In addition to remembering our fallen troops, I thought it would be fitting to add a special post to remember our fallen Brothers and Sisters in the fire service.
Stay safe.
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The Beverly Hills Supper Club was remodeled and upgraded and opened in 1971. It had previously gone through many changes and the original building had burned in the late 1930′s.
It had changed hands, sat vacant and been an off and on hot spot for several years until it was the primary club for top notch entertainment and high class amenities.
On May 28th, 1977, the place was packed with visitors that were expecting a night of glamor and star entertainer John Davidson. It is uncertain exactly how many patrons were in attendance that evening, but estimations put the number at approximately 3,000 at the entire facility with 1300 in the Cabaret Room. There were multiple events taking place in multiple rooms which were all filled to or over capacity, according to reports.
In the Cabaret Room alone, people were squeezed in and sat in aisles and ramps that would be exit pathways. Some of these ramps led to the stage and people were placed there in order to get as many people into the room as possible.
Smoke was first noticed in the Zebra Room by two waitresses sometime around 2100 hours. They noticed a dense smoke in the room and they notified management. The fire department was called within a few minutes and extinguishers were used on the fire with no effectiveness. Within 10 minutes, the fire had spread to the Cabaret Room and things would turn tragic very fast.
Here is quote from one of the first arriving firefighters about what he saw, “When I got to the inside doors, which is about 30 feet inside the building, I saw these big double doors, and people were stacked like cordwood. There were clear up to the top. They just kept diving out on each other trying to get out. I looked back over the pile of – it wasn’t dead people, there were dead and alive in that pile – and I went in and I just started to grab them two at a time and pull them off the stack, and drag them out…” , Bruce Rath, a Fort Thomas firefighter.
The results of this night were that 165 people lost their lives that night. The reports were not much different from the Cocoanut Grove fire some 30 years prior.
-Overcrowding of the facility, namely the Cabaret Room. The room had a listed occupancy load of 615 -756 people. That night, it was estimated that nearly 1300 people were in the room, almost double the allowed load.
-For the size of the facility Kentucky law required that there should have been at least 27.5 exits for the occupant load, there were only 16.5.
-The wiring was considered inadequate and it was stated that it would have never passed inspection by an electrician who inspected the electrical work.
-There were no fire walls to prohibit the spread of fire from one area to another.
-No sprinkler system and no audible fire alarm system.
-The local volunteer fire department acknowledged that there were issues, but had not ordered any of them to be corrected. (I was unable to find out if the department had fire or building codes ordinances at the time of the fire.)
-There were reports of locked doors.
These factors are all too familiar. We see the same failures in these large loss of life fires in assembly occupancies. We sometimes take our inspections and prevention activities lightly because it is not “fun” or interesting to some. Remember these fires and the lives that have been lost because of poor prevention measures and a lack of life safety measures in these buildings.
Below are some links where you can get more information and much of the sources for this post were from the Cincinnati Enquirer.
Until next time, stay safe, do your inspections with conviction and stay low.
http://www.enquirer.com/beverlyhills/lives.html
Since posting the video on PPV, I have been sent links to many other videos on PPV, ventilation and flashover. Some were good and some not so good. This one I thought was a good video to sit down and take a look at with your crew.
There are some things that can be learned from this video. We weren’t there from the onset, but valuable information can be taken away from this video.
If you have links for videos or your own that you think would be beneficial, pass them on to us and we will take a look and post them if appropriate.
Take care, stay safe and stay low.
This is a video I found on The Bravest Online. This website has some great content and very current fire related videos that can be used for information and training ideas.
This video is from the Salt Lake City area and shows what can happen when you have hidden fire and use a positive pressure fan with crews inside the building.
Find more videos like this on firevideo.net
There are many thoughts on this tactic and you should follow your local SOP or guideline.
A couple of weeks ago I had the pleasure to and honor to be a guest on Firefighter Netcast hosted by Rhett Fleitz of The Fire Critic and John Mitchell from Fire Daily. It truly was a great experience and I want to thank John and Rhett (the most interesting man in the world!) for the opportunity.
The two of them were great hosts and I couldn’t have asked for a better experience. I just hope I met their expectations and the ratings didn’t drop too bad.
