BY JAMES MASON
A crucial component of structural firefighting is an action plan. The action plan can be described as a schematic that ties together the general tactics used in the firefighting operation. Developing a standard action plan before responding to a structural fire can ensure that the operation will be safer and more efficient. The plan helps organize the fireground by keeping all the responders focused on a tactical outline. Organizing the operation in this manner enables everyone on the scene to anticipate the next step to be taken more effectively.
To be successful, an action plan must be flexible enough so it can be used for different types of structure fires. The strategies and tactics used to fight a fire in a one-story private dwelling and in a large, nonhigh-rise apartment building generally will be the same; the difference will be in the size and scope of the problems presented by each type of fire.
A good plan should also be workable with different levels of staffing. Smaller departments may not have enough firefighters on the scene initially to perform all that is needed. In a large department, the responding companies may not arrive by the time they are needed. In either case, firefighters on the scene may have to fill in for critical tasks until the cavalry arrives. A flexible action plan drilled on and understood by the department’s members can also help younger members develop into future leaders.
SAMPLE PLAN
A sample of a good action plan follows. It includes the following components, which can be recalled by using the acronym “SCSCVEOS.” This is a plan that has been used successfully for years in the Chicago (IL) Fire Department.
• Size-up. It starts with assessing the situation, or “brainstorming.” What are all the potential problems at the scene? What are the potential solutions to these problems?
Much has been written concerning size-up, but it comes down to this: On arrival, what do the first responders see about the situation that can be used for the basis of their decisions? Critical, first-due company decisions can be made only after a quick size-up of these conditions. The decisions and actions made in the first five minutes will determine the successes or failures for the next five hours.
In the size-up section of the action plan, it is good to use a mnemonic device to help remember the points that should be assessed. A number of good mnemonics are out there. A commonly used one is the acronym COAL WAS WEALTH. Although some version of this is good, the problem is the components are not in the order in which we learn about the conditions at the fire scene. For example, we don’t learn about the construction of the building before we can understand the weather conditions. Or, we don’t learn about the life hazard before we know what time the alarm was received.
The four basic considerations that need to be observed on arrival at the emergency scene are construction, occupancy, life hazard, and (the fire’s) location and extent. These critical size-up factors need to be understood before making any decisions or taking any action, and they can be assessed only on arrival. The other size-up factors in the COAL WAS WEALTH mnemonic device can be assessed prior to that point. The area of the fire building also affects how quickly we can identify these size-up factors. The larger the fire building, the more time it takes.
When sizing up these four critical fireground factors, the focus should be on firefighter safety: What is the construction? How will the fire affect the performance of this building? Where is the fire located? What damage had been done to the structural components prior to our arrival? How will the fire continue to travel inside the building until the first water is delivered to the seat? How soon will this construction style collapse?
What is the smoke doing? Do we need to start defensive operations, or is an interior attack appropriate? Who is the life hazard-the firefighters or the assumed civilians inside? Are the reports concerning trapped civilians reliable? Should we risk a lot in this one or nothing at all?
Is the occupancy residential, commercial, or a combination of both? One of the most important differences in commercial vs. residential fires is the civilian life hazard. People working in most commercial occupancies are normally awake and conscious. When they learn about the fire, they will run outside if it is possible to do so. In residential buildings, civilians can be asleep at any time of the day or night, and they are often in need of rescue. The use of the fire building must be factored into the risk vs. benefit assessment of safety for the responders on the scene.
If the fire building use is commercial, does it have any inherent dangers associated with it that will affect firefighting operations? Such dangers would include, among many others, flammable liquids, dropped ceilings that cover loose hanging wires, lack of compartmentation, and the presence of truss roofs or uneven wood-joist floors leveled with cement over basements. All the size-up brainstorming must come to a conclusion. You need to decide what to do. The plan from the quickly assessed situation is put into action. Sometimes we can fix the problem, and sometimes we can’t-we can only try to play catch-up until the fuel is gone.
