I know I usually do video posts on Wednesdays, but I saw this and thought it would make a good tactical discussion. Watch the video below before moving into the rest of the piece. Pay attention to the big three of size up, Building Construction, Fire Location, Fire Development.
Given your staffing, response time, still district, etc, what mode of operations would you use to attack this fire? I bring this up because this is a fire that could go a couple of different ways.
We have four basic choices for operating modes:
Offensive (Enter the fire building)
Transitional (Blitz/Quick Water attack prior to making entry)
Defensive (Exterior attack)
Non-Intervention (No attack)
We can rule out non-intervention once we have an Engine Company apparatus on scene. So, what mode of operations would you use for this fire. I'll post my thoughts in the comments Monday, but let's get some discussion going here. You folks post your choice for a mode of operation and why in the comments.
YouTube is an amazing resource for us. We don't get to respond to a structure fire everyday, but we sure can watch one. Look at these videos with a critical eye. Start the video and watch the first 20-30 seconds. Pause it. Close your eyes. Do a three point size-up: Building (Construction & Occupancy), Fire Location, Stage of Fire Development. I really believe that those three points can and should be accomplished by every Fire Service Warrior at every fire. Go ahead, watch the first 30 seconds and see what you come up with. No cheating. Scroll down for my size up.
One Story, Wood Frame, 40x20, single family, fire throughout with heavy fire on the B side and in the attic. This is structure burning.
Now watch the rest of the video.
What is going on? What operations are going on? What needs to be accomplished yet? If you are pulling up and assigned as RIT/FAST/RIC what tools do you want staged? Where are you setting up? What are your top three concerns. For you shift commander/Battalion level Chiefs reading what are you going to start working on to make this building behave.
One year ago today the Homewood Fire Department suffered the LODD of Brian Carey in a house not much bigger than this. Consistently we see firefighters dying in 1000 square foot or less single family dwellings. IF we can't make this building behave what chance do we have in the 27,000 square foot warehouse? Take a moment today and work on those two key skills: Fire Behavior (know the enemy) and Building Construction (know the terrain). Do it for Brian.
Tuesday, March 8, 2011
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.
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.
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!
