Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/700383
3 maltatoday, WEDNESDAY, 6 JULY 2016 News Tel: 2124 4473 www.maltaorchestra.com Fire engines can only reach up to 12 floors Civil Protection Department plans to buy six new vehicles with turntable ladders and aerial platforms to reach a bit higher but director John Rizzo insists that other precautions are already being taken to facilitate fire fighting from within high-rise buildings JAMES DEBONO WITH tall buildings rising ever higher, the Civil Protection De- partment has plans to buy six vehicles with turn table ladders and aerial platforms which can reach higher than the present fleet, which can only reach up to 12 floors. Home Affairs Minister Carme- lo Abela recently confirmed the 12-floor limit in reply to ques- tions by Nationalist MP Jason Azzopardi. But contacted by MaltaToday CPD Director John Rizzo was keen in emphasising that the CPD already imposes a number of conditions on buildings which are higher than seven floors, aimed at facilitating fire fight- ing and the rescue of people who could end trapped in a fire. Fire fighting in tall buildings is considered a major challenge the world over. Aerial platforms like those which the CPD intends to order normally consist of a plat- form attached onto a mechani- cally bending arm installed on a fire truck. Some aerial ladders are known to reach a maximum of 64 me- tres, which would not be enough to reach beyond 15 floors. This means that any new device will not be able to reach the higher floors of tall buildings like the proposed 38 storey high Towns- quare tower in Sliema. Yet even if such equipment is in place, accessing a high-rise building with ladders will re- main a problem, which is best addressed through preventive measures and precautions, ac- cording to Rizzo. Buildings which are more than seven floors high, must also have dry risers: empty pipes that can be externally connected to a pressurized water source by fire- fighters. This vertical pipe can distribute water to multiple lev- els of a building. Buildings, which are more than 10 floors high, must also be equipped with sprinkler systems; which automatically discharge water when the effects of a fire have been detected, such as when a predetermined temperature has been exceeded. These conditions are already imposed by the Civil Protection Department before a planning permit is issued. The depart- ment is always consulted by the PA before such applications are approved. Other measures include hav- ing fire-fighting shafts, which provide the fire and rescue ser- vice with a safe area from which to undertake firefighting op- erations. A firefighting shaft typically contains a firefighting main, stairway and sometimes a lift. Buildings must also include protected lobbies, which serve as a refuge from fire and fumes in case of an accident. The roof is on fire: Civil Protection chief John Rizzo said accessing high-rise buildings with ladders and fire engines remains a problem with preventive measures already imposed in permit conditions being the best solution Forensic cops trained in blood splatter analysis and crime scene photography MARTINA BORG OFFICERS in the Malta police fo- rensics department are currently following highly-specialised training, with the department also expecting new, technological equipment in the near future. Speaking at a press conference on Tuesday, home affairs minister Carmelo Abela said that the new techniques and the forensic unit were ultimately essential to instil justice with victims of crime. "The unit, which counts 48 po- lice members, has carried out ex- cellent work in the past, analysing some 3,300 cases varying from CSI, DNA database and finger- print comparison among others, in the past two years alone," Ab- ela said. He added, however that develop- ments and investments were nec- essary to ref lect the advances and technology used by criminals. "As a part of the efforts being made to this end, the forensic sci- ence laboratory is currently up- grading its services, equipment and the analyses carried out," he said, adding that continuous training was also deemed neces- sary, with the last time forensic training offered locally dating back to 1996. Abela added that the unit had seen the arrival of new equipment to assist in photography, finger- print matching and document analysis, as well as a five-week in- tensive course offered to 12 crime scene investigators and two crime scene managers. The course, featuring new meth- odology, DNA sampling, scene of crime photography and securing evidence among others, was of- fered by professionals from the Netherlands Forensic Institute. Students were being examined in the techniques they learned during the visit by the minister, with assessment also depending on reports produced during the course. Lecturer Marcel Van Beest ex- plained that officers in the po- lice force had been equally will- ing and capable to learn the new techniques, and he went on to encourage officers to invest in further training to keep abreast of developments in crime. Abela also explained that since 2015, 10 members from the de- partment had also attended courses and attained accredita- tion from police colleges in the UK and Italy in fields such as false documentation, fingerprint anal- ysis, disaster victim identification and e-DNA software among oth- ers. "Another five forensic police will be attending courses abroad in the coming months, focusing in areas like laboratory chemical enhancement among others," he added. One of the officers studying the five-week intensive course, In- spector Ryan Caruana explained that the course, although testing, had shed light on effective tech- niques that would ultimately help the police pursue justice more ef- fectively and efficiently. "Among the techniques we learned, were methods to ap- proach and collect evidence, as well as ways of analysing blood patterns in a crime scene among others," he added.