Two of the best fire service teachers I have encountered were Chicago Fire Department Lieutenant Ed Carone Sr. (retired) and Battalion Chief Dan McGowan (retired). They explained the importance of understanding the rules of strategies and tactics like the back of your hand. It all needs to be “justified and reasonable.” When things are going right on the fireground, it is justified and reasonable to use a standard action plan. If the fire situation dictates that a break from the rules is justified, the action to be taken is reasonable, because lives and property will be better protected.
• Call for help. This action is also based on the factors of the situation recognized on arrival. What help is needed on the scene? Does our experience and scene size-up tell us that extra firefighters will be needed in the next few minutes? Will a closely placed exposure building ignite before the only company on the scene, which currently is dedicated to the confirmed rescue in the fire building, gets water on it? A legitimate report from a civilian on the front lawn of the fire building that someone is trapped inside should cause the IC to escalate the alarm to the next level immediately.
Does this job require special apparatus like a haz mat or a collapse response? If the area is without hydrants, there may be a need for a tanker operation or a water relay setup. Does traffic need to be controlled by the police? This is often the best time to call for help, because once the operation gains steam, the IC can quickly become overwhelmed by its complexity. Getting the resources en route to the scene early can make a big difference.
In practical radio use, the call for early help is also important. Once on the scene, many fire departments switch from a dispatch radio channel to a fireground channel. If the “call for help” is transmitted before the switch to a fireground channel is made, the IC on the scene can monitor the radio for changes in the situation. In extreme fire conditions, this radio traffic may include a firefighter “Mayday,” which tends to occur in the first few minutes of the operation.
• Save lives. Life hazard problems should be a definite and separate consideration. This consideration, though primarily for civilians, should also reassess firefighter safety. Just giving it a second, distinct thought near the beginning and constantly evaluating it throughout the operation can keep members from being injured.
Often, the lives of civilians are saved by quick-thinking firefighters’ performing interior operations in difficult situations that will eventually become defensive attacks. These decisions now must also include a greater consideration of the building’s construction. The lightweight construction techniques of new and remodeled buildings must be given thought before entry because of the quick collapse even during the early, incipient stages of a fire.
In a stable construction style, a hose team’s primary duty is to deliver water to the seat of the fire. This will normally save many more lives than any other initial activity. The problem occurs when there is a lack of personnel responding to the scene-for example, when a single engine company arrives alone at a first-floor residential fire to find civilians hanging from aboveground windows. Then, there are difficult decisions to make. This situation makes rescue, not stretching hose, look like a legitimate option. The problem with a ladder rescue here is that it may use up the resources of the single engine company, and any persons on the floor inside will be without help.
The first-due company can make decisions based only on what is known at the time. When this single engine arrives on the scene, it will be difficult, when stretching hose on the front lawn or up the stairs, to determine if people are lying on the floor inside; but, if there are, they are the ones in most need. If the company puts out the fire, the problem will go away. Protecting the path of egress, along with a quick, short-distance firefighter/officer search from the hoseline to targeted sleeping areas or the confirmed location of a civilian, has saved many lives. The ladder rescue described above by this single engine company could be justified and reasonable if the building is of lightweight construction and it is determined that there is likely to be fire in the supporting floor truss.
A truck company uses a combination of ventilation and search techniques to rescue civilian lives. Assessing the fire building specifically for a primary search and rescue operation will make the truck company’s job easier than if the members simply run inside blindly. This targeted primary search assessment should be concerned with locations of victims, venting opportunities, and access in and out of the fire building.
• Confine the fire. After determining the location and extent of the fire, the next step is to confine the fire to prevent spread. Can an interior attack be made? Or should it be a defensive operation? If you have a residential fire in a two-story balloon-frame structure that is quickly spreading to other closely placed frame exposures, you will have to position a 2 1/2-inch hoseline on either side of the structure to confine the fire. When this is necessary, the firefighters can be spread thin with only one member on each stretched line. The nozzles should be set up away from the building and outside the collapse zone. When it is time to go inside to complete extinguishment, all the firefighters from that same engine company should be on one interior hoseline so that everyone is accounted for if something goes wrong (photo 1).
