Tactical Thoughts

I saw this video the other day and it got me thinking.



We talk about tactics a lot in the fire service, but we fall short when it comes to talking about tactical drift. To me that is what is going on here. We get tunnel vision about putting the fire out the way we always have before, through the front door, and get impatience about standing around. So what happens? We commit firefighters to dangerous positions that they don't NEED to be in.

I think this is a great illustration of my point that often times we are lucky rather than good. Two or three fires after this when a chimney collapses and a firefighter is maimed, crippled, or killed the chorus will ring out: "But we've done this before and it was okay!"

Prolonged exposure to risk with out incident leads to a lack of appreciation of risk. In other words we get risk tunnel vision.

I accept that as a Fire Service we will aggressively commit to some very dangerous places in and above the fire area. That is what we exist to do. However we have to also recognize when we are not improving things JUST by putting people inside the building.

I am not going to belabor this post with a bunch of chatter. If we want to get serious about reducing fire fighter injuries and fatalities we need to train incident commanders, company officers, and firefighters to recognize stupid tactics and stop them. Now, to my knowledge no one got hurt at this fire, but I think we can all see the potential was there.

Just a few quick thoughts while I am plugging away at research and writing. Cheers

These Aren't the Droids You are Looking For....

So you might think, based upon my post from Friday April  You Don't Know, What You Don't Know that I was prescient.  Two days before the US Navy SEALs engage in a daring, high-risk, mission to capture (or kill) Usama Bin Laden I am posting about how they have back up plans for every possible failure (like a helicopter crashing say) and using them as an example of great mission planning.  We will chalk that up to coincidence.  The fact of the matter is my hat is off to those men who pulled that mission off. 

I have gotten some static from folks who take umbrage with my drawing parallels between the fire service and an elite unit such as the SEALs.  I've been told that our job isn't that hard.  I've been told that it is unreasonable to hold firefighters to the same standards of fitness and professional education that SEALs are held to.  I've been told that I just have a boy-crush on such capable performers.

I suppose the fact of the matter is I do look up to anyone who chooses to commit fully to a mission as arduous, dangerous, and demanding as the members of the military Special Operations Community do.  I've had the honor of knowing several current and former members of the: SEALs, Army Special Forces, Force Recon Marines, Navy and Air Force EOD, as well as men who served in the types of Tier 1 units who are assigned missions like the one which happened on Sunday.  Over the course of several years I had the honor of supporting exercises that men from those communities participated in, I have taught with them, and shared an adult beverage with them.  The thing that always struck me is that they are men who are consummate professionals, humble and quick to point out how they are simply part of a team.

I understand why people want to say that I am just being melodramatic when I draw parallels between what firefighters do and what members of such elite units do.  They know they couldn't live up to that standard.

The facts are out there:

• Firefighters expend metabolic energy at the same level as Navy SEALS and professional boxers. (See Chapter 2 in The Combat Position for all the details)
• Firefighters operate in an environment where the UNKNOWN is an ever present threat.
• Firefighters operate in zero visibility environments, with limited knowledge, under circumstances that engage our sympathetic nervous system, and must PERFORM in a thoughtful manner there.

I'll be 100% honest; I think we are far more lucky in the fire service than we are good, most of the time.  How many firefighters do you know personally who are lugging around the weight of two human beings?  How many firefighters do you know who will say, "Training is a waste of time, we know what to do."  How many firefighters do you know who would much rather focus on their side job then they would focus on our trade?  How many firefighters do you know who make it a part of their life to intensely prepare for the physical demands of the fireground and engage in physical fitness like a professional athlete? 

We are all human and we all have days where our commitment wavers or the pressure of our lives starts to take over, but that is what Brotherhood is all about.  If I lose focus on being prepared, on being Combat Ready, then I hope that my Brothers and Sisters will kick me in the ass to get back in the gym or back on the training ground.

If we are going to quit paying lip service to the reducing fire ground injuries and firefighter fatalities then we need to start making sure we are prepared to THRIVE on the fire ground.  We need to get out there and practice what to do when things go wrong.

• What is plan B when fire conditions are worsening and you cannot reach command on the radio?
• What will you do if you are searching a bedroom on the floor above the fire and return to the hallway and your partner isn't there?
• What will you when you arrive on scene for the automatic alarm at the high rise and fire is pushing out of two windows on the 13th floor?

If any of these questions stump you then you are not preparing to thrive.  The time has come for us to quit pretending that our job can be made safe, that we can achieve a day where "Everyone Goes Home" (unless "Home" is a reunification with the divine creation... there I said it), and that anyone who is not committed to excelling in the most threatening environment we operate in is putting their life and the lives of the people on their crew (not to mention the neighbors we protect) in greater danger of being killed or injured.

The time has come for each and everyone of us to own our responsibility to be the best we can be.  Everyday is a training day.  Everyday is an opportunity to work on improving your physical capacity.  Everyday is another day to take a step forward.  It doesn't matter if you are in your first year in the fire service, your tenth year in the fire service, or in your thirtieth year in the fire service you can choose today to make the day that you become better than your previous self.

Interesting first arriving video.



So, what's your size-up on this one?  Building Construction & Occupancy, Fire Location, Fire Development, Operating Mode.





Here's mine.

"Engine 1 is on the scene with a one story frame, 50 by 25, fire in the rear, possible exposure problem on the D side.  We are going into a transitional attack."

Now, I am not always a fan of transitional attacks but if we look at this scene we have obvious structural involvement, we have a lot of heat, and the attic space is charged.  IF I was told there was a victim inside I might go in a different direction (like fast attack with a primary search), but we have to consider that this building is a candidate for a ventilation controlled flashover. If we make entry through the front here we have to coordinate our ventilation and HAVE TO be able to get enough water on the seat of the fire in 60 seconds.  Why 60 seconds?  Look at the UL study Impact of Ventilation on Fire Behavior in Legacy and Contemporary Construction.  A compartmentalized building like this can see conditions become untenable in 70 seconds and flashover within another 30 seconds.

This is why I keep coming back to our Fireground Capacity.  Capacity is our ability to provide service on the fireground.  Some departments have the skills, abilities, and the manpower to execute an interior attack on a fire like this, most won't.  We need to understand the capacity of our department and our companies.

As a reminder the Fire Department Instructors Conference is right around the corner.  I will be presenting Situational Awareness on Monday from 1300 to 1700 in Rooms 109-110 and The Ready Position on Wednesday from 1330 to 1515 in Rooms 234-235.  Please come on by, check out the programs, and introduce yourself.  I plan on being at the ISFSI Event on Tuesday, the FOOLS Brotherhood Bash on Wednesday evening and will be running in the Courage & Valor run on Thursday.  I look forward to seeing you there.