Archives for attack-line

Check out the newest Beyond the Academy Video Training Series. This one is entitled "Engine Company Operations: Hydraulic Ventilation with a Smooth-bore/Solid Stream Nozzle.

Many fire service members believe that a fog nozzle is the only nozzle that can be used for ventilation, and "prefer" a fog nozzle for that reason. These techniques show that a solid stream nozzle can be used as a hydraulic ventilation tool as well. We do not entertain the "Smooth-bore vs. Fog" nozzle debate, but we do have our preference.

As Tom Brennan stated when asked about his preference: "A smooth-bore nozzle doesn't make a terrible engine company a good engine company, and a fog nozzle doesn't make a good engine company a terrible engine company!"

Regardless of which one you use, know your tools, the capabilities and the drawbacks.

Feel free to discuss on this blog.

Posted by Nate DeMarse on November 26, 2011 • Filed under: Attack Line, Brotherhood Topics, Email Drill Questions, Engine Company Ops, fire-rescue-topics, firefighter-safety-health, firefighting-operations, fires, training-development, training-fire-rescue-topics, Ventilation, videos

Coordinated Ventilation – Part II by Nate DeMarse

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I stumbled upon a couple videos that drive home points made in the earlier Coordinated Ventilation post. These videos clearly show answers to previously asked questions, and bring up some new discussion tips as well. This is precisely how we should be training at drills and training burns. I don't know where this department is, but they are a class act in training!

Video #1 – The OV Position:

In the first video, we see an Outside Ventilation (OV) firefighter in the correct position to horizontally vent the building opposite the attack line's advance. Note that at the very beginning of the video, the Nozzle Team is advancing the hose line THROUGH THE FRONT DOOR and to the seat of the fire. The door is forced, and they are moving in when the windows are taken.

The firefighter is off to one side of the window, and takes the window located furthest from him first. This assures that he will be able to vent both windows without delay. If the window closest to the firefighter is vented first, and fire vents from the opening the second (furthest window) may have to be abandoned. This is especially true if operating on a portable ladder or fire escape.

Video #2 – Points & Pointers:

I am not certain, but I think the video below is another angle of the same video above (a very rare occurance in our profession). If it is not the same fire, we are going to use it like it is for the purposes of driving home a point.

As I stated in the comments in Part I, "We should also wait if the line is delayed in getting into position, charged and READY TO MAKE THE PUSH on the fire. There is a vast difference in a line being there, a line being charged, and all of the members masked up and ready to push in." This video starts with a charged attack line, but the door hasn't been forced. If the OV takes the windows prematurely, this fire will continue to spread and grow as the line is not ready to advance. After entry is gained, you can hear the officer telling the OV to "take that glass".

Entering the Building Side-Note: At the :35 second mark, you will see the camera move to the front stoop of the house. Note the visibility at the floor level! You can see nearly ALL THE WAY THROUGH THE HOUSE. Yet nearly every single firefighter that entered the building entered either standing or slight crouched with their head in the smoke, unable to see ANYTHING! I will reiterate at this point that I am not beating up on this department, THIS HAPPENS EVERYWHERE!!

Take a second after the door is forced to put your face piece directly on the floor and look UNDER the smoke. This requires you to get on your knees to accomplish. The nice thing about taking a look at the floor level is that you have to physically, consciously make a decision to stand-up to enter after you look.

Here are a few other benefits that stem from taking a few seconds to get low and take a look:

You allow the heat and super-heated gases that have built up in the sealed building a few seconds to "blow" and push over your head. This in turn will cause the smoke to lift off of the floor, and allow for the following:
- You will be able to see a victim lying on the floor 10 feet or further inside the doorway, at that point you can say you conducted a rescue instead of tripping over someone and pretending that you rescued them! The Medal Ceremony will sound supurb, but you will know the truth!
- You will be able to get a room, floor or apartment layout.
- You will be able to see the glow of the fire on the floor, or the fire itself. You will know that it is on the right side of the hall, three doorways down.
- You wlll see the large hole in the floor five feet inside the house and not fall into the basement and promptly call a "Mayday" within seconds of entering the building.

You will know all of this information at the front door, without walking (not searching) blindly. Then, because you are already on your knees conducting this vital size-up skill, you will enter the building safely on your knees, crawling towards your objective(s). When we couple the skills listed in this side-note with the OV performing those tasks in the correct position and the correct time, you will have the opportunity to gather vital information before entering.

THESE TASKS ALLOW US TO BE AGGRESSIVE AND SAFE!
(and yes, those words can be used together)!

Forcible Entry Side-Note: The Forcible Entry team did a good job on the door. If you look closely, on the fourth swing the Striking FF nearly misses high with the axe. With hand placement so close to the axe-head, just a little more of a miss could have caused a crush injury. Believe it or not, in our travels this is the most common cause of injury in forcible entry (almost always resulting in at least one broken finger). To remedy that concern, This video (one of our first created nearly 2 years ago) shows safe striking techniques. Additionally, Brotherhood Instructors, LLC axes now have our company markings (colored electrical tape) 6"-7" below the head of the axe. Any firefighter using our axes know that if they place their top hand where the tape is, their hands are in the safe zone. Again, this is a very common injury and very rarely do we get a chance to catch forcible entry tools and members practicing their craft.

I think this fire department is doing a great job in getting their training done as we operate. Far too may training burns just walk members through the motions, leaving them with a false sense of security of what a real fire will be like (i.e: setting themselves up for failure). This department has their members on the radio, and conducting coordinated ventilation and fire attack. These videos left some open some great discussion points using realistic training and errors that occur on EVERY fireground!

Feel free to post comments, questions or concerns. We are all here to learn so let the learning commence!

Respectfully,
Nate DeMarse
Co-Owner, Brotherhood Instructors, LLC.

Posted by Nate DeMarse on November 2, 2011 • Filed under: Attack Line, Email Drill Questions, Engine Company Ops, firefighter-safety-health, firefighting-operations, fires, Forcible Entry, Ladder Company Ops, Search, training-development, training-fire-rescue-topics, Ventilation, videos

Coordinated Ventilation

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Take a look at these two videos for a great example of coordinated ventilation. The outside vent (OV) firefighter on the fire escape waits until the line is putting water on the fire to take the windows. Doing so helps the engine make the advance into the fire area a little easier. Waiting until the line is ready will ensure that you do not prematurely feed the fire additional oxygen and possibly trap firefighters searching ahead of the line.

Posted by ccollier on October 26, 2011 • Filed under: Attack Line, Engine Company Ops, Ladder Company Ops, RIT or FAST Operations, special-operations, training-development, training-fire-rescue-topics, Ventilation, videos • Tagged: training

Pressure Reducing Valves – By: Chris Collier

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Lack of water on the fire is a fire ground problem that seldom stands alone. When water is not being applied to the fire at the proper rate we can all agree that things get worse on the fire ground. When we look at fires where maydays or firefighter fatalities occurred we can often find reference to water loss or water problems. One such fire is the one Meridian Plaza fire which occurred in Philadelphia PA on February 23, 1991. This fire took the lives of three Philadelphia Firefighters. One (of several) issues that plagued firefighters at this fire was improperly set pressure reducing valves. These valves were set to allow 60 psi discharge pressure which was inadequate to operate the fire department's 1 3/4" hoselines and combination nozzles.

Pressure reducing valves are found on many standpipe systems and there are dozens of types of these valves. This blog post will show only a few so be sure to familiarize yourself with the ones found in your response area. Pressure reducing valves are designed to regulate the pressure at a given standpipe outlet. Pressures can be very high when dealing with fire pumps or gravity tanks. These valves are intended to prevent over pressurization of components after the valve. By reducing pressure flow is also reduced.

The best and easiest way to deal with a pressure reducing valve is to remove it completely. One style of pressure reducing valve threads onto the standpipe outlet. When this type of valve is found, remove it with a spanner or pipe wrench and proceed as normal. If the valve can not be removed you may have to go to the floor two floors below the fire and hook up there. If you are unable to remove any of the pressure reducing valves, ensure the valve is in the full open position and proceed with caution.

Some standpipe outlet valves have a pressure reducing device built into them. Some of them can be adjusted with a screwdriver or allen wrench and others require disassembly of the valve and special tools. These are the pressure reducing valves that firefighters must be intimately acquainted with before the fire to ensure a successful operation.

Once we remove the pressure reducing valve we can control the pressure ourselves using the outlet valve and our inline pressure gauge.

Posted by ccollier on October 11, 2011 • Filed under: Attack Line, Building Alteration-Renovation, Engine Company Ops, fire-rescue-topics, firefighter-safety-health, firefighting-operations, special-operations, training-development, training-fire-rescue-topics, Water Supply • Tagged: training

More About Nozzles – By: Mike Kirby

4 comments

This is a debate that plagues the fire service. Most of the personal "experience" or "knowledge" from this debate stems from lack of knowledge or understanding of the simple principle that GPM (properly applied) puts out fires. Some believe that pressure is what we should be concentrating on. Firefighters start out in their "firefighter" schools, where ever that may be, and learn about the nozzle they have there and then go to work somewhere and only learn about the nozzle they use there or the one that that person tells them is the end-all-be-all of the fire service. Few firefighters are aware of what is available to them, what each one actually flows under live conditions, heat absorption characteristics, etc. If all you have ever used is a combination nozzle, you have probably never flowed a smooth bore hooked to a GPM gauge to see the flow and experience the difference in pull back pressure.

The problems with all new tools / nozzles / methods of going to work is that it is change and fire fighters have to be more resistant to change than any other culture or group of people on this planet.

We need to make sure we educate all of our fire fighters on what they are carrying and how much water it puts out at varying pressures and with various lengths of hose. I'm not a personal fan of the adjustable or combination nozzle whether its a fixed gallonage or automatic. This nozzle has been used in the 5 fire departments I have worked for. Its generally not the tool, but how you use it I always say. Fires still go out in these 5 places. Some maybe not as effectively as others due primarily to GPM delivered. I personally prefer the smooth bore nozzle. It is simple, won't clog and is inexpensive. Next I prefer the vindicator. Both the smooth bore and vindicator can put out a very high GPM flow from an 1-3/4" fire line. One costs about $150 and the other around $800. The CFD recently has started phasing in an Elkhart Chief 250 gpm @ 50 psi to replace the outdated Task Force Tips. The TFT's were automatic type nozzles with a complicated pressure control mechanism. These nozzles just don't work right anymore due to the age, wear and lack of maintenance on the internal pressure control mechanism. The Chief nozzle selected flows comparable to the Vindicator, but gives the "hard head" fire fighter the option to have a fog or straight stream. The reasons the "hard heads" don't like the vindicator ring true for a smooth bore as well. "I need the "fog" stream to ventilate". We made sure we found a combination nozzle that allowed them to have fog for ventilation and other scenarios that also flowed a lot of GPM from a 1-3/4" fire line.

