Think About It

Watch the above clip (courtesy of www.statter911.com) of an explosion and fire that tore through six South Los Angeles buildings, spattering firefighters with molten chunks of titanium. The explosion also collapsed numerous walls and sections of roofs. Post as if you were a chief officer in command, company officer or just manning the line. Immediately after the explosion, what radio traffic, if any, do you transmit? Mayday? Priority traffic?

You Make the Call!

This has generated some great discussions. We look forward to hearing what you have to say.

Based on the picture above, ask yourselves the following questions:

• Identify the construction features of the building that will help to increase or decrease fire spread.

• List any construction features that may impact the safety of crews operating in or around the building.

• Identify size-up information. What does the situation tell you?

Where will your first line go? How about the second line?

• What is the Benefit to be gained by taking the Risk?

• Is this a Go or No-Go situation?

Are there any other considerations to assist our decision to Go or No-Go? Is there anything else to add?

Special thanks to FireMedic Caldwell Clark (FCFD Engine 30) and Fairfax City Medic 33/C for the picture.

You Make the Call!

Based on the picture above, ask yourselves the following questions:

• What are the construction features of the building that will help to increase or decrease fire spread?

• Are there any construction features that may impact the safety of crews operating in or around the building?

• Identify size-up information. What does the situation tell you?

• What is the benefit to be gained by taking the 'risk'?

• Is this a Go or No-Go situation?

Are there any other considerations to assist our decision to Go or No-Go? Is there anything else to add?

As always if you have any pictures or ideas to submit please send us an email at rkuley@yahoo.com. Thanks to JJ Walsh (Batt 7/A) for the info above.

Think About It!

A line out of the movie "Top Gun" talked about how the pilots in Vietnam had become too dependent on missiles and had lost their edge that fighter pilots had during WWII and Korea. They had become too dependent on technology!

We have had a lot of great tools come our way due to technological advances as well. One of those tools is the Thermal imaging Camera (TIC). This is an incredibly valuable tool for use in locating hot spots, trapped or lost civilians, and of course trapped or lost firefighters. But we also can't become too dependent on technology.

In spite of how good the cameras work, they are still not the answer to all circumstances when doing searches, either for fire or for people.

Discuss the following:

1. The operation of the camera.
2. When you can use it for finding hot spots and sources of fire extension?
3. Use of it in locating people.
4. What other uses do you have for the TIC?
4. Most of all, circumstances when the camera cannot or should not be used to find fire or people.

Talk also about the need to maintain a high level of search skills in various situations. Include a discussion of the differences in searching a residential occupancy vs. commercial occupancy. If for no other reason, what happens if you are depending on the camera and it does not turn on?

(Courtesy of Deputy Fire Chief Coffman)

NOVA Operations Manuals

For those of us that work in a Northern Virginia Fire Department, you should be well aware of the NOVA Regional Operations Manuals. These are the manuals that provide operating and tactical guidelines for emergency incidents. These manuals are written by a committee of representatives from fire departments in the Northern Virginia area. See below for an excerpt of what their activities entail:

* Develop uniform incident management and command systems and procedures.
* Develop uniform operational and response procedures that provide for shared use of special emergency response teams, equipment assets, and other regional resources.
* Standardize fire, EMS, and emergency service policies, procedures, apparatus, and equipment whenever and wherever feasible.

These links will allow you to download five documents that are "cheat-sheets" from the following manuals; Single Family, Townhouse, High-Rise, Strip Shopping Centers and Garden Apartments.

These “cheat-sheets” are a great resource to use while preparing for a promotional exam. They are another tool for 5 minute drills with your shift. It is our hope to have these mass produced and laminated in a 5x7 format that can be kept in your rigs if you choose.

I know what some of you are thinking, “these are stupid because the members should know what their assignments are….” We feel these sheets will prove to be helpful whether studying for an promotional exam or responding to a call at 3AM and maybe having a hard time remembering your assignment on a certain call.

If you have any items to add or to make any changes so these can be more user friendly please let us know. As always your feedback is welcome. Ron Kuley 26/A

http://firetactics.net/StripShoppingCenter.pdf

http://firetactics.net/TownHouse.pdf

http://firetactics.net/SingleFamily.pdf

http://firetactics.net/HighRise.pdf

http://firetactics.net/GardenApartments.pdf

Warehouse Fires...Think About It!

