This post is just a simple challenge of tactical considerations.  The photos that are posted show a single-family house that had fire venting from the C/D corner when first units arrived.  The first in crews could not make the entire hallway on the first push do to intense heat and smoke.

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The smoke was banked almost to the floor even with the fire venting from that corner bedroom.

What are some considerations that must be looked at with this fire?  What would be your next plan of action?  Why ist there so much heat and smoke with the fire venting the exterior?  What is your size up?

Share your thoughts and answers with everyone and use this as discussion with your crew.  

As always, train hard and stay safe,

Jason

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As with most departments, and mine is no different,  trying to get guys in the habit of throwing ground ladders takes a lot of work.  We know the benefits of doing this and there is a great article in the most current issue of Urban Firefighter Magazine that gives some great direction on how and when to use these valuable tools.

Typically, those throwing the ladders are the firefighters and officers  riding on the trucks and not those that are driving them. There are some exceptions to this rule depending on how your department operates.  In the area that I work, the apparatus driver is tasked with water supply and support.

Any time we have multiple stories we want ladders thrown. Any time we have people on the roof, we want ladders thrown.  It is an important task and one that must be trained on and made a permanent part of your operations.  However, this post is not about the actual act of throwing the ladder, but how we can make this job easier for those that do.

As apparatus drivers when we pull up to the scene of a working fire we are thinking about charging the appropriate line, getting the right gallons per minute to your interior crews and finding a water supply source before the tank water is exhausted.  That is a lot to do and you normally do it all on your own.  Well, there is one more thing I would like you to add to your list.

Depending on what type of configuration you have on your apparatus, the ladders on today’s engines and trucks are not convenient to get to.  We have them on the top of the truck so that they have to be lowered to get to them. They are placed “through the tank” with an access panel on the rear of the apparatus which if you lay line can make them impossible to remove because they are blocked by charged lines coming off of the truck from a rear discharge.  There aren’t many traditional stowed ladder configurations on apparatus anymore.

As operators we have to keep this mind. The photo I have posted shows the lowering arm that the ladders are stowed on.  This arm is lowered for firefighters to gain access. One of the downfalls to this is that the access to compartment space is limited, but not entirely blocked.

Once we get water to our crew and have established a water supply, take a second to check overhead and on the side for obstructions and lower the ladder arm.  If ladders are needed they are ready for deployment and easy to get to.  The RIT crew can use them for preventative measures by throwing ladders to create an egress point for firefighters and rescue teams can use them to make quick access to upper floors for search and rescue.

What about the compartments?  Before you lower the rack, take out the equipment that is most commonly used that must be deployed fast and have it ready to go.  On this particular truck, the PPV fan, the RIT bag and some spare SCBA bottles would be removed prior to lowering the rack.

Get familiar with your ladders and how they are removed. Know what obstacles you might face in placing the ladders in operation based on your apparatus configuration.  Be prepared and train on these facts.

As always, follow your local guidelines for operating on the fireground.  We must continue to train and do the simple things perfect. Master the basics and don’t forget to use your ground ladders.

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This is a little off the beaten path for me and my blogs, but it is something that I have been paying more attention to lately.  I have been laid up from a hernia repair and have been reading and doing a little research for other projects and it occurred to me that I utilize the same three books on a regular basis.

No matter what level you are at in the fire service, you should be building a decent sized library of fire/emergency related books.  This is one more method to staying sharp and on top of your game.  Having quality information to turn to for those forgotten tricks of the trade or to remember a characteristic of a certain type of construction is paramount and makes you a better firefighter.

Here are the three books that I use on a regular basis and why.

1. “Building Construction for the Fire Service,” 3rd Edition, by Francis L. Brannigan.

This book was one I got during the mid 90′s for a college course and I have it highlighted, marked and it is never too far from my grasp. The great thing about this book is that it has never gotten outdated.  The information is still relevant and insightful.  This is definitely one book that should be on your shelf.

Make sure you look at the “Tactical Considerations” in the chapters that give some ideas on how to apply the lessons to firefighting tactics.