I'm an advocate of I don't care what you or your department uses, just know its limitations, how much water it can put out with it in GPM and how it reacts to line kinks, long lays, reduced pressure situations, etc. You need to do this with a flow meter. If you cant get a flow meter, ask a sales representative to bring a nozzle out for you to demo and flow and while flowing that nozzle, flow your current nozzle alongside of it.
GPM properly and rapidly applied puts out fires. There is no greater live saving action on the fire ground than to put out the fire and stop all the bad things going on inside the building. (sorry truckers….)

Mike Kirby- Cinncinati Fire Department Engine Co. 12

Posted by ccollier on September 18, 2011 • Filed under: Attack Line, Engine Company Ops, training-development, training-fire-rescue-topics, Ventilation, Water Supply • Tagged: training

The In-Line Pressure Gauge – By: Chris Collier

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The in-line pressure gauge is an essential and often overlooked piece of equipment when operating off of a standpipe. From the earliest days of our pump operator training we are taught to start at the nozzle and work back to the pump to calculate the discharge pressure for a given line. Lets look at a simple example:

Smooth bore nozzle with a 1 1/8" tip = 50 pounds per square inch (psi) nozzle pressure
200' of 2 1/2" hose @ 5 psi friction loss per length = 20 psi to compensate for friction loss
Line operating on the 2nd floor = 5 psi for grade change
Discharge pressure = 75 psi

This is very easy to calculate quickly in your head because all of the factors in the equation are known. How do you know how many psi to add for the piping between the fire department connection (FDC) and the standpipe outlet on the 4th floor? The short answer to this question: you don't know. It is impossible to know the piping configuration of every standpipe and you are crazy to think that if you knew it you could calculate it quickly at the time of a fire.

The quickest, easiest, and most accurate way to provide the proper pressure at the standpipe outlet is through the use of an in-line pressure gauge. This appliance, when connected directly to the standpipe outlet, allows us to calculate discharge pressure as if the pump panel of the engine was in the stairwell. The example above with the smooth bore nozzle and 200' of 2 1/2" hose can be calculated exactly the same way, ensuring 75 psi at the standpipe outlet to provide 50 psi at the nozzle.

The in-line pressure gauge becomes even more important when we have multiple lines operating off of the same standpipe. If the fire is on the 4th floor, the first line should be connected on the 3rd. floor. The second line which will either back up the first line or proceed to the floor above (5th floor) will be connected to the standpipe outlet on the 2nd floor. If the first line was 200' the second will have to be at least 300'. The second line will also be going up three floors – from the 2nd to the 5th so we will have to add 5 psi per floor to compensate for head pressure. Smooth bore nozzle (50 psi) + 300' of 2 1/2" line (30 psi) + 3 floors elevation (15 psi) = 95 psi. The only way to be sure that each line is pumped at the proper pressure is to place the in-line pressure gauge on the standpipe outlet.

There are a few steps we need to take before attaching the in-line pressure gauge to the standpipe outlet. First open the standpipe outlet and let it run for a few seconds… yes, the floor is going to get wet and so are the stairs, its okay. This serves two purposes: first, it tells us that we have a functional standpipe that has water and second, it will hopefully flush any obstructions from the outlet. Once the outlet is flushed, turn it off and look inside. If there are any obstructions still in there remove them with the channel locks that you carry in your standpipe kit. Now, connect your in-line pressure gauge to the outlet and your hose to the gauge.

Once all of the sections of hose are connected and the line is flaked out, open the standpipe outlet valve ALL THE WAY! At this point you will get a static pressure reading since there is no water moving through the line. Once the line is opened adjust the standpipe outlet valve until you get the desired residual pressure on the in-line pressure gauge. It is extremely important to set the pressure while the line is flowing water. If necessary, the nozzle team can open the nozzle in the stairwell or the public hallway to set the pressure before moving into the fire area.

Thanks for reading and be safe! As always, feel free to add your questions, comments, or suggestions.

Posted by ccollier on August 31, 2011 • Filed under: Attack Line, Engine Company Ops, fire-rescue-topics, firefighter-safety-health, firefighting-operations, training-development, training-fire-rescue-topics, Water Supply • Tagged: training

Some Facts About Standpipes – By: Chris Collier

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Did you know standpipe systems are designed to deliver a prescribed amount of water at a prescribed pressure to the top most outlet? Unless you are a fire inspector or you are really into engine company operations you may not have put much thought into the design of a standpipe system. At first glance a standpipe system may appear to just be a pipe with some valves and fire hose threads that we can supply water to with a fire engine. If you are having trouble sleeping one night, try reading NFPA 14, it has all of the information on design and installation of standpipe systems. For firefighting purposes we need to be concerned with pressure (PSI), gallons per minute (GPM), and what hose/nozzle combination we are using.

There is great debate in the fire service over the proper hose/nozzle combination to use when operating from a standpipe system. That debate is driven by arguments over GPM, PSI, obstructions, etc. The easiest part of that debate to put to rest is the GPM argument. In my research and experience doing fire inspections I have never found a standpipe system that was designed for fire department use with a design flow less than 250 GPM at the top most or most remote outlet. We all know a 2 1/2" hand line flows approximately 250 GPM, therefore a properly maintained standpipe system can provide the appropriate flow.

The next issue is pressure (PSI). We all know that smooth bore nozzles operate best at 50 psi and there are a multitude of combination nozzles that operate at various pressures. Standpipe systems design standards were written based upon firefighters using 2 1/2" hose with smooth bore nozzles. These standards were first written in the 1960's and the modern versions are still based upon 2 1/2" hose and smooth bore nozzles. NFPA 14 required 65 psi residual pressure from the top most standpipe outlet up until 1993. From the 1993 edition of NFPA 14 until present 100 psi residual pressure is required from the top most or most remote outlet. The 65 psi requirement was intended to ensure a productive fire flow when 3 lengths of 2 1/2" hose with a smooth bore nozzle was attached to the top standpipe outlet. 50 psi nozzle pressure + 5 psi friction loss per length of hose = 65 psi outlet pressure. Operating in a building with a standpipe system designed before 1993 is our "worst case" scenario, so we will use the 65 psi requirement for further discussion.

Having the proper hose/nozzle combination plays a pivotal role in standpipe operations being a success or failure. New fire hose is not the same as older fire hose. Newer hose creates much less friction loss than older hose which further enables fire departments to employ 1 3/4" hose for standpipe operations. Regardless of which type of hose your department has you need to know its friction loss per length. The easiest way to determine this is to hook 100 feet of hose up to the engine and place an in-line pressure gauge behind the nozzle. Flow the line so you have the proper nozzle pressure at the in-line gauge and calculate the difference between the gauge on the pump panel and the in-line pressure gauge.

Based on the above information about standpipe design we can rule out 100 psi combination nozzles for standpipe operations. Even with the best fire hose with low friction loss and a system designed to have 100 psi residual pressure at the top most outlet we can reasonably conclude that we will not have 100 psi at the nozzle. This is true with 2 1/2" line and will only be worse with smaller line as we know friction loss increases exponentially as hose size decreases.

1 3/4" hose can create friction loss as high as 18.5 psi per 50 foot length, or 20 psi per length for firefighter friendly math. To dismiss 1 3/4" hose as a realistic standpipe line lets look at a smooth bore nozzle with 1 length of hose. 50 psi nozzle pressure + 20 psi friction loss for 1 length of 1 3/4" line = 70 psi outlet pressure. We know that older systems are only required to supply 65 psi at the top most outlet. We should never connect less than 3 lengths of hose to a standpipe outlet. We need at least 1 length to go from the floor below to the fire floor, one length for the hallway, and one length for the fire apartment. For arguments sake lets be extremely generous and assume a fancy new piece of 1 3/4" line only creates 10 psi of friction loss per length, half of what the older hose produced. With 50 psi needed to operate the nozzle + 30 psi friction loss = 80 psi needed at the standpipe outlet. You can easily see how these issues are further compounded if using a nozzle that requires more than 50 psi.

It is no secret that I like smooth bore nozzles. They are the simplest and NEARLY fireman proof. Check out our Nozzles: Truths From The Street article for my thoughts on smooth bore versus combination nozzles. There are some very nice low pressure fog nozzles on the market that will work well on a well maintained standpipe. I still prefer the smooth bore nozzle because as hard as we try to ensure systems are well maintained, we really don't know how well they are maintained regardless of what the paperwork says. When speaking of nozzle obstructions, I am far more concerned with items placed in the fire department connection (FDC) than items placed in the standpipe outlet. We all (I hope) flush any standpipe outlet before hooking up to it. Items placed in the FDC are not so easy to see or remove and can take some time to make it through the piping and into your nozzle. Those items can be dealt with much easier when using a smooth bore nozzle as described in the Nozzles: Truths From The Street article.

The other type of obstruction when dealing with standpipe systems is pipe scale. Pipe scale occurs when rust and corrosion adhere to the inner surface of the pipes. This also serves to increase friction loss in the pipe and can further reduce outlet pressure. The fitting it the picture was removed from a sprinkler system that was found to have some pipe scale issues. Pipe scale will not be found unless an internal pipe inspection is conducted. Pipe scale will have no effect on the operability of a smooth bore nozzle but can have a devastating impact on combination nozzles by clogging the tip.

Feel free to add your comments, questions, or suggestions. I will expand on this topic soon with some information about in-line pressure gauges for standpipe operations.

Posted by ccollier on August 15, 2011 • Filed under: Attack Line, Engine Company Ops, fire-prevention-education, fire-rescue-topics, firefighter-safety-health, firefighting-operations, fires, in-the-line-of-duty, Stretching, training-development, training-fire-rescue-topics, Water Supply • Tagged: training

Brotherhood Instructors class in Wildwood NJ

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Brotherhood Instructors, LLC. will be presenting our 8-hour hands-on "Beyond the Academy: Engine & Ladder Company Operations" class on Thursday September 15, 2011. This course is hosted by the Cape May County Fire Chiefs Assn. – Click here for registration information! Sign up now, don't get left out!

Click here to see pictures from last years class!

Beyond the Academy: Engine & Ladder Company Operations consists of parts of our Beyond the Academy: Engine Company Operations & Beyond the Academy: Ladder Company Operations classes. Check out these videos for a quick overview of the course material.

