... that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness."
We all know these words, written 234 years ago by Thomas Jefferson. They defined a nation and a culture as a collection of Colonies made the decision to assert their right to Independence. That we are all equal is a core concept of the American concept. In many ways that defining sense of equality is why the American Fire Service has been accused of being aggressive, occasionally to the point of being "unsafe".
I sat at my in-law's house for Christmas day and the conversation turned to the deaths of Chicago Firefighters Cory Ankum and Ed Stringer. Someone posed the question, "What do you think happened." My father-in-law made the statement, "They shouldn't have gone in there," based on the fact that it was a vacant building. My wife, true to form, rose to the challenge, "That's what we have firemen for." That conversation and a piece posted on Fire Engineering's website got me think more about why we find ourselves once again in the, "To search or not to search," debate.
I got out of my Truck this morning and Mr. Jefferson's words ran through my head, "We hold these truths to be self evident..."
This is the United States. We believe in EQUALITY (even if we fall short of the goal at times) and we believe in "the right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness." THAT IS WHY WE SEARCH. The day we start writing off a building and the occupants inside because WE might get hurt is the day we have stopped being useful to the community we serve. I would say it's the day we start ignoring what the core ethos of being an American is all about. (To my international readers I don't know if you are facing all of the same issues that we are about this topic right now, and I don't mean to exclude your culture, but I am after all an American).
We search because it is the American thing to do. If there is any likelihood that there might be someone in the building we search. The homeless squatter's life has just as much worth to the firefighter as does the person living in a decrepit tenement, or the person living in the wealthiest of areas. Sometimes we will search a room that has very little chance of being tenable because someone has said, "My child is in there!" Sometimes we search the abandoned building because we know the area is a haven for squatters. Sometimes we search because something just feels, "wrong" about the situation. Really though, we search because it is our Duty.
We search because it is the American way. We search because everyone is our neighbor even if we wouldn't have them into our homes for dinner. We search because we believe that EVERYONE'S life has value and that it is our voluntary accepted DUTY to go the distance and protect those lives. If you do not want to risk your life for your neighbors please turn in your badge, your pager, your gear, and your self-proclaimed title of "hero". No one put a gun to your head and said, "You will be a firefighter!" You CHOOSE to do this job each and every day and you can choose not to if you feel it is too risky. Please, please though, do not do a disservice to those of us who believe it is our duty to protect our neighbors and say that the fire service should change. Own this job, own the risks, TRAIN EVERYDAY to minimize the risk by being prepared.
If you find yourself at Ed Stringer's wake tomorrow I'll be there. I'll be at 115 Bourbon Street to hoist a pint afterward and toast our Brothers. Maybe I'll see you there. Have a happy new year.
Sunday, December 26, 2010
Thursday, December 23, 2010
This Firefighters Game
Anyone who reads this blog by now should know that the Chicago Fire Department lost two members, FF Ed Stringer (E63) and FF Corey Ankum (TL34) in the line of duty at a fire with building collapse at 1744 East 75th Street.
I've listened to the audio from the fire. I've watched the press conferences. I've read quit a bit of the news paper coverage. This is one of those fires where losing members very well may have been unpreventable. From what Commissioner Robert Hoff stated in his press conference on Wednesday evening while the building was a bow-string truss based on the Situational Awareness of both interior Company Officers and the Incident Commander the fire had NOT penetrated the truss area; the fire had been confined to an office area. The 23rd Battalion (the initial Incident Commander) reported just prior to the collapse (roughly 6 minutes into the fire) that they had two lines on the fire and had the fire knocked. So, what the %$#@ happened?
The owner of this building was sued by the City of Chicago for failure to maintain the building.
So here is my question. If we are supposed to try and reduce the 100+ firefighter line of duty deaths we see each year, HOW IS THAT SUPPOSED TO HAPPEN WITHOUT HELP! Sorry I'm yelling, but seriously, WTF? The building department had information for YEARS that this was a bad building and the Fire Department Companies didn't?! REALLY? What else were these guys supposed to do. I believe Commissioner Hoff if he says that someone checked the truss; the man lost his father in a building collapse, he has spent time in a burn ward, he taught my Saving Our Own class, and he's probably the best example of a Fire Service Warrior you or I could try and live up to. If he says they know the fire wasn't in the truss, then it wasn't.
This is as bad as the fire FDNY had where Lt. Curtis Meyran and FF John Bellew, jumped from a forth floor window of a New York City Tenement because of uncontrolled fire spread. Four other Brothers followed them out that window. They died, and their bodies broke the falls of the four men who lived. They died because of an illegal renovation of the fourth floor, “The transformation of the 4th floor apartment into a Single Room Occupancy (SRO) led to the construction of an interior partition wall that impeded the discovery of the fire and hindered the fire fighters’ searches. It also prevented fire fighters from reaching the rear fire escape, their secondary means of egress.” - 1
Guess what, we cannot stop preventable fire fighter fatalities if we don't have the information! You cannot tell from the street level, the front door, or in the middle of a firefight if the Bow String Truss has been in horrible repair for years. You cannot tell if the 4th floor has been carved into an illegal tenement during your size-up. I've said it before WE DO NOT HAVE PERFECT KNOWLEDGE.
The building department in any municipality, district, or county needs to mark buildings that are dangerous. I know from personal experience of two years spent working in the Fire Alarm Office in Chicago that Fire Companies go out DAILY to conduct building inspections (TOCs as they are called in the City), but only on buildings that are open and operating. We cannot be the building department and the fire department and provide EMS and conduct OSHA mandated Training and ISO required training! There aren't enough hours in the day.
I know one of the Lieutenants on TL34. They drive their still district. The know what buildings are vacant. I would wager my pay check that they knew the building at 1744 E 75th Street was vacant, but guess what, it's cold in Chicago in December and there are thousands of homeless people who seek shelter, start warming fires that extend, and then either flee or are rescued. Unless we are going to say that being homeless is a crime worthy of being written off by the fire department then guess what happens? Guys like our brothers Cory and Ed will go into search.
