FIRE PREVENTION: A C.H.I.E.F. CONCERN
Your thinking for the 1990s should reflect a change in attitude toward prevention-oriented programs.
It was 5:16 a.m. on a chilly Sunday morning in Philadelphia when a call came in to 911 reporting a fire in a private home. On arrival of the first pumper at the scene there was a dense cloud of smoke surrounding the upper levels of the three-story, row-type private dwelling.The officer of the first unit gave a concise initial report to the other responding units informing them of the situation, while the firefighters prepared for an offensive attack. Their actions were quick and automatic. They stretched a preconnected l 3/4 -inch hoseline to the front door. Advancing inside the structure, they encountered a light haze of smoke on the ground floor.
The interior stairs were located along the party wall. Correctly, they chose these steps as the path to the fire floor. On reaching the second level, they observed that smoke was banking down and that the stairway suddenly stopped. Searching the second floor, a firefighter discovered an open door and steps going upward. The steps were narrow and the configuration unusual—it was a winding staircase.
Their ascent was difficult because there was a broken wooden step in the middle of the curve that prevented them from pulling the hose straight up. Once the attack line was flaked, the signal was given and the pump operator pressurized the hose. With a charged line and significant manpower wearing protective clothing, it was time to advance to the fire floor.
At the top of the steps visibility was limited, yet the engine company proceeded when they discovered a human foot and then a leg: It was an unconscious woman. Immediately the tactic shifted—from hose team advancement toward the flame to hose stream protection of the rescue team.
Carrying the unconscious woman back to the narrow staircase was a struggle. Fortunately, the firefighters were able to reposition her unresponsive body onto the steps and lower her to the second floor while the water stream contained the fire to the front rooms and hallway.
Meanwhile, the arriving ladder company split its forces. Primary search and rescue is always the highest priority, but laddering, ventilating, creating a secondary means of egress, and trying to ascertain the number of occupants are also essential. A 35-foot portable ladder was raised to the front of the structure to vent the front windows, thereby eliminating the heat and smoke and reducing the chance of flashover. Once the engine team heard the breaking of window glass and observed the smoke lifting off the floor, they knew from past experience that staging an aggressive attack would now be less risky.
Moments later when I arrived on the scene as the first-due chief, I could see flames issuing from the front windows on the third floor. On hearing reports on the fireground radio channel of an unconscious victim and a narrow stairway I had a feeling that this was no longer an ordinary onefloor fire.
The engine company started to cool the hall and push farther onto the fire floor. With the nozzle fully open and expelling more than 100 gpm onto the ceiling, the fire started to darken down; the flames were surrendering. Just inside the front room and only three feet from a bed we found another human body, facedown and badly bunted. The person appeared to be attempting an escape when overcome by the fire. Our worst fears were realized: Although it was a rapid response and a quick knockdown— with the incident under control in only 11 minutes—it was another sad story of death and destruction.
A CH.I.LF. CONCERN
Members on the fire floor began the ritual of covering the victim, limiting the overhauling, and increasing visibility with portable lights for firefighter safety. Soon the fire marshal arrived to conduct a complete investigation for origin and cause. He sketched the scene, photographed the evidence, and documented the information.
The scene was typical—a mattress and box spring almost totally destroyed, its metal springs collapsed. Even the wooden floor on one side of the bed was weakened by the dropdown fire. The investigation revealed that a lit cigarette ignited the bedding.
Once again, the home —a place of joy and pride—had become an instrument of death, injury, and pain. Fire had claimed its 86th victim of the year, and it was still early December. By year’s end, the number of fire deaths would reach 101.
In this case the storm windows and curtains designed to keep out the cold winter wind allowed the toxic smoke and heat to build up. Although early warning devices were mounted in their proper places, they had never activated. The first-floor smoke detector was in a perfect location but did not have a battery. The one on the second floor was properly mounted in the common hall, but the battery was inserted backward, rendering it inoperable. A mounting plate for a smoke detector was found on the “trinity” floor, but there was no sign of a working unit.
Within 48 hours following the blaze, the first-due engine and ladder companies, along with representatives from the department’s fire prevention division and the local newspaper, visited residents in a two-block radius of the fire scene. Philadelphia firefighters went door-to-door distributing pamphlets on home fire drills and smoke detector maintenance and answering questions. This type of activity is extremely beneficial in the short term, because the community is very receptive to the fire department’s safety messages immediately after a fatal fire or serious injury. However, this alone is not enough. Often the emotional impact fades before long-term, meaningful behavioral changes can take place.
A C.H.I.E.F. PRIORITY
After years of reviewing fire death patterns and removing bodies from burned-out homes, I feel that a dramatic change is long overdue in the fire service—one that requires an organizational outreach to the community and an attitude adjustment on the part of most firefighters so that fire prevention is a commitment and a daily priority. Therefore, I created a guide to help field commanders and aspiring commanders improve the fire protection in any city, town, or village. Consider it a map to becoming a better CHIEF.
