BY SCOTT JOERGER
First-due engine companies to a working structure fire have a great impact on how that fire will progress. A good size-up by the first-in company officer and then a practical initial action plan (IAP) will make this company really shine when the fire is under control and everybody goes home safely. The old saying “The fire goes as the first line goes” still applies. When it comes to selecting a line, the engine company officer determines the IAP, which must include some options. Every engine company should have at least five options to begin fire attack. This article discusses these options, why to select them, and what can go wrong with them.
Have these options set up on the engine and ready to be deployed quickly and effectively at a structure fire. Whether you are specifying and purchasing a new engine for delivery or are working in a fire department that is experiencing budget constraints, you should be working toward providing that engine company with these five options. These options are usually placed on the engine to begin with, but they may not be readily deployed. Too often, engine company officers fail to select an option and stick with the same approach at every fire to which they respond. If you go to a lot of the same types of fires, this might work.
Have you ever heard a first-in engine company give an on-scene size-up such as the following: “Engine 5 on location with a routine working fire in a two-story wood frame”? Once the fire is under control, you might think that this fire was similar to another fire you went to in the past, but your initial actions at a fire are never routine. Keep your options open. It is also desirable for engine companies to have more than five options to deploy. That may depend on a specific need that area has in regard to target hazards. Let’s look at the five initial options you should have as a minimum.
OPTION 1: THE DECK GUN
On arrival at the fire scene, the engine company officer performs an initial size-up. Whether you use the acronym COAL WAS WEALTH or BELOW to assist with size-up, operating the deck gun as a master stream appliance means lots of water is needed to control this fire and four points of your IAP have been made. First, the fire is a defensive operation; second, you have a large area of fire in a building that needs to be controlled; third, you can position the rig in a location that will make the deck gun effective; and fourth, you need an adequate water supply.
Your radio transmissions in the form of updates should give the units responding in next what you have and what is needed. One additional point that you must address is the need for additional resources. Generally speaking, if you are using a deck gun right off the bat at a structure fire, you are probably going to need additional equipment.
Too often, engine companies forget about the deck gun and do not use it. Many deck guns have stackable smooth bore tips with the 13⁄8-inch tip on the end. This is never removed. This tip flows about 500 gallons per minute (gpm) at 80 pounds per square inch (psi). This may not be enough! Take one or two of the stackable tips off, and leave them in a compartment. A 1½-inch tip will flow 600 gpm, and the 1¾-inch tip will flow 800 gpm at 80 psi. Look at the water supply. If you can flow a lot of water, use a tip that can meet that objective. Besides, at a big fire, are you going to remember to remove one or two of the stackable tips? If you do not use stackable tips, make the tip opening at least 1½ inches in diameter.
Fog nozzles may sell you short when using a deck gun. One reason fog nozzles are placed on deck guns is to provide an effective water stream for variations in water supply. The thought is that the fog nozzle deck gun will produce a water stream given a low water supply with a discharge pressure of 100 psi. The problem is that the water stream coming from the nozzle may be only about 300 gpm. At this level of flow, you turned the master stream appliance into a minor stream appliance. Use a deck gun with a smooth bore nozzle as “the big gun,” and chose another option if you cannot supply it with adequate water. It guarantees water flow with better reach and penetration while maintaining a lower pump pressure.
If you choose the deck gun option, you must address a few problems. First, you need to lay into the fire from a hydrant or be parked right at the hydrant. When you begin to flow 600 to 800 gpm, you will run out of tank water in about 50 seconds or less if you have a 500-gallon water tank. Also, you will need to place the engine in a position that effectively uses the deck gun. You will need to consider a Hot Zone and a Collapse Zone. Engine placement can be problematic; but still, nothing deploys as quickly and as effectively as a deck gun.
Another problem is that deck gun penetration is best when you can play the stream into an opening and direct it deep into the building so that it can bounce off the ceiling and penetrate far into the fire area. That means that on multiple-story buildings with large open areas, the deck gun is most effective on the lower floor up to about the fourth floor, if the engine is parked somewhat near the building. At that floor and the floors above, the elevated master stream from a ladder or truck company is usually more effective than the deck gun, and engine companies should evaluate the use of their water. Finally, if you do not have a prepiped deck gun, consider attaching two small lengths of three-inch hose to the deck gun and store them near the appliance so they can be quickly attached into the pump panel when needed (photo 1).