Personally I don't want to get to a point in time where we EVER say that just because the building isn't supposed to be occupied that we won't search. We see reports regularly of supposedly vacant and abandoned structures where savable victims are recovered. Yes, we have to do our size-up for conditions, as the Officers and Members did on 75th Street on Wednesday.
Personally I don't want to get to a point in time where we EVER say that just because the building isn't supposed to be occupied that we won't search. We see reports regularly of supposedly vacant and abandoned structures where savable victims are recovered. Yes, we have to do our size-up for conditions, as the Officers and Members did on 75th Street on Wednesday.
So, as we remember both our Brothers (and the 21 Chicago Firefighters and Officers who died 100 years ago to the day at the Stockyards Fire) never forget that YOU can do everything right and still get killed. This job is a combat position and it requires a Warrior's mindset if we are to hope to make it home. To the Brothers still recovering I hope you have a Happy Christmas, even with heavy hearts.
Every time we lose one of our own I think of the Irish Rebel tune "Patriot Game". You could change a few words and change it into a song about Firefighting. "Come all you young fellows, and list while I sing. For the love of one's comrades is a terrible thing. It banishes fear, with the speed of a flame, and makes us a part of this firefighters game."
I'm listening to the Dubliners perform the original words as I hoist a pint and drink a toast to Ed and Cory. May blessings be upon your families and brothers and sisters in this terrible time, guys. Sláinte
Wednesday, December 15, 2010
Nope, Venting There Isn't Helping.
This is the video I was talking about earlier. There is a TON of great things to talk about in this video, but I'm going to restrict my comments to a few areas. 1) Conditions at the start; 2)The statements about the roof (1:25); 3) the Venting of Division A (4:05 mark)
Okay, this is a prime example of smoke conditions telling you that you are losing at the get-go. The smoke is pushing out of here in a violent manner. Dave Dodson talks about Velocity, Volume, and Density. THEY ARE ALL HERE! This thing is structural and ready to flash. Then we get to the commentary about the Roof being unstable. There is a rule I learned at 15 years-old when I started hanging out in firehouses, "If you can't be on it, you shouldn't be under it." In other words, if the roof is too unstable for vertical ventilation then it isn't safe to be underneath. After all, when was the last time you saw a rood collapse upwards? Next let's look at what happens at the 4:05 mark when the Division A window gets vented. The front room finally gets enough good air to light up. Watch how the fire quickly extends to the smoke over the heads of the members on the front porch. Smoke is FUEL!
As always I am not criticizing the actions of anyone on the scene. I don't know what orders were given, only what I see in the video. Just throw this one up at roll-call and get some conversation going.
Okay, this is a prime example of smoke conditions telling you that you are losing at the get-go. The smoke is pushing out of here in a violent manner. Dave Dodson talks about Velocity, Volume, and Density. THEY ARE ALL HERE! This thing is structural and ready to flash. Then we get to the commentary about the Roof being unstable. There is a rule I learned at 15 years-old when I started hanging out in firehouses, "If you can't be on it, you shouldn't be under it." In other words, if the roof is too unstable for vertical ventilation then it isn't safe to be underneath. After all, when was the last time you saw a rood collapse upwards? Next let's look at what happens at the 4:05 mark when the Division A window gets vented. The front room finally gets enough good air to light up. Watch how the fire quickly extends to the smoke over the heads of the members on the front porch. Smoke is FUEL!
As always I am not criticizing the actions of anyone on the scene. I don't know what orders were given, only what I see in the video. Just throw this one up at roll-call and get some conversation going.
No really, this has to be the last copyedit...
So I spent a big hunk of today reviewing the "Really this is it, no more, honestly!" copy-edit of A Combat Position: Achieving Firefighter Readiness (that's the new and improved title of my book). It's interesting to see how something like a textbook evolves from a simple idea to a edging slowly towards completion thing.
My little idea has been in the hands of a bunch of people so far. Now though it is in the hands of the big boss who has the ultimate authority to sign off on the final text that will go to press. I believe, baring something coming up I have not seen, that I am probably done with this part of the process. Now, I just have to wait for the galleys and see what the "finished" product will look like in layout.
I was going to use tonight to post a few videos and add some commentary, but I'm pretty well shot after all the other work and two separate computer restarts while working. Tomorrow....
My little idea has been in the hands of a bunch of people so far. Now though it is in the hands of the big boss who has the ultimate authority to sign off on the final text that will go to press. I believe, baring something coming up I have not seen, that I am probably done with this part of the process. Now, I just have to wait for the galleys and see what the "finished" product will look like in layout.
I was going to use tonight to post a few videos and add some commentary, but I'm pretty well shot after all the other work and two separate computer restarts while working. Tomorrow....
Monday, December 13, 2010
Does it have pictures?
I was having a discussion with Bill Carey of Backstep Firefighter a few days ago about a key dilemma facing the fire service. Firefighters just don't read.
Now obviously plenty of firefighters do read, after all this blog had over 4000 views last month, and thank you for that. However the reality is that over the course of fourteen years in the fire service and 19 years of being around the firehouse I have seen folks far more inclined to read the sports page, the comics section, or enter a progressively deteriorating vegetative state in front of Jerry Springer or Maury than I have seen someone crack open The Fire Officer's Handbook of Tactics, Responding to Rountine Emergencies, or Safety and Survival on the Fireground. Why?
I've come to the conclusion that in part the "Textbook" world is not really written for the typical firefighter. The focus is to generate a book suitable for use in a collegiate level classroom. The commonly accepted way of expressing yourself in the firehouse is very different than writing for academia. I believe that is one main reason there has been an explosion in the world of fire service blogging. When I blog I write the way I talk. I condense my ideas down and can give a short snippet of information like you would get if we were having a cup of coffee together.
Our trade is predominately physical (psycho-motor if you will). We have to perform TASKS on the fireground, and they involve a complicate process where we have to synthesize information while comparing the fireground reality with our past experiences. However we have to have a depth of knowledge that is most readily attained by reading (reading aloud even to use multi-modal learning).
The reality though is that you must constantly be reading if you want to try and master this trade. I like the example set by the United States Marine Corps. The Office of the Commandant regularly updates the "Commandant's Reading List" which directs what books Marines at all levels (from Private to General Officer) are expected to read for Professional Development (PRODEV); some of these books are to be read every year. That is a direct statement of the value that the USMC places on PRODEV and being a student of their trade.