Change. It has been 17 years since the National Commission on Fire Prevention and Control, in its report America Burning, identified fire and fire deaths as a national problem and not just a big-city crisis. To improve the nation’s fire safety record, internal change is necessary. It can be rapid or gradual, but it must be structured and more than just good ideas and strong beliefs. Departments must develop written action plans with concrete programs and fixed timetables. A gradual change has a greater effect because it becomes part of the culture, becomes valued, and thus is easily accepted by the membership. However, in nearly two decades the American fire service generally has not changed the public’s indifference and ignorance toward fire with conventional means. Thus home fires still kill thousands in the United States every year.
Part of this nationwide problem is that there is no strong rallying point. Because fire deaths usually occur in small numbers, they do not draw the attention of the mass media. To break this cycle, we need a new way of thinking in the fire service, an “overhaul” in our approach: The contemporary firefighter must change from being solely a combat-ready trench soldier to a community-oriented problem solver.
Help. Helping the community to be fire safe should not be viewed as interference. Halfhearted or haphazard programs often are created for Fire Prevention Week and then forgotten until the next year. Part of the problem is that, historically, the paid and volunteer fire service has attracted recruits who are drawn to the excitement and adventure of the emergency incident; however, the actual firelight is just one aspect of our job. Firefighters must combine action with sensitivity, courage with common sense, and suppression with prevention. The true pioneers incorporate innovation with traditional training. Fire service members should be well-versed in public speaking and other leadership abilities as well as in fireground tactics and EMS procedures.
Involvement. Community involvement is essential. Interaction between the first responder and residents in joint projects will uncover problems, concerns, and unsafe behaviors that may not be obvious from pure statistical data. Community meetings are the best forum for communicating the local solutions and the most common arenas for building support. Often field firefighters can cite examples of real-life tragedies where the postincident investigation revealed identifiable causes for the blaze. Many times it is the deadly combination of substance abuse, smoking materials, and the absence of early warning devices that sets the stage for disaster.
FIRE PREVENTION
A C.H.I.E.F. CONCERN
A proactive program involves using the news media to demonstrate in an objective and tasteful manner (charts, photos, and diagrams) the need for a working and properly placed smoke detectors, practiced home fire drills, and good housekeeping. Often personal experience has shown that a degree of luck and an early warning signal can mean the difference between life and death.
Effect. Many organizations continue to deliver outdated presentations because they fail to realize that society and the environment have changed drastically. Programs, to be effective, must be modernized just like stations, apparatus, equipment, protective gear, and management philosophies.
Plan programs that identify local problems, such as young children at home alone. One such program is “Tel-a-Friend,” through which children home alone after school can call a hotline if they have a problem and can’t reach a parent.
Another common community problem involves older citizens who fortify their homes or apartments because of fear of crime. An easy solution is to install emergency latches rather than permanent bolts to secure metal bars or pull-down security screens.
Finance. Every program involves financing. Organizations need to recruit corporate leaders, local merchants, and elected officials to build a foundation of support. If firefighters enlist these outside forces as stakeholders in a partnership for a fire-safe community, they can help their own cause at budget hearings, because they will create a shared sense of responsibility for sponsoring programs and resolving problems. Creating project teams from within a department will reduce the probability of friction and inefficiency, because goals and objectives can be mutually agreed on by line and staff personnel and suppression and prevention personnel.
NEW THINKING FOR THE ’90s
Fire service executives must have a strategy. Externally we have been at the forefront of many changes. Nearly 20 years ago we recognized the need for a formal fireground command system to handle all types of emergency incidents effectively. Later leaders pushed for reliable and lightweight equipment from manufacturers to minimize the physical stress on a reduced workforce. Recently we rallied for quality in our protective clothing and altered the appearance of our apparatus to include an enclosed cab and nontraditional colors for firefighter safety. However, in the coming decade we may have to make our most difficult transition—one that forces us to make an internal improvement in our own attitude toward prevention-oriented programs. It is time for community outreach to be a priority program with formal plans that incorporate business leaders, concerned citizens, and firefighters in a joint commitment for a fire-safe community.
Thomas J. Peters and Robert H. Waterman, in their best-selling book In Search of Excellence: Lessons from America’s Best-Run Companies, list eight basic principles for excellence, one of which is to “stay close to the customer.” The trend to seek public involvement and achieve community support must continue in the coming decade.
Many say that the 1990s are the end of a great century. Yet the fire service still has much to do in many parts of the country before the next century. Residential sprinklers must be adopted for all new construction, public education and awareness messages must be upgraded to stay abreast of new products, and fire department budgets must reflect the added cost of equipment and training to mitigate a hazardous-material incident and allow for a quality prehospital emergency medical system. For fire service leaders, the next few years will bring unparalleled challenges, but through community outreach there can be a shared responsibility and hope for a new beginning.
