Please take the time to read the article in the link. While so many cities and government agencies are slashing public safety, this city is doing the exact opposite.

Council considers budget cuts to find money for public safety staff

Stay safe and pass this on to others, especially if they are a politician with tough decisions to make.

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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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What hose stretch would you use?

Here is an example of store fronts that are off of the street. This is like an alley that runs parallel  perpendicular to the main streets.

In most cases, these have a tax payer on the main level and residential units on the upper floors.

You can see that hose deployment is a priority and should be picked carefully.  The wrong choice could be very detrimental.  This brings up a good question: what type of hose loads do you use and deploy for non-traditional lays?

How long are they and what other uses are they good for?  What sizes and configurations do you use?  Where do you keep these loads and how are they loaded?

We have to remember that the atypical fire requires atypical tactics in some cases and the norm of pulling a 1 3/4 inch cross lay or speed load just isn’t going to get it done.

Train hard and be careful.

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How often do you practice with these?

So, we all have these on some piece of our fleet. Most places will have a set of  these on every truck.

The questions that I want to pose are these: How often do you drill with them? What are the instances that you would use them? Do you every practice with gloves and low/zero visibility?

I know that where I am we don’t use these very often but the potential certainly is there.  I have seen many drills where they get aired up and then put away.  It is also important to understand where they are useful other than vehicle rescues.

The main area I am pointing to here is RIT or FAST activities.  If you include this in your RIT cache, do you regularly drill in zero or low visibility. Let  me tell you, it is a totally different experience.

You must understand leverage points and counter points or balances. Whatever terminology you want to use, if you lift from one side, you have to expect the opposite to move as well.

So, when you drill for these, lift something, anything, like pallets with full visibility. Watch what happens to the opposite side of the lift and make notes. When you get into the dark you will have to crib, raise, and lower all by feel. Oh, and up on red and down on blue is difficult at best.

After training, let us know how you identify the difference and how you communicate those instructions.

Keep up the good work and train hard.

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This may seem a bit simplistic, but I am always surprised when I ask someone to close their eyes and hand this prop to them. After I hand them the hose I ask which way they would go to get out of a building?

Follow the Male Lugs Out

This is typically with no gloves on and they are just standing or sitting there, so they are not stressed or in a tough situation. But, most get it wrong.  Why?

Well, I say it is because of the lack of fundamentals and not enough training on the simple stuff.  In this instance it is basics of hose, in my humble opinion anyway.

If you are well versed in hose operations and how the hose is deployed and which end of an attack line is at the truck and which end is inside the building, you should have no problem with this “pop quiz.”

Take the time to learn about your hose.  More on hose lays later, but this little drill that can be done anywhere and any time is valuable and a good discussion starter.

By the way, when they tell you which way they would follow, make them tell you “why” so that you know they aren’t just guessing and watch them squirm.

Remember the fundamentals and stay safe.

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Here is a synopsis of a challenging call from a neighboring volunteer department.  This is written by Chief Daniel Whatley of the Bourbon Fire Protection District in Bourbon, MO.  Pictures were provided by him as well.

Just goes to show that you need to be ready for anything.

On June 13, 2010 Bourbon Firefighters were called to a local farm for a report of a horse on the second story of a barn.  When fire personnel arrived they noticed that the 1500 lbs equestrian was greeting them at the second story hay loft doors.  Caretakers of the horse said that the horse had been chased up the stairs by other horses.  They attempted to lead the horse down with food to no avail, prompting the call to 911.

Assistant Fire Chief Jared Boast contacted the owner of the horse which happened to be a veterinarian in St Louis and was on his way to assist as well as a local vet.  Given the complexity of the rescue, additional resources had to be contacted to facilitate the removal.  Eureka Fire Protection District in St Louis County was notified with their Technical Rescue team that has an Equestrian Search Team and also performs large animal rescues.  Local business owner Tim Reinhold of TRE responded to the scene with a crane for the ultimate removal of the animal.