We don't have ANYTHING like this that I have seen anywhere in the fire service. I've adapted the idea and created an appendix in my book The Combat Position: Achieving Firefighter Readiness that suggests some essential reading for firefighters and fire officers.
The list is not all inclusive; it is not broken down into specific books for specific ranks. It is an attempt to encourage a culture of reading in the fire house. Do your part, print this out, with the list of books I've started with and then add your titles. Be a student of this vocation!
Now obviously plenty of firefighters do read, after all this blog had over 4000 views last month, and thank you for that. However the reality is that over the course of fourteen years in the fire service and 19 years of being around the firehouse I have seen folks far more inclined to read the sports page, the comics section, or enter a progressively deteriorating vegetative state in front of Jerry Springer or Maury than I have seen someone crack open The Fire Officer's Handbook of Tactics, Responding to Rountine Emergencies, or Safety and Survival on the Fireground. Why?
I've come to the conclusion that in part the "Textbook" world is not really written for the typical firefighter. The focus is to generate a book suitable for use in a collegiate level classroom. The commonly accepted way of expressing yourself in the firehouse is very different than writing for academia. I believe that is one main reason there has been an explosion in the world of fire service blogging. When I blog I write the way I talk. I condense my ideas down and can give a short snippet of information like you would get if we were having a cup of coffee together.
Our trade is predominately physical (psycho-motor if you will). We have to perform TASKS on the fireground, and they involve a complicate process where we have to synthesize information while comparing the fireground reality with our past experiences. However we have to have a depth of knowledge that is most readily attained by reading (reading aloud even to use multi-modal learning).
The reality though is that you must constantly be reading if you want to try and master this trade. I like the example set by the United States Marine Corps. The Office of the Commandant regularly updates the "Commandant's Reading List" which directs what books Marines at all levels (from Private to General Officer) are expected to read for Professional Development (PRODEV); some of these books are to be read every year. That is a direct statement of the value that the USMC places on PRODEV and being a student of their trade.
We don't have ANYTHING like this that I have seen anywhere in the fire service. I've adapted the idea and created an appendix in my book The Combat Position: Achieving Firefighter Readiness that suggests some essential reading for firefighters and fire officers.
The list is not all inclusive; it is not broken down into specific books for specific ranks. It is an attempt to encourage a culture of reading in the fire house. Do your part, print this out, with the list of books I've started with and then add your titles. Be a student of this vocation!
- · Handbook for Firefighter I and II, Fire Engineering
- · Report From Engine Company 82, D. Smith
- · On Combat, D. Grossman & L. Christensen
- · Firefighter Survival Techniques: From Prevention to Intervention DVD, F. Ricci
- · Enchiridion, Epictetus (Dobbin Translation)
- · Tom Brennan’s Random Thoughts, T. Brennan
- · Pride and Ownership, R. Lasky
- · Firefighting Principles and Practices, W. Clark
- · Safety and Survival on the Fireground, Dunn
- · Stoic Warriors, N. Sherman
- · Building Construction Related to the Fire Service, 3rd Edition, IFSTA
- · Building Construction for the Fire Service, F. Brannigan
- · Air Management for the Fire Service, M. Gagliano et.al.
- · Firefighter Rescue & Survival, R. Kolomay & R. Hoff
- · The Art of Reading Smoke DVD, D. Dodson
- · Meditations, Aurelius (Hays Translation)
- · Leadership and Training for the Fight, P. Howe
- · Warrior Mindset, M. Asken, D. Grossman & L. Christensen
- · Rescue Men, C. Kenney
- · The Last Men Out: Life on the Edge at Rescue 2 Firehouse, T. Downey
- · Working Fire: The Making of a Fireman, Z. Unger
- · Fire Officer's Handbook of Tactics, 3rd Edition, J. Norman
- · Flashover! Now on DVD! V. Dunn
- · The Rescue Company, R. Downey
- · The Engine Company, J. Salka
- · First In Last Out: Leadership Lessons from the New York Fire Department, J. Salka
- Fireground Strategies, 2nd Edition, A. Avillo
- · Tinder Box: The Iroquois Theatre Disaster 1903, A. Hatch
- · To Sleep with the Angels: The Story of a Fire, D. Cowan
- · Triangle: The Fire That Changed America, D. Von Drehle
- · Bushido: The Way of the Samurai, T. Yamamoto
- · The Art of War, Sun Tzu
- · Boyd: The Fighter Pilot who Changed the Art of War, R. Coram
- · Report from Ground Zero, D. Smith
- · Delmar’s Firefighter's Handbook: Firefighting and Emergency Response, 3rd Edition
- · IFSTA Essentials of Fire Fighting, 5th Edition
Thursday, December 9, 2010
It's Size Up Time!
This is a great video for SO many things. Ignore all the companies already operating and just read the conditions. I want you, as you watch it to give the following report:
"Dispatch (YOUR COMPANY i.e. Engine 1) is on the scene with a (FLOORS, BUILDING CONSTRUCTION, OCCUPANCY, DIMENSIONS), (CONDITIONS), (FIRE LOCATION IF KNOWN), (YOUR ACTION), (DIRECTION OF TRAVEL)
No reading ahead! What is radio report as the first due Engine?
Okay, now, before I give you my size-up why do we care about the topics I mentioned? Let's go step by step.
Here's my size-up.
"Main, Engine 1 is on the scene with a two and a half story, balloon frame, residence, 20x40, heavy smoke showing from the attic, looks like the fire may be in the walls, we're droping the skid, we're east bound."
All key information. Let's folks know what the building is, that we may need the flow of a 2-1/2" line on each floor is this gets away from us, that I likely have an attic fire (and possible a basement fire that's in the walls), I'm leading out with a manueverable attack line, and that the Truck has to approach from the West.
It's really that simple. Really knowing your job means being able to take all that information and create (syntesize) a picture of what is likely occuring on the fireground. That's what Situational Awareness is. Being able to fully Percieve, Comprehend, and Predict what is going on with the fire and the building.
Now, I'm going to do the studying I put off for an hour. Cheer!
