By JOSEPH D. RUSH III
Imagine fighting fire in a high-rise building without a standpipe system. How much time and personnel would be wasted dragging hose? How many more large-scale tragedies would there have been? The adoption of standpipes in our building codes was a game changer for the fire service. We probably take for granted the progress the fire service has made over the years as these and other fire protection systems have become part of our standard operating procedures.
As much progress as has been made, it is still estimated that for every one firefighter fighting high-rise fires, two are required to move equipment during the operation. At its annual conference in Atlantic City, New Jersey, in September 20143, the International Code Council (ICC) presented the fire service with another potential game-changer with the adoption of the firefighter air replenishment systems (FARS) into Appendix L of the 2015 IFC.
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