Share your strategies, tactics and experience! Every Friday we’ll post a picture or video and want to get your take on the situation.
THE SCENARIO: Check out the video and let us know how you would handle it. Ready…Go!
Enjoy & Be Safe!
Share your strategies, tactics and experience! Every Friday we’ll post a picture or video and want to get your take on the situation.
THE SCENARIO: You’re wearing all the hats today! You’re dispatched to a reported “structure” fire. It’s the middle of the week during Christmas vacation and the neighbors don’t know if the kids are there or not.
Posted in Administration & Leadership, Command & Leadership, Dispatch & Communications, Emergency Communications, Fire Dispatch, Fire Rescue Topics, Firefighter Safety & Health, Firefighting Operations, Fires, Major Incidents, News, Rescues, Technology & Communications, Training, Training & Development, Uncategorized
Make training, professionalism and pride part of your New Year’s resolution! We’re in the process of building our 2012 calendar with intense, realistic hands-on training, interactive classroom events and good old-fashioned brotherhood. A couple of events already scheduled include:
VSP is one of the hottest topics of conversation in the fire service today. Captain Marsar’s research has taken the fire service by storm and has created an interesting “new” flavor of the month for those who feed on “firefighter safety through spectatorship”. Maybe it was because of my animosity for the “let it burn” folks within our profession that I was initially against the concept of deciding if a building is searchable from the front yard and was unfairly biased. However, the more I read about and discuss it the more I realize that I HAVE ALWAYS PERFORMED VSP!
Is this a size-up or Victim Survivability Profiling (VSP)?
Our priorities of life safety, incident stabilization and property conservation (LIP) are one of the first things that you learn when you get into this job. As our training continues, we learn about phases of fire, flashover and how to “read” smoke. Then, hopefully, someone taught you about Lloyd Layman’s tactical considerations of RECEO VS (rescue, exposures, confinement, extinguishment, overhaul… vent and salvage… in that order). What is supposed to happen is, you take all this knowledge, fight a few fires, learn from them, reapply as necessary then repeat.
As this process continues over years, you hone your skills, learn from your misreads, mistakes and close calls (or better yet someone else’s) and get better and smarter. After time, you become the “senior man” or the officer in charge and get to use that knowledge and experience. YOU decide mode of operation, where and how to position the first line and where/how to start a search. NOW YOU GET TO DECIDE WHO LIVES AND WHO DIES. If a civilian dies at one of “your” fires, DID YOU AND YOUR CREW (as an extension of you) DO EVERYTHING IN YOUR POWER TO PROTECT THEIR LIFE in the manner you were taught your first week of fire training?
TENABLE versus VIABLE, THERE IS A DIFFERENCE. Tenable may depend on smoke, heat, flame and interior layout of the occupancy or any combination. Things are NOT always as they appear from the exterior. Viability MAY be related to tenability, however occupant age, health and relative location to the fire all impact how long someone may be “viable”. For that matter, our actions may directly impact tenability and how long someone may be viable.
How efficiently the first line gets stretched, advanced and water gets on the fire will have the greatest impact on tenability. The time it takes us to get the smoke out of the building will also directly and greatly drive how long someone may be viable. However, the only location on the fireground that is the most tenable AND protects viability is OUTSIDE. Getting IN, searching tenable areas and pulling people OUT of the buildings is the only true way of holding up our end of the deal.
One of my favorite quotes from Chief John Salka is “You don’t know what you don’t know.” We live and work in the unknown and OUR REALITY is making decision based on limited or unknown information. Sometimes a situation leads us into some dangerous areas based on conditions, information and YOUR gut feeling. These factors may lead you through or around “untenable” areas into those “voids” where panicked civilians seek refuge when faced with no exit and certain death. They are not condemned to death; they are just waiting for us to come in a get them. That’s where our training, experience, discipline and professionalism are put to the test. It is not our job to decide who lives and who dies. It is our job to do our job by getting water on the fire, letting the smoke and heat out and helping the helpless.
Posted in Administration & Leadership, Command & Leadership, Fire Prevention & Education, Fire Rescue Topics, Firefighter Safety & Health, Firefighting Operations, Fires, Funding & Staffing, In the Line of Duty, Line of Duty, Major Incidents, News, Rescues, Technology & Communications, Training, Training & Development, Videos
Saws, irons, ladders and rescues were the flavor of week for our brothers in Bluffton, SC. Safe Firefighter, LLC just wrapped up a RIC Refresher for the Bluffton Township Fire District. Training included calling the Mayday, self-rescue, rapid intervention crew assignments and operations and performing proactive RIC tasks.