Anyway, if you haven’t taken a look and a listen to what John and Rhett are doing, you are missing out. They are having conversations with guests from all spectrums of the fire service. This is going to set the standard for fire service podcasts, in my opinion.
I after three weeks, I just now listened to the webcast that I did with John and Rhett. I had a great deal of trepidation to listen to myself. I had no hesitations in doing the show, but I don’t like to listen to myself, it just seems weird. To my surprise, John edited the show in a manner that was first class and actually made me sound okay. Not great and you may have a different opinion, but it was tolerable.
A Firefighter’s Own Worst Enemy-Firefighter Netcast
I am providing you the link to the show and please go back and listen to all of their past shows. You can also catch Art Chief Reason with his new show, The Voice of Reason, which debuted last week and was a huge success. Stay tuned because Tiger Schmittendorf will debut his new show, too. And, to make it real easy, you can catch them on iTunes Podcasts and download to your iPod or iPhone.
I have met all of these guys with the exception of Chief Art, and they are all first class. I have talked to Art and he doesn’t lack in the area of class. Here is the thing; tune in to when these shows are live. Get on the chat rooms and call in. These guests and the hosts want your input, suggestions and questions. This is here for you, the firefighter and emergency worker. These people are here to provide you with information and they really care about what you need and the questions that you have.
So, check them out and thanks for all of the support thus far. Give us feedback and feel free to send in your ideas and suggestions. If you have material you want to have posted, send it in and we’ll get it up with credit to you.
As always, take care and stay safe out there.
Remembering those who have fallen at FDIC 2010. Every time I hear this I get goose bumps. I was there, and it truly was a great time. There is nothing like hundreds of firefighters raising a cup to those who paid the ultimate sacrifice.
What a great tribute from the Pipes and Drummers from all over the country that made this tribute and gave us a moment to reflect.
Never forget, always remember, and always serve with honor.
This is a good video from our friends and fellow bloggers at Traditions Training. It shows proper packaging and removal up a stairwell.
Remember, these videos are for reference and information only. You have to drill and practice these skills with an instructor that has the background and experience to ensure proper technique.
Train hard and stay safe.
On May 17th, 1923 in Camden, South Carolina, over 300 people were packed in the Cleveland school.
The Cleveland School circa 1920's
They were there for a children’s graduation play that ended in tragedy. News from the small town would be known all over the country by morning.
The play was a tradition that would be the last that night. It was announced that the school would close after this school year and that these would be the last students to pass through these halls.
The building was a two-story, wooden frame building with the auditorium and stage on the second floor. The key feature of the second floor was a 30 inch staircase which was the only exit from the second floor.
As was customary in those days, oil lamps were burned when night fell. They hung along the corridor and above the stage. At approximately 21:00 hours a lamp that was above the stage fell and started a fire on the stage. There were attempts to put the fire out with coats but the fire spread to the stage curtains.
With the room being filled beyond capacity and the obstacle of chairs, the exiting of people was difficult at best. As people realized that the exit was jammed, they started jumping out of the second story windows and were severely injured. The room was dark, filled with smoke and getting hotter and more putrid.
As the stair way was full with people stuck on them, they finally gave way from the weight, spilling them to the floor below. At the same time, the upper floor was also slipping onto the floor below.
That night 77 people lost their lives at a school event that should have ended with celebration and refreshments. Instead the community was tasked with finding the bodies of those who did not make it out.
There is a reason we have fire codes and building codes. It also shows the importance of inspections and code enforcement. Over the years we have made great strides in fire prevention and fire codes. But, we have to make sure that corridors are free of clutter and that protection systems are in place and maintained.
Stay diligent and keep your community safe before the fire starts.
You can find more on this fire at http://www.scarboroughgenealogy.com/Cleveland.htm
Pictures are from the same site listed above.
Last night I had the pleasure to listen to and get in on a discussion on Art Chief Reason’s new FirefighterNetcast radio show. The show was fantastic and the content was interesting and stimulating. However, the topic that came up that really got my attention was when he and Dave dove into the subject of risk vs. benefit and safety vs. extinguishment. I know, I know, this has been beaten with a sledge hammer over our collective heads for the last year or so. But, I just can’t figure one thing out; when did it become okay to perform different risk analysis and size-ups for assumed different buildings?
