Have you noticed many old buildings no longer have Fire Hoses in their Fire Hose cabinets? There is a good reason why

At one time it seemed almost every commercial building, school , civic  center etc. over 1 story had a Fire Hose Cabinet in it where you found a fire hose and fire extinguisher.
but more and more you will find the cabinet empty.

There is a very good reason why these cabinets no longer have a hose and new buildings are being built with out them..

 It comes down to the fact many hoses where never being properly inspected and replaced as needed
 they where just ragged and tagged as its known  and also came down to the fact Fire Officials  would rather you flee a building instead of trying to fight a fire with an inadequate hose especially if you are not properly trained.

the 1 -1/4 hose is far smaller than the 2- 1/2 inch hose firefighters carry in there High Rise Fire Fighting packs  and the other problem is adequate water supply as many of the pipes supplying these hoses where not maintained and are all barnacled up and corroded causing blockages. improperly tested and not replaced fire hoses also present a very significant danger to a user as well if they attempt to use it. 

http://www.fireengineering.com/articles/print/volume-152/issue-7/features/high-rise-standpipe-hose-packs-a-primer-part-1.html

Fire Officials would much rather you flee a building and allow them to go in and fight the fire than them having to worry about  locating and rescuing you.

Also since firefighters are connecting to 2 1/2  dry pipes in buildings where with there high rise hose packs  where water is pumped in from a fire engine  and pipes must be rigidly inspected on an annual basis there is a much better chance a fire will be knocked down faster than citizens using old 1- 1/4  hoses.  and less danger to firefighters.

The other problem is the actual fire load in buildings has dramatically increased with modern plastics etc and being able to fight the fire with a hose and avoid dangerous fumes is all but impossible  if you can not stop it with a hand extinguisher then its time to flee and get out . 



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Additions added onto buildings can be a Death Trap for Firefighters

Building additions are common  as a business grows but they can pose significant risks to firefighters when not properly thought thru. especially when it comes to covering over old Windows and Doors
from the existing structure  as you can see in the pictures below.

When this building was added onto the window was left in place and not properly covered over a firefighter trapped during a fire  inside the old building could be feeling around in the smoke trying to find a way out feel the window ledge in the above photo think he has found a way out when in fact he has not even if he successfully breaks thru it all he has done is broken into the addition.

This is exactly what happened when 3 Pittsburgh Firefighters where killed in a Home in Brushton when a window was covered over with heavy Plexiglas  and they thought they could make there way out  when they felt the window ledge and could not when the steps collapsed and trapped them in a basement.

Take this building in the picture below  looks like a normal building right?

 You would be wrong on the left side of this building underneath is an old Boron gas station this building on the left is a shell built over the original structure I would be willing to bet if I went down to local fire station not one of the fireman there would know this as it was done over 20 years ago.
 Like Francis Brannigan always said  " THE BUILDING IS THE ENEMY  KNOW THE ENEMY"

So what buildings do you have in your district which have been built over layer after layer that are waiting to get you? this is why it is important to do company tours and know how buildings have been modified or be prepared to suffer the consequences.

More Examples of Church Elders not caring to folow Building Codes and putting Public at Danger

Yes once again a glaring example of putting the public at danger and this time it involves children
The First case involves a church in South Hills of Pittsburgh .

Where an elder lets call him Mr. Smith has taken it upon himself to fix a problem where children are swinging on a outside handicapped railing. 

And he was worried they could fall and get hurt .
his solution instead of putting in a metal strip to stop them from swinging under the railing. the proper way code requires he takes some plastic fence pieces  left over from a project and uses indoor rated plastic tie wraps and attaches the fence pieces to the railing.  which now leaves 8 inch gap[ underneath a child could be impaled on and blocks use of the hand rail by a handicapped person so not only is Mr. Smith putting children at danger he is violating Federal handicapped accessibility rules. when I offered to fix it properly for cost he said whats the problem. Well Mr Smith the problem is a child can and will get hurt the tie wraps will eventually break and some one is going to get hurt and the church sued. It is just a matter of time till a building inspector riding buy sees this monstrosity and the church gets cited. But they never do learn they have been cited in the past and if they last another 5 years it will be a miracle but this is what happens when you allow untrained in building codes and construction knowledge and  unethical individuals into a position of power in a church which drives good members away and ends up killing a church because there are not enough donations to maintain it.