2012-04-21 – Sergeant Bluff, IA – BtA Machinery Rescue – Flier & Registration Form

Course Catalog – Email Version

Posted by ccollier on July 25, 2011 • Filed under: Announcements-News, Attack Line, Brotherhood Topics, Class Photos, Engine Company Ops, fire-rescue-topics, firefighter-safety-health, firefighting-operations, Forcible Entry, Ladder Company Ops, Ladders, Roof Ops, Search, special-operations, Stretching, training-development, training-fire-rescue-topics, Ventilation, videos, Water Supply • Tagged: training

Tactical Discussion: Apartment Fire w/ Critical Decisions by: Nate DeMarse

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We first saw this video on Backstep Firefighter. An excellent video surfaced this week that addresses some very critical decisions that must be made in seconds at this early arriving apartment fire in downtown Mamaroneck, New York. I want to preface this discussion by saying that the Fire Department in Mamaroneck did an OUTSTANDING job in getting several things accomplished simultaneously with very limited manpower. They were confronted with a very complex situation, including a complex laddering problem that they overcame without hesitation.

It appears that the first due engine has arrived to a heavy fire condition in at least one room on the second floor of a three story apartments over stores "downtown-type" building that is common across the entire North American region. In reality, this fire could have happened in nearly ANY TOWN in North America. So since it COULD HAPPEN in your town, here are a few questions to discuss the incident.

There is a visible victim at the top floor window in obvious distress. As we say at every Brotherhood Instructors, LLC course, I am going to step out of my "FDNY Manpower Fantasy World" and attempt to stir a discussion that applies to the other 95% of the firefighting world. You are arriving with an "now-standard" engine staffed with THREE (including the boss). If you have a total of four, you are extremely lucky, and feel free to answer accordingly. The next due engine and/or truck is 4-5 minutes out. How and when are we addressing the following concerns from the video:

1) Do we stretch the line to confine/extinguish the fire first or do we go for the ladder rescue? Why? What are the pros and cons of each?

2) Can you split your company to get both accomplished at once? If so how? What are the implications?

3) What sized portable ladder (if it was available on your engine) would you use to reach the 3rd floor sill?

4) What are other options to the portable ladder in the front?

5) What size attack line are you pulling to attack this second floor fire?

6) What are the forcible entry concerns at this fire? Type of door, locks, etc…?

Please copy and paste the questions into your reply below, and answer using your name & department. Keep in mind that we have a lot of young firefighters on this blog that read our posts to learn, so if you have something throw it down even if you think it is very basic. To the young guys: DON'T BE AFRAID TO ASK QUESTIONS!

Now take a look at the photos below (bing.com, birds-eye-view) for some added size-up discussion. Unless you were intimately familiar with this building during inspections, EMS runs, water leaks, etc… this building can cause you some complex problems.

1) The fire is located on the 2nd floor, but the 3rd floor is only about 1/2 or 3/4 the depth of the building. Does this now become a top floor fire? How are you getting to the lower level (2nd floor roof) in the rear? How would you communicate this?

As a Roof Firefighter, in my opinion your game plan has now changed. I would be expecting to go up there and force a skylight, scuttle and/or bulkhead and do a perimeter survey. This won't be the case at this job. This is a perfect scenario to drive the point home of crawling or probing with a tool in front of you in a limited visibility condition. If you do not in this case, you can take a 1 story fall to the rear roof, rendering you injured or worse.

2) Note the potential VES opportunity that may be available on the Exposure 2(B) roof. It appears from the overview photo that the window in the A-B (1-2) corner may lead to the same room that the victim is trapped. There are also similar VES opportunities in the rear (2nd floor roof) if needed.

Feel free to add further questions or stir discussion. Remember, we strictly moderate our blog discussions. Keep it professional and to sign your posts. NO UNSIGNED POSTS or posts that simply bash the department (which would be very hard in this case) will be allowed. Stay safe!

Posted by Nate DeMarse on July 14, 2011 • Filed under: Attack Line, command-leadership, Engine Company Ops, fire-rescue-topics, firefighter-safety-health, firefighting-operations, fires, Forcible Entry, Ladder Company Ops, Ladders, rescues, Roof Ops, Search, Stretching, training-development, training-fire-rescue-topics, videos

Why Search That Building – By: Scott Brown

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We respond to building fires daily in the fire service and the assignment of primary search has taken a back seat. Primary search is a critical benchmark and essential task to be completed. This task should be simultaneously completed with line placement and proper ventilation! Remember that line placement and primary search save lives; isn’t that why we are here? It is not justifiable to state that either is more or less important on the fire ground. Manpower now a days is difficult to find, but is it? We are expected now to do more with less with all of the emphasis on EMS. Only we can make this change, by us stepping up and making a stand for what is right for our safety and the communities’ safety. You have to get certain duties completed on the fire ground, but more importantly they must be completed in a timely manner. Waiting to be assigned or not starting a primary search will hinder the true operations and meaning of the duty at hand. If this is how you operate, then maybe we should revise the terminology to body recovery search.

Where do we start and what do we look for? First thing first; SIZE-UP! You can not have the same search thought process for a single family dwelling as you do a 200X200 commercial building!! Your size-up will tell you a lot of information on what is going on inside the building, and give you indicators on where you need to be first to make most of your time. Size-up for a primary search is essential and needs to be completed on the transmission of the alarm. Building construction, we need to search according to the building type. The days of fire school searching, hand on ankle, and always doing a right hand should be gone. We are not going to complete any kind of search in a timely manner. Line placement, with out a line placed and into operations we will not be as effective doing a primary search. Remember, the truck company is only as aggressive as the engine company. Fire conditions, this will tell us how far we can go with out putting ourselves into unnecessary harm. Remember, there is no reason to search a room that is on fire. If we can’t take the heat with all of our PPE, then what chance do they have? So take your risk benefit and weigh it out.

What if every one is reported “out”; well how sure are you? Maybe a neighbor attempted to go inside and look for their neighbor thinking that they are still inside. Yes, that has happened, and can easily happen to us right now today. Is the structure clear until we clear it? It would be heart wrenching to know a victim possibly had a chance, but we decided not to commit or worse not complete this task until after the fire is knocked down. Remember, your size-up will give you good indicators for savable victims. Gaining all of the essential information will dictate how advance you will commit for savable victims.

What do we look for once inside? YOUR NEXT EXIT!! This is for you and your members. We spoke about the size-up on the exterior, but don’t forget about your interior size-up. Size-up everything you do, building lay-out, smoke condition, heat condition and listen to the radio for other benchmarks. These items make or break your commitment to the interior. This is where we see a lot of firefighters get into urgent and/or mayday situations.

The other reason that we search is to find the fire, if you have done this there are things that need to be completed. First attempt to check the fire, by closing the door, maybe hit it with the water can if it is a must. Remember though, it is not there for that reason. Then, get on the radio and call the engine’s officer and tell them where the fire is. You can relay, how far of a stretch, up / down stairs, which side the structure. Make the line’s job a little easier; they will make your job easier. The engine should be searching the fire room or rooms. You can also secure the utilities if you happen to come across them.

Primary search should have a minimum of one firefighter and one officer. But, this can be building dependant and life hazard dependant. Maybe we need to send the entire company inside to get the job done? All to be decided on your size-up, as you arrive on the scene. Tools are essential and should be mandatory that all personal have the basics. I will start off with the irons; we need to gain entry for us and the line. Water can, this is not to be cowboys and put the fire out, but is 2.5 gallons of water for our safety. You will be amazed what a water-can will do. Yes, this is heavy 25-30 lbs, but the value out weighs the true weight. Remember, that you do not need to carry the water can, when you are completing the search, but you can drag it. 6’ Hook, this can provide an excellent extension of your arm for searching. The hook can also assist in providing relief to companies trying to make that final push down the hallway and are being hindered by heat. Thermal Imaging Camera, this has many options, look for victims, check fire conditions, navigation, structural conditions, and accountability of crew. Remember that the TIC has faults and is man-made and will fail. The TIC also has many false positives, and you still must be aware of your surrounding the old fashion way. Some additional tools to consider for large square footage buildings, but can be used in any type of building. Rope bag, my area runs 200ft of search rope. This is due to our normal first due area, and yours should reflect the same. Hydra – ram or Bunny tool can be used if forcing a large amount of doors, remember your basic forcible entry skills. Yes this is a lot of equipment to carry, but remember if you get where you are going and there is no need to utilize the hydra-ram or rope bag; then place that tool in a safe-refuge. In all these tools are just the basics and give you good start. I have assumed that PPE , radio, flashlight(s), door chocks are already in place with you.

Starting your search, use the irons (if needed) to make entry into the most appropriate door to begin your search and for line placement. Sow down for just a few seconds, let the building breathe. This could show what the conditions are inside! Before you enter the building / door bend over and place your face on the ground and look in, you might get a full view of the layout of the room. You might find a victim, and be able to go right to them. Begin your search using the left or right hand method, but there is no reason to search directly behind each other. Spread out, but staying within voice range, spread your body out. Remember, we are not looking for pennies, we are looking for bodies. There is no reason to search the top of a dresser, or behind a TV. Where are we going to find victims, in bed, closets (kids) and the path of an exit way. Yes, there will always be exceptions to the rule, but remember PRIMARY SEARCH is to be quick. Check for bunk beds, remember to look around, is there toys? Maybe you are in a kids’ room. A nice bench mark on the fire ground is 4-5 minutes into the search. What is your status, are you completed? Are you delayed and command needs to get more search companies?

Primary search needs to be a quick and thorough. This assignment should be automatic, and companies on the first alarm should know that they are assigned to do this, so they are prepared with the most important tool, their brain. Bench mark at the 5 minute mark, most residential searches can be completed in this time. You can do this with aggressive hands-on training, and knowledge. Take your tools with you every time, if you do this, when the real work comes in, it will be second nature to carry everything. Also take care of your tools, clean them, and maintain them. All this can be done at truck check, at the start of your shift morning or night. If you don’t do a search in a timely manner find out why, is it manpower, lack of training or some other issue. Many of these items can be addressed with a little bit of research. If you are not beginning primary searches upon arrival and you are waiting 20-25 minutes to do so, it is not a primary search. You are expected by your tax-payer to perform these functions, don’t let them down. Because you don’t work for a “Big city”, is no excuse.