"Dispatch (YOUR COMPANY i.e. Engine 1) is on the scene with a (FLOORS, BUILDING CONSTRUCTION, OCCUPANCY, DIMENSIONS), (CONDITIONS), (FIRE LOCATION IF KNOWN), (YOUR ACTION), (DIRECTION OF TRAVEL)
No reading ahead! What is radio report as the first due Engine?
Okay, now, before I give you my size-up why do we care about the topics I mentioned? Let's go step by step.
- YOUR COMPANY - Pretty straight forward. Radio communication should follow the "Hey YOU, It's ME" format. Get the listener's attention.
- FLOORS, CONSTRUCTION, OCCUPANCY, DIMENSIONS - Paint a picture of the building. Height: How many floors gives us a sense of what laddering issues, how hard it will be to get water up top if needed, etc. Construction should be of a defined type. "Ordinary" is a construction type, "Brick" IS NOT. Construction matters because it tells the responder who can synthesize information how the fire is likely to spread. Occupancy gives us a sense of what hazards we may find. A typical single family dwelling poses different issues than a Taxpayer. Dimensions are important becasue they give a rough guess as to critical fire flow. If you give estimated dimensions rounded to the nearest 10 feet (40'x50') a good Nozzle Team (Nozzle Operator, Officer, Back-up) can figure the right GPM in their head (for 2000 square feet it's 650+GPM using the LxW/3 method).
- CONDITIONS - Is there Fire, Heavy, Moderate, or Light smoke showing. Does it appear to be into the structure or is it room and contents still?
- FIRE LOCATION - Where is the fire at? Smoke always points to the fire location, but watch for multiple indicators (hint, hint).
- YOUR ACTION - Are you leading out, and what are you leading out with? Are you going in to investigate? All depends on the rest of the size-up but telling folks that you are leading out with 2-1/2" gives a very different sense than saying you are going in with a pre-connect.
- DIRECTION OF TRAVEL - Few places do this, but unless the Truck Company pulled out of quarters with you they need to know what direction you are facing. The Truck HAS to be in an advantageous position to make use of that million dollar aerial, otherwise it's just a tool box. Leave room for the truck and let them know where to come in from. Also this lets the 2nd due companies know how to avoid blocking the way, and where to position.
Here's my size-up.
"Main, Engine 1 is on the scene with a two and a half story, balloon frame, residence, 20x40, heavy smoke showing from the attic, looks like the fire may be in the walls, we're droping the skid, we're east bound."
All key information. Let's folks know what the building is, that we may need the flow of a 2-1/2" line on each floor is this gets away from us, that I likely have an attic fire (and possible a basement fire that's in the walls), I'm leading out with a manueverable attack line, and that the Truck has to approach from the West.
It's really that simple. Really knowing your job means being able to take all that information and create (syntesize) a picture of what is likely occuring on the fireground. That's what Situational Awareness is. Being able to fully Percieve, Comprehend, and Predict what is going on with the fire and the building.
Now, I'm going to do the studying I put off for an hour. Cheer!
Tuesday, December 7, 2010
What do you mean there's no shouting!?!
Far too often when I watch videos of fires there is a veritable ton of screaming and yelling going on. Here is a video out of FDNY where there isn't.
There is no yelling. There is no screaming. Still, the job is getting done!
Based on the info this was a 2nd alarm fire. We can see that the First and Second due Companies are already at work. The main is to the roof, and two lines have gone in the front door. The Rapid Intervention Crew is staged in the front of the building with their tools and packed up ready to go. The Engine Company that is stretching looks to be advancing a third line into the fire. The Firefighter with the nozzle takes the working length, each successive member has a length of hose to advance. No screaming, "Give me more line!" They just lead out.
For you Engine guys do you see how the Brother with the Nozzle ascends the fire escape rather than crowd another line in the stairwell? What does he do? He gets up there and brings up his length of hose, then he gets out of the way and lets the back-up firefighter pull up the next length and so on.
It's a big building, who did the 360? That's right the Roof Team, you see one of the members get a look over the side at about the :40 second mark. If command cannot make a 360 because of the size/complexity of the building, or because of that dreaded SOG of Immobility that forces the IC to sit in the front seat of the buggy, then someone has to get the rear. It may not be possible (or good tactics) for the officer of the first Engine to do it. What has to be known is WHO is going to do it.
Why does this work so smoothly in the video? Of course there are the choruses of "Because it's FDNY!" They do a really good job most days, no doubt. The real reasons it works there is because 1) they have defined expected actions and priorities in their SOGs: the Nozzle Firefighter of the 1st Engine knows what to do, and what EVERYONE else on that first alarm will do and 2) there are enough people! If you try and streach a line 300' down the block and up a fire escape and into a fire floor with two people, guess what, YOU WILL START SCREAMING!!!! Why? Because you do not have enough people to do the job smoothly. You will get hung up on obstacles, you will have to fight the hose... it's inevitable. The lesson is know how many brothers and sisters it takes to make those lead-outs happen. Define who is responsible for which Fireground Operational Priorities. Have riding positions and tool assignments that are filled by required functions is a well developed manner. In other words: Do Your Job and Do Your Best.
There is no yelling. There is no screaming. Still, the job is getting done!
Based on the info this was a 2nd alarm fire. We can see that the First and Second due Companies are already at work. The main is to the roof, and two lines have gone in the front door. The Rapid Intervention Crew is staged in the front of the building with their tools and packed up ready to go. The Engine Company that is stretching looks to be advancing a third line into the fire. The Firefighter with the nozzle takes the working length, each successive member has a length of hose to advance. No screaming, "Give me more line!" They just lead out.
For you Engine guys do you see how the Brother with the Nozzle ascends the fire escape rather than crowd another line in the stairwell? What does he do? He gets up there and brings up his length of hose, then he gets out of the way and lets the back-up firefighter pull up the next length and so on.
It's a big building, who did the 360? That's right the Roof Team, you see one of the members get a look over the side at about the :40 second mark. If command cannot make a 360 because of the size/complexity of the building, or because of that dreaded SOG of Immobility that forces the IC to sit in the front seat of the buggy, then someone has to get the rear. It may not be possible (or good tactics) for the officer of the first Engine to do it. What has to be known is WHO is going to do it.