More Stupidity from NFPA why do residental R 13 systems not have valve shut off tampers? Especially when used in Small Apartment Houses and Personnel Care Homes etc.

Yes right along with the Daisy Chain Smoke Alarm debacle NFPA has caused there  is an even bigger issue and it involves the one thing they have been pushing on there agenda and thats residential sprinklers .
In small apartment houses and town homes etc. where sprinklers are tapped off the house water line   there is no requirement for a tamper switch to warn  the sprinklers are shut off . I have even seen this with small office buildings and personel care homes.

Anyone can just walk up and turn off the water valve to the sprinkler system and ou would never know.

 Water Line tapped for sprinklers and no tamper in  Small Office Building 

As you can see in the above pictures there is not even any kind of markings telling you the lien and valve are feeding a sprinkler system and all too often these valves are located where the public can easily come upon them and turn them off. 

There are thousands of small apartment units Personnel care homes and offices set up this exact way and all a potential disaster waiting to happen. As you can see this room is jammed full of boxes and junk and a valve could easily be turned off by a box falling against it. Yet codes do not call for these valves to be at least chained off and better yet electrically tampered. But because often these small places do not require a fire system just daisy chain smokes code makers feel it is a burden on owner to install dedicated panel for this purpose  .

Yes the very systems designed to save lives daisy chain smokes and sprinklers  can be fully interrupted and no one knows and no one cares. Dam shame  how little code makers care about those who live in small apartments and personnel care homes .

Do you have 120 VAC Daisy Chain Smokes Alarms in your Home or Apartment Unit ? is your Home or Building Built Before 2004 ? THEY MAY NOT WORK - Better ? why is UL and NFPA still approving there use

It was all the rage back in the 80's when 120 Volt  AC  Powered Daisy Chain  Smoke Alarms came out then then with a 9 volt DC battery back up  in case you lost power  in your new home.
Considered the finest in new home fire safety technology every new home had them installed on every level .

http://www.handymanhowto.com/how-to-install-a-hardwired-smoke-alarm-part-2/

NFPA codes even allowed them to be used in small apartment buildings  and town homes under 6 units  a very big  and deadly mistake .

Because  there is one major problem If you have a home with 120 VAC smokes built before 2004
will the smokes even go into alarm?

This is because it has been found that smoke alarms which utilize Ionization technology can fail to operate after 10 years 

http://www.safelincs.co.uk/why-should-smoke-alarms-be-replaced-after-ten-years/

Personally I have never liked Ionization detector and alarms of any type I have always tried to install Photoelectric smokes which when properly maintained can last for decades.

But because Ionization units are cheaper thats what builders installed  by the millions  and many home and apartment owners have no idea the 120 VAC Daisy Chain units they installed over 10 years ago may no longer work ,because they mistakenly believe it only applies to stand alone 9 Volt Dc smokes not daisy chains.

The bigger problem to is it often takes the additional cost of an electrician to replace them because they utilize 120VAC 

There are hundreds of thousands of home owners who think they are being protected when they are not.  It still amazes me how many homes and  places I walk in and no smoke alarms period.

But to add to this deadly problem is all the small apartment houses and town homes where these 120 VAC units where used  that never get checked or inspected  . Because these small buildings do not have a fire alarm system .

It was seen as a burden to make small apartment buildings put in a fire system yet these typically have more fires than large buildings and are often built of much more flammable construction than a regular brick apartment building.

But as usual NFPA and UL has been short sighted in there thinking and have exposed millions of people to fire hazards because they allowed a less stringent code for small apartment buildings.

and have made it worse by not emphasizing that 120 VAC smoke alarms need changed after 10 years also.

Thank God No more Hootersville . There is a new ( Fire ) Marshal in the town of Penn Hills. But the damage done in his absense will be a challange.

Yes after an almost 3+ year absence of not having a Fire Marshal in Penn Hills the town has Hired Mr. Charles Miller a well educated Individual in codes and fire science and a certified fire investigator and  former Career Firefighter with the city of Jeanette. Pa.

Penn Hills has also settled with former code officers and has hired several knew Code Officers as well all highly qualified.

But during the time of transition for these new code enforcers  being hired things went to shit in the township. Including several buildings being approved and built  with out alarms etc. when they where required . Because they where not properly classified as to how they where being occupied,and plenty of property's abandoned or not being properly taken care of and becoming a hazard because no one kept after them to make sure grass was cut etc.