Posted by ccollier on June 15, 2011 • Filed under: Attack Line, Engine Company Ops, fire-rescue-topics, firefighter-safety-health, firefighting-operations, Forcible Entry, Ladder Company Ops, Search, Stretching, training-development, training-fire-rescue-topics, Ventilation • Tagged: training

The Truth About Nozzles – By: Rob Feltwell & Chris Collier

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The following article was written based on research conducted by the authors in the summer of 2010. Our hope is to educate the fire service with real facts about nozzles. Feel free to add your questions, comments, and suggestions. Click any of the pictures to open the article.

Nozzle Article

Thank you to the Wildwood City NJ Fire Department, West Wildwood NJ Fire Department, and Avalon NJ Fire Department for the use of their apparatus, nozzles and flow meters.

Posted by ccollier on May 21, 2011 • Filed under: Attack Line, Engine Company Ops, fire-rescue-topics, firefighter-safety-health, firefighting-operations, Stretching, training-development, training-fire-rescue-topics, Water Supply • Tagged: engine, nozzle, training

Video – Engine Ops: Nozzle & Back-up Techniques

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The latest addition to our video training series focuses on the importance of a well coordinated nozzle team. In this video Nate DeMarse and Chris Collier demonstrate effective nozzle and back-up firefighter techniques. In this video a 2 1/2" line equipped with a smooth bore nozzle with a 1 1/8" tip was used. At 50 lbs nozzle pressure this line is flowing approximately 280 gallons per minute (GPM) and can still be moved effectively by two firefighters. The nozzle reaction of the smooth bore is approximately half that of most combination nozzles while flowing the same GPM.

Please feel free to post your comments and questions.

Posted by ccollier on May 18, 2011 • Filed under: Attack Line, Engine Company Ops, fire-rescue-topics, firefighter-safety-health, firefighting-operations, training-development, training-fire-rescue-topics • Tagged: training

Building Construction Features – Cornices, By: Andrew Brassard

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I am sure if you talk to most fire service professionals about an area of basic knowledge that is lacking in today’s fire service it won’t take long to hear the topic of building construction surface. Knowledge of building construction and how a fire reacts in that building is an area that is extremely under taught and misunderstood by today’s fire service. It amazes me that we teach safety officers to spot a gloveless hand at 100 yards but we spend very little time talking about the hazards of balloon frame buildings, knee walls, fire spread issues, ordinary construction, etc. With the changes in building construction nowadays and more and more emphasis of our training time on everything not fire related (ie. EMS, underwater HAZMAT, etc.) we need to teach building construction even more today than we ever have had to in previous years.

A cornice in architectural terms that describes a horizontal decorative molding that usually is found at the tops of doorways or building, for the purposes of the article we are going to look at them on the tops of flat roof buildings.

In the 19^th and early 20^th century, cornices were a very common place and most buildings were not complete without decorative cornice work adorning the top of the structure. The functionality of the cornice was simple, to deflect and cause rain water to run off of the building and keep the water from running down the side of the brick work. The intent was to save the brick work from the wear and tear of mother nature, essentially these decorative moldings were flat roofed buildings example of gutters or eves troughs.

Cornices came to favor in the 19^th and 20^th century but are in fact much older that that and have there roots all the way back to Roman times. Cornices as we know them in North America come in many different styles but the two most common types are wood and brick. It is important to note the building construction material used in these cornices before it is too late; brick cornices will hold up much better than there wood counterparts to weather and fire deterioration. Wood cornices are the more dangerous of the two types of cornices and for the purpose of this article we will talk about the hazards associated with only wood cornices. Wooden cornices are generally not attached very well to the buildings facade, typically they have been nailed in when the building was first built and very little maintenance or thought goes into them until there is a problem. Wooden cornices have been known to fall off buildings under snow loads and because of natural breakdown and deterioration of the wood and nails holding the cornice to the building. When cornices start to become problematic for firefighters is during roof operations and if fire showing from windows starts to involve the cornices.

Roof Operations

When engaged in flat roof operations at one of these older style taxpayers or any other type of older building with a flat roof it is imperative that you take a quick second see if wooden cornices are present. The reason for this is that in some cases the cornices are not on a parapet and are in fact flush with the roof. In many they cases are completely tarred over, this will prevent you from knowing whether you are standing on a solid roof or only standing on the cornice. If you are accessing the roof via aerial ladder, it is vital that if you have to step off the aerial onto the cornice to aggressively sound the cornice area with a roof or rubbish hook before stepping on it. Several firefighters have been injured and killed by cornices failing without ever being subjected to fire… they simply gave way under the load of the firefighter operating on them.

Fire Impingement onto Cornices

In building fires where the fire has vented out windows and the fire has started to impinge on the cornice an early and catastrophic collapse of sections of the cornice should be expected. Also the wooden construction of the cornice can cause the fire to extend along the face of the building. When dealing with a fire involving sections of cornices a collapse zone should be set up and respected. During over haul the stability of the cornice should be checked, roof firefighters could attempt to remove it through traditional overhaul means or a from a tower ladder. Also a stream from smoothbore nozzle could be used to attempt to knock the loose section of cornice off. You want to try to control when the cornice will fail and not have it happen unexpectedly.

This is just one small building construction feature that firefighters often overlook the hazards of. Francis L. Brannigan’s famous saying “know your enemy, the building is your enemy” holds even more true today, be sure to practice, train, study, (and most importantly) get out in your area and study building construction features common in the buildings in your district.

Cornice Collapse Video – Fast forward to the 6:25 min mark.

Posted by ccollier on April 28, 2011 • Filed under: Attack Line, Building Alteration-Renovation, command-leadership, Engine Company Ops, fire-rescue-topics, firefighter-safety-health, firefighting-operations, fires, Forcible Entry, Ladder Company Ops, Ladders, Roof Ops, Search, Stretching, training-development, training-fire-rescue-topics, Ventilation • Tagged: training

Sprinklered Basement Fire – By: Kevin Legacy

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I recently responded to a fire as a later arriving company. As we entered the block, the first due companies reported that most of the visible fire had been knocked down by a sprinkler. Units were mopping up with the line, and reported no extension. Since we arrived late in the game, we were thinking that there was probably “nothing for us to do here, lets take up”. The fire was in the basement (laundry room) of a 3 story attached multiple dwelling. The next report from units in the basement included, “searches will be delayed due to poor visibility”. The basement laundry room had only one way in and out, via the interior stairs. There were no windows. Even though the fire was relatively minor, the smoke, steam, and heat were not lifting due to the poor ventilation. When the IC learned of the conditions, he reminded all members to remain on air until they exited the structure due to high carbon monoxide levels. When companies reported via radio that the primary search in the basement was negative the IC heard a low air alarm going off in the background. At this time the IC ordered the first due units out of the structure, and provided a relief unit to replace them to finish up. The fire concluded without incident.

Even though the above fire was a very small and controlled by the sprinkler system, CO levels remained very high until proper mechanical ventilation was used.

Later arriving units, especially RIT/FAST units, should be prepared for the following:

Members going down from removing their face piece too soon due to extremely high CO levels present.
Exhausted members: due to the continuing high heat levels from lack of ventilation.
Limited access to members operating in the basement.(one way in /out of the basement). Keep the stairs clear.
Once the charged hose line is in place and the fire is controlled shut down the sprinkler. The operating sprinkler head will hamper the ventilation process.

Posted by ccollier on April 4, 2011 • Filed under: administration-leadership, Attack Line, command-leadership, Engine Company Ops, firefighter-safety-health, firefighting-operations, fires, Ladder Company Ops, RIT or FAST Operations, Search, special-operations, training-development, training-fire-rescue-topics, Ventilation • Tagged: training

Hose Line & Hand Tools

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We often get the question "how can I hold the hose and carry my tool?"

If you can bring a tool with you and have both hands on the line at the same time then go for it. In a heavy fire situation where it is imperative that the line be kept in operation throughout the advance and possible retreat, the nozzle and back-up firefighters must have full control of the hose line at all times – that means both hands. For the nozzle and back-up firefighters , the line is your tool until the fire is out or until you and other members are safely out of the structure after a retreat.

If you are in a low manpower situation you can bring your tools as far as you can until you begin your fire attack (open nozzle) with the hose line. Once the fire is knocked down you can go get your tools and begin to overhaul. As you advance the attack line there will be no space in-between the nozzle and back-up firefighters. While moving in, the nozzle firefighter is basically leaning on the back-up firefighter for stability. The backup firefighter is taking all the nozzle reaction force. When the nozzle firefighter calls for an advance the backup firefighter nudges the nozzle firefighter and the two move simultaneously forward staying married together throughout the advance.

If there is a need for a retreat, remember that the nozzle needs to stay open and operating until all members are in a safe position. In the case of a retreat the nozzle firefighter tells the backup firefighter BACK OUT and with a slight nudge by the nozzle firefighter, the team simultaneously begin backing out with the nozzle open and in operation. If you are backing out of a structure due to heavy fire conditions you must not shut the nozzle down when backing out. If conditions are bad enough during the attack/advance that you need to back out, common sense tells us that shutting the nozzle down will make things much worse. If there are other members operating in the structure ahead of or above the line you must hold your position until those members are safe. To do this right so you don’t lose control of the hose line you need both hands on it. You have water you’re the last to leave when things go bad.

Posted by ccollier on March 29, 2011 • Filed under: Attack Line, Engine Company Ops, fire-rescue-topics, firefighter-safety-health, firefighting-operations, Stretching, training-development, training-fire-rescue-topics • Tagged: training

Dwelling Fire Video Discussion

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Take a look at this house fire video and then let’s discuss a few points. These guys appear to have done a pretty nice job especially considering that it looked like the first due engine only had three firefighters. The first 50 seconds is just a response video, skip to that point and start there. While you watch, consider the following points:

• Size-up

o Officer gets a view of sides A, B, and D while arriving

o There is one window of fire on side D and there appears to be fire coming from a window in the same room on side C (you can see the fire above the roof line on arrival)

o Time of day. Cars are in the driveway, are people home?

• Engine Considerations

o Water supply: Would you go in on tank water or wait for the hydrant connection to be made?

o The first line is stretched quickly and it appeared each member had an assigned role.

o The line was charged OUTSIDE of the house.

o The engine leaves the front of the building open for the ladder company.

o A back-up line was stretched and charged.

• Ladder Considerations

o Portable ladder positioned in the front of the building. Ladder position is good with the tip even with the sill.

o It appeared another ladder was taken to the side or rear.

o It appears the primary search may have been done before the engine arrives. Upon arrival you can see what looks like a Fire Dept vehicle parked on the left.

At the 7:33 and 7:43 minute mark members throw some items from the windows. This is not ideal but sometimes is necessary. Be sure when throwing things out of the building to make sure no one is below or on the ladder under that window.

