We must plan for how adverse weather effects our firefighting operations BEFORE the fire.

Riding the “hook” position at work yesterday, my duties were primarily that of the OVM (outside vent-man).  At a fire -- get ladders up, ventilate horizontally, perhaps VES the upper floor, then head in to search and open-up.  Being that we got 19″ of snow in DC yesterday, the idea of anything involving carrying ladders sounded terrible.

If you’re anywhere in the mid-atlantic, you’re likely in the same predicament today.  Even now that the snow’s stopped, moving ladders through the deep snow that will remain for weeks will be difficult -- not everyone shovels like they should and the sides and rears of buildings will likely be untouched.  Many streets may be impassable for apparatus and all our equipment will have to be lugged to the fire building…  It’s easy to slip and fall in these conditions, which is usually harmless unless you have a 24′ ladder on your shoulder when you slip.  In this situation we should remember two things:

1) Get ladders off the rig closest to your objective. While I usually take “my” ladders from my own rig, yesterday it was coming off the closest thing I could find to the fire building -- engine company, truck company, whatever…  No sense in lugging anything further than necessary.

2) Use a ladder drag! As shown in the video, by simply grabbing the TIP end we can easily drag the ladder to our objective.  It’s less work for us and less treacherous in the snow.  Further, we can quickly throw a roof ladder (hooks out to snag the extension ladder) and maybe a couple tools (even a saw?) on the ladder and easily drag it to our objective.  Even better if your partner throws his stuff on the ladder and helps you drag it.  Particularly useful for getting a bunch of equipment down a snowy block without killing ourselves doing it.

Another snow tip?  Throw a couple $0.99 hand/toe warmers in the inside pocket of your turnout coat.  You never know when a BS run will become an extended incident, and all things are possible with warm hands and feet!

How are things going for you?  Share your winter experiences and thoughts below…

The Halligan and Axe firefighters must both have strong technique and work together for a fast operation!

A couple weeks ago, TT Instructors Nick Martin, Danny Doyle, and Mike Stothers travelled to Kennett Square, PA for another class with the Longwood Fire Company -- this one focusing on truck company operations.  The emphasis of the program was on “two-team” truck company operations, covering both inside and outside tasks simultaneously with small crews.

One of the skills covered was conventional forcible entry for inward and outward opening doors.  We talked about having multiple plans and techniques for both a team of 2 and for the lone firefighter.  Proper striking technique is just as essential to a quick and effective forcible entry operation as working the Halligan. Check out this video with tips for the striking (axe) firefighter:

There are striking tools other than the axe -- which do you prefer to use, and WHY?? Let us know in the comments…

To learn more about our “Truck Company Operations” or other programs, please contact us or e-mail info@traditionstraining.com.

Could your engine’s setup handle BOTH these fires?

There are many scenarios that an engine company may face in any given district.  From car fires to smaller SFD’s closer to the curb, long stretches from the engine or into deep buildings, heavy duty operations, standpipes etc…  It’s a lot to ask to have our apparatus setup to handle all these different scenarios.  All to often you see an engine company setup with no versatility in it’s handline selection – leaving it equipped to handle one type of fire very well, and all other types not so well.

Nevertheless, few departments have a rig with enough room to have a dedicated handline for each sceanario.  For the rest us, we need to learn to setup our engine company apparatus to have a versatlie assortment of handlines and train on using that complement of lines in various ways…

The engine company setup below may not be ideal for all fire districts, but I think it’s versatility can serve as a good example of how easily a basic fire engine can be setup to handle a variety of situations.  This is just an example of a simple setup and some ingenious uses learned over time.  Much of this setup was created over years of thinking about our box alarm area and our subsequent needs.  Many of the ideas were borrowed concepts from other departments and modified to fit our operations.