2.  ”Collapse of Burning Buildings: A Guide to Fireground Safety,”  by Vincent Dunn

This book has a great deal of content that is covered in Brannigan’s book but more directly applied to the collapse of these buildings.  Chief Dunn goes into great detail how these buildings collapse and the problems that different types of collapses cause.

The illustrations are great examples for those that need some visual help and you can apply this information immediately as a firefighter and fire officer.  This book is a great tool to have company discussions with. Sit down with your crew and pick a chapter or topic and start playing out scenarios in your jurisdiction where these dangers exist.

3. “Safety and Survival on the Fireground,” by Vincent Dunn.

This book is everything firefighting.  Just about anything that you want to know about firefighting is in here. The great thing is that the information is short, to the point and easy to apply to situations.

Keeping these books and others within reach is a good way to stay engaged. These resources gives you valuable information at your fingertips when you need it. It is also a good way to pass on information to others and to have meaningful conversation about “fire stuff.”

Stay safe and keep your mind on the task at hand, becoming a better firefighter.

Other places to get books for the fire service:

Fire Engineering

Fire Service Books

FireBooks.com

FireRescue1

IFSTA

The Fire Barn

These are just a few, if you know of others, please let us know.

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We all know that every roof is different and creates a new challenge. I thought I would post some more obvious challenges for us when we get on the roof.

The first two pictures show a flat roof of a hospital doctors building. This roof is a single story building and is at least 25 years old. As we can see, this roof has a top covering of gravel with an under layer of membrane and tar over metal decking.

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This roof provides a challenge for ventilation because of obvious reasons. The built up membrane and tar with the layer of gravel will make this roof difficult to vent. Even if we can easily scrape away the gravel, the tar and membrane will challenge our saw technique and maintenance. If we are not prepared and not using the correct blades our saws will gum up and make cutting impossible.

The next few photos show skylights that we will mostly see on large, open span buildings. They allow natural lighting and are common in the “big box” buildings that we see in home improvement stores and large grocery and retail stores.

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In some instances these vents/skylights can blend in with the roof surface and become difficult to distinguish from what it is in regards to the actual roof. These are especially dangerous during darkened and smokey conditions. Use caution and these are another reason for building familiarity.

These are not the only challenges that we face, but we will discuss more at another time in a future post.

Take some time and discuss how you would operate on these roofs with your crews.  Are there some experiences that you might have had on these types of roofs that you can share?

Stay safe, train hard and be careful.

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Here is a good video an actual roof ventilation on a two story house. It is a little rough from the helmet cam and I am not a big fan of the music on these types of videos, but the intent on showing a good roof vent is really good.

Take a look and give some props to Ladder24co folks. Stay safe and share your knowledge.

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Here is a pretty good, basic video on VES (vent, enter and search).  It has good demonstration points from the beginning of the operation to the complete search of one room.  The thing I like about this video is the use of two persons for the VES.

Although this can be done with one person, you must weigh the risk vs. benefit, it is ideal to do this with two people.  However your department chooses to perform this function, you must train regularly.

One thing that is not mentioned in the video is the fact that personnel performing VES must be highly trained and experienced. Knowing how to read changing conditions, fire behavior and building construction is a must.

Keep on training and stay safe out there.

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Here is a good video from our buddy Dale Pekel. Dale has a series of great training videos. In this video, he shows some basics about size up and reading smoke.

We have to do more of this, and like Dale says, be proactive. Train hard and we’ll see you on the “big one.”

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Three days of ball busting training evolutions on acquired structures!

If you missed FDIC, you have to make this training event.

I have had the opportunity to spend some time with Nate and  Kevin and they are the real deal.

The training is real and practical.  It is stuff you will use in real life, on real calls.

You just can’t afford to miss this.  The price is right and the location is in the middle of the country.  I just can’t say enough about the classes and teaching style of the Brotherhood Instructors.

Even if you can only make one day, it is worth the travel.  But, beware, you will be whooped by the end of the weekend.

Get to the Brotherhood Instructors Facebook page and look at their videos, blogging and pictures for an idea of what they do.

See you soon and train hard with The Brotherhood!

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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.

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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.

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