By Tony Carroll
This month’s Firefighter Survival Campaign remembers Captain Jeff Bowen from the Asheville (NC) Fire Department. Captain Bowen lost his life fighting a fire six years ago on July 28, 2011. The fire occurred in a six-story medical building. You know the one…it’s a non-combustible structure with a standpipe but no sprinklers (there were sprinklers in one area), and the fire department goes to false alarms in it. An arsonist lit a fire on the sixth floor. There were some operational issues which affected the firefight.
Here are links to the story:
Fallen Asheville (NC) Firefighter Remembered Five Years Later
One thing which hindered the escape was the maze-like setting of the fifth floor. This month’s drill will help with situational awareness. Why do we setup on the floor below when operating in these kinds of buildings? ne reason is to get familiar with the layout. For this drill, report to one of your neighborhood buildings and “respond to a fire in room #X.” Have members access the reported floor via the stairwell and, before they cross the threshold, obscure their vision and tell them to find the fire room.
In honor of Capt. Jeff Bowen, please try this drill. It’s pretty basic, but firefighter survival starts with the basics. Send in pictures of you and your crew performing the drill to mayday.monday@dc.gov. See you next month. Train to live and live to train.
Tony Carroll is a captain with the safety office of the District of Columbia Fire & EMS Department.
