Firebreaks are made, and the fire crews attempt to stop the fire by several methods: trenching, direct attack with hose streams, aerial bombing, spraying of fire-retarding chemicals, and controlled back-burning. The Organizacin Iberoamericana de Proteccin Contra Incendios (OPCI) brings together the fire service leaders of all Latin American countries. In major conflagrations long hooks with ropes were used to pull down buildings in the path of an approaching fire to create firebreaks. Special plans cover contingencies such as a fire covering a large area, a large building, or a particularly hazardous location. International fire service and fire protection associations bring together leaders of the fire services of many nations. The tub functioned as a reservoir and sometimes housed a hand-operated pump that forced water through a pipe or nozzle to waiting buckets. Most fires, however, are reported from private telephones. The Asia-Pacific region is served by the Asian Pacific Fire Safety Association (APAC). If necessary, court action is taken to compel compliance. With the development of the internal-combustion engine early in the 20th century, pumpers became motorized. Plutarch, Parallel Lives, The Life of Crassus 2.3–4 The pumps were originally of the piston or reciprocating type, but these were gradually replaced by rotary pumps and finally by centrifugal pumps, used by most modern pumpers. Usually on a first alarm one of the pumpers attacks the fire as quickly as possible, using preconnected hose lines supplied by the water tank in the truck, while larger hose lines are being attached to the hydrants. Typically, volunteer fire fighters are found mainly in smaller communities, career fire fighters in cities. Once the fireground commander has appraised the situation, fire fighters and equipment are deployed. Helicopters serve as command posts and transport fire fighters and their equipment to areas that cannot be reached quickly on the ground. In many jurisdictions, detection systems are required in public buildings, apartment houses, and sometimes even in private homes. Objects are covered with waterproof covers, and water is removed by water vacuums, mops, squeegees, water chutes, and portable pumps. They establish incident command posts, commissaries, and supply depots. Fire departments are charged with enforcement of the local fire-prevention code and of state fire laws and regulations.
Two major types of smoke detectors are available. Fire fighter safety has assumed increasing importance. Many high-rise or other large buildings have an internal system of water mains (standpipes) connected to fire-hose stations. It handles the more technical fire-prevention problems, maintains appropriate records, grants licenses and permits, investigates the causes of fires, and conducts public education programs. The U.S. Forest Service maintains research laboratories, which develop improved fire-fighting equipment and techniques, and a school that trains fire fighters in the latest fire-fighting techniques. All commercial or multiple-dwelling buildings are inspected at regular intervals, and orders are issued for the correction of violations of fire laws. Some of the special problems include complicated ship layouts, the danger of capsizing, and the difficulty of pinpointing and gaining access to the source of the fire. The second type of smoke detector uses a photoelectric cell. Various nozzles are capable of projecting solid, heavy streams of water, curtains of spray, or fog. Wide firebreaks may be dug with plows and bulldozers. These include pumps, ladders, and rescue equipment, as well as special equipment necessary for marine fire fighting and water rescues, including rotating and angled nozzles, portable pumps, floating booms, foam-making apparatus, and special extinguishers such as carbon dioxide systems. Italy has a national fire service (Corpo Nazionale-Vigili del Fuoco) organized into 92 provinces, administered from 12 regional centers. A captain may be on duty on each shift, although in some fire departments lieutenants and sergeants command companies when the captain is off duty. In 6 A.D. after a disastrous fire in Rome, Emperor Caesar Augustus established the first organized fire brigade known as the Vigiles. The private f… Instead, fire fighters typically respond to all kinds of emergencies.