Why does this work so smoothly in the video? Of course there are the choruses of "Because it's FDNY!" They do a really good job most days, no doubt. The real reasons it works there is because 1) they have defined expected actions and priorities in their SOGs: the Nozzle Firefighter of the 1st Engine knows what to do, and what EVERYONE else on that first alarm will do and 2) there are enough people! If you try and streach a line 300' down the block and up a fire escape and into a fire floor with two people, guess what, YOU WILL START SCREAMING!!!! Why? Because you do not have enough people to do the job smoothly. You will get hung up on obstacles, you will have to fight the hose... it's inevitable. The lesson is know how many brothers and sisters it takes to make those lead-outs happen. Define who is responsible for which Fireground Operational Priorities. Have riding positions and tool assignments that are filled by required functions is a well developed manner. In other words: Do Your Job and Do Your Best.
Monday, December 6, 2010
Well Done Long Beach!
So, at roughly 1:30 a.m. Pacific time this morning the Long Beach Fire Department, CA, responded to a reported house fire, and were greated with the terrible words, "My baby is in there!" One member deployed a line to cover and contain the fire while a second member began to search the second floor. During his search a portion of the floor gave way, causing 4 year member Charles Hakopian to fall into the hole. He pulled himself out, continued the search, found the 2-year old toddler not breathing and removed the child to EMS who got him back in the ambulance. The little guy is in critical condition and his mom is under arrest.
Watch this video for more infomation.
All I am going to say is well done! This is why we search. This is why we have to be trained to deal with the high-risk environment of the fireground. Remember every time we respond to a fire it is like walking into an ambush. We may have the strategic knowledge that fires will occur, but the fire always has tactical surprise and gets to pick the battlefield. When we arrive on-scene we have to make critical decisions in a time sensitive environment without 100% of the desired information. We have to be prepared to deal with the situation when things go wrong. Ask yourself this, what would you have done if that floor had partially given way on you? Would you have continued the search? Why? Would you have aborted? Why? Either option is perfectly viable depending on the conditions you find.
Do you want the first time you have to think about that to be when it happens though? (hint your answer is supposed to be "F&^$ No!") Of course not. That is why mental reharsal is a critical tool for firefighters. If you look into all the reaserch Gary Klein and his team have done on Recognition Primed Decision Making you will see the importance of developing "action scripts." Take it a step further and in his book Intuition At Work, he talks about "decision games" as a way of developing felicity with intuitive decision making skills. That is mental rehearsal. I like the way Paul Howe, MSG USA (ret) describes Mental Rehearsal's in his book Leadership and Training for the Fight.
For the firefighter, fire officer, fire chief who strives to be a Fire Service Warrior the need for mental rehearsal is obvious! It gives you a chance to work through all the "what ifs" before you find yourself there. You develop your decision making skills in the firehouse or on the drill ground so before you have to make that "Go/No-Go/Abort" Decision you have a pattern to use as a guide. That's what Fireground Tactical Decision Making is all about!
Once again well done to Firefighter Hakopian and the Brothers and Sisters in Long Beach. You saved a life, you saved a neighbor, you did your Duty. Chuck, if you're at FDIC come find me and you get a free copy of the book, and a beverage. Cheers!
Watch this video for more infomation.
All I am going to say is well done! This is why we search. This is why we have to be trained to deal with the high-risk environment of the fireground. Remember every time we respond to a fire it is like walking into an ambush. We may have the strategic knowledge that fires will occur, but the fire always has tactical surprise and gets to pick the battlefield. When we arrive on-scene we have to make critical decisions in a time sensitive environment without 100% of the desired information. We have to be prepared to deal with the situation when things go wrong. Ask yourself this, what would you have done if that floor had partially given way on you? Would you have continued the search? Why? Would you have aborted? Why? Either option is perfectly viable depending on the conditions you find.
Do you want the first time you have to think about that to be when it happens though? (hint your answer is supposed to be "F&^$ No!") Of course not. That is why mental reharsal is a critical tool for firefighters. If you look into all the reaserch Gary Klein and his team have done on Recognition Primed Decision Making you will see the importance of developing "action scripts." Take it a step further and in his book Intuition At Work, he talks about "decision games" as a way of developing felicity with intuitive decision making skills. That is mental rehearsal. I like the way Paul Howe, MSG USA (ret) describes Mental Rehearsal's in his book Leadership and Training for the Fight.
For the firefighter, fire officer, fire chief who strives to be a Fire Service Warrior the need for mental rehearsal is obvious! It gives you a chance to work through all the "what ifs" before you find yourself there. You develop your decision making skills in the firehouse or on the drill ground so before you have to make that "Go/No-Go/Abort" Decision you have a pattern to use as a guide. That's what Fireground Tactical Decision Making is all about!
Once again well done to Firefighter Hakopian and the Brothers and Sisters in Long Beach. You saved a life, you saved a neighbor, you did your Duty. Chuck, if you're at FDIC come find me and you get a free copy of the book, and a beverage. Cheers!
Saturday, December 4, 2010
More Fire Video & Updates
Well we have a new title for the book. In March at FDIC you will be able to buy your copy of The Combat Position: Achieving Firefighter Readiness. The new title will hopefully give people a better sense of what the book is before they pick it up. It's not surprising, but people do judge a book by it's cover.
I came across the video below today. This is a pretty good first line attack.
My only major complaint might be the Driver speeding up with the two vehicles in the way. I like the officer (I assume) telling the driver to pull forward to leave room for the Truck. It takes about 2 minutes from arrival before we start to see some steam conversion. All in all a good attack. Not knowing the still area my only concern based on the three sided view we see on arrival is IF this is a lightweight roof assembly we may have rapid truss failure... there is fire in the attack. We get a ladder thrown for secondary egress (the angle is a little steep but at least it's there). All in all this is a good fire attack.
Enjoy the snow this weekend.
I came across the video below today. This is a pretty good first line attack.