Confining the fire may place the engine company’s interior hose stretch in areas that specifically protect civilian egress or a primary search. This is especially true when the building is larger than a typical private dwelling and there is a long path of travel for civilians to get outside. The life hazard must be considered when deciding where to place the first line; it should be positioned between the fire and any location the civilian is thought to be. A primary spot for placement of the first hoseline is almost always the stairway.
The truck company normally will be venting windows for life while searching. This can give the fire victim the few extra seconds of life needed until rescued, but it may also spread the fire if the hoseline is not immediately available. By working from the action plan, the searching/venting firefighter can also confine the fire. Before venting the window, determine if the fire is in a room adjacent to the search area, because the fire may travel to this newly opened window. Closing the door to the room in which the primary search is conducted will confine the fire to the outside for at least a couple of minutes, but the firefighter will have to know how and where to exit if fire extension is expected.
Another time the searching/venting firefighter can confine the fire is when the original fire building has been written off because it is too fully involved in fire and there are closely spaced exposures. In this scenario, the fire may have already started to burn the exterior of the exposure building. When the search is being conducted in this building, any open window on the fire side will allow the fire to extend rapidly inside. If the search can be done without venting these windows, extension will be limited. Removing curtains from the window openings will keep them from igniting from radiated heat through the glass (photo 2).
• Ventilate. The fire building can be ventilated horizontally, vertically, or both ways. The goal is to get the building to act as you want it to. Horizontal ventilation alone can be effective for smaller, primarily residential buildings with light to moderate fire conditions. In these fires, horizontal ventilation can be accomplished even with very limited staffing. This type of ventilation often will not be adequate in several instances: when the building is a commercial structure, when the fire conditions are more extreme (in any occupancy type), or when there is a significant civilian life hazard in a fire building that is maintained below standards.
An outside truck member can perform effective horizontal ventilation with the coordination of the engine officer. When staffing on the first-arriving companies is limited, the engine company’s interior attack plan should dictate where and when the horizontal venting will be done. After the location and extent of a fire are initially assessed, the engine likely will start to stretch hose based, first, on the protection of civilian life and, then, for extinguishment at the seat. In some situations, the seat of the fire may be easily recognized and extinguished. At other incidents, extension may dictate that one or more nozzles move through several different areas and floors of the fire building. In either case, the engine officer(s) can give the outside vent team direction on where to open up in one area of the fire building or the other. If windows of the fire area are vented opposite the advance of the hoseline, the products of combustion will escape and the nozzle will be able to reach the seat of the fire for extinguishment.
A couple of preplanning considerations can help with horizontal ventilation. The first is to study the common layouts of the building floor plans in the response area where horizontal venting can be effective. Often, these buildings are residential buildings, and the floor plans will follow one of a few common layouts in a given response area. If common floor plans are drilled on in a response district with several companies servicing the area, the communications from the engine officer inside will be better understood when he calls for a room to be vented from the outside. The next part of this preplanning drill would be to ensure that the interior companies regularly give a report of where and when to open up. When the outside vent team expects this direction, random, and sometimes dangerous, venting of the fire structure may stop (photo 3).
There is a saying in Chicago, “When the cotton hits the street, the stick goes to the roof.” In other words, when the hoseline goes inside for the fire attack, the aerial ladder goes to the roof for vertical ventilation. Vertical ventilation in smaller residential buildings is usually accomplished by cutting the roof deck as close to over the seat of the fire as safely as possible. In larger, nonhigh-rise buildings, the natural openings become more important because a hole cannot be opened up directly over the fire. The reason for this is that the location of the fire may be several floors below the roof. Natural openings like skylights and bulkhead/penthouse doors that pierce the roof are the best vertical venting opportunity, because they usually cover the stairways used by the fire attack team and civilians exiting the building.