Now listen, I understand that if a vacant building is leaning and crumbling you have to take a different approach, but overall, your first 90 seconds should be very similar, if not the same, on every a call. I don’t buy into the segregation of calls and how you look at them in theoretical terms. I think that this is a crash course for failure. Oh, and I get that a commercial building is different from a residential building, but the basics are the same.
Before you start slamming me on this, hear me out. We are taught as company officers to size-up a call and/or building as soon as we get the dispatch. We should be familiar with our area and resources that are or are not backing us up. We should be more than competent at basic size-up skills and ideally get a look at three sides of the building before we ever get off the apparatus. We can determine within seconds and relay to our back stepper what size line to pull and give instructions to incoming units before we hit the ground.
We have heard of and there are some teaching victim profiling; determining if there is someone in the building or not and if it is survivable. While I understand what is trying to be done in regards to keeping ourselves safe, why should it be any different from your size-up and basic training as a company officer? A building is tenable or it is not, no matter if it is occupied or not occupied.
Decisions, decisions.
It seems to me that the real problem is intermingled between fewer fires, thus we have less real-world experience. The second part of this is that we have not compensated for that lack of real-world experience as a whole. The experience we cannot help, but the training has to change for company officers and improve.
The fire officer when confronted with a crisis situation pulls from past experiences to determine what he should do. Those past experiences include actual calls, education and training. We have already determined that we are all getting less experience because fires are down. The other part of this is that the training has to be meaningful and relevant.
If our training doesn’t match what we are expected to do under extreme circumstances, we will fail to make the proper decision at those times. So, when the company officer pulls up and has a working fire in any building, he is pulling from his past experiences, or lack of, to make his decision on a course of action to take. This is critical and I think it goes back to mastering the basics and being able to identify potentially hazardous conditions at any fire without trying to run down two separate matrixes based on occupied/unoccupied. That is just confusing.
When an officer pulls up to the building or situation his experience and training will kick in if trained appropriately. Whether it is a two-story, occupied house or a single-story vacant house, the process should be the same and the decisions made from the same variables identified by the company officer.
–What is showing?
–What kind of construction?
–Life safety indicators?
–Conditions at present time and where will they be in 5 minutes?
–360
–Is it safe to enter or is it not?
These seem simple, but several other factors can be determined from each of these and the company officer will make these decisions in seconds and minutes. If the building is not safe to enter, don’t enter. If there is a chance to search safely, whether occupied or not, search. If the building can safely be entered to extinguish the fire, whether occupied or not, enter and extinguish the fire. If the building is not structurally sound, occupied or not, don’t enter. Why make it so hard?
I truly believe we can over think some of this. If we have officers making bad decisions, we need to look at our training and drills. We need to look at what emphasis we put on career/professional development and make sure our fire ground leaders are competent. But, don’t confuse the issue by buzz phrases and methods that just complicate fire ground decisions.
The bottom line is that the sooner we put a fire out, the better opportunity any victims will have. Use common sense and training and past experiences to make prudent, sound decisions that take into account all factors.
I am sure that I will rub someone the wrong way with this, but I have been kicking this around for a long time and thought I would try to put in the blogosphere. So, no offense meant and train hard and frequently. Don’t complicate things, remember our mission and master the basics.
Tenable or not tenable, vacant or not.
CMC Rope Rescue Tech 1 & 2
I recently took a rope rescue technician class given by CMC. This is just one of many pictures I took during the class. The class was a week long and there was very little classroom time; almost all in the field.
This picture is an evolution for passing a knot during a rappel. It was a challenging drill, but fun and important.
I will post more from this class in the coming days. If you have pictures or information about technical rescues, post them or pass them on and we will get them posted.
Take care and stay safe.
Great video again from Dale Pekel. You can find his stuff on YouTube and he is very precise and specific with is instruction. Obviously, this type of system is not for everyone and not all firefighters carry a harness on their gear. But the information is very informative and important.
Ahhh, the good ole days!
Are you making a difference? It is a simple question that requires a “yes” or “no” answer. So, which is it?
The fire service is full of opportunities for people to take advantage of to better themselves. Are you taking advantage of those opportunities?
