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LAFD Foam Tender

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Well, if you let the fire burn out, and spread throughout the building, Sometimes it can jeopardize the structure's strength... Which would result in a total structure failure/ collapse, which could result in massive injuries & death... considering if it is in a high populated area.

I don't know... different cities/ departments have their own standards. Can't really bunch it all together.

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Be smart like the British... whenever they get big building fires they just set up monitors around the building and leave 1 truck behind for monitoring the fire. they let the fire burn out instead of risking lives to go inside (if there arent any people inside they need to rescue).
if theres a big fire theres a very slight chance youll be able to save anything anyway. you really are having a bad day today... or is this every day for you?
I don't know... different cities/ departments have their own standards. Can't really bunch it all together.

What we've hit here is the great debate in firefighting: Where should the line be drawn for defensive and offensive tactics?

In general Europe has taken a more defensive stance in firefighting, with an emphasis on defense, but along with that a much larger emphasis on prevention.In the U.S. there has always been a more offense based mindset. Both systems have advantages and disadvantages. Right now in the U.S. we're going to see a change in the next several years to more defensive tactics because of LODD's. Simply put many people have been in bad situations they shouldn't have been in, but over aggressive tactics put them there.

In terms of property saving, it is a big deal. Everywhere life comes first over property. However firefighting grew up with and developed fire insurance (which is how early departments funded themselves). So historically in the U.S. there has always been a big focus on property saving too, which has led to the offensive mindset. In the early days one of the firefighter's main jobs was to rescue property from the burning house. That was the job of the majority of the crew on scene. As the trade evolved, more men focused on the fire itself. Later, around the turn of the century, Insurance companies began funding fire patrols in most major cities. They would run in tandem with the fire departments with the sole job of protecting property. Mostly they worked in office buildings. Below the fire they would gather together objects and place them under tarps. They would also funnel water out of the building to prevent water damage. Fire patrols faded out fairly fast with the exception of New York City's which ran the whole way through 2006. However, many departments still try to tarp objects and minimize property losses whenever possible.

So there's your history lesson for the day.

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Guest firestation27
what is the advantage of the LAFD Foam Tender over the other two fire engines? is it better at fightring fires? is this used for noly special circumstances? whats the deal with the foam tender, please explain - thanks

the "LAFD Foam Tender" has 4 hose connections and a powerful deck gun. If you are at a serious fire, connect a hose from the tender to the engine and there will be a stronger force & amount of water will come from the hose.

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A quint is any fire truck that does 5 jobs in 1 convenient package.

Be smart like the British... whenever they get big building fires they just set up monitors around the building and leave 1 truck behind for monitoring the fire. they let the fire burn out instead of risking lives to go inside (if there arent any people inside they need to rescue).

To be brutally honest, the British Fire Dept has no honor. They make no effort whatsoever to save anyones posessions, memories, or anything. They just leave the family in the dirt while they sit around and drink tea, while the fire burns their house to the ground. Great honor british. yea. way to go. Anyways, there are so few foam tenders in los angeles, its not even worth worrying about. they're not put onto a lot of calls. Their good at putting out fires. yea. but, you need to have extra engines bring more reinforcements to use it effectively.

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It is not just about saving lives. Trying to save personal property can be priceless to someone. Getting photos of your dead daughter, your long gone mother or the pet you had by your side for fifteen years. Or by chance, saving valuable work or somethng like it.

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I absolutely agree, I mean personally I have witnessed both sides of the coin, where either the FD either went in there put out the fire and helped save some valuable posesions of the family living in the house, or they put out the fire left and the family had to deal with everything being ruined, it depends really on the departments policy and how the individual fire fighter sees things.

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It is not just about saving lives. Trying to save personal property can be priceless to someone. Getting photos of your dead daughter, your long gone mother or the pet you had by your side for fifteen years. Or by chance, saving valuable work or somethng like it.

The problem is some firefighters/departments push too far and risk life when they really shouldn't. I'm all for saving as much property as possible, but is the building's write off when you arrive on scene, you shouldn't be going in (provided everyone is out). Personal safety is just often overlooked at the expense of lives.

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