Fire engine

A fire engine (also known in some territories as a fire apparatus, fire truck, or fire appliance) is a vehicle designed primarily for firefighting operations. In addition, many fire departments often employ their vehicles for various other uses including emergency medical services and rescue purposes. The terms "fire engine" and "fire truck" are often used interchangeably but in North America represent different types of vehicles.

The primary purposes of a fire engine include transporting firefighters to an incident scene, providing water with which to fight a fire, and carrying other equipment needed by the firefighters. A typical modern vehicle will carry tools for a wide range of firefighting and rescue tasks, with common equipment including ladders, a self-contained breathing apparatus, ventilating equipment, first aid kits, and hydraulic rescue tools.

Many fire vehicles are based on standard vehicle models (although some parts may be upgraded to cope with the demands of the vehicle's usage). They are normally fitted with audible and visual warnings, as well as communication equipment such as a two-way radios and mobile computer technology.

Fireman Sam

Fireman Sam is an animated comedy children's television series about a fireman called Sam, his fellow firefighters, and other townspeople in the fictional Welsh rural town of Pontypandy (a portmanteau of two real towns, Pontypridd and Tonypandy, which are situated approximately 5 miles (8.0 km) apart in the South Wales valleys). The original idea for the show came from two ex-firemen from Kent, who took their idea to artist and writer Rob Lee who developed the concept, and the show was later commissioned by S4C.

Fireman Sam first appeared in Welsh on S4C as Sam Tân in 1987, and later that year in English on BBC1. The original series finished in 1994, and a new series that expanded the character cast commenced in 2005. The series was also shown in Gaelic in Scotland, where it was known as Sam Smalaidh. The series was sold to over 40 countries and has been used across the United Kingdom to promote fire safety.

Development

The original idea came about from two ex-firemen from Kent – Dave Gingell and David Jones. They approached Mike Young, creator of SuperTed in Barry, Wales, and asked them to further develop their concept. The idea was then brought to S4C's Director of Animation, Chris Grace, who saw potential in the idea and commissioned the series. Grace had previously commissioned Superted, which had achieved success across the United Kingdom and worldwide. The characters and storylines were created by Rob Lee, an illustrator from Cardiff, and the program was produced using stop-motion. It could take up to 4 days to produce 1 minute of this form of puppet animation. Fireman Sam has to this day been translated into over 25 different languages including Mandarin. In the first four series, all the character voices were performed by John Alderton (in English) and Gareth Lewis (in Welsh). The later series used several actors' voices. Voice direction in Welsh was by Pat Griffiths.

Fire

Fire is the rapid oxidation of a material in the exothermic chemical process of combustion, releasing heat, light, and various reaction products. Slower oxidative processes like rusting or digestion are not included by this definition.

Fire is hot because conversion of the weak double bond in molecular oxygen, O₂, to the stronger bonds in the combustion products carbon dioxide and water releases energy (418 kJ per 32 g of O₂); the bond energies of the fuel play only a minor role here. At a certain point in the combustion reaction, called the ignition point, flames are produced. The flame is the visible portion of the fire. Flames consist primarily of carbon dioxide, water vapor, oxygen and nitrogen. If hot enough, the gases may become ionized to produce plasma. Depending on the substances alight, and any impurities outside, the color of the flame and the fire's intensity will be different.

Fire in its most common form can result in conflagration, which has the potential to cause physical damage through burning. Fire is an important process that affects ecological systems around the globe. The positive effects of fire include stimulating growth and maintaining various ecological systems. Fire has been used by humans for cooking, generating heat, light, signaling, and propulsion purposes. The negative effects of fire include hazard to life and property, atmospheric pollution, and water contamination. If fire removes protective vegetation, heavy rainfall may lead to an increase in soil erosion by water. Also, when vegetation is burned, the nitrogen it contains is released into the atmosphere, unlike elements such as potassium and phosphorus which remain in the ash and are quickly recycled into the soil. This loss of nitrogen caused by a fire produces a long-term reduction in the fertility of the soil, which only slowly recovers as nitrogen is "fixed" from the atmosphere by lightning and by leguminous plants such as clover.

Engine

An engine or motor is a machine designed to convert one form of energy into mechanical energy.Heat engines, including internal combustion engines and external combustion engines (such as steam engines), burn a fuel to create heat, which then creates a force. Electric motors convert electrical energy into mechanical motion; pneumatic motors use compressed air and others—such as clockwork motors in wind-up toys—use elastic energy. In biological systems, molecular motors, like myosins in muscles, use chemical energy to create forces and eventually motion.

Terminology

The word "engine" derives from Old French engin, from the Latin ingenium–the root of the word ingenious. Pre-industrial weapons of war, such as catapults, trebuchets and battering rams, were called "siege engines", and knowledge of how to construct them was often treated as a military secret. The word "gin", as in "cotton gin", is short for "engine". Most mechanical devices invented during the industrial revolution were described as engines—the steam engine being a notable example.

FamilyFun

FamilyFun is a family magazine published 10 times annually by Meredith Corporation.

History and profile

Launched in 1991 by Jake Winebaum,FamilyFun is written for parents with children aged 3 to 12, and focuses on family cooking, vacations, parties, holidays, crafts, and learning. The magazine was purchased by Disney Publishing Worldwide in 1992 and Meredith acquired FamilyFun from Disney in 2012.Disney Interactive relaunched its FamilyFun.go.com site as Spoonful.com in 2012. FamilyFun is now part of the Parents.com network.

The headquarters of the magazine was in Des Moines, Iowa, until late May 2015 when it moved to New York City. In August 2015 Elizabeth Anne Shaw became the editor-in-chief of FamilyFun.

References

External links