It is easy to go to work and sit down at the kitchen table and complain about what needs to be done that day. It is easy to come into work and complain about training or not doing it unless we are directed. It is easy to go home and completely forget about the job and never take another class outside of work again. Are we doing our best?
I recently had some folks complain about the amount of training we do at my career department. (He thinks we do too much!) The bad thing is that it was coming from a captain! My comment was simple, what is enough? He has a daughter who plays sports and I asked about how and when she practiced. He explained that she did practice at least 3 times a week.
Then I asked if she practiced after her games began and he answered “yes.” Why, I asked, the games have started and they should be experts by this time, so why are they still practicing since the games have started? He started to see where this was going and started to get agitated with me.
I simply wanted to know if his daughter’s coach would quit practicing just because the games had started and he finally caved and said that no, they kept practicing. Of course they keep practicing. Skills fade and you need to prepare for the next team.
You hear pro teams talk about it all of the time; we have to watch game film, we have to prepare for their defensive schemes or we just weren’t as prepared as they were. It is no different for us. Our enemy never takes a day off. Our opponent never quits and is always ready to take us out. We have to keep preparing.
We know of the guy that gets out of the academy and never does anything extra for the rest of his career. The guy that gets promoted and then calls it quits on training and classes. This is not the way to beat the other team for 30 years of a career.
We must continually train and gain knowledge. Not only on new issues but, we must re-learn things that we have forgotten or not done in a while. We owe it to ourselves to be safe and experts in our profession so we get home safe to our family. We also owe our partners to be as good as we can be so that they have the confidence in us to know that we will be there if something goes bad.
Look in the mirror and ask yourself, “Am I doing enough?”. Be honest, are you doing enough to make a difference?
Is one day a month, like this particular captain wants to train, enough for you? I hope not. You have to stay motivated and keep up the fight. Train and keep training. Read and keep reading. Take classes and pass on the information.
Be fair to yourself, your family and your fellow firefighters; make a difference and do the right things.
Take care and stay safe!
Chicago Fire Department Fire Academy
I recently had the opportunity to visit the Chicago Fire Department’s Fire Academy for a class. When I walked in the door I was met by a trip into the past.
As you can see from the first picture, there are some significant pieces of fire service history sitting in the lobby like this old steam pump.
Most importantly, they have a very
Remember the Fallen.
detailed account of historical events that shaped the Chicago Fire Department over the past 200 hundred-plus years. These accounts list famous fires like the Iriquois Theater Fire, The Great Chicago Fire and Our Lady of the Angels, just to name a few.
Detailed accounts of these fires made me really appreciate the struggles and improvements that have shaped and molded what the fire service is today. We are the benefactors of great firefighters from the past and we should take time to remember this.
As I made a right from the lobby, there is a short hallway that honors the fallen Chicago firefighters over the past 200 plus years. They have a badge for each one in a glass case and it is sobering to say the least. There is a great number of badges on that wall for those that made the ultimate sacrafice. When you see how many have given their lives for their fellow man, it truly is a humbling experience.
There are also some boots and helmets on small pedastals below the badged wall. These were molded from the equipment of some fallen Brothers that are displayed in memorium of their sacrafices. To see this and to touch them sent chills up my spine. It could be any of us.
The important point of this is that between all of the debating, the infighting, the politics, the training or lack there of and everything else, we need to remember our mission as a fire service. We need to remember the responsibility we have to protect our citizens while at the same time taking care of our own.
The fire service has always been known as an extended family and it always will be. Take some time to learn about your departments “family tree” and honor it. Serve our profession with pride and be honorable at all times. Do your best and make all of us proud.
Be careful and take care.
Today is a day that has great significance to me. It was 19 20 years ago today that I lost one of the most important and influential people in my life: my cousin Tom Henson. Tom was on a tractor, taking it back to his father-in-law and was struck by a drunk driver. I could go on about the accident and his injuries, but this is about the profound impact he had on me his entire life.
Tom is the reason that I am in the fire service and he played a huge role in who I am as an individual. I remember at around the age of 8, I was at his house and he would have been 16. He was a junior firefighter and left on a call. I can remember the orange coveralls that he had, the orange hat that had the Sullivan Volunteer Fire Department emblem screened on it and I remember the urgency with which he left.