My only major complaint might be the Driver speeding up with the two vehicles in the way. I like the officer (I assume) telling the driver to pull forward to leave room for the Truck. It takes about 2 minutes from arrival before we start to see some steam conversion. All in all a good attack. Not knowing the still area my only concern based on the three sided view we see on arrival is IF this is a lightweight roof assembly we may have rapid truss failure... there is fire in the attack. We get a ladder thrown for secondary egress (the angle is a little steep but at least it's there). All in all this is a good fire attack.
Enjoy the snow this weekend.
Tuesday, November 30, 2010
The Exception to the Rule
I have said and written here that you should not vent behind the Engine, because you will pull the fire on top of them. That rule is 99.9% effective in preventing injuries to our Brother and Sister Fire Service Warriors. Of course every rule has it's exceptions. Take the video below.
November 17, 2010 Newark, NJ
So the front door is open, the line is ready to enter and then some Truck guy pops the front window. Come on man! Right?
If you notice the picture window was already open, the Truck popped the side window which gives the Brother with the nozzle a chance to darken down the fire venting from the window reducing the chance of it wrapping around behind them. Then the Engine makes their push into the building. At the :17second mark we can see into the fire room, which is the living room just to the left of the front door. Dollars to doughnuts the stairs are right in front of the Engine as the lead in. I'm going to assume that when the Team gained entry to the front door they saw the fire was in the living room. Rather than lead out to the rear (which would take time to go down and back) they quickly enter the front, get the line between the fire and and potential victims on the second floor and have a vent opening (the front window) to get the bulk of the products of combustion out. Outstanding Job!
The only complaint I have is the Engine position right in front restricting the options for the Truck. Remember Hose Stretches, Ladders Don't!
Take this one and sit down with your crew for a quick drill one day. What are do your SOG's say about making this attack?
November 17, 2010 Newark, NJ
So the front door is open, the line is ready to enter and then some Truck guy pops the front window. Come on man! Right?
If you notice the picture window was already open, the Truck popped the side window which gives the Brother with the nozzle a chance to darken down the fire venting from the window reducing the chance of it wrapping around behind them. Then the Engine makes their push into the building. At the :17second mark we can see into the fire room, which is the living room just to the left of the front door. Dollars to doughnuts the stairs are right in front of the Engine as the lead in. I'm going to assume that when the Team gained entry to the front door they saw the fire was in the living room. Rather than lead out to the rear (which would take time to go down and back) they quickly enter the front, get the line between the fire and and potential victims on the second floor and have a vent opening (the front window) to get the bulk of the products of combustion out. Outstanding Job!
The only complaint I have is the Engine position right in front restricting the options for the Truck. Remember Hose Stretches, Ladders Don't!
Take this one and sit down with your crew for a quick drill one day. What are do your SOG's say about making this attack?
Monday, November 29, 2010
Ventilation - What not to Do.
Great video to illustrate exactly how ventilation effects fire spread. Pay attention from about the 3 minute 27second mark.
On YouTube this is titled "Fire Fighter Freelanced Ventilation". I don't know if this was freelancing, was an ordered act, or a case of lack of knowledge of fire behavior married with a SOG that encourages implicit coordination. What is clear is that we can see EXACTLY how ventilation works. When you open up, the smoke and trapped heat flow out the opening. If that is not channeling the superheated products of combustion out of the building in a controlled manner then we are going to spread the fire.
Take the time to study these videos when you find them. We only get to see a very small number of fires during the course of our operations. These videos are a good way for us to watch, replay, study and learn.
On YouTube this is titled "Fire Fighter Freelanced Ventilation". I don't know if this was freelancing, was an ordered act, or a case of lack of knowledge of fire behavior married with a SOG that encourages implicit coordination. What is clear is that we can see EXACTLY how ventilation works. When you open up, the smoke and trapped heat flow out the opening. If that is not channeling the superheated products of combustion out of the building in a controlled manner then we are going to spread the fire.
Take the time to study these videos when you find them. We only get to see a very small number of fires during the course of our operations. These videos are a good way for us to watch, replay, study and learn.
Wednesday, November 24, 2010
Fireground Tactical Decision Making - Part 2
Developing Fire Ground Tactical Decision Making Skills
Even if you have good SOGs and are an all-star firemen your ability to use the Boyd Loop to make tactical decisions on the fire ground will be limited if you do not practice with it. Think of it this way, your brain and your butt are both muscles and if the only exercise they get is sitting in a recliner watching Maury or Dr. Phil, how prepared do you think either of them will be when it comes time to go to work? There is a quote from Braveheart that fits perfectly, “The good lord tells me he can get me out of this one, but he’s pretty sure you’re ******”. So, how do we incorporate using the Boyd Loop into training?
First and foremost our training needs to go beyond just teaching the SOGs and the fundamental skills. Once your people know what their assignments are and how to perform them, then the training needs to get more challenging. Both complexity and speed must be increased if your firefighters are going to continue to develop. Have the scenario thrown in where the OVM has to decide what to do about the lady hanging out the second floor window. Have your folks pull up in front of your tower, or an acquired structure, or even someone else’s firehouse if that is your only option, for a simulated fire and have a role-player in front of the building pointing to a 2nd floor window saying, “My 5 year-old is in the room, get him”. What do they do? How do they move through the OODA cycle to get to acting on the problem? Build these unexpected developments into your scenario based training. Throw in an evacuation drill every now and again. The late Francis Brannigan wrote continually about how every sailor in the Navy is taught how to abandon ship. How many of us are practicing how to make an orderly tactical retreat if the air-horns start blasting?
There are bound to be guys and gals who resist challenging training, or training in general. It is important to remember that there are two reasons for this: first, they are worried about being embarrassed, and second they do not understand why it is vital. Embarrassment tends to arise from not feeling secure in your ability to perform the required task. Not understanding the importance of the training comes from seeing the department’s values as incoherent or inconsistent. Fixing those underlying issues probably needs to be a priority. Remind them that just because you have been a firefighter for 10 years doesn’t mean you know it all, or are perfect. Every professional sports team out there practices all season long. They are making millions of dollars because they are so good at what they do, and they still practice. Members of the Navy SEALs and Army Delta Force train constantly. Use these examples of professionals, in very exclusive organizations, as models for why we as firefighters need to take training seriously.