Starting from left to right:

• 400′ 1.5″ preconnect, quickly deployable with a crew of 3.
• 250′ 1.5″ preconnect.
• 1600′ of 3″ supply line (bed split to be capable for dual lines), 50′ racked as a “layout pack” – primary line for hydrant-to-fire layout, also useable for connected to FDC’s or supplying deck-gun or ladder pipe.
• 800′ of 2.5″ line, connected to a horseshoe of 100′ 1.5″ via reducer.  This can horseshoe can be dropped at the fire-building to “reverse lay” fire to hydrant.
• (2) 150′ front bumper lines, deployable by 1 firefighter (not pictured).
• (2) 100′ standpipe racks, each carried by 1 firefighter, with accessories. Used for standpipe buildings or to extend lines or replace burst lengths.

That may sound like a simple setup, but not only are those lines all deployable in there original forms, but they can be used together to solve unique scenarios, such as:

• Stretch up to 650′of line in under 90 seconds with 4 firefighters.
• Lay hydrant to fire, or fire to hydrant.
• Switch to a 2.5″ handline for heavy-duty operations.
• Extend lines quickly with easily deployable standpipe racks.
• Perform a “rope stretch” – hosting a line up the outside thru a window.

I would never advocate simply carbon-copying one company’s operations to yours, “just because”. Some concepts are more applicable in some jurisdictions and less so in others.  If you see another engine company using something that interests you – take it and modify it to work for you!  The take home point is that our engines need to be setup for VERSATILITY – not just arbitrarily setup in a way that looks pretty or “the way we’ve always done it”.

Any hose TEAM is only as strong as it's weakest link.

Hosebed setup alone won’t cut the mustard!  These scenarios involve coordinated teamwork from the crew – just like in football, if one player doesn’t know the game plan, the whole play will be blown.  In firefighting this is especially true as our staffing decreases – EVERY PLAYER MAKES THE GAME.  We need to think about this unique hoseline stretches as a football play – it needs to be planned, practiced, and executed with precision.  There shouldn’t have to be a huddle in the front yard of the burning house while the officer explains to everyone what we are going to do.  Every second that passes, the fire grows and the victims come closer to death.  We are all professionals and we will practice and perform as such.

How is your engine company setup?  What kind of situations do you train on?  Share thoughts and pictures in the comments below…

Remember -

“COMBAT READY – EVERY DAY”

New construction is starts are down.  And, with the economy still hurting… many sections of the country coming across properties where the owners have just “walked away” even newly constructed homes.  These now vacant or partially-vacant dwellings are ripe for squatters and have enormous potential for careless or intentionally set fires.

Such is the case here… in the photo’s below. This fire occurred in a recently vacated 3 story attached multiple dwelling.  Each floor housed one separate apartment.  Due to the fact that the owner “walked away” from the property all three floors were occupied by squatters.  First arriving companies found heavy fire on the first floor in the front room of this newly constructed three story attached Multiple Dwelling.

Apparently the owners could no longer afford to make the monthly payments and just left, leaving nothing behind.  Squatters broke in and brought in mattresses and some comforts of home.  First arriving Companies stated that in the first floor fire apartment, there was no furniture at all, other than 1 mattress and 1 couch.

Note the heavy damage that got into the structural components from the small to moderate fire load in this apartment.  Also, Note the firespread into and throughout the second floor supports (especially thru the sheet-rock ceiling in areas where electrical lighting fixtures and ceiling fans were).  In many areas the pressboard web had burned completely through.  Thankfully, there were no occupants and/or heavy furniture on the floor above (or on any floor) as the building was vacant.

A heavier fire load on the first floor, or if there was just regular amounts of household furniture on the second floor we could have had a catastrophic collapse… as units were operating.  Be aware!

Most, if not all of the “fire-rating” for these Ply-I beams are created by the sheetrock that covers them.  If you have these building components in the new construction in your area, note it!   Have a way to notify other responding members to this potential hazard.   Make this information a part of  your “Critical Dispatch Information”.

If you have seen squatters or suspect activity in vacant dwellings notify your PD or Fire Marshal.  Buildings are confirmed as vacant by US.  Stay alert to changing neighborhoods, abandoned buildings etc.  Pre-planning today may avert a tragedy tomorrow.  Stay safe, stay combat ready!

CLICK ON THE PHOTOS FOR A CLOSER VIEW…

“How often do you check your last line of defense?”