Of course I warned this was going to happen when Jack Mason retired including code problems with the new high school as well.

But now that they are built and approved there is little that can be done to the delight of those who got away with out properly doing things.
Almost makes you think things where deliberate in delaying hiring new code people..

One of the First things Mr. Miller has done is put in place  " The Compliance Engine" a 3rd party software service which will allow him to keep track of the 300+ business etc  in the town as far as fire alarm  and  fire protective systems  Of course you are hearing all kinds of moans and groans from alarm dealers and building owners . He did this as well as several other large community's. But in the long run it helps keep track of things and insures community safety.

Its already paid off where a plaza I took care of  which had several code deficiencies was now forced to correct them instead of  just passing the buck.

So  hopefully Mr.Miller and the new code officers will be able to  get thru the back log of work and Penn Hills will be all the better for it.  One way to stop a community's decay and discourage crime is by having a solid code  dept so you do not get all the slum lord's and abandoned property's some one needs to be held accountable and so far they have taken action against several slum lords and forced them to fix up there property's or properly demolish them.  It has left some renters out in the cold and the community has helped to get them new places but this is what must be done if you want to have a clean safe community which Penn Hills always was . Although we have gone from mostly white collar to blue collar there is no reason the community has to go down hill .

So Thank You  Penn Hills council for stepping up and doing the right thing. I look forward to being able to retire some day and spend them in Penn Hills and not have to move out because it has become a ghetto. Which has happened in too many community's in Pittsburgh area.

The BAOFENG Solution Proving once again how American consumers have been getting screwed when it comes to the costs of 2 way radios for Amateur Radio Operators and emergency and business radio users. use.

Yes if you have ever had to buy a 2 way radio you know the extreme high costs . But all along we the American consumer have been getting F--ked and Screwed over by American Manufacturers who do not even manufacture there radios in America.
 
Yes brands like Motorola , Kennwood  , Bendix have been way overpriced for decades because they kept smaller manufactures out of the market.
Using FCC ,UL rules and regulations  and others to keep low cost manufacturers out.
while a couple where allowed they cost of the radios was extremely high .
'But no more.
Finally a Chinese manufacturer BAOFENG has broken thru with affordable radios you can buy new not used like I have always had to do when pursuing my amateur radio hobby.  A hobby I and many others  have been frozen out of because of costs because there are no cheap radios to buy not even kits you can build with out getting into several hundred dollars to get all set up.

But for well under $100.00 you can get into the hobby with a well built radio brand new in your hand which you can expand on.

http://baofengradio.us/

It has been well known for at least 2 decades  electronics manufacturing costs have been coming way down overseas where the vast majority of electronics is manufactured but manufacturers chose to  deliberately keep prices high and screw the American consumer.  if Baofeng can charge $35.00 for this dual band 2 meter / 70 CM Amateur radio  why does it cost well over $100.00 for a simple receive only scanner  radio and  $350.00 dollars and much more from vast majority of manufacturers 2 way radios
Especially since they are all manufactured overseas .  Yes prices have been locked in and artificially kept high to fatten corporate fat cats wallets nothing else.
If BAOFENG can delver the above radio for $35.00  So called USA company's should be able to do it for around $75.00  and still make a profit.

Yes any one buying any kind of electronics has been getting screwed all these years and it needs to stop.

ATTENTION Electronic Manufactures I do not want Cheaper Products I want the Dam thing to work Period

I am so dam tired of electronics makers be it burglar and fire alarms, cameras ,radios you name it.
It seems like every time I walk in the supply house the manufactures reps  say  look at this new product update and its so much cheaper.

No this is not what I want I want the dam thing to work . Cheaper means you have cut corners some where  it means you are using me to be the Ginny Pig  to work out the bugs .

Just like all the new automation products they work faster and in mean time the software is glitchy and does not work. Connectors which do not hold properly, IP which will not set etc etc etc.  cheaper means exactly that its cheaply made . I want quality products and all I find is total shit  and problems
  because its made fast its made cheap and software is written poorly.  

I want to put a product in for a customer they are happy it works and I do not have to constantly  have to keep upgrading software and chips etc.etc.and respond to constant glitchs. .

its what i want its what the customer wants and its what many electronic installers want but what do manufacturers do. Keep turning out untested shit products.

When you go out of business and can not understand why. Know its because you did not listen to your customers.