Luckily, each company was able to train with their own crew which made the training that much better. As a result of their hard work, the BTFD logged the following stats:
Posted in Administration & Leadership, Command & Leadership, Fire Rescue Topics, Firefighter Safety & Health, Firefighting Operations, Fires, In the Line of Duty, Line of Duty, Mass Casualty Incident, News, News and New Stuff, Rescues, Special Operations, Training & Development, training-fire-rescue-topics, Uncategorized
Are you looking for quality, cost-effective Fire Service training options?
I’m excited to be a part of a new training event series that will bring first-rate education and hands-on training to affordable, regional locations. There are two events this fall from Go>Forward Training:
Gateway Midwest in St. Charles, MO, Oct. 21-23
Liberty Regional in King of Prussia, PA, Nov. 4-6
Over the weekend, more than 18 educators will teach 30+ sessions for firefighters, company officers & chiefs. The instructor lineup features a combination of speakers – both big names you’ll recognize and some new faces with fresh perspectives. Pre-conference seminars will start two days before with big fire service names such as Tim Sendelbach, Alan Brunacini, Dennis Rubin and Rich Gasaway.
These unique and fully interactive events will feature hands-on training, conferences and social opportunities all geared towards making you a better firefighter, officer and leader!
The hands-on training includes classes like RIT, Forcible Entry, Man-in-Machine, Engine Co. Officer Development and more – and you can choose two-day progressive classes or combine hands-on and conference sessions. And there’s time for social sessions and 1:1 interaction with peers and instructors, so you can really build your network.
I’m excited to be teaching “S.A.F.E. Firefighter: Smart, Aggressive, Fundamental, Efficient” in both locations, and also “Get Your Head In The Game: Size Up for Every Seat” in Pennsylvania.
“S.A.F.E. Firefighter…Your” This class will compare what we learn in the classroom to working on the street. We will talk about that dirty little word; “aggressive”, how it is perceived and how aggressive mentalities should be applied in the fire service. We will also talk about firehouse and fire ground fundamentals. Finally, we will discuss how to bring all of these concepts together, apply them to your daily life as a firefighter and the impact that it will have on your crew and department.
“Get Your Head in the Game…” This “kitchen table” style training will introduce new ideas for performing en route size ups, initial on scene reports and traditional on-going assessments. Participants will be able to interact during open-forum conservations and tabletop scenarios comparing “old school” and “new school” fire conditions, strategies and tactics. Regardless of experience level, everyone will get great feedback, ideas and drills to take home and share.
To check out these events and register, go to www.goforwardtraining.com.
Check out this promo for a documentary on Detroit Fire Department. It’s a great video and can really put things into perspective.
Be SAFE
“What you showed me isn’t in the book. What are the Chiefs gonna say if I do this? Are you gonna have my back if I do this and someone says something?”
This is a real quote from a firefighter at a recent training. As an instructor and a fire officer, one of the “hurdles” I have encountered is that people have FF1, FF2, a cape and a “S” on their chest. However, when they pull up with fire blowing, they don’t know whether to stretch a line or go fetal.
We seem to always worry about what “the book”, the Chief or a lawyer will say. Also, we are so worried about book knowledge and pieces of paper that we fail to learn the real life application of our job.
A buddy of mine took a class from Mike Ciampo at FDIC. In that class, Ciampo told them that he didn’t agree with the term “tricks of the trade” because the “the tricks ARE the trade”. We are losing, or have lost, mentorship and skill sharing in the fire service. If we don’t learn it in “the Essentials” or take an online class about it, it doesn’t exist. Then we wonder why firefighters die.
I’ve gotten deer in the headlight looks when asking firefighters what they would do if their preconnect didn’t reach, how to size up a handline and what “shocking the door” was. Guys have told me that we offensively attack fire with a wide fog and didn’t know what “the irons” were. And we wonder why firefighters die.
Safety is more than just a buzz word, a sticker on a helmet or a program. True safety is grassroots, its hands-on and its continuous. It’s being proactive instead of reactive. A couple of nuggets that I remember from Tom Brennan are his desire to perform “seven tasks all at once” and to “make the building behave the way WE want it to”. If our training and operations more closely mirrored this approach, we may see the LODD numbers continue to drop.
WE WOULD LOVE TO HEAR YOUR THOUGHTS ON THIS!
