"Critical Pre-fire Planning Now An Easier Task For Military Bases," By Al Lohner

Pre-fire and pre-incident planning was an important task prior to September 11, 2001.  Today, in the wake of increased terrorist threats and the ongoing war on terrorism, pre-planning has become critically vital, especially at the nation's military bases.

Many military fire departments are charged with the responsibility of creating diagrams for building-evacuation routes, in the event of fires, as well as chemical or bioterrorist attacks. Fortunately, computer technology is playing a pivotal role in the preparation of pre-incident diagrams.  At many military bases, fire personnel utilize computer-diagramming software for creating pre-incident planning diagrams.

The Fire Zone to the rescue.

Cal Mullinax, a fire-prevention inspector at Fort Worth (Texas) Naval Air Station, has been using diagramming software for three years.  He has 14 years of experience in fire prevention. Mullinax was previously stationed at Fort Carson, Colorado, where he used a proprietary fire-inspection-management-system program that the Army created. That program left a lot to be desired," Mullinax said.  "It wasn't much better than diagramming by hand." Today Mullinax uses The Fire Zone diagramming software, designed by The CAD Zone. "We couldn't believe how much quicker and easier it is to use. And our drawings are extremely accurate. It works great for us."

Diagramming software makes all the difference.

Fort Worth NAS has about 190 buildings on base, including aircraft hangars, warehouses, clinics, businesses, mercantile occupancies, a base PX, and a commissary. Mullinax said that the five fire inspectors on base use diagramming software. About 60 to 70 people work in the fire department.

Mullinax and his fellow fire inspectors were attempting to maintain diagrams for all of the buildings on base by hand.  "A diagramming program made a world of difference," he said, "because now we have the drawings on computer, as well as a paper archive of physical drawings."

Pre-fire plans are kept in a centralized database, which enables fast and easy retrieval during a fire or an emergency.  On the way to a call, the incident commander already has a copy of the pre-fire plan in hand. That enables him to study the floor plan and determine the best strategy for responding crews.  Prior to using computer-diagramming software, drawings were kept in different locations, which posed disadvantages for firefighting personnel.

Mullinax said, "We keep our drawings very detailed, and include the location of the fire alarm panels in each building, so responding firefighters know exactly where to go to shut the alarms down." The diagrams also pinpoint the locations of engines, field tanks, and fire pumps, which are used for fire suppression systems in hangars. These systems require massive amounts of water and independent water systems are maintained for these facilities.

Easy to draw new buildings or make modifications.

Mullinax praises the simplicity of diagramming software.  "It's easy to work with and make changes to your existing floor plans," he said. "It's also easy to draw from scratch to start a new building. "In the past, if there were a modification to a building, we'd have to tear the old drawing up and start all over. With diagramming software, we just make a few quick and easy edits.  Three or four times a week, we modify building drawings, adding a door here and a window there."

In addition, Mullinax said that the software is very simple to train on, and it's extremely user-friendly. The department uses the program two to three times a week for scheduled fire-prevention inspections for all of the facilities on base. "I can do a pretty complex facility in an hour or so," Mullinax said. "It used to take eight or nine hours."

The diagramming software is also a great aid when planning major alterations to a facility.  Due to the increased emphasis on homeland security, it is likely that many buildings on military bases will be redesigned with new security enhancements.

"Our fire chief is involved in construction conferences," Mullinax explained.  "With accurate computer diagrams, he's able to point out detailed information during those meetings." Because the drawing is computer-generated, it's easy to output diagrams in any size--from small to very large for presentation purposes.

"Everyone at the meeting can see precisely how buildings are laid out and how they can be improved," Mullinax said. "That enables the group to make sound decisions more easily. And the fire department can make safety recommendations and explain them more clearly."

A much more professional approach.

Matt Hitchcock, staff sergeant/logistics, at Travis Air Force Base in California, has used diagramming software for about two years. "You don't want a whole pre-fire plan book full of hand drawings," Hitchcock said.  "It just looks unprofessional." Josh Leming, a driver operator at Altus (Oklahoma) Air Force Base, agrees with Hitchcock.  He said that diagramming software offers a dramatic difference from the archaic pencil-and-ruler way of doing pre-fire planning. "Using software, our drawings look markedly better," he said.

