This week I received an email regarding my %$#@ VSP posting, from Captain Stephen Masar (FDNY) the author of the VSP concept. With the Captain's permission I am sharing the post in it's entirety, unedited, below. I have been thinking about the ongoing discussion that Capt. Marsar and I are having and I will share my thoughts at some point this week. I like being able to offer a forum for conversation about things that are going on the in the Fire Service, and I appreciate the Captain wanting to open up with his thoughts and continue the discussion.
Dear Mr. Brennan,
In response to you blog “%$#@ Victim Survivability Profiling; Do Your Primary Search” dated October 28, 2010, Thanks for bringing up the topic and the opportunity to join in the discussion. I’d first like to give you a brief history on the origins of the Survivability Profiling Concept. The notion was born out of my 20+ years in the Fire Department of the City of New York (FDNY). To date, the FDNY has suffered 32 line of duty deaths in structural fires (not including the 343 members lost on September 11, 2001 or 11 other fatalities from other types of causes). The sobering fact that not one civilian was killed in any of those fires readily produces a dichotomy that deserves investigation.
Survivability Profiling became the subject of an Applied Research Project for the National Fire Academy’s Executive Fire Officer Program. The research earned a grade of 4.0 and is up for a National Outstanding Research Award for 2010. Survivability Profiling is a “concept.” And honestly, as a career interior -structural firefighter, not one that I am even 100% comfortable with. However, it was my intention to stir conversation and yes, even debate, on the subject which you so readily acknowledge. If my articles lead to a national discussion on what risks are acceptable and what are not, and helps save the life of one firefighter, than I am proud to have been part of it. You mentioned articles 1 & 2. Numbers 3 & 4 will be published in the near future and will feature practical applications.
The notion of Survivability Profiling follows in the footsteps of the National Fallen Firefighters Foundation’s/United States Fire Administration’s “16 Life Safety Initiatives" for Firefighters and the International Association of Fire Chief’s proposed “Rules of Engagement for Structural Firefighting.” It is an honor to be regarded in the same realm as such noble and recognized professionals and organizations.
You wrote that “We killed 25.4 firefighters for every civilian fire fatality during the time period examined so we aren’t necessarily doing a poor job of deciding if the occupant may or may not be alive. It doesn’t? Do you mean to say that loosing 25.4 firefighters for every one civilian fatality is acceptable? You continued “...we are doing a terrible job of making the fireground safe for our personnel.” Ah Ha! Exactly the point. We can improve fireground safety. Applying Survivability Profiling is a tool (Like any other in our firefighting arsenal) to assist in reaching that goal.
You question “If we are conducting a “proper” survivability profile then should responding crews ignore the information that they are receiving of victims trapped and the information from an occupant of the house who has exited the building saying something to the effect of, [My husband is in there!]?” Not quite. We should not ignore credible reports of trapped occupants. However, we are expected to be professional and use our education, training, and collective experiences to make sound survivability determinations that are simply unfathomable to civilians. That includes accepting our own realistic limitations.
“Would the “right” answer have been to decide from the front lawn that because there was a significant volume of fire and a building charged with smoke that there was no possible chance of.... the 84 year-old homeowner reported trapped, being alive and attacking from a defensive mode?” YES! “Significant volume of fire and a building charged with smoke” combined with the initial dispatch report to responding units—from the victim’s wife—that the paralyzed man on oxygen, was “in the chair that was on fire” in the part of the house with the largest volume of fire, suggest that Survivability Profiling would have been correct. The victim was not savable and the life of one firefighter and the severe injuries to two others may have been avoided.
You continue “...I would say no. I would say that while our objective must be to make the building behave and control the fire to create a relatively safe environment for our personnel, that in the face of a believable report of a trapped occupant that we must enter the building and search. Must enter the building and search? In all cases? Such a blanket statement has little validity. We all know from experience (in varying degrees) that fires can be uncontrollable and are, at best, unpredictable. We also know that every fire is different. Fires can change drastically in a matter of seconds. We have policies & procedures to attempt to control them but, to “make them behave” is a naive notion.
You conclude “..That is why we are firefighters...” I beg to differ; we are firefighters to save savable lives, and property that has not already been lost.
“I am afraid that if the risk adverse mentality that has slowly, and insidiously, taken hold in the fire service continues then we will be pitted against the communities we are there to serve.” Insidiously? No ambush here my brother; we are trying to save firefighter’s lives. Us against the community? Possibly, but we will save firefighter lives and their families, departments, etc. from the pain of that experience. When you state “We will find ourselves either not fulfilling the expectations of our citizens, or we will see increased litigation and disciple for Incident Commanders, Company Officers, and Firefighters who make a decision, literally in the heat of battle, that results in a line of duty death or injury.” How many civilians do you know have realistic expectations of fire behavior & fire progression; smoke travel & its debilitating effects on humans; and the limited survival times within these hostile environments? Litigation will always be a concern. Our best defense continues to be sound – documented education; following established standards, policies, guidelines and procedures; and subsequent utilization of technological advances and scientific facts.
“While egregious errors in decision making must be dealt with through discipline the fact remains that we do not have perfect knowledge on the fireground. We do not have a Google Earth.” Here’s where I agree with you 100%. “What we are really talking about defining, nationwide, the virtues and values of the American fire service. While fires happen locally, movements, like survivability profiling, become the cause célèbre on a national level. The time has come for this debate to extend beyond the firehouse kitchen table, or the bay floor. We must decide, at a national level as well as at a local level, what level of risk we will accept.” Amen. Check out the NFFF’s/USFA’s Life Saving Initiatives and the IAFC’s Rules of Engagement. That’s exactly what these organizations are trying to accomplish.
“We must decide what value we place on protecting both the lives and the property of the communities we serve. We must train our members to be Fire Service Warriors consummate professionals, who are able to thrive on in the dynamic and high risk environment of the modern fireground.” Here, here. We must also train firefighters that “saving lives” includes there own life! "...to thrive on in the dynamic and high risk environments...” is simply not always possible for firefighters. Top “Warriors” throughout history (including Theodore Roosevelt) have learned this valuable lesson. In some cases they chose to defend in place or even advance in a different direction (i.e. retreat). We owe it to ourselves, our firefighters, their families, and the departments/communities we serve, to be able to do the same.
Thanks for the discussion and saty safe!
Sincerely,
Captain Stephen Marsar, EFO
Well Said by Captain Marsar
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