming lights, sparking and crackling sounds ,items running half speed turning on and off warm areas around outlets If you suspect you have a problem call an expert qualified or licensed electrician do not play games your life could be on the line should you smell burning electrical smell turn off power if possible and notify 911 you have an electrical condition who will dispatch firefighter and electrical utility trouble shooter to your home.Do not play games and wait it may well be too late.

Do not attempt half witted repairs not doing the whole circuit and only repairing one part can lead to bigger problems the whole circuit must be traced out and fixed.

Stay alert stay alive in the pictures above a young couple who bought a 60's era house and smelled something was burning are alive today because they acted and called me otherwise they would be very dead.

Live to Die Twice A lesson about Fire unlearned

If your ever on US- 40 going thru Washington County towards the Pa. line with West Virginia slow down turn on WKZV 1110AM and enjoy the real country station which plays the likes of Johnny Cash ,Merle haggard and George Jones and its like you have gone back in time in your 54 Ford F100 pickup Cruising the back roads .Yes you can hear the banjo's playing around there.
After passing thru rural Claysville and all its unique shops the old original national road peals off to the left and takes you into the rural town of West Alexander Pa. You have to go looking for it being off the path and now a days at 12 noon you could fire a cannon down the main street and not hit a thing it was not always this way it was a moving small town before it was cut off when US 40 was widened and straightened in the 1950's and all the business left . Then when Interstate 70 cut thru the town was done for sure in the1960's to become one of those little gems of an old rural town you find all over Pa.
The town was pretty much dead or that's what they thought when I -70 came thru, but that was not to be the case . The town would live again and become a very special place to come to on the weekends after a business owner located there craft shop there in the 70's and all the other little old shops started filling up with all kinds of specialty stores from leather goods to chocolate at one time almost 50 neat little specialty stores known as "West Alexander shoppes " operated in the town. But the one thing no one took into account was they where mostly row buildings and thou they fixed up the shops no one thought about the potential for fire and with building codes being so lax back then it was anything goes.

Well it all came to an end one cold winter evening in the 80's half the town and its shops where gone. A couple of the shops hung on but by the 90's it was all done for a town once more dead.
How ever this was not the first time it happened in this town in 1831 there was also a catastrophic fire which took out almost the whole town But like the famous quote goes" Those who fail to learn the lessons of the past are condemned to repeat them"and it happens all the time here in Pa. we never learn our lesson and stand there and shake our heads how could this have happened. By the way on I -70 west a bill board on an old barn still advertises the shoppes and invites you to stop.
We never learn our lesson with fires in Pa.

UPDATE : Sadly WKZV no longer is in business the station has gone dark turned in its license to FCC and torn down its towers new homes now sit there  . How ever they have started doing slowly work to restore the old bank

Best laid plans of men and mice what one plant learned when it tried to automate

Back in the 70's while working as a security guard and while I was going to trade school I guarded a now closed plant called Affordable Furniture located in what was the one time Continental Can company plant in West Mifflin Pa. The plant was the forerunner to the IKEA type put it together your self furniture where they built there furniture using particle board example picture at left they made Book stands , coffee tables , night stands and such . The plant had numerous stations where employees would feed the boards into Jove Machines which put different edges on and trimmed the boards etc and worked very well.
But the plant was union labor and always seemed to have labor problems. When the last strike they had lasted for several weeks the union and plant finally agreed to eliminate some positions and bring in automation to cut down on the number of employees needed so the plant would be profitable . So In came Mr. Jove with some innovative machines his company builds along with some European manufactures and they shut the plant down for 2 weeks and rebuilt the line.
In talking with Mr. Jove and giving him my background he said to come and see him when I finished school for a job, as usual just one of many lies and broken promises people have told me over the years.It does not apear he is around any more either can not find anything on him.

All of the machines and processes worked great except for one European machine which was designed with suction cups which was suppose to pick up the painted board and flip it. so the other side could be painted. Well there was one big problem because the boards where made of compressed saw dust they where porous so when the suction cups came down to grab the board
some times the boards picked up and flipped some times they did not pick up at all and other times the suction cups did not release in time and a board would go flying thru the plant. when the arm flipped it. They spent some where around $10,000.00 for the machine but despite many attempts it never worked and they had to end up with a person still flipping them by hand.
The plant however was not sustainable and was sold and moved south in thew early 80's
The plant then became a duct metal building facility and then was torn down and is now a Target store.
It was a shame but 125 jobs where lost and Continental Can which moved to a bigger plant up the street also closed as well and several hundred more jobs gone. the 80's where a bad time around Western Pa when all the steel mills went down and took with them many other jobs and plants.