By Michael N. Ciampo
Prior to the start of the tour, most firefighters are performing daily maintenance checks and inventory of the apparatus compartments. While looking over the equipment, some might be asking, “Why do we even still carry that thing on the rig?” Many of us have one of those “things” in a compartment; maybe it’s the Detroit Door Opener or the “D” Handled Roof Cutter taking up space until that one time when we need it. Or maybe you’re checking the engine’s fitting compartment and you’re looking at all the double males, females, reducers, increasers, gated wyes, and assortment of nozzles and asking yourself, “Why do we need all this stuff?”
When assigned as a “probie” in an engine company, a very knowledgeable officer laid down some specific ground rules that were to be followed when we responded to certain incidents. If we got to an auto accident with an entrapment, the hoseline had better be out in the street. If we weren’t first due to a job, we had better be carrying our spare nozzle (we did this by putting our self-contained breathing apparatus waist strap through the bail of the nozzle so our hands were free in case we had to assist in stretching other lines) up to the first-due engine’s hosebed. The main reason we took our own nozzle was because we knew how to operate it, what the settings were, and that it was in good working condition.
Arriving at a second alarm for fire in the walls of a multiple dwelling, we saw the building was puffing brown smoke and the odor of wood burning was prevalent throughout the neighborhood. As the engine officer stepped out of the cab, he gave specific orders to also bring the bent tip (a nozzle tip with a 90° angle, flowing a solid stream) as he dashed off to the command post. Being a probie, I was dumbfounded as to why he wanted the bent tip; the only place I ever saw it used was hooked up to a discharge gate on the pump panel to cool down and hydrate the members after a job. Meanwhile, the chauffeur found a serviceable hydrant to connect to in case a hoseline would be stretched off this apparatus. The rest of the company stood fast, surveying the scene and looking for any engines closer to the building that they could easily stretch off in case another hoseline was needed. The officer returned quickly with orders to stretch up to the fourth floor. Since there were already two lines stretched up the interior stairs, the decision was made to rope stretch up the front fire escape.
The officer and one firefighter proceeded up the vertical drop ladder and up to the fourth floor with the one-gallon former bleach bottle that was now used for carrying utility rope. Another firefighter went up to the second floor and would assist in pulling up the hose as it was being stretched. Once they gained their position on the fire escape, the firefighters noticed that the window was already removed and a truck company was operating inside, punching inspection holes through the lath and plaster. They had to be careful not to open up the entire walls or ceiling with no hoseline in place; this would give the fire air and could make the fire conditions worse, forcing personnel to bail out of their work area. Plus, removing the entire window could possibly allow all the by-products (gases, heat, and smoke) to exit the room, especially if a smoke explosion occurred.
The utility line bottle was dropped, with one end secured to the railing of the fire escape; once it reached the ground, the other end was tied around the hoseline, and then raising began. One firefighter on the street kept the hose off the side of the building so it didn’t get caught up in between the fire escape railing. The firefighter on the second-floor landing kept pulling the hose upward to reduce the effort of the firefighter pulling it up on the fourth floor. Enough line was pulled up into this apartment to cover it and one of the adjoining apartments. The truck kept punching inspections holes in the walls, and the fire seemed to be everywhere. The building was a total rehab-its original construction and apartment layout had been totally revamped, usually meaning new voids for pipe chases and the old voids or shaftways possibly hidden or just covered over if they weren’t removed during the renovations.
Crews called for water, and the truck began to open up more of the walls so the line could extinguish the fire. The truck was trying to open up quickly; seeing that personnel were being taxed on the amount of area that needed to be opened up, the engine officer had the bent tip attached to the nozzle’s shutoff. The bent tip’s head was being punched into the wall bays; it perforated the lath and plaster with ease. Members then operated the nozzle, shooting the line in an upward and downward direction between the bays. Since the fire was also traveling along the ceiling bays, the members punched the nozzle through the ceiling and operated it there also. They were making progress on the hidden fire in the walls and ceiling.
Once fire in this area was extinguished, we proceeded into another apartment and began punching the tip through the walls and repeating the same tactic with amazing results: The bulk of the fire was knocked down. Now all that had to be done was the arduous task of overhauling and looking for hot spots.
On completion of fire operations, the officer reminded us of the value of this nozzle tip and that it would also be useful for fires in compactor chutes, dumbwaiter shafts, and cocklofts. He also reminded us that it isn’t the routine room-and-contents fires that cause us problems; it’s the unusual ones that do. So the next time you’re looking in the compartments and at that “thing” on the shelf, make sure you know what it’s for, how to use it, and when!
MICHAEL N. CIAMPO is a 27-year veteran of the fire service and a lieutenant in the Fire Department of New York. Previously, he served with the District of Columbia Fire Department. He has a bachelor’s degree in fire science from John Jay College of Criminal Justice in New York City. He is the lead instructor for the FDIC Truck Essentials H.O.T. program. He wrote the Ladder chapter and co-authored the Ventilation chapter for Fire Engineering’s Handbook for Firefighter I and II (Fire Engineering, 2009) and is featured in “Training Minutes” truck company videos on www.FireEngineering.com.