Thanks and be SAFE
This post is written out of respect for our fallen brothers in Chicago and to all of us who respond to fires in these types of buildings. This is NOT a commentary, only a sharing of considerations, in general, for fighting fires in vacant/abandoned buildings.
How does your department operate at vacant building fires? Do your operations change? Does your personal mindset change?
A wall collapse that reportedly trapped and/or injured over a dozen firefighters at a vacant/ abandoned commercial building fire in Chicago has turned out to be a double Line Of Duty Death. Numerous other firefighters were injured during the collapse and/or rescue efforts.
The topic of firefighting in so-called vacant buildings is always an interesting, and sometimes heated, kitchen table discussion. I wanted to share some points of consideration that have been passed on to me when operating at fires in vacant buildings.
Here are three basic considerations for strategic and tactical decision making in vacant buildings:
1) Life Safety (occupants, vagrants & firefighters)
How did the fire start? If this fire is in a truly vacant structure, theoretically utilities have been disconnected. Though spontaneous combustion sounds good, we have to assume a person started the fire, for any number of reasons, and that a life hazard is present. Some of these reasons may include:
Always remember, we are not the judge or the jury. Our job is to search for ANYONE who may be savable inside a burning building and rescue them. In doing so, however, we have to ALWAYS be aware of our surroundings and the conditions. If the building is too far gone, it’s gone. If areas are searchable and things get too risky, be a strong enough leader to pull the plug.
2) Incident Stabilization
The best way to make a fire safer is to put it out! There are collateral risks involved with allowing a fire to burn when it is (or was) controllable.
3) Property Conservation
Simply put…THE FIRE DEPARTMENT CANNOT AFFORD TO LET BUILDINGS BURN. If we start letting buildings burn OR make lack luster efforts at suppressing fires, the ramifications could impact operations, politics, finances and perhaps most importantly, loss of public trust.
Not all “vacant” buildings are derelict (though some are) and likewise some buildings are simply empty but still can be occupied/ leased/ bought or whatever. IT’S NOT OUR JOB TO THINK LIKE REAL ESTATE BROKERS, SLUMLORDS OR DEVELOPERS. IT’S OUR JOB TO THINK LIKE FIREFIGHTERS and DO WHAT WE DO BEST which is SAVE LIVES, PUT OUT FIRE & PROTECT PROPERTY.
I know these considerations are not very creative, however they are time tested. Also consider that things (i.e. fires) are not always black and white.
By the nature of our job, we work in the gray area. Conditions are never ideal, information is never complete and resources are never enough. WE STILL HAVE TO GET THE JOB DONE!
We all know that firefighting is UNAVOIDABLY dangerous. Though firefighters have been injured or worse as a result of poor decision making, sometimes we get hurt or die despite making solid decisions despite ample experience and the best information and resources available. The best way to prevent future tragic events is to study and learn from close calls and LODD and honor those who have fallen by learning from their incident and educating ourselves and others to recognize common situations.
RIP Brothers Stringer and Ankum
Thanks and Be SAFE
Roll Call for October 9 through October 22
SAFE Firefighter is going to give an overview of how WE did as a fire service from Saturday to Friday of every week. Please feel free to leave comments or add comments with links to additional information. Thanks and Be SAFE!
Roll Call for the week of October 9 through October 22…
LODD-RFB
Civilian Fire Deaths
Close Calls
Other News
SAFE Firefighter is going to give an overview of how WE did as a fire service from Sunday to Saturday of every week. Please feel free to leave comments or add comments with links to additional information. Thanks and Be SAFE!
Roll Call for the week of October 3 through October 9…
LODD-RFB
Civilian Fire Deaths
Close Calls
Other News
SAFE Firefighter is going to give an overview of how WE did as a fire service from Sunday to Saturday of every week. This will include LODD, Civilian Deaths, Close Calls and any other interesting stuff. Please feel free to leave comments or add comments with links to additional information. Thanks and Be SAFE!
Roll Call for the week of September 26- October 2…
LODD-RFB
Civilian Fire Deaths
Close Calls-
Hello to all,
Live STREAMING coverage of this weekend’s NFFF Memorial Weekend will be available at www.safefirefighter.com. Coverage will begin on Saturday October 2 for the Candlelight Service at 6:45 pm EDT, and will continue on
Sunday October 3 during the Memorial Service at 9:30 am EDT.
FTM-PTB-DTRT-EGH-RFB-KTF
Thanks, Be SAFE
DUTY (du·ty) –noun
SERVICE (serv·ice) –noun
VALOR (val·or) –noun
At no time in the fire service’s history were the above words better personified than on September 11, 2001 when 343 FDNY firefighters gave their lives to save thousands during the attacks that day.