The next time he left for a call when I was with him, I rode with him to the firehouse. He did not have blue lights or sirens so his drive was quiet, but I can remember the excitement of going on a "call." He pulled up and ran to the doors to catch a truck. I don't remember what kind of call it was, but I remember sitting in his truck and listening to the scanner until he got back. It was the highlight of the day for sure.
The fire service influence not withstanding, he influenced everything in my life to some degree. I remember getting a KISS album for my birthday from him when I was 7 years old. And I loved it; my mom was not so thrilled, however. I loved listening to what he listened to. I loved watching sports that he liked. The funny thing is, I never had to pretend to like any of it because I actually liked it. In return, Tom never pretended to like hanging out with his younger cousin who was 8 years his junior, he genuinely enjoyed it. He will never know how much I appreciated that.
My grandmother lived just a few blocks up the road from the firehouse. After my grandfather passed away in 1982, all of the grandchildren would take turns spending the night on weekends. Well, Tom had a little rebelious period and lived there for a while. Well, I loved it and would spend all the time there that I could.
I can remember one cold, winter night, Tom and his friend Chuck, (who is the Assistant Chief for the city of Columbia, MO) were there and a house fire came out. It was probably around 11:00PM when it came in. I sat there for about three hours and listened to the call. When I knew they were close to getting home, I threw in some frozen pizzas and made sure they had something to eat when they got back. They, of course, thought that was great.
On other nights that he was on calls I would stay up and listen. Many nights I would fix myself something to eat and have a soda, just waiting for him to get back and tell me all about the call. One particular night I fixed a pizza and went to the fridge to get a soda. There was a Blues Hockey cup in there with soda already in it. Not wanting it to get flat, I just figured I would drink it and make him a new one when he got back. It tasted a little funny, but was okay with the pizza. He got back, looking for his soda with Wild Turkey in it. He quite amused to learn that I had drank it.
As I got older I couldn't wait to turn 13. That was the age that I could become a "junior firefighter." Tom started working on my parents as the date got close and with a little prodding he got them to let me join. It was one of the happiest days in my life to that point. Now, I was able to hang out with Tom at the firehouse and go on some calls with him. It was a great time in my life.
Now when I spent the night at my grandmother's and the sirens went off or I heard it on the scanner, I would run down to the corner and wait for someone to stop and pick me up. Many times it was Tom, but others would give me lift too. If nobody came or stopped, I would run the four blocks to the firehouse. It was a great way to spend my weekends.
As I got older I got very involved in athletics. Tom got hired on at a career department in St. Louis County and this only made me want to do that same thing that much more. One thing I will never forget is how on evenings, Tom would show up at my ball games. Whether it would be basketball in the winter or baseball in the summer, he was there quite a bit. I always wanted him to be proud of me and it meant a lot to me for him to take the time.
I remember my junior year in high school, we went to state in baseball. It just so happen to be in Columbia at the University of Missouri. Well, this was the same time as Summer Fire School and Tom was up there for that. There is always a good time had by all at this event, if you know what I mean. Tom took the time on a Friday night to come watch us play ball. That is just who and how he was with everyone: he truly cared for those close to him.
I went through a rough spell right out of high school and lost touch with the fire service for a couple of years. The one constant was always Tom and his advice. He was my post to lean on and he never complained, although I know he was frustrated with me. My goal was still to become a career firefighter and he gave sound advice that has served me well.
Tom touched so many lives and was so important to so many that I will never know. He is still a huge part of how I act and who I am today. Most of the positive attributes that I have today are because of my parents, my wife and Tom. His influence on my life at such a young age is immeasurable.
The day of his accident I saw him twice. I drove by Harry's Tire and thought about stopping, but didn't. The second time he was at his dad's with the tractor and I was a block over at my girlfriend's (wife now) house. Again, I considered walking over to say "hey", and didn't. I regret it every day of my life.
Today is "Tom Henson Day" as far as I am concerned. Tom left a positive stamp on thousands of people. Those who knew and loved him, and those who only had brief encounters with him. I thank God for the time that I had with him. My only hope is that I can be that genuine, caring and fun-loving to those around and near me.