Once the drills are done, do a hot-wash on the tailboard and talk about what went well and what can be learned. How direct those sessions are will depend on your corporate culture. My belief is that sparing someone’s feelings is less important than making sure that a dangerous error in a critical fire ground task is fixed. To quote my good friend Lt. John Tabisz, of the Darien Woodridge Fire Protection District, “We aren’t delivering pizzas here.” I will make this caveat though, if you are criticizing the person, and not the action, you are going in the wrong direction and will alienate people.
Beyond departmental or company level training though, each of us needs to do our own training: Mental Rehearsals. You need to spend time thinking about what you will do if you are presented with a particular circumstance. Pick a building in your district and think about how you would handle various situations. I play the “what if” game constantly, and I find it helps me make decisions on the fire ground more smoothly. My wife got passed being bothered by the fact that I was willing to pick out tuxedos for our wedding after looking in one store for less than a minute. She understood it was part of how I look at the world. She still has trouble getting over the fact that when we walk up to the door of a house I have not been in before I look down both sides and take a guess at where the kitchen, baths and bedrooms are. It’s a little pop quiz I can give myself to mentally rehearse my size-up skills. You should be able to figure out what the basic layout of a building is by giving it a quick look as you walk up. We will not get to walk through every building in our district, but by spending time exercising that part of your mental tool box, you will be better equipped to figure it out in the moment. What would you do if you sudden fell through a floor? Are you training in calling a Mayday? It’s the evolutionary step that takes us beyond our SCBA Emergency Procedures and prepares us to respond in a situation that has a huge potential to be mentally overwhelming. Mental rehearsals give us a low stress opportunity to work through various challenging situations we may have to confront. Thinking through what your actions will be if you find yourself in trouble will help reduce the stress if you suddenly find yourself lost, disoriented or trapped in a fire building. Mark Twain once said, “It takes me three weeks to prepare a good impromptu speech.” It makes sense if you think about it. You are not going to respond well the first time you see a problem. That is why we drill. It’s why we need to practice applying the OODA Loop in our training. You can build your experience bank by analyzing possible situations, performing mental rehearsals, and conducting challenging scenario-based training.
There is no single way to learn any skill in the fire service. Fire Ground Tactical Decision Making is a complex process that is a synthesis of your experience, your training, your situational awareness, and your comfort level. The physical and psychological stresses of firefighting impact every one of us differently, and need to be addressed separately. Hopefully being introduced to the Boyd Loop, and taking the time to think about how your organization teaches decision making, you will be better prepared to confront the challenging environment of the fire ground. By ensuring that your firefighters have well planned SOGs, a solid foundation in the fundamentals of fire ground tasks, and have had the opportunity to be challenged with real-world scenario driven training you will prepare them to make critical, life or death, fire ground decisions.
Monday, November 22, 2010
Fireground Tactical Decision Making - Part 1
My wife hates the fact that I make decisions in 30 seconds or less. She thinks about options, analyzes, I would say agonizes, and in general hates to be rushed to judgment. When we first met she did not understand how, if I was presented with a list of three options, I would pick something before she even finished reading the list. I finally explained it to her like this: In my job I have to make decisions in a fraction of a second, and I have to trust my life with those decisions. When you look at life that way it tends to stream line the thought process.
Firefighters must master the ability to take a mental snapshot of the situation presented to them and use that to make critical tactical decisions. Our business boils down to making decisions in a high stress environment with life and death consequences. It does not matter if you are talking about a structure fire, a heart attack, or a technical rescue incident. The reality of operating under those circumstances can be overwhelming, especially for a firefighter just starting out. If we want our people to thrive in that kind of chaotic, stressful environment, it is imperative to train them in Fire Ground Tactical Decision Making.
Every one of us in the fire service has worked with someone who was always cool and collected, and always seemed to know what the fire was doing a second or two before the fire itself did. Usually those are the experienced members, the “Salty Dogs”, who have been around the block and have a chest full of war stories to share. There is no question that experience is the single best way to master the art and science of sizing up a situation and making your tactical decisions. Experience comes with time though, and we are not responding to the numbers of Structure Fires that we have in the past. How do we develop experience in a firefighter who may only respond to a handful of structure fires a year? We develop our experience through Training. Obviously Training is our “answer” for a lot of situations. Training our members to be skilled in the art of tactical decision making must be a particular focus though, if it is going to be successful, and it must rest on a solid foundation.
Combat Decision Making
There is a concept that Fighter Pilots and Special Operations Warriors understand well called the Boyd Loop. (1) We can prepare ourselves to make better decisions on the fire ground if we examine it, and use the concept in our training.
The Boyd Loop is named for Col. John Boyd, of the US Air Force, a fighter pilot who wanted to understand how best to turn a tactical engagement in his favor. The decision making system that he developed has come to be known as the Boyd Loop, or the OODA Loop.
OODA stands for: OBSERVE; ORIENT; DECIDE; ACT. The four steps in the Boyd Loop.
Observation is the process of gathering data. This is where you are using your senses to get information about what is happening. The key is that you need to develop a filter, so that you are not trying to gather too much information. You need to focus on the critical information for your assignment and let the rest of the chaos become a fuzzy part of the backdrop.
Orientation is the process of synthesizing the available information and your personal mindset to deal with the problem. Put another way, this is taking your finely honed skills as a firefighter and matching them up to what you have observed about the task at hand.
Decision is where the rubber meets the road. It is taking the information and analysis and setting the best course of tactical action to achieve the strategic goal. You are using your Standard Operating Guidelines (SOGs), your training and your knowledge of the current fire ground situation to decide what you are going to do.
Action is what it is all about. Firefighters are pretty much task oriented creatures. We exist to “do” things on the fire ground. The other steps in the Loop have gotten us to this point.
It is important to remember that the OODA Loop is not a linear process. It is a dynamic cycle that starts when we are dispatched and, hopefully, continues until we have finished critiquing the incident. We do not simply pull up in front of the fire building, see that there is a fire on the first floor, recognize that because we are on the Engine today and assigned as the pipe-man that we will be pulling a hose line, decide to pull the line and then go put the fire out. That is an example of using the Boyd, or OODA, Loop, but we don’t stop there. As we continue the fight we are constantly gathering more data, orienting ourselves to the threats that are developing, deciding on a course of action and then acting upon it.