A bittersweet day, 9/11 not only made America proud of its firefighters but it made our job, already one of the most proud and respected professions, a little more profound.
The entire world watched as FDNY firefighters climbed the towers, in full gear and with ALL necessary equipment. Memories, video and pictures from that day remind us of the overwhelmed, but determined look on the face of many of New York’s bravest, many of whom gave their last wishes to friends and colleagues before they went in to the towers.
According to NIST, an estimated 17,400 people were inside the Towers at the time of the attack. Of the 2,606 civilians who died, 1366 were at or above the point of impact and subsequent fire, leaving 16,034 presumably “viable” rescues to be made by FDNY. 1,240 additional civilians would perish at the World Trade Center. In all 14,794 civilians survived the attacks on the World Trade Center. (1)
Their altruistic effort demonstrated duty, service and valor in their purest forms and could only be described EPIC.
According to the 2009 NFPA reports, “Fire Loss in the United States during 2009” and “Firefighter Fatalities in the United States- 2009”, respectively, there were 3,010 civilian fire deaths in structure fires and 17 firefighter deaths in structure fires in 2009. This equates to approximately 177 civilian deaths to every one firefighter death.
In my opinion, what is startling about this is that I routinely read, see and hear people speaking AGAINST primary searches. Some say “searching without a hoseline is too dangerous” while others believe that the products of combustion are too toxic for survivability. I also routinely see and hear people complain about carrying tools. WHAT?
We have transitioned into a time where the children of 9/11, the kids who were in elementary school in 2001, are enlisting to fight the war that was started that day. They are willing to risk, even sacrifice, their lives for their country and their fellow soldiers because it is their DUTY. They are choosing to SERVE their country and continue to demonstrate VALOR in the face of an ever-changing enemy. Sound familiar? THEY HAVE NOT FORGOTTEN.
REMEMBER. Remember how you felt the day you saw our brothers charging in to the Towers. Remember how you felt when you watched them fall. Remember how your community supported and cherished you for what you do. Remember that it is our selfless duty to serve the public and, if necessary, act with valor to save savable lives and property even if we have to risk our own life.
Whatever you do…NEVER FORGET!
Bonus Word:
ALTRUISM (al·tru·ism) –noun
Sources:
(1) Wikipedia
(2) NFPA Report on “Fire Loss in the United States during 2009”
(3) NFPA Report on “Firefighter Fatalities in the United States- 2009”
(4) All definitions are from www.dictionary.com
In July there were 6 Line Of Duty Deaths:
In summary, there were 3 LODD attributed to stress/overexertion, 2 attributed to trauma and 1 attributed to a cerebrovascular accident.
It is difficult, if not impossible to prevent all types of health related deaths. Some conditions are underlying, hereditary or have sudden onset with an unknown cause. Sometimes the best we can do is maintain vigilance in participating in annual health physicals, including stress tests, to try to discover the problems before they become life threatening. The combination of annual physicals and maintaining a healthy diet and routine exercise can be the best prevention of health related LODD.
RFB
FTM-PTB and Be Safe
Posted in Line Of Duty Deaths
It’s already been 2 years since the sofa superstore fire in charleston, sc. I was on duty that night, surfing the web when I caught a headline that (at that time) 2 firefighters were missing at a commercial building fire in charleston. My crew stayed up (pretty much) all night as the count continued to rise.
It hit home for us because a friend of ours works on the first due Truck to that area and we knew that if it was good fire, he’d be in the middle of it. The feeling that we had was a combination of and denial, disbelief and gut-wrench. Remembering that feeling actually brings it back and reminds me that what I felt is nothing compared to what those who lost loved ones feel every single day.
That fire is probably one of the most widely critiqued fire that I’ve ever seen (appropriately). If you’ve read the “Routley Report”, listened to the audio and read the articles, you probably know that there are tremendous lessons to be learned from that fire.
Did you, or your department, learn any lessons from the tragedy in Charleston? If not, that also is a tragedy. That fire and the two years that have followed have brought tremendous change to the cfd. DiD your department use the “Routley Report” as a tool to improve it’s command, Accountability, RIT, radio or daily operations?
The only truly appropriate and adequate way for us as a fire service to honor our fallen Brothers and sisters is to learn from the circumstances and events leading up to, and contributing to, their sacrifice.
FTM-PTB & Be Safe
Posted in Discussions, Line Of Duty Deaths, Safety and Health
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