From the FCFD’s PIO office – “Fairfax County Fire and Rescue Department units responded to a commercial fire at approximately 8:10 a.m., Sunday, December 2, 2007, in the Springfield area of Fairfax County. The commercial building, a warehouse, is located at 7390 Ward Park Lane.
Firefighters reported heavy fire from the front with flames rising more than 50 feet above the roofline of the two-story, 100 by 300 foot warehouse. The warehouse was fully involved with fire causing firefighters to fight the fire from the exterior. The fire was brought under control in approximately 90 minutes. Subsequently, a third alarm was requested bringing over 90 emergency personnel to the scene. There were no reported injuries. The warehouse stored coffee products and housed a woodworking business.
Damage is estimated at $3.7 million.
The cause of the fire is under investigation.”

This fire went to a 3rd alarm and it was a defensive operation with the use of multiple heavy-caliber streams.

One of the issues at that fire was that of a partial collapse. The building being a warehouse type of occupancy is of Type II construction. This type involves the use of non-combustible structural materials but those building elements are not protected as we find in Type I, Fire resistive construction.

When fire conditions are well advanced in Type II, there are a number of factors that can contribute to the failure of different structural components. Steel beams, steel bar joist, metal lintels over bay doors, columns, and exterior walls are all easily affected but in different ways.

Discuss the issues associated with building collapse and/or failure of building components and what the signs of this problem are. What steps and tactical activities do, or should, we take in addressing the issue of structural compromise?

Courtesy of Deputy Fire Chief Jeff Coffman

Think About It...

OK, we talk about the importance of laddering a building. The most important reason for getting this tactic accomplished early and properly is for the emergency exit of members operating on the interior. Take a look at the picture above. IN AN EMERGENCY, which ladders could you use and which one(s) would be a problem making an escape. Remember that if fire is chasing you out of the building, you will NOT be able to get high in a window opening, but will most likely be trying to crawl or slink out staying as low on the window sill as possible. Take a look also at what else should be done at window openings to which ladders are placed.

(Courtesy of Deputy Fire Chief Jeff Coffman)

Watch the video at end of posting...

THROWING LADDERS. The term we use to place ground ladders in position so we can get in, get out and for us to get trapped civilians out. If we train and train and train on doing that and have enough people to do it-it generally works pretty well on the fire scene. A recent video from Massachusetts shows FF's not doing it as well as could have been...with a civilian trapped. Before we saw the video, we wrote a commentary on how important staffing is when responding to a fire. Staffing on your apparatus or as a part of an automatic mutual aid program for the first alarm assignment-which is reality these days-is critical. Very few small and medium size FD's (and even some bigger ones) can meet the staffing goals of NFPA 1710-but it can be done way better by combining resources as a part of an area or regional 1st alarm assignment. What's the goal? As we have stated for years, to have plenty of FF's to (at minimum) establish water, vent, enter, search/rescue and hit the fire when reports have people are inside....and to attempt to do it simultaneously under a boss (and support functions) in command and in control.

But when we saw that video of the FF's attempting to raise the large ground ladder-we started to think about FD's who ask for more staffing-but then perhaps aren't training the staffing they have to the max. In other words, it could be said by those who oppose more staffing "why do you need more when you aren't training the ones you have to do the job as best as possible when needed" ?

Any FD fighting for more staffing would have trouble arguing the point. By asking the question: What are we doing to train and safely use the current personnel we have...can go a long way in being a key ingredient in justifying more personnel. If aggressive training is happening and companies are operating as "as effectively and as safely as possible" on the fireground with what we have to work with, we can then show "those who decide" how much more good we can do if we were provided more staffing...or given more companies on the 1st alarm assignment. No matter what the staffing-a regularly trained FF is always going to be a better bet than one who has not been training.

FDNY has the best staffing and the best written and trained upon operating procedures we have seen. Of course, like anywhere, it doesn't always work perfectly, but for the most part, they have a good system of operating that a probie is taught from the start. If you are on a truck company and you are assigned to "this" task-that's how you will do that task. If you are on an engine, and are assigned a task-that's how they expect that task to be done. From the Chief to the probie-they all speak the same "operating" language so there is a level of expectation and consistency with time proven outcomes. Companies and the officers of those companies know what is expected and what to do. Chiefs overseeing them expect tasks to be performed automatically-because the members have been trained that way from the start...and the staffing matches the required functions.