In smaller residential buildings, the likely vertical fire extension of the construction style is important to understand. For example, venting a pitched roof in a balloon-frame building can help prevent the fire from breaking out from an exterior wall into the living space by channeling it up through the building and out the roof. With heavy first-floor and basement fires in a balloon frame, this fire breakout often will cut off the access in hallways and stairwells for the primary search to the upper floors. Vertical ventilation in a residence will also help the searchers on the floor above the fire move quickly because smoke conditions and visibility will be less severe. Any civilians lying on the floor will also live longer in the smoky conditions.
In a commercial building fire, the roof team should first be concerned about the presence of trusses. They should consider the occupancy when arriving and notify the IC if there are trusses when approaching the rooftop on the aerial. The conditions of the roof deck should then be considered. Is there sagging or localized melted snow? Can fire be seen through skylights or other natural roof coverings? Does the roof team see that fire has started to expose the truss roof assembly? If the roof is to be vented, does the saw-cut kerf have any fire coming out of it? This should tell you there is fire under the deck and in any truss present.
The difference between a standard interior fire attack and a defensive operation on a commercial building is this: Is this a contents fire inside the building, or is the structure itself burning? If the roof assembly is burning or exposed to fire, it is time to go defensive. When finally on the roof of a commercial building, the team’s first duty is to decide when to get off. Notify the IC immediately when the decision has been made so the interior attack forces can also get out. Radio: “The roof team is abandoning the roof!” to the IC. Ensure that the message is heard. The roof team should also monitor the radio for orders from the IC to get off.
The roof team should continue sizing up and communicating what is happening with the ventilation hole when it is cut. Is it a good “push” of dark, black smoke, or is it nothing at all? Is the smoke lighting up as it hits the outside air? Radio the results to the IC. If there is a problem, radio that the roof hole is delayed. Every good fireground chief I have ever talked to about this said they love a roof team that communicates what is going on. The first tip-off of what to expect for the team is when the first saw-cut kerf or ax hole is made. This will indicate what lies ahead for the rest of the venting operation (photo 4).
• Extinguish the fire. One of the things missing from today’s firefighting is the coordination of the fire attack. In combination with the ventilation, the hoseline must be stretched to the seat of the fire ready to deliver the proper amount of water. The engine officer has his hands full with all the duties placed on that position, but one of the most important assigned tasks is to verify the location of the fire and determine what, if any, assistance/ventilation is needed in the fire area.
In combination with the engine officer’s directions to the support company, the estimate of the critical flow for the extinguishment is vital for the operation to work effectively. In practical terms, a 1 3/4-inch hoseline works well for an interior attack at a residential building fire, and a 2 1/2-inch line works in a commercial building. The residential building is divided into individual rooms; the commercial building isn’t. This simple difference is the reason that a smaller 1 3/4-inch hoseline flowing about 150 to 170 gpm can work in a residence but not in a commercial building.
In a well-involved 30-foot x 100-foot residence that has a floor plan divided by partition walls, the smaller hoseline can move from one 15- x 15-foot room to the next because of the compartmentation the walls provide. The nozzleman can take each room as its own, and the nozzle can reach the critical flow needed to put out each fire. The maneuverability of the small line also helps advance around all those partition walls while moving toward the rear. But the ease in maneuverability of the smaller line sometimes tricks us into thinking that the 1 3/4-inch hoseline will work for commercial building fires, too.
The problem with the smaller line in a 30-foot x 100-foot commercial building with a well-involved fire is there usually is little, if any, partition wall compartmentation. The fire will not be contained in any way by the partition walls, and it can grow unrestrained until it reaches all four exterior sides. The smaller nozzle cannot reach the critical flow because the individual room fires do not exist. A hoseline delivering between 250 and 325 gpm should be used to extinguish this large single room. The problem is getting sufficient firefighters on the scene quickly enough to advance the heavy hoseline into the building before the battle is lost to the fire. Each 50-foot length of hose has about 100 pounds of water in it. To move this very heavy hoseline, each length behind the nozzleman and the company officer should have a firefighter positioned on it with a shoulder drag strap for the advance.
