By: Mark Gregory
It is the beginning of another night tour as the officer in a truck company, and you just finished conducting roll call with your crew. The neighborhood has seen some fire duty over the past couple of tours, and the crew is eager to go to work. Suddenly, the station tone-alert sounds. The housewatchman acknowledges the run and begins to read off the alarm ticket: “Phone Alarm. Second Due Truck. Box 918. 1472 Bergen Street between Troy and Schenectady Avenues. Fire on the first floor.”
As you start to respond, many thoughts run through your head. The dispatcher notifies the companies responding that they are getting numerous phone calls, and it sounds like we are going to work. As the boss, our size–up process is well under way. The alarm ticket provides a vast amount of information. We are familiar with our response district and know that this particular block is occupied by wood frame multiple dwellings. Our assignment as second-due truck means that we will be responsible for the floors above the fire. The chauffeur realizes that the first-due will be approaching from the opposite direction, which should provide both companies with adequate scrub area of the building.
As we turn onto the block, the first-due companies are just pulling in. The working fire signal is being given to dispatch along with the height, size-up, and location of fire. In this case, we have a three-story wood-frame multiple dwelling with fire on the second floor. This information paints a clear picture for those arriving on scene and those being dispatched. On the transmission of the working fire, the dispatcher assigns several companies including a rapid intervention team (RIT) and a rescue company. The copious amounts of information that they have received from dispatch will aid them in having a well-thought out game plan.
As we approach the building, our size-up continues: You have your forcible-entry team with you, consisting of a can and an irons firefighter. Your chauffeur prepares to set up your rig with the outside vent (OV) firefighter. The roof firefighter decides to use an adjoining exposure since the buildings are similarly attached. He sees an old man sitting on the front stoop of a building two doors down. He decides that this will be his point of entry to gain access to the roof. The fact that he has a known occupant eliminates the need to bang on doors or force entry to get to his position.
There is no visible fire coming from the second floor of the building; however, the smoke is pushing with tremendous force. Your team notices that there are four windows in the front and six door bells / mailboxes in the vestibule. From this information, our size-up builds even more. We know we are dealing with railroad-flat apartments, and that there are two apartments per floor. Since this is a multiple dwelling, we also acknowledge that this building will have a rear fire escape with a goose neck ladder from the roof. A railroad-flat apartment is one that stretches from the front to the rear of a building. There are normally two apartments per floor, and the main entrance door is usually directly off the main stairway. This entrance door leads into the kitchen area of the apartment.
As we begin our ascent up the stairwell, we encounter zero visibility on the first floor. The first-due truck is already in the fire apartment, and the first-due engine has a charged line on the fire floor. Command (IC) now advises us of dispatch reports of possible occupants trapped; time is of the essence. Approaching the fire apartment, we hear the first-due truck report to command that he has a heavy fire condition in the rear. As we pass the first-due engine in the hall, we make our “life-pact” with the hose line crew.
What is a “life-pact” you ask? We advise the engine company who we are and ask who they are. I like to even go a step further and get the nozzleman or the officer’s name. We then advise them that we are going above and make sure that they acknowledge this fact. There, the “life-pact” is signed. The engine company now realizes we will be on the floor above and they are our protection should conditions deteriorate on the fire floor. The engine company must keep us informed of any negative changes such as loss of water or heavy fire. The engine company must hold their position until we confirm to them that the floor above team is safe. We as the floor above team must also notify the nozzle team if we find an alternate means of egress. Remember, we have a pact between both companies.
Now, you are probably asking yourself, “why does he want to know the nozzleman or the officer’s name?” The answer is quite simple. If the engine decides to leave their position for any reason before we are able to safely egress the building, I want to know who to look for once we get out of the hospital. Look through the case studies of firefighter deaths over the years. I do not know of many documented cases of nozzle firefighters with a charged hand-line perishing on a solid fire floor; the engine company is vital to a successful floor above search.
As we approach the third floor landing, we are met with zero visibility and two locked apartments. The officer orders his irons firefighter to clear out a section of the stair balusters. The purpose of this is to help widen our means of egress should we need to get off the floor above in a rapid manner. We have also used this opening as a method to pass a victim down to additional companies so that we can remain on the floor to continue searching. As the forcible entry team begins to work on the door to the apartment directly over the fire, the officer uses his tool to force the adjoining apartment. This area can be used as an area of refuge if need be. It should be noted that an area of refuge must always be on the same side of the public hallway as the fire apartment.
The door to the apartment opens and we start our search. As we progress down the hallway, we split our search team. One member covers a bedroom, while the other covers the adjoining bedroom. The officer can stay in the hallway directly outside the rooms and perform voice-guidance and use the thermal imaging camera (TIC) to supervise the search, lead members to a potential victim, and monitor the conditions on the floor above by watching heat build-up. The officer must also constantly monitor the radio for any messages from the fire floor companies or additional information from command.
As we continue searching the bedrooms in the rear, we can now hear the sounds of breaking glass emanating from the front and rear of the apartment. Since we are closer to the rear, we run into our roof firefighter. He has finished his operations on the roof and has used the rear gooseneck ladder of the fire escape to perform vent-enter-search (VES). Searches in the rear prove negative, and we now start working to the front. Our outside vent firefighter has positioned the tower ladder bucket to the front windows. The venting of the windows in the front and rear now start to lift the smoke condition. The outside vent firefighter leaves his tower-ladder bucket level with the sill and enters to perform a search of the front room. The bucket is left level with the sill for several reasons: The first is that if the outside vent firefighter needs to rapidly egress the apartment, he can drop right into the bucket. If fire is following him, he will be below it and does not have to worry about the fire coming in the bucket behind him. Second, if we find a victim, it is easier to lower the victim from the window sill into the bucket rather than attempting to drag them in. The chauffeur remains at the pedestal to monitor the operations of the outside vent firefighter.
The search in the apartment directly above the fire proves to be negative. The rescue company was assigned the adjoining apartment, and their searches also prove negative. Contact the first-due truck to determine where the main body of fire was so that we can check for extension. The fire is knocked down, and command wants secondary searches. Switch apartments with the rescue company and perform a thorough search; remember to check the entire apartment. When fearing for their lives, people, especially children, will hide in unusual places. If the secondary search is going to be delayed for any reason, notify the IC.
Relief has been provided and your crew is out in the street. The self-contained breathing apparatus (SCBA) cylinders have been changed and rehab has begun. This is a perfect time to critique your company’s operation. Ask each member what their part was in this fire. Junior members will gain vast experience from listening to the senior guys explain how they got to their position, or why they executed a certain maneuver. Walk through the building after the fire to see the conditions that we and the first-due encountered.
Truck company operations are a team sport. As you can see, if all of the members go to their positions, a multi-sided approach can be achieved with proper supervision. Variations may occur due to fire severity. How about using a ground ladder to replace a stairway at a well developed fire? My company practices this operation on a regular basis and has had great success. Remember, there are two types of firefighters in this world: proactive and reactive. Which one are you?
