Today's Modern Fire Problem

Introduction

As in previous times, firefighting effectiveness has been improved by technological advances, particularly self-contained breathing apparatus, radios, and larger and more powerful vehicles. Unfortunately, the challenges of urban firefighting have also increased, especially with the proliferation of high-rise buildings. On September 11, 2001, 343 New York City firefighters and paramedics were killed while trying to rescue victims after the attack on the World Trade Center (Tebeau, 58).

As in the past, the increasing expense of firefighter salaries (which are often not as high as those of other municipal employees) and of equipment and insurance have led to ongoing funding struggles between fire departments and cities. Nonetheless, firefighters regularly rank among the most beloved urban employees. As smaller towns grow, they continue to replace their volunteer forces with paid fire departments. Although there are still many more volunteer than paid firefighters in the United States, paid firefighters have effectively protected American cities from fire for over 150 years (Hazen, 29).

Discussion

The disaster management cycle describes a continuum of interlinked activities aimed at the reduction of risk before disaster onset and the pursuit of postdisaster recovery efforts. It is a cycle because what is learned during the recovery phase can be used to produce more effective risk-reduction activities for similar disasters that may occur in the future. The disaster management cycle consists of five parts. The recovery phase consists of 1.) response, 2.) rehabilitation, and 3.) reconstruction activities, while the reduction phase involves 4.) mitigation and 5.) emergency preparedness (Greenberg, 14).

Mitigation and emergency preparedness are complementary. The former involves those measures intended to reduce the vulnerability of places to disaster and to reduce the disaster impacts. Mitigation includes such things as the enforcement of building and land use regulations, the control of hazardous substances, and the implementation of safeguards to protect critical infrastructure elements such as power supplies and communications networks. The overall objective of emergency preparedness is to ensure that appropriate systems, procedures, and resources are in place to provide prompt and effective assistance to disaster victims. In essence, it involves those measures that enable organizations, communities, and individuals to rapidly and effectively respond to disasters. The emergency preparedness component includes the formulation of disaster plans; the special provision for emergency action (i.e., evacuation plans, temporary safety shelters, the mobilization of relief agencies, emergency warning, and communication systems); and public education/awareness programs and training programs (i.e., practice exercises and drills). Although related to other stages of the disaster management cycle, preparedness measures tend to be more strongly oriented toward action by organizations such as police and fire departments, utility companies, hospitals, social service agencies, military, mass media, and nongovernmental agencies (Carp, 81).

There are many disruptive elements associated with disasters, including property damage, loss of livelihood, interruption of essential services, economic losses, physical and mental health impacts. Notwithstanding their dual nature, disasters may be classified as natural or technological depending on the nature of the particular causative agent. Examples of the former include earthquakes, tornadoes, hurricanes, and floods, while the ...