Please feel free to jump in with questions, comments, and suggestions as we discuss this fire. As is standard with all of Brotherhood Instructors LLC’s blog posts, WE WILL NOT POST UNSIGNED COMMENTS. You are entitled to your opinion and to disagree with us and the firefighters in the video as long as you do so in a constructive manner to promote learning.

Posted by ccollier on March 27, 2011 • Filed under: Attack Line, Engine Company Ops, fire-rescue-topics, firefighter-safety-health, firefighting-operations, fires, Ladder Company Ops, Ladders, Search, Stretching, training-development, training-fire-rescue-topics, Ventilation, Water Supply • Tagged: training

This is no place to come up with a plan!

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Thanks to Tommy Hofland for sending this article over. Tommy brings us an in-depth look at an SOP driven management style.

While my fire companies’ operations and our opinion of SOPs is in line with and supportive of the concepts expressed in this post, I was not able to clearly and concisely communicate a complete philosophy regarding SOPs until recently. Due to the generosity of the Puget Sound chapter of the Fraternal Order of Leather Heads I had the honor of attending a line of duty death funeral for a fallen brother in Maryland this winter. While staying with an friend who works for the Fire Department of District of Columbia, I was exposed to their SOP’s. The F.D.D.C. has written exceptional SOPs which lay out a detailed, thorough, explanation of not only how they operate at fires, but why this system works and how it addresses the multitude of challenges seen on the fire ground. I must give extensive credit to the men and women of the F.D.D.C. for both the inspiration and some of the exact wording for this post. Viva La Nut House!

When people are trapped and fire conditions severe, there is no time for rapidly arriving first alarm companies to formulate an incident action plan, communicate assignments, and evaluate the effect. Firefighters have to know what to do and what everyone else on the alarm will be doing. Their lives depend on it. Uncoordinated ventilation, hose lines stretched to the wrong location, and failure to assign forcible entry, proactive laddering or pick up the hydrant for the first due engine are all reasons firefighters have died in the line of duty.

The fire ground is no place to come up with a plan!

The NFPA defines Standard Operating Procedures as “An organizational directive that establishes a standard course of action.”

Management styles for fire ground operations are divided into two categories: those that are standard operating guideline driven, and those which are incident management system driven. A primary factor that determines a departments fire ground management style is the time it takes for units to arrive on scene. Departments that have long arrival times usually choose an incident management system style and those with short arrival times choose a standard operational guideline management style.

Departments that are capable of safely adopting a SOG driven management style allow for the rapid deployment and accountability of resources without direct instruction. This rapid deployment of resources provides the greatest possibility of overwhelming the incident problem; operating on multiple floors of fire simultaneously, and effecting numerous rescues without negatively effecting the safety or effectiveness of the fire attack. Incident commanders on full responses or box alarms will not have to assign units to specific tasks, because the SOG already assigns these units to a position and objective. This frees the incident commander to plan for and direct greater alarm units in mitigating complex fires and responding to unexpected problems or firefighter emergencies.

Well staffed Fire Departments have units strategically located throughout their city or district. Because of this, the difference in arrival times is frequently less than the NFPA standard eight minutes (if not seconds) between the first company to arrive and the last. In addition to rapid response times, well staffed cities are capable of placing multiple engines and trucks on scene with a first alarm strength of at least 15, if not more that 25 personnel.

Standard Operating Guidelines function effectively because units are assigned specific tasks based on the type of building occupancy and the fire companies respective response order. Units are guided by standard operating guidelines but have the flexibility to react to situations that present themselves at the scene of a fire. Any unit which will not be able to complete their assigned tasks, as directed in the SOG, must notify the incident commander as soon as it becomes clear that their assigned task will not be completed. The incident commander can then give orders to ensure that all critical assignments are covered.

All units shall be assigned:

A position for their apparatus.

A responsibility for water supply or laddering.

A specific operating location within or around the building.

Specific tasks to be performed.

Responsibility for reporting a specific size up and benchmarks.

The assignments in the SOGs shall be strictly adhered to and the company officer shall be held accountable for compliance unless good reason or judgment warrants and prompt communication with and permission from the incident commander is received.

The ICS system shall be used on all responses. The ICS system shall be expanded using Divisions or Groups when more than seven operational companies are engaged in fire combat in or around the fire building. This will maintain a manageable span of control and allow for the safe addition of greater alarm companies onto the fire ground. Whenever a Battalion Chief is assigned to an alarm he is specifically designated with the authority and responsibility for ensuring the correct, effective, and safe implementation of the SOGs to mitigate any fire or emergency.

To effectively manage the response and emergency incident, the first due Battalion Chief will be in command of the incident and is the formal incident commander. First arriving companies are responsible for implementing the standard operating guidelines, making or directing critical adjustments to the guidelines, and communicating all deviations or problems to command.

Non-critical adjustments to the standard operational guidelines shall be directed to the incident commander in the form of a recommendation. The first due battalion chief, as incident commander, is responsible for the appropriate resolution of all emergency responses on which he is assigned, regardless of whether he has arrived on the scene or is responding.

Except when permitted by pre-plan, special provision, and orders en-route; all units responding on a Full Response or Box Alarm shall take their assigned position as based on their assigned response order. Companies may arrive on scene out of order by a few seconds. Despite technically arriving out of order, companies are responsible for their assigned duties and shall not assume the duties of another unit unless ordered.

Units shall make no effort to beet another company to an alarm and shall yield right of way to any company listed ahead of them on a response. Second due engines shall yield to first due companies, and third or fourth due engines shall yield to second due trucks. If a company will be significantly delayed for any reason, they must notify the incident commander.

Operations at the scene of a fire differ depending on the type of occupancy, building construction and the location and severity of the fire. The standard operational guidelines are intended to address the incident priorities of R.E.C.E.O. taking these and other factors into account. All members shall assist in mitigating the emergency by completing their assigned duties. Assigned duties are critical components of safe, effective, and efficient fire ground operations within the overall strategic plan.

Accountability of all personnel and companies is maintained through discipline. The SOGs describe the location, team member, supervisor, and assignment of all members on the scene. With out this system the ability to warn, aid or respond to a member or company in distress is significantly decreased. All members operating in a IDLH atmosphere must be backed up, have alternate egress provided for them, and be supported by other teams of firefighters who are available to assist them incase a firefighter emergency occurs. Through adherence to SOGs, companies can ensure that they are both providing and receiving this critical, mutual, support in the initial minutes of an incident as well as knowing the resources will be available to handle a more significant structural event, should one occur.

Engine companies will operate as one team towards their assigned goals. Engine companies perform rescues by placing their hose lines in a position to protect rescue operations and then extinguish the fire. Engine companies will operate as one team, in one location while inside the structure.

Members of engine companies shall be assigned specific duties based on their riding assignments.

Officer- Supervise the safe, effective operation of the company.

Driver- Establish a water supply and charge appropriate hose lines.

Nozzle- Advance and operate a hand line.

Back-Up- Assist with hose lays and assist with the advance of the hand line.

The truck company is responsible for the rapid location and removal of victims within the fire building and assisting the engine company in extinguishing the fire. To accomplish these goals, the truck companies must be capable of accomplishing a wide variety of tasks quickly, including: laddering, forcible entry, search, and ventilation. A truck officer should not have to give detailed orders because truck personnel should know, in advance, what their assigned tasks are and be able to perform them when needed. The truck company officer will not be able to directly supervise all members of the company because the truck personnel will be operating throughout and around the fire building. Truck company members must be capable of working in teams within or on the building or alone around it without direct supervision. Standard operational guidelines allow the truck company officer to know the location of all members, what they are doing, and when he should hear from them. Truck company members operating remote from their company officer shall be assigned specific size up responsibilities and tactical benchmarks which must be promptly communicated to their officer and command.

The members of truck companies shall be assigned specific duties based on their riding assignments.

Officer- Work with the barman to ladder and force entry on the front of the building, locate and confine the fire, and conduct a search of the fire unit.

Barman- Ladder, force entry, and horizontally ventilate on the front of the building and search the fire unit.

Driver- Ladder the roof and prepare to conduct vertical ventilation if needed, provide a roof assessment and 360 degree size up from the roof if safe to do so, assist with laddering and horizontal ventilation.

Tillerman (Outside Vent)- Check the basement, ladder, force entry and horizontally ventilate at the rear of the building, and then perform exterior searches behind and above the fire with the assistance of the driver or assist with vertical ventilation.

Specific company assignments, based on response order, vary based on building occupancy types.

Residential:

-House fires

-Row or Town House fires

-Apartment fires

Commercial:

-Store fires

-Warehouse fires

-Office fires

Common preassigned variations to the standard occupancy based fires are effected by the fires location, intensity, and building construction.

-Basement fires

-Top floor fires with heavy cockloft involvement

-Attached porch and garage fires

-Highrise fires

-Defensive operations.

Standard operational guidelines ensure that there is rapid coverage of the front, rear, fire floor, basement, floor above, roof, and top floor by both engines and trucks. The specific location and assignment varies by fire department practice, history, methodologies, and district lay out, particularly the availability of alleys. Common variations are caused by staffing, preconnect vs bulkbed operations and reverse lay vs forward lay water supply operations.

One possible model of operations would be as follows for a detached house fire.

1st Engine: Approach the front and pull past, preconnect fire attack, hand stretch supply line.

1st Truck: Park in the front, interior search of the top floor and horizontal venting and laddering.

2nd Engine: Park on hydrant, supply first engine, assist with the first hoseline.

3rd Engine: Lay into the alley, pull past or short of the fire occupancy, stretch a back up line to protect the search on the floor above the fire.

2nd Truck: Park in the alley behind the fire occupancy and assist the search and conduct vertical ventilation.

4th Engine: Pick up the 3rd Engine’s supply line, park on a hydrant and supply the third engine, stretch a back up line to the base of the stairs.

While there are many ways of coordinating the simultaneous forcible entry and egress, laddering of all sides, checking the basement, establishment of coordinated horizontal and vertical ventilation, attacking the fire, protecting the search and stairs with completely redundant lines, establishing two independent water supplies, and searching above and behind the fire; SOGs provide well staffed Fire Departments with the fastest, most effective means of rapidly placing numerous companies in the right place, at the right time, with the right tools to mitigate the emergency for our citizens and proactively get ahead of potential problems and hazards we encounter to keep our members safe.