Most departments have standards on when to check SCBA, saws, apparatus, etc.  But how much attention is paid to our nozzles?  Remember – the nozzle is what ultimately completes our mission: putting the fire out!

Our nozzles have a rough life – from the abuse taken at a first-in fire to being exposed to the elements as they dangle out the side/back of the apparatus going down the road.  Just like any tool, they require care and maintenance if you expect them to perform when you need them.

To address this issue Capt. Dan Shaw, one of TT’s vice-presidents, created this inspection document for the Fairfax County Fire Department.  The attached policy will give you an idea of some important things to check regularly and could perhaps serve as a template for implementing this idea in your department.

In the comments below, please let us know how your department takes care of it’s nozzles…

Click here to download the Inspection Guide!

That being said, what would be your first thought on gaining entry to this gate? What are your alternate ideas?  Let us know in the comments below.

Side A

Last week I responded to this fire on the 2nd due truck company.  First arriving companies reported fire coming from the roof and subsequently a cockloft fire in a 2-story end rowhouse (flat roof).  Riding our “hook” position my first assigned task was to ladder side C and horizontally ventilate.

I quickly sized up my target window.  You can see the window I chose in the picture ( below right) -- the 2nd floor middle window.  My plan was to vent this window and then my ladder would already be in a good place to vent the two adjacent windows.  As you can also see, these windows have metal awnings that are securely mounted to the house and come down to about the level of the window sash (middle cross-bar)…

I grabbed a 24′ extension ladder.  With the forcible entry firefighter going to work getting entry to the rear doors, I went to throw the ladder using a 1-man technique.  Typically what I’ll do is extend the ladder high enough that I can drop it in, striking the top pane of the window, then slide it down breaking the bottom pane.  Maybe using the beam to beat the sash out, if not I’ll climb up and clear the remainder of the window and sash with my hook or Halligan.

As I went to try this, I quickly realized that I wouldn’t be able to “drop the ladder” through the glass because of the awning.  I raised the ladder under the awning but I could not get enough distance from the building, under the awning, to drop the ladder and break the “energy-effecient” window.  Quickly revising my plan, I placed the ladder to the sill and climbed to the top.  Grabbing the hook that is mounted to the ladder tip, I went to work clearing the glass.  The technique I was seeking to use is pretty well demonstrated in this video:

That was easy and now I went to clear the sash.  I usually do this by basically taking full swings at the sash, which usually knock it free easily, particularly if the top of the frame has slid down, which it had -- see the video below for this technique.  Unfortunately, once again, the sash prevented me from getting a good strike on the sash and I could not clear it from my position.

I was forced to wiggle my way through the partially opened window to finish clearing it from the inside.  This was a 1st hand refresher on why we repeatedly preach to MAKE THE WINDOW THE DOOR.  I like to consider myself relatively “in shape” at 6′ tall and 200lbs, but with my PPE and SCBA on I can tell you that, even in my self-proclaimed good health, making it through the lower half of this window was quite a task and certainly less than “graceful”.  Fortunately the fire was in the cockloft and there was not high-heat or heavy-smoke conditions on the 2nd floor.

I tell this quick story to illustrate two points:

1) When encountring windows covered with a metal awning, be aware they they will hamper your ventilation efforts.  They will make it harder to clear out the glass and window frame from the exterior.  It will also limit the amount of heat/smoke that can escape, because the awning prevents gases from escaping vertically.

2) When noting these awnings, bring extra tools!  In this case, I should have brought a Halligan bar with me in addition to my ladder and hook.  I probably would have had better luck swinging the Halligan bar on the frame due to it’s shorter length.  Unfortunately, being detailed to another truck company, an extra bar was not available to me at this fire.

Each of us should walk away from every incident we go to with a lesson learned. Even better, we should seek to share that lesson with others.  Hopefully my small experience at this incident will help others to think about and prepare to encounter a similar scenario.

In the comments, please let me know your thoughts -- how you’ve dealt with this scenario in the past, how you’d deal with it in the future, etc…