- •Contents
- •Text 1 the nature of fire
- •3. Read and translate the text.
- •4. How do you say these expressions in English? Find their equivalents in the text below.
- •5. Answer the following questions:
- •6. Match Part 1 with Part 2.
- •Text 2 fire protection engineering
- •1. Look through the texts below and define the main areas of fire protection engineering application.
- •2. Choose one of the applications find out more information at home and inform your groupmates on this application.
- •3. Look through the texts again and make up a list of the terms concerning the fields of fire protection engineering. Learn them and let your groupmate check your knowledge. Text 3 fire awareness
- •1. Make up a list of the words and word – combinations highlighted in the text. Learn them.
- •2. How do you say these expressions in English? Find their equivalents in the text below.
- •3. Read the text carefully and complete the list of the terms given in Ex. 2. Fire prevention
- •4. Read and translate the text below and highlight the terms concerning fire safety. Check them with your groupmates. Fire hazards
- •5. Translate the sentences into Russian:
- •1. Before reading the text, name some tasks that every member of the family has to perform to keep home fire safe. Use from the list below:
- •2. While reading the text write out new words, translate them with a dictionary.
- •4. Give the English equivalents of the following:
- •6. Translate into English:
- •Text 5 forest fires
- •1. Read the interview and make a list of the reasons for forest fires.
- •2. Find the English equivalents to the following words.
- •3. Translate from Russian into English.
- •4. Use these expressions to tell how to extinguish a forest fire:
- •5. Imagine you are the Russian emergency ministry spokesman in the text. Give a two-minute speech about forest fires. Text 6 the modern fire service
- •3. Read and translate the text.
- •4. Answer the following questions.
- •5. Translate sentences from Russian into English.
- •6. Tell about modern fire service using the following vocabulary.
- •Text 7 current firefighting practice
- •3. Read and translate the text.
- •4. Answer the following questions.
- •5. Speak about complicated working conditions of modern firemen. Text 8 water pumps and hose lines
- •3. Read and translate the text.
- •4. Answer the following questions.
- •5. Speak about various types of equipment used by firemen. Text 9 safety and cutting equipment
- •3. Read and translate the text.
- •4. Answer the following questions.
- •5. Tell your speech partner about safety and cutting equipment used by fire brigades. Text 10 training procedures
- •3. Read and translate the text.
- •4. Answer the following questions.
- •5. Imagine you are a recruit. Tell your group mates about your training procedures.
- •Text 2 Fire Facts
- •Text 3 Basic types of fire extinguishers
- •Text 4 Fire Protection Engineering
- •Text 5 Five Famous Forest Fires
- •Glossary
- •References
4. Answer the following questions.
1. What handles all incoming fire and emergency calls?
2. Who controls all the subsequent radio traffic?
3. What are the working conditions of modern firefighters?
4. What does their equipment include?
5. When does water provide an immediate cooling effect?
5. Speak about complicated working conditions of modern firemen. Text 8 water pumps and hose lines
1. Look through the text. Find and write out new words into your copybook.
2. Read the words in bold, if necessary consult a dictionary. Translate them into Russian.
3. Read and translate the text.
It was not until the twentieth century, with the arrival of the motor pump and particularly the first specialized appliances, that fire engines had enough space to stow other firefighting gear such as hose, portable pumps, hand tools and basic lighting. When the first all-enclosed fire engines were produced in 1929, bodywork styles allowed for even more stowage to accommodate the steadily growing range of firefighting and rescue equipment. Modern fire engines need to carry a large amount of supplementary gear, so the ingenious design and use of locker space on a vehicle means that every available space can be utilized.
Water remains the predominant and universal extinguishing medium used by firefighters, with supplies usually available via a street hydrant or from a nearby natural source. Pumping fire engines carry varying quantities of water to enable an immediate firefighting attack on a fire for up to ten minutes, until an alternative source can be tapped. Depending upon the scale of the blaze, the on-board water will be pumped through either a small-diameter high-pressure hose reel or a larger-diameter hose line.
The on-board tank will have to be refilled by hose from a local water supply as soon as is practical. Fire engines that operate in rural areas also carry portable pumps, which can be carried to a river, lake or pond to pump water from that point. Another way of getting water to a fire is to run a shuttle, using the on-board tanks of several pumps, to ferry water to the fire scene. This is then transferred to the tank of the pumping engine operating there.
Hose lines, which are either rolled or stowed folded ready for quick deployment, come in a variety of diameters, and most pumping engines carry about 600m/2,000ft altogether. A range of hose connectors and adapters enable different combinations of hose to be used together to maximize water usage.
Other extinguishing equipment carried on pumping fire engines includes foam compound, which when mixed with water and aerated provides copious supplies of foam that may be needed to blanket the surface of burning liquids such as petrol or oil fuel. Smaller quantities of foam are provided from portable extinguishers carried on board. If a burning liquid fire involves very large quantities of flammable liquid, as might be found in a refinery or fuel storage depot, the use of dedicated foam tender would be necessary. Such an appliance is capable of producing tens of thousands of litres of foam per minute. Dry powder and carbon dioxide extinguishers are also carried for use on fires involving electrical installations, which require smothering.
Pumping fire engines carry several ladders on the roof. Alloy ladders have replaced the traditional wooden versions, being more robust and requiring less maintenance. Various types of ladder are in use, but all have extending sections with the longest ladders reaching up to about 13m/45it. Shorter versions are available for scaling fences, walls and other obstacles, and some of these come as combination ladders that meet a number of variable purposes. Some fire engines are specialized ladder vehicles, with aerial or turntable ladders, or platforms.