We cannot say “always” or “never” relative to the type of hoseline used. There have been times when first-due companies arriving at a residential building have found fire showing on two or more sides and viable, witnessed victims hanging from the very same windows. These victims can even survive for a few minutes with fire lapping out the windows and over their heads. In this case, the first-due companies will still have to advance hose for protection and extinguishment while ladders perform rescue, but in this fire situation, a 2 1/2-inch hoseline would be best for this job.
With any hoseline stretch, the nozzleman is only as good as the prep work done by the entire engine company to set up for the advance and the backup firefighter’s skill in providing available hose. The hose behind the nozzle can be placed many ways for advancement, but the best way is so that it comes straight into the fire area. When the hoseline is dry laid for entry straight into the fire area, it won’t get snagged on anything prior to the backup firefighter’s handling it (photo 5). On the front lawn, if the hose is straight laid from the curb, in the street to the front door, the backup firefighter can fill up the rooms behind the nozzle team as they advance to the rear. In an enclosed, nonhigh-rise apartment hallway, the stairs above the fire floor or an apartment across the hall can be used for storing ready hose.
• Overhaul and salvage. These two duties go hand-in-hand on the fireground. Overhaul is regularly one of the most dangerous times on the fireground. The firefighters are tired from the fight, the building is weakened, and everyone’s guard is down because the “real” action is over. This is not the time to send the RIT company and the ambulance back to quarters.
A common danger at any time on the fireground is when firefighters are standing outside next to the fire building. This danger zone is within six feet of the structure. Firefighters can be in this six-foot area momentarily several times during the firefight-stretching hose, forcing entry, masking up on the front porch, conducting a walk-around or size-up, for example. During overhaul, firefighters are almost always walking in and out of this area getting more SCBA bottles, picking up hoselines and ladders, or talking face-to-face with the IC.
Often during overhaul, burned personal items from the fire area are dropped out upper-floor windows to the ground to prevent rekindles and excessive water damage inside. When this is happening, one of the simplest ways to prevent injuries to firefighters is to keep the members on the ground away from the building where this stuff is coming out. Placing firefighter sentries indoors and outdoors, away from the drop area, can help prevent head and neck injuries to those on the ground.
When the main body of fire has been knocked down, many times, there will be an overabundance of water lying on the floors of the building. This water needs to be removed to avoid collapse because of the weight. As little as two inches of water can be significant in a fire-weakened structure. If there are hard wood floors, the thresholds that sit in the doorways and the adjoining floor boards can be pried up to allow the water to run off to the floors below. A carpet can be cut with a knife; tile flooring can be broken with an ax (photo 6).
This funneling should start on the lowest level of the building and continue going upstairs so any one floor doesn’t get overloaded with a buildup of two levels or more lying on one individual deck. If significant water is pooling in the bath area, remove the toilet from the floor hub, and the water will run down the sewer system.
As a point of salvage for the engine company during freezing weather, it may be necessary to leave the nozzle open with a slight water flow to prevent freezing. This often is needed when the engine is waiting for the truck to completely remove the wallboard to expose any remaining embers after the knockdown. If you place the slightly flowing nozzle in a bathtub or out a window, you can avoid additional water damage to the building.
By removing plastic replacement window sash, throwing salvage tarps, and cleaning half-broken glass, you can help the owner of the fire building possibly get back into service with it sooner. Completely removing half-broken glass from vented upper-floor windows will also keep it from falling during windy conditions onto firefighters and civilians on the ground.
An action plan can help all those operating on the fireground to anticipate the next actions sooner. It can make the operation safer and more efficient by keeping firefighters on the same page, from arrival on the scene for the size-up, through the coordination of the fire attack, and all the way to the return to quarters.
JAMES MASON is a lieutenant in the Chicago (IL) Fire Department, where he has served since 1993. Previously, he was a member of the Oak Lawn (IL) Fire Department. He is an instructor at FDIC and has instructed at the Quinn Fire Academy in Chicago.
