By Tom Brennan
Let’s continue our discussion from last month on the questions that should enter the minds of fire service professionals as they view fireground photographs.
Apparatus placement. Last month, we mentioned trucks too quickly. The greatest training aid is the one where you “catch” the lesson when it isn’t so costly. None is more valuable than discussing truck positions as you see them in photos. Everyone tells you to reposition later, but I am sure that they have never had to do that on the fireground. The professional expert is to get it “almost” right the first time.
Look at the truck. Is that where you would choose to place it based on the fire incident you see at the time? Did the fire extend, or did the truck get itself locked out early on arrival? What about the defensive actions, if applicable? Will the tower stream be made useless by being on the blank sidewalls of commercial infernos? What is the relationship to the wires? What about the aerial tip objectives? Are they the best that they can be—tip at or below the horizontal opening or high enough over a roof to be visible for retreat?
Instead of criticizing another’s operation, discuss what you and your crew would do with the same configuration of obstacles on YOUR fireground.
Operations above the fire. Are there any occupiable floors above the fire location of the structure fire in the photo (your guess at location IS the correct one, so reason out what you see from there)? Remember, operation at interior levels above the original fire location is the most dangerous position at the scene, especially for those performing truck support tactics.
Discuss getting to the floors above the fire from a few perspectives. Where would you create or find refuge points while operating there? Where would you plan to get out of the explosive envelope if necessary—the opposite apartment, secondary exit by portable ladder, personal escape system, or another way?
What are the communication techniques, messages, notifications, and contacts you would want to have and make before and during operations in those areas? What coordination would you ensure between outside and inside teams? What accountability do you give, and what do you expect? What are your secondary escape capabilities and methods? Do they need refresher training? Ask!
Vertical ventilation. Does the roof need to be cut? (We can spend a whole page on this subject.) What tools does your team take to accomplish this tactical mission? Does the fire location indicate flexibility in the tool assignments for the vertical ventilation team?
Where do you cut this roof? What about other roofs in your response area? What roofs are too dangerous to cut? Where are they in your district? What do they look like?
What are some of the problems that ineffective or poor roof-cutting techniques (or absence of them) could cause on the fireground?
What are the forcible entry problems? Are they solved in the picture? How do we force entry into the configurations in our district that are similar to those depicted in the photo? Discuss what your procedures are for double-swinging glass and metal commercial doors. Discuss also heavy security devices and their routine/emergency opening or destruction. This can be a source of lots of drill activity for the aware and eager company officer. Does your team or company build a collection of locking devices from large-loss fire structures?
What are the collapse indicators? Where are they? What could they be? Where would you look for them? To whom and to where would you communicate to monitor your concerns? Is collapse a consideration at this moment in this photograph? What things would you seek more information about from the inside of the building? What things would you encourage command to monitor by questioning from an outside position? What available building data and preplan information would you pay more than just routine attention to at this scene?
Horizontal ventilation. Is there sufficient horizontal ventilation at the fire in the photo? What would you do differently? What would you enhance? Are there sufficient portable ladders? What about their placement? What do you think the portable ladders in the photo were used for?
Check for unsafe practices you see in the photo that are reasonably correctable immediately by anyone on the scene, that can be discussed at the scene critique and corrected for the future, that need to be the subject of a company drill, that should be addressed formally in operating procedures or policy, or that are acceptable risk for the situation evolving.
Company officer value. What roles should the company officers or various units play at scenes like this in your district? What positions would you recommend they take, functions should they perform, impact factors should they be aware of, and decisions will they face for THIS fire location and for the immediate future as you predict additional problems—especially for truck functions?
I hope you see that our covers may be one of the most valuable tools in this magazine. Have fun with them. Criticize for sure, but rectify for yourself also (more important). Take this one down, and put up the next!
TOM BRENNAN has more than 35 years of fire service experience. His career spans more than 20 years with the Fire Department of New York as well as four years as chief of the Waterbury (CT) Fire Department. He was the editor of Fire Engineering for eight years and currently is a technical editor. He is co-editor of The Fire Chief’s Handbook, Fifth Edition (Fire Engineering Books, 1995). He was the recipient of the 1998 Fire Engineering Lifetime Achievement Award. Brennan is featured in the video Brennan and Bruno Un-plugged (Fire Engineering/FDIC, 1999). He is a regular contributor to Firenuggets.com.
