PREPLANNING SPECIAL SYSTEMS: AREAS OF RESCUE ASSISTANCE

摘要

The benefits of gathering preincident intelligence at target hazards cannot be overstressed. Our communities are constantly changing, and we must maintain up-to-date and accurate information on the facilities we protect. Articles in fire service periodicals constantly reinforce the need to gather information on construction types, life hazards, utilities, hazardous materials storage, industrial processes, and so on. There is good reason for this, since some firefighter injuries and deaths can be attributed to the lack of preincident preparedness. Although preincident intelligence will enhance your knowledge about the hazards of a facility, it is just as important to gather information on situations and systems that will benefit your operations or make some part of your job easier. It is important to understand facility detection systems by knowing what system types monitor which areas. The same goes for sprinkler systems. A properly maintained detection or sprinkler system will greatly aid in our efforts by identifying the location of a fire as well as confining and controlling a fire. We must identify all systems that will affect our operations. I recently encountered a life safety system with which I was unfamiliar until a recent building renovation project at my workplace. When two wings and a second floor were added to the building, so was a unique life safety medium called an Area of Rescue Assistance (ARA). Curious about what this feature was and how it worked, I researched how this system came to be installed in my workplace.