If we use the Boyd Loop successfully, what happens is that we actually give ourselves more time to think. We are using a smooth and efficient thought process that allows us to maintain our focus and at the same time devote a portion of our conscious mind to continually working its way through the OODA Loop.
Laying the Foundation
In order for our members to be able to apply the Boyd Loop successfully there are a few prerequisites that come in handy: well designed and exercised SOGs for Engine and Truck Company Operations, and a solid grounding in fundamental fire ground skills. Most of our departments are already functioning with these prerequisites in place. For those who do not, it isn’t impossible to master fire ground decision making, but it becomes considerably more complicated.
Why are Engine and Truck Company SOGs important? As a firefighter, like a computer, you only have so much “RAM” to work with. If you have to devote your mental energy to figuring out what tool to bring, or what your individual priorities need to be, you are behind in the Loop already, and you are at a disadvantage when it comes to maintaining situational awareness. Our SOGs should help limit the number of times we need to go through the Loop. They act as a flow chart for our common decisions. If you pull up in front of a structure fire, what is your assignment? What are your tools? If this is not spelled out ahead of time when we get on scene one of the first trips through the Loop has to be “wasted” on choosing a tool. The topic of riding positions and tool assignments has been covered in great detail by many fire service authors. I’m not going to start speculating what tool the firefighter behind the officer on the third arriving Engine should have. Those specifics need to be worked out based on your jurisdiction, with a nod toward what your “bread and butter” fires involve. If our SOGs are designed to provide clear direction about essential fire ground tasks we save our personnel a trip through the Loop.
In the same manner, having a standing guideline for an Incident Action Plan spells out our strategic goals, which frees the initial arriving Officers from having to make trip after trip through the Loop. Building SOGs ahead of time, which function in a similar way to EMS Standing Medical Orders, cuts down on the amount of thinking you have to devote to a given problem. It is much like going to a restaurant. You walk into a “steak place” with every intention of ordering a rib eye, medium rare, with a baked potato, and a pint. The only decision to make is picking an appetizer. The waiter hands you a menu and what do you do? You Look At Everything On It! You knew what you were going to order, but because there were options in front of you, you still take the time to see what they are. Time is not of the essence when ordering dinner, usually, but the same dynamic applies on the fire ground. If you have a huge menu to pick from, because the SOGs didn’t lay a foundation for picking the right “meal”, then you waste time filtering through everything that you have learned to eliminate options that are not relevant to the situation at hand. Well designed SOGs that our firefighters have trained on, and exercised to make sure they work, help to reduce the time needed in the Observe, Orient and Direct stages of the Boyd Loop.
Let’s say that my assignment is to be the Outside Vent Man (OVM). Our SOGs take care of focusing me on what I need to observe, the orientation I am going to take, and they streamline the decision making process for me because I should know what my specific initial response tasks are. By having tool assignments married to a fire ground assignment I have reduced the confusion even further. I arrive on the scene of a structure fire and observe a two-story, ordinary construction, single-family residence with fire showing from the Division B/C corner. My SOGs orient me to take a 24-foot extension ladder, a Halligan Bar and a Pike Pole to Division C; throw that ladder to the second floor in a manner that allows it to be used for rescue; ventilate the fire room with my pike pole upon being notified that the attack Engine is prepared to make entry; and then open any exterior doors on the Division C side and make a primary search from the exterior, without entering an IDLH atmosphere, until I have met up with my partner, whose initial task was to mirror my actions in the front of the building. How difficult is working through the OODA Loop going to be? It should be pretty straight forward. The only element of my assignment that may require more brain power is choosing the right window to ladder on the second floor. I am able to think about (ORIENT) that as I am making my size-up and triaging the building.
To make my way around to Division C, I choose to go down the Division D side of the building. As I pass between the building on fire and the Division D exposure (I’d call it a gangway, but using NIMS terminology makes this accessible to everyone) I OBSERVE a woman hanging out of a second floor window in need of rescue. What do I do now? Go through the Loop. I OBSERVE a condition. I ORIENT myself with my understanding of the circumstances as I know them from our SOGs and the current situation: there is a life safety risk; our SOGs say it is the job of the Second Truck to ladder the Division D side; the Second Truck is on scene. Now I have to DECIED. Do I abandon my assignment of opening up in Division C to rescue the woman, or do I make a quick radio call, “Command from Truck 1 OVM, I’ve got people hanging out second floor windows on the D Side. I’m continuing to the C side”? Do you DECIDE to do something different if the second truck is a mutual-aid company that you know is five minutes out? There is no one right answer. Your decisions must be predicated on the observations you make, based on the current conditions, and the orientation you have assumed. Once you make your decision, it is time to ACT.
Having a solid grounding in fundamental fire ground skills is the key to reducing the amount of “static” in the action phase of the Loop. You have made it around to the D side without encountering any situations which may cause you to divert from your SOG based assignment. Your first task is to throw a 24-foot ground ladder to a second floor window so that in can be used for rescue. Can you do it? Do you know how to throw a ladder by yourself? Do you have the strength? Do you know where it is supposed to go for rescue? If you don’t then you are once again slowing down in the Loop. Now you have to take a trip through the Loop to figure out how you are going to accomplish the task at hand.
The basics should be so ingrained in you that there is no need to “waste” any time in the Boyd Loop thinking about them. They are called “fundamentals” for a reason. They are fundamental to being able to do your job. If you are prepared through regular training how to throw a ladder, perform a VES, stretch a hose line, man a 21/2” exposure line by yourself, or any other fire ground task, you are speeding up how long it takes to get through the Loop. You are compressing time by removing unnecessary items from the menu and giving your brain more time to focus on those things that are 100 percent specific to the situation you are in: sizing up the building, reading the smoke, observing the effects of your fellow firefighters’ actions. Muscle memory is your friend. It works for elite athletes and combat marksmen. It will work for you.
1 - MSG Paul R Howe, US Army Retired. Leadership and Training For The Fight. Bloomington: AuthorHouse, 2005.
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