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Storage in the Stairs

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We know the importance of inspections and identifying hazards in the buildings that we serve and respond to.  This is just a simple reminder of one hazard that depending on it's location in the building, can be missed.

Combustible storage under stairs or in the stairwell can cause some serious problems.  Even in sprinklered buildings this is a hazard.

The pictures you seeshows a pile of combustible storage in the stairwell and under the stairs in a hotel.  You can also see that this is in the means of egress area next to the exit door.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Smoke from a fire from these combustible materials can make the use of the stairwell almost impossible and access for firefighters difficult.  Occupants are expected to use the stairs during a fire and a large mass of people filling a smoke filled stairwell is disastrous.

This building also is equipped with standpipes in the stairwells, so making that connection would be difficult for fire crews trying to make the connection.

Keep an eye on your buildings and explain this situations to your crews to impress the importance of inspections and mitigating these hazards before they become problems.

Train hard and stay safe.

Jason

Posted by on June 25, 2011 • Filed under: administration-leadership, command-leadership, fire codes, fire sprinklers, fire-prevention-education, fires, high rise, inspections, situational awareness, size up, training-development • Tagged: , , , ,

Standpipe Crowding

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We have discussed standpipes in the past, but I think it is worth mentioning again. Standpipes in large and high rise buildings are our water source. It is important to know the location of these devices and to ensure that they are not obstructed.

In addition we need to know and understand if they have pressure reducing devices and how that affects our operations.  Study up on these systems and know how to adapt and trouble shoot the stand pipes in your area.

The picture shown is a stand pipe in a hotel. I went to ice in the hotel I was staying in and this was right next to the ice machine.  I didn't measure it, but this standpipe would be very difficult to connect to. Additionally, if we did get connected with hose only, there would certainly be a kink at the coupling, further reducing our pressure.  

This might be a time when we would try to put an elbow on the connection prior to connecting our hose.  However, I think that with this particular standpipe connection, it would be a stretch just to get the elbow connected as well.

Know your buildings and their systems. Prepare for these types of problems and come up with solutions before you have a fire. Thanks for reading and train hard.

Jason

Posted by on June 19, 2011 • Filed under: buildling construction, command-leadership, fire codes, fire-prevention-education, fire-rescue-topics, firefighter-safety-health, firefighting-operations, fires, high rise, inspections, situational awareness, training-fire-rescue-topics • Tagged: , , , , , , ,

The Door to Nowhere

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We have all been taught to control the door. I have watched countless firefighters try to kick in doors, bulldoze their way through them along with every other tactic that does not include a set of irons.  Here is one reason why control in forcing doors is so important.

This door is in a city hall that my son was practicing in. The area that the door is in used to be a balcony that goes all the way around the gym with two doors that lead to the main floor of city hall.  Over the years, as they ran out of space, they began to make office space on that balcony.  

The door is almost always locked and access to this area is likely to be searched during a fire.  The hazard here is obvious, but the lesson for any situations: control.

By using proper forcible entry techniques with a set of tools, you can control the door and be cautious about what is behind it.  A fall from this door could be disasterous. We have to be ever diligent to master the basics.  A lack of basic forcible entry skills could result in a Mayday and RIT situation which makes a hazardous situation even more so.

Be smart, know your area and train hard. Master those basic skills and require it of your crew if your the boss. Stay safe and thanks for reading.

Jason

Posted by on June 12, 2011 • Filed under: administration-leadership, buildling construction, command-leadership, fire-rescue-topics, firefighter-safety-health, firefighting-operations, forcible entry, inspections, mayday, rescues, RIT, self rescue, situational awareness, size up • Tagged: , , , , , , ,

Engine House Training, LLC

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Engine House Training, LLC is a new training group based in St. Louis, MO. We have been doing training together for a long time and finally decided to do something formal with it.  As much as we like to train, we are great friends and have a blast with what ever we are doing.

The web site and blog site are not fully operational yet, but blogs should be coming in the next day or so.  In the meantime, we have launched our Facebook page and would really like to have you check it out.  We have already posted a great deal of material to the page and some of it you have seen before from this site.  You can also follow us on Twitter.

The primary mission with Engine House Training, LLC is to give firefighters the tools they need to survive each and every call.  Although our curriculum is based on self survival, Mayday, and RIT, we place a heavy emphasis on basic skills that will hopefully keep firefighters from needing to use the techniques that we teach.

Here is a quick list of our instructors and their backgrounds:

 

Jason:
  Jason Hoevelmann is a Deputy Chief with the Sullivan Fire Protection District and a firefighter/paramedic with the Florissant Valley Fire Protection District. He has over 20 years of fire service experience and has been an instructor for the last 15 years. He is Instructor Level II and Officer II. He holds a BS in Fire Service Administration from Eastern Oregon University and presents at FDIC and Fire Rescue International as well as other regional conferences.  He has been published in Fire Engineering magazine and OnScene magaizine and writes a monthly column on FireRescue1.com. He is on Missouri Strike Teams 5 and 3.  He is a board member of the ISFSI, a board of director on the IAFC/FLSS and is on NFPA Technical committees for Fire Officer qualifiations and Fire Service Instructor qualifications.
 
 
Gary Graf:
  Gary is a Battalion Chief/Training Officer with the Pacific Fire Protection District. Gary has been in the fire service for over 20 years. Gary helps coordinates training for Tri County Training, Franklin/Jefferson County Task Force 5 and for MUFTRI.  Gary has specialized in all aspects of rescue and firefighter survival.
 
Dave Konys:
Dave is a Captain with the Sullivan Fire Protection District and has been in the fire service for over 10 years. Dave is a fire service instructor 1 and has taught extensively on firefighter safety and survival.
 
Frank Lipski:
 Frank is a firefighter/paramedic with the Florissant Valley Fire Protection District and has been in the fire service for over 15 years.  Frank holds a Bachelors of Science in Fire Science from Columbia Southern University. Frank specializes in rope rescue and firefighter safety and survival techniques.  He is a member of St. Louis County Task Force 3 and is a Swiftwater Rescue Technician.
 
Andy Seers:
Andy is a Captain/Paramedic with the Creve Coeur Fire Protection and has been in the fire service for the past twenty one years. He holds an Associates Degree in Fire Protection Technology and is a Level I certified fire service instructor by the State of Missouri. He is a member of the St. Louis County Strike Team 3 and the St. Louis Co Hazardous Material Team.  He has been teaching safety and survival training throughout the State of Missouri for the past ten years. 
 
We appreciate your support and hope to have a long relationship in the fire service with all of you.  If there is anything we can do for you, please do not hesitate to ask.
 
In Training,
Jason, Gary, Dave, Andy and Frank

 

Posted by on June 4, 2011 • Filed under: administration-leadership, command-leadership, fdic 2011, fire-rescue-topics, firefighter-safety-health, firefighting-operations, MUFRTI, rescues, RIT, scba, search, self rescue, situational awareness, size up, special-operations, training-development, training-fire-rescue-topics • Tagged: , , , , , ,