The fire service lost a great ambassador on May 11, 1991, but his legacy and accomplishments both professionally and most importantly, personally will never be lost nor forgotten.
The bottom line is this: None of what I have accomplished in the fire service would have been possible had it not been for Tom and his influence on me and the values he instilled in me regarding the fire service.
God Bless you, Thomas Henson. Thanks, too.
Check this blog.
Here is blog site that is worth checking out. It is called Firefighter Basics and is ran by Marques Bush. I had the pleasure of spending some time with Marques at FDIC 2010 and he is a true friend and great ambassador of the fire service.
The blog site has some really great drill and training ideas and is centered around that. He also has different contributing authors who write some very interesting articles, the newest blogger being Jeff Schwering from my neck of the woods in St. Louis County.
Put this one on your list and give Marques and Jeff some good feed back.
Stay safe and take care.
Here is a short but good video from our friends at Brotherhood Instructors and Urban Firefighter Magazine on taking the window.
Do yourself and those inside a favor, take the entire window.
Train and stay safe.
Okay, will it teeter or totter?
Here is one for all of you technical rescue folks.
This was emailed to me and I admit that I don’t know the origins or circumstances.
However, as you can see we have two problems with this scenario: the piece of equipment tilted and the boom in the house.
Let’s for the sake of a good drill say that the reason that the boom did this is because the operator had a medical emergency and is still in the cab. In addition, there are folks in the house trapped.
I know its a lot to think about, but hey, have fun with it. This is not my forte, but the picture was just too good not to use.
Let us know what you would do and how.
Thanks and stay safe.
Look for secondary means of egress for basements too.
We have all heard and been taught to do a 360 of the structure during a working fire.
There is some debate, but this is becoming common practice and there are several things to look for.
The picture is a bulk head for a basement. We have always been taught and trained to look for and create a secondary means of egress for upper floors. Well, it’s no different for basements.
When you make entry, especially if the fire has not been isolated, make sure that either you open it during the 360 if it’s not locked or that the information is relayed to the next in crew to cut the lock.
Cut the locks to ensure crews can exit if needed.
It may be as simple as cutting a padlock or as difficult as forcing a door or security bars.
It is important to create this exit to safety for the crews operating inside. It might just be what saves their lives.
Stay safe, be smart and train hard.
The second day of HOT classes at FDIC 2010 was RIT Combat Drills with Assistant Chief of Pittsburgh, Jim Crawford and his crew. This day was an eight hour day and it was challenging to say the least.
There were two houses set up for scenarios and evolutions to simulate downed firefighters and the techniques to rescue them. There were four stations at each house: lowering, deployment, lifting and the Pittsburgh Drill.
The deployment was designed to deploy a rescue team with air, rope and some hand tools to find the downed firefighter and to stabilize the situation and to determine what resources will be needed. In addition, this drill required us to remove the downed firefighter as fast as possible after getting him air and with just the tools we brought in.
The lowering drill required the team to raise a ladder to a second story window and send in a rescue team. While the rescue team was searching the room, the ladder was moved to the roof level to set up a lowering system to lower the firefighter from. The interior crew had to secure the downed firefighter with straps/webbing and get him out the window while the crew on the ground lowered him down.
The Pittsburgh Drill was by far the most challenging drill of the day. This video shows the basic concept, but we were more confined in a smaller area and the downed firefighter dummy had an air tank on that had to be manipulated during the removal. The rescue team had to low profile at least twice and in some instances, four times during this drill while having our masked blacked out.
The lifting drill had a downed firefighter trapped under debris. The RIT crew had to make entry, figure out the best way to extricate the firefighter and what equipment would be needed. In most cases, this was performed with airbags and with cribbing. The most difficult aspects of this drill were coordinating the airbag lifts and communicating without visibility.
The final drill was a scenario where all the drills we went through would be applicable for a final rescue of three Maydays. It was a team building exercise and multiple teams were needed to rescue one victim. Air management is paramount and the teams must understand when to call in the next team without running out of air.
I would highly recommend this class to anyone wanting a real challenge. The instructors were supportive and provided a great deal of experience and knowledge to back up the drills.
Thanks to Frank Lipski at Firefighting101 for the lowering video.
Train hard and be careful.
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