Posted by ccollier on March 16, 2011 • Filed under: administration-leadership, Attack Line, command-leadership, Engine Company Ops, fire-rescue-topics, firefighter-safety-health, firefighting-operations, Forcible Entry, Ladder Company Ops, Ladders, RIT or FAST Operations, Roof Ops, Search, Stretching, training-development, training-fire-rescue-topics, Ventilation, Water Supply • Tagged: training

Private Dwelling Operations – Nate DeMarse

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As it appears in this video, my first line would probably head to the rear door in an attempt to make a less punishing advance down the interior basement stairs. That is a great move and with minimal manpower to stretch and advance the first line, it is probably the best option.My second line however would be stretched to the front door and charged. That line would be responsible for protecting anyone operating on the first floor or any members proceeding to the 2nd floor to search the bedrooms (main priority). If there is no line in the front and the fire started to light up as it did, any members operating on the second floor would be trapped above until the line could be repositioned and knock the fire down.My third line if available would back up the first line in the rear. Back-up lines are important, but I would opt to cover the members searching above before backing up the first line.

A few comments:

1) Does it appear that a dry line is chocking the outward swinging front door in the middle of the video? I don’t know if they were operating and lost water or if they were in the house with a dry line. If they never had water or had a known water issue, venting the front picture window was not a good idea. As you saw, the influx of air caused the fire to intensify and drove them from the building. Coordinate venting with the application of water.

2) I don’t believe that the first floor “fire phenomenon” was a flashover. It was definitely a rapid fire progress and on it’s way to a flashover, but they caught it before it actually flashed over. Keep in mind that the orange you see lapping out of the front door is also more rapidly making it’s way up the interior stairs and towards the bedrooms. Any members searching above will need portable ladders or the fire to be knocked down to escape. That is my justification for a hose line through the front door.

3) Did you hear the radio traffic reporting “holes in the floors”. That was a heads up move to alert all members operating on the first floor of that hazard. If there are small holes in the floor an interior door can be removed from a bathroom or closet and placed over the holes so no one will get hurt.

4) Many departments declare that a building is “fully involved” when a window or two of fire is showing. When I hear the term fully involved, in my mind there is fire pushing from every opening in the building and no one is going to be alive in the structure. There are most certainly areas in this building that a victim could still be rescued after our arrival. In my opinion, every area with the exception of the direct fire area (room) in the basement could have housed a viable victim.

Please get involved in the discussion by clicking “add comment”.

**Our blog is strictly moderated and absolutely NO UNSIGNED POSTS will be posted**

Posted by ccollier on March 10, 2011 • Filed under: Attack Line, Engine Company Ops, fire-rescue-topics, firefighter-safety-health, firefighting-operations, Forcible Entry, Ladder Company Ops, Search, Stretching, training-development, training-fire-rescue-topics, Ventilation, Water Supply • Tagged: training

Private Dwelling Engine Operations

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Here is a great example of a disciplined engine and ladder company.

You can skip to 01:30, everything prior to that is a response video. The video is a little dark in some spots but it gives insight in a near perfect aggressive interior attack in a very common private dwelling found in most of our communities.

01:30 – 02:30: The first due engine company arrives on the scene with heavy fire showing from two windows on the 1-4 (a-d) corner. They immediately go to work forcing the front door and stretching and flaking the first line. It appears that line is ready to go at approximately the 2:30 minute mark, less than a minute after the rig has stopped.

02:30: – It appears that the forcible entry firefighter is delayed in getting the door. He sticks with it using various 1-firefighter techniques by prying down with what appears to be the adz end and then followed it up with a baseball swing at the 03:00 mark. He uses various techniques of the Halligan to effect entry.

03:00 – Resisting Several Urges: This is probably one of the best videos on the online training circuit showing tremendous professionalism and discipline in both engine and ladder company operations. This video shows us that there are still departments out there that know and operate with the basic firefighting fundamentals in mind.

The engine company resisted all urges to hit the fire from the exterior, even when the forcible entry operation was not going as smoothly as we like. Hitting this fire from the exterior would have driven the fire into uninvolved areas of the building, and would have killed any occupants that certainly could be alive in any other part of the house aside from the fire room. This would have also driven fire to a member performing VES opposite the fire searching for those victims, if VES is in the departments SOPs.

The engine company also did a great job in avoiding becoming “side-tracked” by the small rubbish fires (fence, bushes, rubbish on the side) and kept to the mission of getting a line through the front door and to the seat of the fire quickly. Operating on those small fires, which are typically inconsequential to the outcome of the fire, often lead to a tendency to “hit the window” to “give the fire a whack”. By staying near the front door and covering the member forcing entry, the line was able to quickly move in after the door was forced.

In addition, the ladder company (or ladder company operating firefighters) resisted a tremendous urge to ventilate the two front windows directly adjacent to the front door. I started to become a little concerned at 03:15 when a member with a hook, set up to the right of the window as if he was preparing to ventilate. Just as I started to cringe, he decided not to ventilate the window. Whether he decided on his own, or a boss or senior firefighter told him not to, it was the correct decision to delay ventilating those windows. Ventilating those window(s) would have certainly pulled the fire from the room of origin and to the new ventilation opening and probably allowed it to spread throughout the rest of first floor since access had not yet been gained.

03:53: – After a tough forcible entry operation, entry is gained. A second member assists the forcible entry firefighter by providing a couple of much needed “taps” to the properly positioned Halligan and the door is forced almost immediately. In a very coordinated and swift motion, the front windows are ventilated and the line aggressively advances to the seat of the fire. All members appear to assist in the advance of the hose line. It appears that water was applied to the main body of fire about 30 seconds after the line entered the front door and the main body of fire knocked down about 15 seconds after that. A great job by the engine company in any way that you approach it.

Other comments:
There were several YouTube comments that express displeasure with the operation, mainly centering around the speed of the forcible entry operation. I emailed the videographer and he explained that the owner of this house was in prison and had “fortified” this door prior to him vacating the house for his absence. The door had a high deadbolt and a standard deadbolt, both with extra-long bolts as well as the regular locks. The firefighter forcing the door did an excellent job getting the door. Perhaps, asking for assistance (a few hits to set the forks, which was done eventually) a little earlier could have slightly sped up the operation, but I think it went well. This was not your typical easy private dwelling forcible entry job that much of the country sees on a day to day basis.

Additionally, there were comments regarding making entry through the window with the hose line and to search while other members worked on the door. As I wrote above, ventilating the windows next to the door would have drawn the fire to that location and negated entry to the building. Anyone who would have entered, would probably be leaving just as fast. There are very limited circumstances where the first hose line should be stretched through a window instead of through a door opening. The only instance that I can think of stretching a hose line through a window is in the case of a vacant building where the stairs are burned out, unstable or otherwise compromised. Short of that, the hose line should enter the fire building through a doorway and not a window.

I invite everyone to add to the discussion, comment further or post questions regarding the video or my thoughts. The only two things that we ask on our forum is that all posts be signed (first and last name) and all posts remain professional with an intent to learn or teach. Posts that do not meet that criteria will not be published!

Posted by ccollier on March 3, 2011 • Filed under: Attack Line, Engine Company Ops, fire-rescue-topics, firefighter-safety-health, firefighting-operations, fires, Forcible Entry, Ladder Company Ops, Search, Stretching, training-development, training-fire-rescue-topics, Ventilation, Water Supply • Tagged: training

Rex Tool Modification – Part 2 By: Andrew Brassard

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In a previous blog we discussed how a standard Rex Tool could be modified to allow an under-staffed fire company to carry a through-the-lock tool, yet still carry their primary set of forcible entry tools (axe, halligan, hook, maul, etc.). The tool that was formed is now known as The Morris Tool, and sold commercially as “The Lil Rex” available through Firehooks Unlimited (http://www.firehooksunlimited.net/rex.html). After carrying the modified Rex Tool for several years, I began to debate how often I carried the tool in comparison to how many cylinders I had pulled. I thought, since I am carrying this thing around, how can I get more use out of this tool?

The Morris Tool Wedge

I began placing a Morris Tool onto the pike of the Halligan. This allows me to efficiently carry a lock-pulling tool, the axe and Halligan tool at the same time. When I encounter a forcible entry operation, I remove the Morris Tool from the pike of the Halligan and place it on the floor near door. After the door has been opened, the lock-pulling tool can be used as a simple door chock. The tool is naturally shaped as a wedge, and its weight proves to be very effective. A second advantage of this wedge-shaped tool is to use it to hold purchases during conventional forcible entry operations (similar to an axe blade). Carrying the Morris Tool married with the “Irons” has yet another advantage; it is not in one of your pockets, weighing you down for everyday operations. Tools located in your pockets sometimes remain unused, and become an after-though of many operations. By placing this tool in front of you, on the pike of the Halligan it keeps the tool in your view and in your mind when a use surfaces.

The Morris Tool Hinge Hanger

While further exploring options to make the above tool slightly more functional, an idea surfaced in my head. I decided to slightly modify the tool further to add a “hinge-hanger” device. Hinge-hanger type door chocks have been in use for several years and they are found in all shapes and sizes. Basic principles of a hinge-hanger device include an object being placed into a door jamb to chock the door open. To hold the chock on a hinge, a “U-shaped” piece of metal or plastic hooks or hangs over the door hinge. This prevents the chock from becoming dislodged as members pass through the door.

I applied the basic “hinge-hanger” idea to the Morris Tool. Modifying the tool was a relatively simple process. I bent a simple piece of round steel stock and welded the bent stock onto the pike-bracket of the Morris Tool. Once this simple modification was completed, it is now useful as a hinge-hanger device. I highly recommend welding or painting your name and/or company identification on the tool. By adding your identification, this small tool is less likely to “grow legs” at the very first fire you deploy it.

This is a very simple modification that can be completed in-house. It allows the tool to become more versatile and allows today’s under-staffed companies to carry a through-the-lock tool that may otherwise be left on the rig.

Posted by ccollier on March 1, 2011 • Filed under: Attack Line, Engine Company Ops, fire-rescue-topics, firefighter-safety-health, Forcible Entry, Ladder Company Ops, Stretching, training-development, training-fire-rescue-topics • Tagged: training

Parapet Walls – By Chris Collier

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In a recent Brotherhood Instructors, LLC. lecture we discussed parapet walls and their hazards to firefighters. Here is a little more explanation along with some photos to illustrate the point. Parapet walls were typically brick or block construction but have changed over the years to incorporate other construction materials as well. Regardless of construction type parapet walls are dangerous to UNKNOWING firefighters. A little time spent researching and learning about parapet wall construction and past parapet wall collapses will make you a KNOWING firefighter and these construction features will be of little danger to you. There are multiple methods of parapet wall construction, below are a few examples.

