Harvest season has been in full swing across much of the Corn Belt for several weeks. And with this surge of activity, typically comes an increase in the number of fires we see in harvesting equipment and grain handling facilities. This year has been no exception. In the past few weeks, many fires relating to harvest operations have been reported in these farming communities.

In Iowa last week, firefighters responded to a fire in a tower grain dryer, and high winds…

Does your size-up typically look beyond the moment you arrive? With a good working fire, this may be an obvious part of a response. But what about for those responses where we arrive and believe there to be no fire? If nothing is burning, is there really anything to size-up?

While a good size-up should give us a clear picture of what we have and what we need to do to mitigate the situation, we must also consider the events that we may or may not actually see happening, as well as…

A fire in ventilation ductwork last week resulted in the evacuation of an automotive manufacturing plant in Michigan. Crews spent nearly two hours isolating the fire within some very large ducts used in the manufacturing process.

Ventilation ducts are used in many facilities, whether for dust extraction, material handling, or air quality management. In every case, fires within ductwork present several concerns for firefighters.

Here are just a few…

• Ductwork…

A fire at an Iowa feed plant Tuesday demonstrates why firefighters must be cautious and consider the effects of every action when dealing with fires in compartmented areas of manufacturing equipment. Reports stated that a fire occurred within a cooling tower, and upon firefighters opening the tower, the fire flared up.

Fires within pelleting operations are common, especially if a malfunction or power failure causes a disruption in the flow of air or product within the system. Fresh…

From time to time, hazards that we may have previously recognized as low-frequency encounters become something we are much more likely to face on a fire or other emergency response. Technology or culture evolves. A particular process or type of equipment becomes more prevalent in society. And we get to deal with that.

While the particular changes or improvements may be deemed to make life easier, cheaper, or otherwise more efficient or friendly for society — new hazards may manifest,…

When it comes to facilities handling molten steel and similar substances, firefighters must understand the implications of adding water during any fire suppression activities.

While the event described here was not directly related to an emergency response, this is an excellent example of what can result when water comes in contact with a high-temperature, high-density substance — which in turn, flash boils the water into a massive steam cloud. The expansion of the water into steam…

I want to take a moment to introduce you to our recently redeveloped site, located at www.NotJustAnotherFire.net. We are excited to be working with FireEMSBlogs and all of the PennWell…