This year's 90th anniversary of Poland's regaining independence was formally commemorated. Laying flowers at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in Józef Piłsudski Square in Warsaw was the main part of the celebration.
We All Will Retire
The Union of Pensioners of the Fire Service of the Republic of Poland (ZEiRP RP) will celebrate 15th anniversary of its activity next year, therefore it is not only worthwhile, but even necessary to speak about and fight for the issues important for our Union and its members. I believe that all professionally active SFS firefighters understand this, since they will also be pensioners one day, says Senior Brigadier ret. Jan Cała, chairman of the ZEiRP RP. Interview by Bogdan Romanowski.
Fall of a Giant
On 18 September at about 3.45 pm a port crane fell down on a wharf used by Porta Odra Sp. z o.o. shipyard in Szczecin. One person was killed, and the crane operator was trapped in his cab crushed under the steel structure of the crane. By Mariusz Godlewski.
They Have as They Wished
While the organization of the emergency centers is being discussed in Poland, we decided to take a look on the already working centers. There are several such centers in Poland, but we chose the Center for Coordination and Civil Protection in Toruń with the seat in the District HQ of the SFS. It has been operating for four years and has an impressing ICT center. Firefighters had significantly contributed to the center being opened. By Anna Łańduch.
Between Earth and Sky
Building a gondola lift is of essential importance for the town on wieradów Zdrój, situated at the foot of the Izera Mountains. The lift is a very important asset of this charming resort. But it is equally vital for the most important tourist investment in years to meet safety requirements. That is why the idea to organize rescue exercises before putting the lift into use turned out to hit the mark. By Lech Lewandowski.
Warehouse on Fire
A very dangerous fire broke out in a warehouse in Poznań at the beginning of August. It posed a serious threat to people, property and environment. It is worthwhile to present the organization of rescue and extinguishing action as well as the procedures during the fire, which may serve as experience for professional training. By Jerzy Ranecki
Tanker With Plume
The firefighters from Chrzanów will long remember the Friday evening of 26 September 2008 because of one of the most serious fires of the last few years. At 8.11 pm the brand-new District Alarm and Dispatch Center joined with the District Emergency Management Center received emergency calls informing about a dramatic situation in the city center, where a tanker carrying LPG caught fire under a railway flyover. Just few minutes later 3 fire vehicles from a fire and rescue unit from Chrzanów were going to the fire. By Wojciech Rapka
Exercises Noteć Forest 2008
Learning in Forest
Increasingly rapid climate changes in our region accompanied by such weather anomalies as long-term droughts are the cause of increasingly higher number of forest fires noted by the fire protection units each year. Only in 2008 there have been almost 1,000 forest fires in the Wielkopolska province. To guarantee a high safety level it is necessary to keep improving our structures, since they have to meet requirements set by nature. By Tomasz Daszkiewicz
Dog Has to be Workaholic
The forests near Sieradz have swarmed with dogs. Not ordinary dogs, but decent rescue four-legged professionals. The dogs had to face another test in their life. Task: to find victims. Goal: to prove that they still know their stuff. By Anna Łańduch
Exogenous Fires in Copper Ore Mines
In the mining industry, especially in the underground mines, fires are one of the most common threats requiring often long-lasting rescue actions. This is the result of, first of all, a special character of underground working whose limited capacity leads to the acceptable level of concentration of harmful gases being quickly exceeded, can change the direction of air-flow, which is dangerous in such a situation, and limits the freedom of movement of people, especially if the place is filled with smoke. By Tomasz Sawicki
Chimney Systems Made of Plastics
Modernity or Threat?
The end of the 20 century brought a dynamic development of a heating technology. This resulted in developing a structure with ideal parameters of energy efficiency: heating appliances with a closed combustion chamber and condensing appliances. Introducing those solutions to the housing made it necessary to use new techniques to lead off combustion gases, which entails also new structures of chimney systems. By Piotr Cembala and Zbigniew Tałach.
Conference in Newcastle
Fire Crimes in Europe
Crimes using fire pose a significant problem to many European countries. A detailed analysis shows that the problem affects all social circles and has very diversified grounds. Piotr Guzewski writes about the conference.
Belarusian Lesson of Fire Service Education
At the beginning of October I took part in the international scientific and technical conference "Preventing Extraordinary Threats" organized by the Command and Engineering Institute of the Ministry for Emergency Situations of the Republic of Belarus. This long name may suggest at first that it is a bit ossified and archaic institution, while the Institute is in fact an officers college educating commanders of the professional fire service in Belarus. Taking into account the condition of the buildings, faculty and teaching equipment, the unit may be compared to the best units in Europe. By Paweł Rochala.
Psychological Support - Underestimated Form of First Aid
Joanna Płuczyńska writes about what we should pay attention to while providing support to both adult and children victims.
In the Spirit of St Florian Tradition. Part 3
This article ends the illustrated story of the awards given by Volunteer Fire Service units and the departments of the Union of the VFS of the Republic of Poland. By no means has the subject been exhausted and I believe that it will recur to the hospitable columns of Fire Review not once. By Krzysztof Krężel
Oldest Mercedes-Benz Fire Vehicle in Poland
Many precious treasures of the fire service technology can be found in Polish fire service museums and in the fire stations of the volunteer fire service units. Marvelously preserved original Benz-Gaggenau fire vehicle of 1926, which celebrated its 80 birthday in 2006, is one of such gems. Let me remind you that it was 1926 when Daimler-Motoren-Gesellschaft Benz & Cie created Daimler Benz AG. Mercedes-Benz is created as a result of joining two brands. Gaggenau is a town where mainly functional and special vehicles were constructed. By Edward Poskier.
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