When software users create professional diagrams, they feel a heightened sense of pride of ownership, and this in turn fuels even greater effort and continually better-made diagrams. Hitchcock said that in the past, his fire department used AutoCAD but has since switched to a more robust, yet easier-to-use diagramming software program.  Three people within the fire department use the software.

In the base's old pre-fire book, there were numerous scratchouts and sloppy handwriting.  Now with diagramming software, symbols are standardized, lines are perfectly straight, the print is legible, and the diagram is much easier to read. Hitchcock said it's important to prioritize which buildings need a pre-fire plan.  At that time, it's also determined whether a diagram will be updated or started from the beginning.

"We want to have diagrams for the important buildings first," Hitchcock explained, not elaborating on specific buildings for security reasons. "Nine times out of ten we're doing a drawing from scratch," he explained, "because anything we have is either a hand drawing or it's so old its not even worth modifying."

Ideal for diagramming buildings as well as aircraft.

The diagramming software is also set up for pre-fire planning on planes. "There are symbols and templates, angles and views of aircraft and how to set up for a fire," Hitchcock said.  "This is critical for responding crews. "If our guys are responding to an emergency, they need to know the exact locations of fuel tanks and shutoff valves.  With an accurate diagram, you'll save time and maybe lives."

Kerry Bakker, a tech sergeant at Elmendorf (Alaska) Air Force Base said that he also uses diagramming software for pre-fire plan diagrams of military aircraft.  "From one to 10, I'd rate our program a 10," Bakker said. "It does exactly what we want it to do, when we want to do it."

Ernie Baxter, a civilian driver operator who works at Tinker Air Force Base in Oklahoma, said that diagramming software enables tactical setups for strike-team operations on aircraft.  Roles are clearly laid out, and crews know their exact responsibilities. Baxter said his team also uses the software program for creating diagrams for all manner of trucks--crash trucks, pumpers, tankers, ladder trucks, and heavy rescue trucks.

So easy computer illiterates can learn it.

The Tinker AFB fire department also uses The Fire Zone diagramming software.  "People who are computer illiterate were trained on the program," Baxter said.  "This is very good software and drawing is really easy. Civil engineering can send us a copy of the drawings for the buildings, then we incorporate the software into that drawing, so we don't have to actually draw the building itself.

"That saves us from spending hours and hours drawing a building to scale in definite detail." Baxter said he's been working with the diagramming software for about a year.  During that time, the department has completed pre-fire plan diagrams for 110 buildings on base.  This is a remarkable number, Baxter explained, given the fact that the department makes 6,000 runs a year from only three stations, and is running at minimal manpower levels.

"Despite all of this, we have time to do our pre-fire plan diagrams, because we have an easy-to-use software program," Baxter said. Without diagramming software, so much information would be lost, it would be unreal."

Saves lives and protects.

Baxter and his team also use diagramming software to create post-incident diagrams, and on more than one occasion a diagram has proven highly valuable.  In one instance, a woman accused the base fire department of destroying her automobile when it responded to a fire involving a different car.

"Whenever we list the object car involved, we make a note of other cars in the vicinity," Baxter explained.  "This lady's car was parked about six cars away, and it was upwind, so there was no way we caused any damage."

Nevertheless, the woman allegedly went out and smoked her car up, scratched it and wanted the base to pay for the damages. Baxter paid a visit to the base's legal office, armed with the post-incident diagram that totally refuted the woman's account of the incident. In the end, faced with evidence that contradicted her story, the woman admitted that her car wasn't really affected.

With the many recent security developments on the home front, there have been many calls of suspicious activities on base, and every one of these is checked out. The preplanning diagrams help immeasurably, in case an emergency actually arises.  Baxter said, "You can quickly check whether hazardous materials are present, determine wind velocity, and decide which buildings need to be evacuated. When you're dealing with large warehouses, you need to know where to find fire doors, as well as switches for exhaust fans and sprinkler connections.

"You can get all your pertinent environmental information onto a drawing, do it relatively quickly, and present it to the incident commander," Baxter said. "He can see everything in explicit detail, recognize all the pertinent symbols, and start making decisions quickly.

Toward a more certain future.

The nation and the world has changed irrevocably in the wake of the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. Citizens and military personnel alike must live by those two all-important words:  Be prepared.

On U.S. military bases, security has taken on an air of supreme importance.  And at the base fire departments, pre-fire planning is more important than ever before.  By using sophisticated yet easy-to-use software programs, fire departments are meeting the challenge of creating those pre-fire plans faster and better than ever before.

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