In today’s world, corruption and greed have become bywords. However, the Fire Department, adhering to its core values of Integrity, Commitment, Honor and Selflessness, continues to shine as a beacon of hope. The public finds a safe haven in which to repose its trust, firmly believing that someone is looking out for them. At the same time, firefighters need to practice extreme caution themselves. Hence, proper fire training is of crucial importance to the safety of not just the citizens they serve, but of the firemen themselves.
The first truth of the job is that firemen may do everything by the rulebook and still get injured or killed. What ultimately serves them is the number of hours spent training and the amount of experience gained. Alongside, it is of vital importance to have adequate number of fire rescue personnel on the fireground and proper fire fighting equipment and skills. As the saying goes in the Fire Department, “You have two hands, bring two tools”. Implementation of standard operating guidelines, thorough knowledge of the basics of firefighting and the capability to keep a cool head while making informed decisions in the face of imminent danger are the best foundation for safety. And this is what Fire Department training strives to do.
Fire training systems provide a controlled environment for firefighters to learn about myriad fire behavior and the best procedures and different techniques for approaching different situations. Realistic settings duplicate the stressful conditions of emergencies and allow seasoned firefighters to hone their skills adequately while newbies are taught the rules of the game. Training is given under different headings –
• Live Fire
• Flammable Liquid and Gas Fires
• Forcible Entry
• Car Fires
• Urban Search and Rescue
• Disaster Management
• Hazardous Materials
Not to be left behind, however, are basic yet vital skill sets such as power saw operations, hoseline estimate and stretching, nozzle selection, nozzle team tactics, hydrant, ladder and preconnect knowledge, SCBA emergency skills, R—EBT (Reilly Emergency Breathing Technique), ventilation tactics and Firefighter survival tactics. Special attention is given to Fire Department Equipment like fire extinguishers (powder, foam, CO2, water) pressure gauges, valves, hoses and nozzles, fire blankets, gear for Hazardous Materials, smoke detectors and fire alarms for optimum and effective utilization.
It is difficult to overestimate the importance of fire training. Firefighters require thorough knowledge of different aspects of the game because each category of Fire Department Training incorporates further sub-categories. For instance, Liquid and Gas Fire training includes ruptured gas line fires, fuel and chemical spill fires, relief valve and boil over fires and pressurized tank fires. Similarly, conditions while fighting fires at high rises are unique and very different from those at a fire at the top level of a flat-roof ordinary construction. Issues such as locating the fire, setting up the standpipe system, deciding the primary point of attack, communicating with occupants and effective evacuation procedures have to be properly addressed to avoid tragedies.
Disasters, manmade or natural, do not come with warnings. They have to be faced promptly with a skill set above the ordinary. Fire Department Training strives to arm its firefighters with all possible weapons to combat emergency situations in urban and rural scenarios. As firefighters joke, “we gotta know how to put the wet stuff over the red stuff.

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Nimish Dubey, September 1, 2008
The Times of India (Bangalore edition)

It is finally herethe cellphone they call the ubergizmo. After selling millions of units all over the world and re-defining the phoning experience, Apple (with some help from Airtel) has finally brought the iPhone to India. And its the new 3G version too. We got our hands on it and discovered that just like its predecessor, it is a blend of the wholly divine and the utterly human.

The more things change...

The iPhone 3G looks very much like its forerunner, although a closer look reveals that it is slimmer at the corners and a tad wider. Although its back is made of plastic and not metal as in the case of original iPhonea compromise to accommodate the 3G receiverit looks every bit as sleek and still has just one button on the front panel below the screen. Also, under the hood is support for 3G (alas, not yet here in India), GPS, MS

Exchange and access to the App Store, which allows users to download a host of applications (many of them free) on to their devices. There are a few tweaks to existing applicationsyou can save images from websites and emails now, geotag the images you click and, hallelujah, copy contacts from SIM card to phone. Those looking for simple phone functionality in the iPhone 3G (are there such people?) will be glad to know of a considerable boost to the speakerphone as well as better call reception. Finally, battery life has improved significantlywe battered it for a day and half, talking, music and surfing, and it still didnt need a recharge.

Some things, however, remain unchanged. The 2.0-megapixel camera is the same as beforeno sign of video or zoom yet. Bluetooth is still limited to a few headsets and no, you cannot connect the phone to a computer to browse the Net on the latter. And alas, theres no sign of MMS.

What also remains unchanged is the iPhones real strengthits interface. Its touchscreen remains as sensitive as ever with finger-friendly icons that make it one of the easiest devices to use. Music quality is on par with the legendary iPod and its large and excellent display makes it perhaps the best portable device to gawk at videos.

Round this off with the powerful Safari browser which renders Web pages to near perfection (it still does not support Flash, though) and you can see why people call the device a mini-computer rather than a phone. Oh yes, and memory is not in short supply eitherthe phone comes in 8GB and 16 GB versions.

Twice as fast, half the price? Er...

Apple had marketed the iPhone 3G with the tagline Twice as fast, half the price referring to its lower price tag in Europe and the US and the fact that it supported 3G, making for some fast browsing. Alas, Indian users are likely to see neither facet, with Airtel offering the phone at the rather steep price tags of Rs 31,000 (for the 8GB version) and Rs 36,100 (for the 16GB version) and with no 3G networks in sight yet. Tech wags have already started sneering about Half as fast, twice the price. Yes, it has it flaws. But then, ah, so did a feller named Achilles.

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