There are always going to be some that don't like one FD or another-usually for some pretty dumb reasons like "their trucks are green" or "their Deputy Chief's mustache needs trimming" ...you know what I mean. Of course, there are some who have never even been to NY but don't like how FDNY operates. But like them or not, it is hard to argue that FDNY "gets it" when it comes to staffing and they "get it" when it comes to the functions of a fire company. Take a few seconds and watch this video sent to me by a friend this morning that shows the urgency as well as the efficiency required when people are trapped in a fire and ground ladders are used to make the rescue. Throwing ladders is a basic task taught in probie school-but if we haven't drilled on it or don't have enough companies on the 1st alarm to throw the ladders (no matter what color trucks they arrive in or what town they come from)...the outcome is predictable.
Here is the video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ugot3sLPTKU
Take Care,
BillyG
The Secret List 12-27-07/1145 hours
www.FireFighterCloseCalls.com

Think About It...

We have many buildings that have large open areas. Schools, warehouses, malls, churches, etc.

Discuss three issues in dealing with fires in these areas.

1. Hose or fire stream deployment and operation.
2. Ventilation operations
3. Search or evacuation operations.

Include a review of the hazards associated with operating in these large open areas and what building characteristics may be present that can cause your crew problems.

(Courtesy of Deputy Fire Chief Jeff Coffman)

BANG - BOOM - KABOOM!

Don’t Fight Explosives Fires!

from Bill Schumm at Firegeezer.com - editors note - Bill is a retired Captain from Fairfax County. He opened Firehouse 26..."Guardians of the Slab"

We have had many close calls here in Fairfax County. Great info below!

One of the headline-makers yesterday was the truck fire and resulting explosion in a trailer carrying a mining explosive, ANFO - ammonium nitrate mixed with fuel oil. The explosion killed dozens of people gathered around to look at the wreck along with some rescue workers. It is not yet known if the driver informed anyone at the time about his cargo.

Firefighters know (as least, you should know!!) that once you have explosives involved in a fire, then you have an irreversible process ongoing that will result in a catastrophic explosion. That’s why your haz-mat instructors keep preaching to you: “Don’t fight explosives fires!”
Yesterday’s incident brought back to mind a similar event that took place in Kansas City, Mo. 19 years ago. It was on November 29, 1988 that fire dispatch received a call at 0340 hrs. from a construction site security guard reporting a pickup truck on fire at the job site.

Pumper 41 was dispatched and while en route was told by the dispatcher: “Pumper 41, use caution on your call. There’s information there may be explosives. It’s in a construction area …” Upon arrival 6 minutes later, P-41 reported that there was a second fire in a 40-ft. trailer several hundred yards away and requested a 2nd engine company. Pumper 30 was dispatched to assist.

The two engine companies had a total of 6 men on them, 2 captains and 4 firefighters. Four of the six had completed field training on haz-mat identifications and procedures. There were two trailers at the fire scene, one of which was burning, but it is not known if they were placarded. They were being used as storage magazines for ANFO. The one that was burning contained 25,000 lbs. of product and the 2nd trailer held another 30,000 lbs.

Twenty-two minutes after the first company arrived on scene, at 0408 hrs., the burning trailer detonated. The blast had five times the force of the Oklahoma City bombing and immediately killed all six firefighters and destroyed the pumpers. The battalion chief who was responding immediately pulled back, established a remote command post and set up an exclusion zone keeping everybody far away from the blast site. Forty minutes after the first blast, the second trailer detonated.

The first explosion literally vaporized the six firefighters. No single trace of them was ever found. Not so much as a fiber. The two fire engines were blown into bits. The exemplary size-up and tactical decision of the battalion chief to maintain the extended quarantine of the site undoubtedly saved untold others from perishing when the 2nd blast occurred.

The explosions were heard 45 miles away. Think about that for a moment…. Pick a place that is 45 miles from where you are right now and try to imagine hearing something taking place there. And never forget:
Don’t fight explosives fires!

Take a moment to review explosive placards...take some extra time to review all DOT placards. Discuss what the differences are between the hazard classes. What do the small numbers mean? How would you respond to each? 15-20 minutes for this review.

You make the call...

Based on the picture above ask yourselves the following questions:

• Identify the construction features of the building that will help to increase or decrease fire spread.

• List any construction features that may impact the safety of crews operating in or around the building.

• Identify size-up information. What does the situation tell you?

• What is the Benefit to be gained by taking the Risk?

• Is this a Go or No Go situation?

Are there any other considerations to assist our decision to Go or No Go? Is there anything else to add?

As always if you have any pictures or ideas to submit please send us an email at rkuley@yahoo.com. Thanks to JJ Walsh (Batt 7/A) for the info above.