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Moving and Flood Water–Be Careful and Prepared

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With the recent storms that are hitting the majority of the country, I wanted to take a minute to ask everyone to take a little extra caution when confronting moving and flood water.

It is important to remember that just because it doesn't look fast doesn't mean it isn't dangerous. Any moving water, no matter how slow it looks is dangerous and should be treated as such.

Some fundamental reminders; Don't drive into flood or moving water.  You have no idea what the conditions of the driving surface are underneath the water. It may be shallow but the power of water can  alter and significantly damage the road surface below the water line.  In some instances that portion of the road could be washed away completely.

Just like a firefighter or responder would not enter the HOT zone in a hazmat and perform technician level tasks, the same should be true with moving water.  There are skills associated with tech level training that others don't have.  The last thing we need is a responder not reading water conditions correctly and getting caught up in a strainer situation or worse.

Wear your appropriate PPE. If anyone is within 10-15 feet of the water, personal floatation devices should be worn.  And they should be worn without bunker gear. This all comes back to training and skills.  Be diligent and take the appropriate precautions.

If you are operating in moving water and units are in boats and in the water, have a back up plan.  In the pictures you will see that we were operating in flood water that is moving with the river.  We sent crews up stream in boats to retrieve a strander boater.  Although we had to wait on the bank, we didn't just sit around.

Put out some throw bags at interval spacing with a few personnel to deploy them.  If a boat capsizes or a person falls into the water we will be prepared to deploy the throw bags.  Make sure your people on the bank and in the boats are wearing floatation devices.

Think ahead of time and have a back up plan.  Use safety equipment and don't operate outside the scope of your training.

Stay safe and like REO says, "Keep riding the storm out!"

 

Jason

Posted by on April 28, 2011 • Filed under: fire-rescue-topics, firefighter-safety-health, firefighting-operations, rescues, self rescue, situational awareness, special-operations, training-fire-rescue-topics • Tagged: , , , , ,

Where Goes the Second Line?

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We all know that it is easy to fall into a rut when it comes to training and even operating at what is labeled the "routine" call. Especially for those that are in suburban, mostly bedroom communities.  

If your like most of the country, you pull past the house to get three sides, stretch a pre-connected hand line and make entry into the front door.  Does this sound familiar to anyone?  And, more times than not, this works just fine.

However, sometimes the bigger issue becomes where to take the second line? What apparatus does it come from and what size should it be?  What about the length?

For most single-family, single story homes, line placement becomes mundane and we get a bit complacent.  The second line many times gets pulled from the same rig as the attack line and goes in the same door as the attack line.

Again, I prefer a seconday apparatus for the back up line, but in most house fires the front door is appropriate for the back up line too.  Of course, it all depends on what is taking place and many other variables as well.

One of the biggest problems I see quite often is on two story house fires.  The first line goes to the fire up stairs and the back up line is at the door.  One of the primary concerns is the integrity of those stairs.  That second line needs to go to the stairs to protect the egress for the crew operating on the second floor.

The same has to be done if you have an attack team on the first floor and a search team on the second; a line needs to be deployed to the stairs.  We must protect that  egress point.  In addition, note changing conditions to the search team and the attack team.  Maybe the fire has spread or can't be found by the attack team and your observations are important.

What are your operational guidelines for the back up line?  Share you experiences and thoughts.

As always, stay safe and train hard.

Jason

Posted by on April 23, 2011 • Filed under: buildling construction, command-leadership, fire-rescue-topics, firefighter-safety-health, firefighting-operations, fires, rescues, RIT, search, situational awareness, Uncategorized • Tagged: , , , , , , , ,

Basement Rescue Video

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Here is a great video of some basement removal techniques.   This is another video from Dale Pekel, who looks like he may have gotten a promotion? Dale?  Anyway, these props are able to be used for multiple drills and Dale is very generous with how to build them.

These two techniques are great and you can see that one must be comfortable and well trained in the use of the SCBA. Confidence comes from continued use and training.  You must master the basics and know your tools like the back of your hand.  This allows you to perform the more advanced tasks without worrying about the simple things because they become second nature.

Train hard and stay safe. Thanks Dale for another great video.

 

Jason

Posted by on April 14, 2011 • Filed under: buildling construction, fire-rescue-topics, firefighter-safety-health, rescues, RIT, scba, self rescue, situational awareness, size up, training-development, training-fire-rescue-topics • Tagged: , , , , , , , , , ,

Basement Considerations

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With the recent posts about the anniversary of the Colerain-Township LODD from 2008, I thought I would provide some thoughts about basements and some of the things we can do to better prepare.

It recent years it seems we hear a lot about firefighters being killed and injured in residential fires where the basement was involved.  There are a few reasons for this including changing building construction as in the use of engineered i-joists and the heavy fire loads that we have in basements.  In addition, most houses with basements don't just use them for storage anymore. Basements are used as active living spaces increasing activity, heating and electrical demands that were not always present in the past.

One thing that we can do to help prevent some of these issues is to know what we are dealing with.  Probably one of the most important tasks a fire officer can do when arriving on the scene of a residential fire is to complete a 360 walk around of that building.  This gives us information we cannot obtain by darting for the front door.

By seeing all four sides of the fire building we can see if the seat of the fire is in the basement and may allow us a more direct attack from the same level as the fire reducing the chances of floor failure.  We are also able to see hazards that impede our egress if a quick escape is necessary.  It gives us an idea of our options for ventilation and fire control.

The pictures show some of the hazards that we can find and keep mind of during our 360.  Exterior stair wells are altered and secured causing us difficulty making an egress.  This is a perfect time for the first due officer to relay these findings to the next due or the RIT crew.  These other units should cut locks, open bulk heads and make sure the egress points of the basement are accessible.

Additionally, we need to know the characteristics of the buildings in our still area.  This is a picture of a house that is approximately 50 years old and the stairs to the basement are in the garage.  Not knowing this could put our initial attack team at risk by searching the main level while fire is burning under them increasing the chances of a failure.  Some of these homes have no outside exit and we must protect the stairs for the basement crew just like we would for a crew that ascend to a floor above us.

Take some time to look around your area and discuss these issues with your crew.  Prepare your newer members for that thermal layer as you descend the stairs into a basement.  We all know what that first experience is like.  Train hard and don't forget to do that 360, it may just save your life.

Train hard and stay safe,

Jason

Posted by on April 8, 2011 • Filed under: buildling construction, engineered lumber, fire-rescue-topics, firefighter-safety-health, firefighting-operations, fires, i joists, line-of-duty, rescues, search, self rescue, situational awareness, size up, training-development, training-fire-rescue-topics, Uncategorized • Tagged: , , , , , , ,