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Upon the arrival of the veterinarians and Eureka Fire the incident moved swiftly.  A header for the second story hay loft was removed to facilitate the cranes boom to be maneuvered into the second story.  Veterinarians mildly sedated the horse for the rigging procedure.  Eureka Fire secured the horse to the crane using their specialized rigging equipment for large animals.  Ultimately the equestrian had to have additional sedation for the lowering procedure and was removed from the second story to the ground below.  The horse was removed from harness and released uninjured.

Many ideas had circulated throughout the incident of different ways to remove the horse many good and a few not so good.  Without knowing the resources of different specialized teams in the area, the outcome may have been worse for the animal.  With this not being Eureka Fire’s first “rodeo” things moved smoothly and upon their arrival, the horse was lowered to the ground safely within 20 minutes.

www.bourbonfire.org

www.efpd.org

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I recently was in downtown St. Louis with my family for a day with the kids before school started.  We were across the street from the building in the picture.

What you see in this picture is just a row of windows, right?  Well, they are labeled, which is nice because if they weren’t there could be big problems.

You can see in the second picture that the labels identify this as an elevator shaft.  This is a heads up move for the building department and/or fire department for requiring this labeling.

Just imagine trying to make entry or counting dwelling/unit windows for RIT or emergency escape and finding out about this later.

This is just another example of knowing your area and the unique construction methods that are used.

Get in your buildings and be familiar. Had these not been labeled and a significant fire broke out here, this could have caused some serious problems.

Just for fun, what kinds of problems can we identify as a result of these windows not being labeled?  I look forward to hearing some great ideas.

Stay safe and be careful.

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I debated myself on whether I should post this video or not. I don’t like to be critical of fire departments and how they handled a call. I, and many others have made poor decisions on the fire ground over the years and we will likely make unintentional mistakes in the future. After all, we are human.

But, the more I thought about it the more I believe that there is just too much to learn from here. Notice the word learn? This video is being shared as a learning tool and to show how easy it is to fall into the trap of thinking it will never happen to me.  We have all been there and done that and this video will hopefully provide as a reminder of what we need to consider on the fire ground.

So, I ask you, what is to be learned here?  What lessons would you share with your crew and fellow firefighters?  Be constructive and not critical.  Remember, you never know when the camera will be on you and I know I am not perfect.

Let’s learn something that will keep us safe and make us better and thank the guy who filmed and posted the video for the experience.

Stay safe and be careful.

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Forcible entry is an ongoing skill that must be practiced. A huge part of that is knowing your doors and construction of entry ways.

On a recent inspection we started discussing getting into these locked doors that are pass-coded for the resident’s protection.

As you can see, this is an outward swinging door that should be reasonable easy to force with the right tools and skill.  Of course, in my experiences people aren’t spending as much time as they should practicing forcible entry techniques.

As a crew we started discussing how we would gain entry. One method is very simple and can be done with one tool.

Bust out the window, this one has no wire mesh, and drop the tool down to engage the panic bar.

I know this is very simple, but it can be effective if you only have one tool. You also have to have a good idea about the interior workings of the door.  Showing again the importance of getting familiar with your buildings.

Stay safe and use your time out and about wisely.

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We were recently going through a large senior residential occupancy. This occupancy has 7 wings and several different stairwells.

Not all of the stairwells have standpipes in them.  Most were typical connections with a valve and 2 1/2 inch connection. As you can see in this picture, this one was not a typical seen in a stairwell.

At the left of riser you can see the standpipe connection.  They basically put the sprinkler room in the stairwell.

If you weren’t familiar with this, a person might just start turning valves or just think that there is not a standpipe connection at all.

The point here is that not all standpipe connections are created the same. Nor are all sprinkler rooms in a closet.

Get to know your buildings and the systems that operate in them. You never know when you will need to use them.

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