This photo is of a vacant/abandoned building in the Bronx, NY. Part of the parapet has already collapsed which gives us a nice view of the construction features that are normally concealed by the parapet. Towards the left side of the photo you can see the structural brick walls which continue up past the roof to create the parapet. To the right we can see the block construction with the metal I beam on top. The I beam spans the front of the store where the roll down gate and main entrance are located. Also visible are the “fire cut” roof rafters. The angled end of the rafters allows them to pull out of their pocket in the wall without acting as a lever and causing a collapse of the wall. This feature is sometimes effective and sometimes not. It is much less effective if the exterior wall has been tied back to the rafters at all. Another visible feature is the inverted or rain roof. These roofs are usually constructed of a 2×4″ frame which is held up by 2×4″ risers. The roof is slightly pitched to allow for drainage. The space between the ceiling and the roof is known as the “cock loft” and depending on the length of the inverted roof risers can be of considerable size.

This photo is of the other side of the building in the previous picture. You can again see the block wall extending past the roof to create the parapet and the inverted roof. Take notice of where the roof surface meets the parapet. This area, if not flashed or waterproofed properly can be a source of leaks. The water leaking into the building over time can freeze, causing expansion and weakening the structure. It should also be noted that metal expands when exposed to heat. This meta I beam, if exposed to fire, could very easily expand and push the masonry walls out of plum and cause a collapse.

This photo is of a newer style parapet wall. This building is of masonry and metal construction. The parapet wall has been added to make the building look much larger than it actually is. I believe this parapet wall to be metal framed with metal paneling over top. This parapet is significantly lighter than the masonry parapets per square foot but is still plenty heavy enough to kill members operating below it if it was to fall.

The following pictures show signs that are either on top of or attached to the front of parapet walls. Loads such as these need to be counterbalanced on the other side of the parapet for stability. The most common counterbalance method is to tie the parapet or the load back to the roof rafters. The tiebacks are lag screwed into the roof rafters. Deterioration from weather or fire can cause these tiebacks to become loose at their attachment points. When the tiebacks fail the parapet will either fail immediately or be extremely unstable until it does fail. Firefighters on the roof are in an ideal position to examine these building features and determine their stability. If there is any doubt about the stability do not be shy about notifying the incident commander and any members operating below.

Parapets can also collapse due to actions taken by firefighters. Parapets have been known to collapse after being hit with the stream of a master stream device or being bumped by an aerial ladder or tower ladder bucket. A general rule for defensive operations at a one story taxpayer (store) fire is to keep everyone off of the sidewalk. This beginning benchmark for a collapse zone is easy to identify and if done consistently will become second nature.

Quite a few firefighters have been seriously hurt or killed by parapet wall collapses. Spending a little time learning about them may save your life or the lives of your brothers. Construction is one of the most important topics for firefighters to be well versed in. Any time spent on building constriction training or familiarization is time well spent. If nothing else, google Francis Brannigan and Vincent Dunn and read everything they wrote.

Here are a few links for additional information:

Front Wall Collapse by Vinny Dunn. An excellent look at front wall construction features and hazards.

Basic Brick Construction by Quikrete. An illustrated look at brick construction features.

Video of San Francisco firefighters being crushed by a parapet wall collapse… hard to watch.

Video of a newer style parapet wall collapse. No injuries due to proper collapse zone setup for a defensive operation.

Video of a collapse in Marlborough, MA.

Posted by ccollier on February 18, 2011 • Filed under: Attack Line, Building Alteration-Renovation, command-leadership, Engine Company Ops, fire-rescue-topics, firefighter-safety-health, firefighting-operations, Ladder Company Ops, Roof Ops, training-development, training-fire-rescue-topics • Tagged: training

Trench Cuts: Where Do They Work? by Nate DeMarse

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Nationwide, there seems to be a lot of confusion regarding the use of the trench cut. In this “Trench Cut” series, we will discuss the background of the trench cut and the specific types of structures for which it was designed. As with several concepts in the fire service, the trench cut has been adapted and is now being utilized on other building types. In some cases this adaptation may work. However, we will discuss specific building types where trench cuts may not be the answer to a successful outcome. In some cases, it may even hinder the operation by “distracting” essential resources which may be better utilized by attacking the fire where it is NOW, instead of backing off, writing off an entire portion of the building and stopping it LATER. This is especially true in departments where manpower issues are common or constant.

The trench cut itself is one component of an overall strategy. Simply cutting a trench in a roof will not stop a rapidly extending cockloft fire. Several other things must be coordinated for a successful operation. Other components include: Removing and accounting for members from the area that we are giving up, completely pulling the ceilings directly below the trench and stretching additional lines to key locations above and below the trench. The overall strategy will be briefly touched in this drill. In an upcoming drill, step-by-step considerations for trench cuts will be discussed from a roof firefighters perspective

As stated above, the trench cut is one component in an overall strategy. Trench cuts can be used to cut off a rapidly extending cockloft fire at a pinch point. The pinch point or throat could be defined as an area where a building narrows sufficiently to perform a successful operation before the fire can extend past that point. This designated pinch point must be far enough ahead of the advancing fire to allow the trench to be completed, but not so far away that too much of the building is given up needlessly.

The trench cut is a defensive tactic and should be viewed as cutting a “fire break” in the roof. Although, the opening will allow fire, smoke and gases to vent from the cockloft area, the trench is NOT intended to act as a ventilation opening. A large ventilation opening must be cut over the fire BEFORE starting a trench cut. Failure to provide this large ventilation opening over the fire will ALMOST ALWAYS result in the fire jumping the trench and extending into uninvolved areas. In fact, if a normal vertical ventilation opening is not provided and a trench is cut and pulled remote from the fire area, it will certainly cause the fire to extend towards the trench (a new ventilation opening/path of least resistance) and into the uninvolved area that you are working to save. Additionally, the large vertical ventilation cut will buy extra time that is needed to make your additional cuts for the trench.

The trench cut was designed for buildings that have similar features as the examples below:

The first two photos are two different angles of the same building in the Bronx, NY. The arrows point to the throat where a trench could be cut relatively quickly to isolate the fire from the other wings. You can see how the narrowing of the building in the throat area would allow a trench cut to be placed with minimal effort and maximize the chances of cutting the fire off. The area where the arrows are pointing are 10-15 feet wide at their widest point. Keep these numbers in mind as you read further to other building types.

Photo three is another example using more recent building construction in a suburban setting:

This example in Westmont, IL has similar features as the building in the Bronx. While not a 6 story non-fireproof building, it does have it’s own version of a pronounced “wing” and a “throat” area. A properly placed trench could be successful in this building. This throat or pinch point is approximately 15 feet wide.

The trench cut was not intended to be used in these examples below:

This 1 story Class III strip mall/taxpayer measuring 150×50 is NOT a candidate for a trench cut. The likelihood of a trench cut being successful in this type of building is nearly nil. The features of this type of building do not provide a pinch point or throat area to successfully cut a trench. Lets discuss the tasks that MUST take place in order to cut a PROPER trench cut with a SUCCESSFUL outcome.

An initial ventilation hole measuring approximately 10′x10′ must be cut over the main body of fire. Most likely, with heavy fire conditions in the cockloft this cut should be extended to slow the lateral fire spread in the cockloft. Depending on the problems encountered, cutting and extending this initial ventilation opening could take several members operating two saws, five to fifteen minutes. To perform a trench cut correctly, this initial ventilation cut MUST be completed and therefore cannot be bypassed. At this point, we are approximately 15 – 20 minutes into the operation and we haven’t even started the trench.

To effectively cut a trench in this roof, you will have to cut the ENTIRE DEPTH of this building twice. This will equal 100 feet of linear cutting. Relief cuts every 3-5 feet along the trench will account for another 17 – 30 feet of cutting. Relief cuts are necessary so the roofing material can be pulled from the trench in pieces. To perform a trench cut operation CORRECTLY, the ceiling below must also be pulled so hose lines can be operated into the cockloft. The ceiling must be pulled from the front wall to the rear wall and ideally 2 to 3 bays wide (2 to 3 feet). That is approximately 150 square feet of ceiling that must be pulled. In old commercial buildings such as this, several ceilings including tin ceilings will severely hamper the operation. Manpower will also be needed to stretch and operate hose lines into the cockloft from above after the trench is pulled.

To summarize the numbers:

Members on the roof will need to do approximately 130 feet of linear cutting (not including multiple inspection holes & the initial large ventilation hole).
Members below will have to open up approximately 150 square feet of ceiling.
Members are needed to stretch multiple lines above and below the trench (not including the lines that are needed to attack the main body of fire)

This operation will take far too long to perform and require more manpower than most departments are able to muster. Use your available resources to stretch and advance additional 2 1/2″ lines, pull ceilings and expand the initial ventilation cut to slow/stop the fire travel in the cockloft and extinguish the fire. A rapidly extending cockloft fire would almost certainly overrun any trench operation started on this type of building before it could be completed.

Another Trench Cut No-Go:

Garden apartment or townhouse type complexes such as this one in Westmont, IL are also NOT candidates for a trench operation. Although the middle area of the building is a more narrow than either end, it is still 60 feet deep (30 feet from the soffit to the peak). Once again, there is no “pinch point” or throat to successfully place a trench cut quickly to effectively cut off a rapidly extending fire. The same problems present themselves here as they did above. These problems include over 200 feet of linear cutting, pulling massive amounts of ceiling and the associated manpower issues. However, there are a couple of advantages to this building type. The roof deck will typically be constructed of plywood or OSB and will only have one or two layers of shingles present and the interior ceilings will most likely be constructed of sheetrock.However, these two advantages should NOT lead you to the conclusion that a trench cut operation should be conducted on this type of building.

If you are going to spend time cutting 200 feet of roofing material and pulling 150 square feet of ceiling, do it near the the seat of the fire! If placed strategically, you could essentially cut the ENTIRE roof off of the fire apartment. How’s that for a ventilation opening to stop the lateral spread of fire?

Some officers and firefighters will argue tooth and nail that trench cuts should be utilized on the building types discussed above. Some departments will say that they have been successful in stopping fires in these building types by utilizing a trench cut. I ask those members and those departments this question: How rapid is the fire REALLY extending if you are able to spend 30 minutes to CORRECTLY perform ALL of the tasks described above to utilize a trench cut to stop the fire? I will lay money on the probability that in the majority of the cases nationwide, where a trench cut was credited with saving the building, it was most likely the aggressive operations of the interior companies opening the ceilings and exposing the fire in the cockloft from below. These companies in some cases probably worked without a primary ventilation hole which exponentially complicated their tasks. In most of those cases, the trench cut was probably not warranted but seemed to coincidentally “work-out”.

This drill summarizes when and where trench cuts may or may not be warranted. I wanted to touch on the background and concepts of trench cuts before diving straight in on the “how-to” steps of cutting one.

As always, I would like to hear your thoughts. Do you agree, disagree, have any comments to add? Jump in brothers!

Posted by ccollier on February 7, 2011 • Filed under: Attack Line, Brotherhood Topics, Engine Company Ops, firefighter-safety-health, firefighting-operations, Ladder Company Ops, Ladders, Roof Ops, training-development, training-fire-rescue-topics, Ventilation • Tagged: training

Size Up for a Down Firefighter- By: Andrew Brassard

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After locating a downed firefighter the packaging and removal process of the firefighter will be the next step. Packaging and removing a downed firefighter will without question be one of the toughest and most stressful operations that a firefighter will ever have to do in his/her career because we are now rescuing one of our own, the patient is no longer a faceless person but a fellow colleague and fellow brother.

After locating the downed firefighter a rapid and thorough size up of not only the patient but of the scene and conditions of the area were crews will be operating can make or break your RIT operation. A failed size up can lead to costly time delays or even worse causing your RIT team to be caught in a potentially life threatening situation (i.e. floor collapse, wall collapse, flashover, etc.)

Once the downed firefighter is located the RIT officer can start doing his/her size up, part of the RIT size up can include the S.A.F.E.S. acronym.

S- Size Up

Not only must the downed firefighter be sized up but the surroundings and location must be sized up as well, the use of a thermal imaging camera will pay huge divides in this situation. Things you want to look for in your size up should include:

Location of the firefighter
Conditions (fire and or heat) in the immediate area
Condition of the downed firefighter (is he or she breathing? Is there face piece still on? Are thy pinned or entangled?

If you do not have a TIC or the TIC is rendered useless due to fire conditions or a malfunction of the camera the size up will have to be done largely by feel. If the TIC does malfunction the RIT officer should call for an additional one to be brought to there location immediately should one be available. A TIC is an asset during the size up, that can sometimes be used to establish weather or not the downed firefighter is breathing. If the firefighter is passing air through the SCBA (breathing) the air bottle should be cold, this will cause the air bottle and air line to show up dark on the image from the TIC. This is not going to happen all the time based on fire/heat conditions and the downed firefighter exposure to heat or fire. As with all use of the thermal imager the user must be able to interpret what they are seeing in the image based on the fire/heat conditions around them.

You also want to get a sense of what kind of condition the downed firefighter is in:

Are they entangled? – do we have wire cutters to cut them out?
Are they pinned underneath something? – are we able to free them with the tools, equipment, and man power we have?
Do they have a face piece on? Is the SCBA or face piece they have on damaged? – do we have a way of getting this firefighter air? Do we have a new mask?

You also want to pay close attention to the fire and or heat conditions around the area of operation, is the area tenable, can we maintain an air supply to the victim and is there extra time to properly package the patient? Or are conditions rapidly deteriorating and we must remove the patient as quickly as possible? Remember the TIC may not give you a good indication of rapidly deteriorating conditions, only you experience and senses will give you a true sense of the heat conditions.

A- Assessment

Once you have located the downed firefighter you will want to complete a quick, proper, and thorough assessment of the firefighter to be removed. The best way to do this is to sit the firefighter up, one firefighter in behind the downed firefighter and on in front. Once you have the firefighter in position you can start your assessment, using the acronym

M. A. B. C. you can size use the air needs of the downed firefighter.

M- Mask- is the firefighters mask and regulator on and in place? Is it melted? Is it leaking air? There is not much point in attempting to transfill the firefighter’s air if it is going to leak out. Does this firefighter need his/her face piece changed out?

A- Air Exchange- Is the firefighter exchanging air (breathing)? The best way to tell this is to hold your breath and get your ear down towards the exhalation valve of the face piece.

B- By Pass- does the firefighters By Pass work?

C- Cylinder Pressure- What is the cylinder pressure of the downed firefighter? Do you need to transfill there air supply?

If the firefighter is found without there face piece on I would recommend utilizing the face piece in the RIT Kit, the reason for this is you would hate to go through all of the work to put the firefighters face piece on only to realize that it is defective and that was the reason for the firefighter having removed it in the first place.

F- Firefighter Needs

After insuring that the firefighter has an adequate air supply you can start to figure out what types of needs the firefighter will require to help with the extrication of the firefighter, the firefighter may only require to be extricated form the environment or he may require some additional equipment and or personal. Some of the additional firefighter needs maybe extensive depending of how trapped the downed firefighter is, some additional resources maybe as follow:

Bottle jacks
Pry bars
Air bags
Air tools
Saws
Rebar cutter
Etc.

You may also require additional personal to help clear out clutter or ensure that a clear path is ready for the extrication of the patient.

E- Extrication

Once the firefighter has been given a positive air supply we are ready to package and extricate the down firefighter. The quickest way to remove the firefighter is to do a conversion of his/her SCBA straps into a harness. There is nothing fancy about the removal of a firefighter in distress, it is simply a lot of work and there is no real way around it. There are some things that can and will make the removal of the firefighter easier, some of the ways are:

Utilizing a 2:1 mechanical advantage
Using your tools to help drag
Using the push pull method

Remember don’t waste valuable time doing the fancy a creative things the best thing for that firefighter is going to be getting them out of the IDLH atmosphere and into the hands of Paramedics, remember that the more simple you keep it the easier it will be to remember in a pressure situation.

S- Situational Awareness

Situational Awareness is probably the most overlooked part of the RIT process, but it is also the most vital. Firefighters tend to get caught up in the tasks of the RIT operation and tend to loose sight of what is happening around them. Maintaining that situational awareness is a very hard thing to teach firefighters, and it is an even harder thing to ask firefighters to do when they are focusing so hard on the monumental task in front of them. This is where the RIT officer must come in, the RIT officer must try to stay as “hands off” as possible to prevent getting tunnel vision and loose his/her situational awareness. Some things that you will want to constantly be aware of and monitor are:

Heat Conditions
Fire Conditions
Air Supply of your crew and yourself, you may have to call a “freeze” every once in a while and have the members check there air supply.
Monitor the progress of the crew; are they trying something that is not going to work? Do you have a different idea in mind? Are they making progress?
Monitor the radio
Give Command up dates as needed
Do you need a handline?
Additional resources? Try to stay 10 steps ahead of the game, don’t wait until something is needed before calling for it…… try to stay progressive
Is there another/better way out of here?

Remember that the best thing that you can do for the downed member is to get the out of the building as quick as possible, your size up should be very thorough but also must be very quick. A proper a thorough size up can make or break your RIT operation or it could make the situation worse by creating additional downed members that must be rescued. The only way to become proficient at the task of a proper downed firefighter is through aggressive, realistic, and frequent training.

Posted by ccollier on February 3, 2011 • Filed under: Attack Line, command-leadership, Engine Company Ops, fire-rescue-topics, firefighter-safety-health, firefighting-operations, fires, Forcible Entry, Ladder Company Ops, Ladders, patient-management, rescues, RIT or FAST Operations, Roof Ops, Search, special-operations, Stretching, training-development, training-fire-rescue-topics, Ventilation, Water Supply • Tagged: training

Video: Removing Glass Block Windows

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Removing glass-block windows can be tricky and/or time-consuming if you are unaware of the methods to defeat them. In this video, we explain the quickest and most-efficient methods of defeating glass-block windows.

Of course any firefighter can simply start smashing blocks and get the window opened. The point of this video is to use a systematic approach to conduct this task with the least amount of work. After all, very few buildings have only ONE of these windows. If there is one, typically there are more.

In larger windows, members must be aware of large amounts of falling block that can injure a firefighter. Always be aware of what will or can fall, and remember that essentially you are causing a small “block-wall collapse” as you take these windows.

———–

Note:

I would like to thank Commissioner Hoff of the Chicago Fire Department for this tip. In one of the first courses of my career, then Battalion Chief Hoff took time to show a small-town, 17-year old volunteer this method, and it has stuck with me. It is a prime lesson of “working smarter, not harder” to get the job done.

Respectfully,
Nate DeMarse
Co-Owner, Brotherhood Instructors, LLC.

Posted by Nate DeMarse on January 31, 2011 • Filed under: Attack Line, Engine Company Ops, fire-rescue-topics, firefighter-safety-health, firefighting-operations, Forcible Entry, Ladder Company Ops, RIT or FAST Operations, training-development, training-fire-rescue-topics, Ventilation, videos • Tagged: training

A Wolf in Sheep’s Clothing

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Things are not always what they seem, this door is a good example of that. This door is on a private dwelling on the side of the house. The door is hollow core metal and the frame is wood. What looks like a fairly easy door to take with conventional forcible entry techniques may cause some unexpected delays during forcible entry operations.

The interior view reveals that the door has been covered over with plywood and then drywall. Covering doors in private dwellings is nothing new but what makes this one different is the fact that they kept the window of the door present and are using it as an interior window. This door would still be very “doable” with conventional forcible entry techniques, but it may be tougher than you may think when you go to force it. This is a great door to show the firefighters that always say “just smash out the glass and unlock the door”.

This door is a great example of the fact that you can never take anything for granted, you must always be prepared to force the toughest door of your career every time you get off the rig at a fire because the day you are not fully prepared is the day that you will encounter a door that will test your skill, knowledge, experience, and preparation…….. and all of those things come back to your level of training!!

Posted by ccollier on January 30, 2011 • Filed under: Attack Line, Building Alteration-Renovation, Engine Company Ops, fire-rescue-topics, firefighter-safety-health, firefighting-operations, fires, Forcible Entry, Ladder Company Ops, RIT or FAST Operations, Search, Stretching, training-development, training-fire-rescue-topics, Ventilation • Tagged: training

Archives for attack-line

Beyond the Academy Video Training Series – Engine Operations: Hydraulic Ventilation

Coordinated Ventilation – Part II by Nate DeMarse

Coordinated Ventilation

Pressure Reducing Valves – By: Chris Collier

More About Nozzles – By: Mike Kirby

The In-Line Pressure Gauge – By: Chris Collier

Some Facts About Standpipes – By: Chris Collier

Brotherhood Instructors class in Wildwood NJ

Tactical Discussion: Apartment Fire w/ Critical Decisions by: Nate DeMarse

Why Search That Building – By: Scott Brown

The Truth About Nozzles – By: Rob Feltwell & Chris Collier

Video – Engine Ops: Nozzle & Back-up Techniques

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