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| (1) The engine quickly deploys the deck gun after laying in and leaving the front of the commercial building open for the ladder tower at a fast-moving fire. After the ladder tower is set up, water will be diverted to the elevated master stream, which will be more effective. [Photo courtesy of the Rochester (NY) Fire Department.] |
OPTION 2: THE PORTABLE MONITOR
The portable monitor is a great option to deploy when you have a building fire where you cannot place the engine in an effective position to use the deck gun. It is also effective on residential houses when you need to knock down a large area of fire quickly. The need may be from the autoexposure to the residential house that is on fire or to other nearby exposure houses or buildings. The portable monitor is also a great option because one firefighter can easily deploy and operate it.
The portable monitor can flow 400 to 500 gpm with a smooth bore nozzle at a pressure of 50 psi or with a fog nozzle at a pressure of 100 psi. It can be supplied by a 2½- or three-inch hose as well as a large-diameter hose. Try to avoid using 2½-inch hose to supply this. You can increase water output and decrease friction loss with larger hose. The portable monitor deploys quickly when it is stored on the engine in a hosebed with hose already attached to it. Usually, 100 feet of hose attached to the monitor is best, because one firefighter can carry the hose and the monitor if necessary.
The fog nozzle will not have the penetration of a smooth bore nozzle; but if most of your fire operations involve two-story wood-frame dwellings, you may not need this. The fog pattern also provides very good exposure protection when you open the stream slightly. Think about its use when protecting an exposure house from a well-involved garage, barn, or adjacent house fire.
In addition to the issue of running out of water quickly, as with the deck gun, the portable monitor has two problems you must consider if deploying it. First, the portable monitor is engineered to be stable when flowing water, but most manufacturers want the portable monitor secured with a lanyard when flowing water more than 400 gpm. Try driving a tool into the ground to connect the lanyard to just in front of the portable monitor or placing the monitor between two fixed anchors and using another rope to capture the anchors and the lanyard. Experience has shown that using the lanyard is not critical, but consider it when deploying on surfaces such as concrete, tile, sand, and ice (photos 2, 3).
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| (2, 3) The rear of a vacant commercial building is inaccessible to this engine company; therefore, the members stretch a portable monitor there to knock down the fire in the exposure building as well as the main body of fire. [Photos courtesy of the Rochester (NY) Fire Department.] |
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When deploying the portable monitor, consider the angle of the stream. It cannot spray a stream below the angle of 10° or 20°, depending on the model such as a handline or a fixed deck gun can. As a result, you can overspray a low objective if the nozzle is far away and may need to move the portable monitor to a different location. This is not a big problem because, as the name says, it’s a portable monitor.
OPTION 3: THE 2½-INCH HANDLINE
A great acronym to follow when using the 2½-inch handline is ADULTS—Advanced fire conditions, Defensive attack, Undetermined fire area, Large uncompartmented fire area, Tons of water, and Standpipe operations. I try to keep it simple for the firefighter who is selecting a handline. First, if you pull up and see big fire, stretch the big handline—the 2½-inch line. Second, if you pull up to a commercial building, stretch the commercial handline—the 2½-inch line. Think about all the situations to which this applies: the well-involved wood porch fire, the garage fire, the fully involved apartment or attic fire, the exposure problem, the big box building fire, and the fire that has flames shooting from multiple windows. The 2½-inch handline with a smooth bore tip of 1¼ inches or a fog nozzle is capable of flowing around 330 gpm with very effective reach and penetration. This means you will knock down the fire a lot faster than if you use a smaller handline. The 2½-inch handline with a smooth bore nozzle has an added advantage over the fog nozzle. Because the smooth bore nozzle handline requires only 50 psi at the nozzle, compared with 100 psi for a fog nozzle, the handline bends better with the lower pressure and is easier to move around.
Besides using up water from the engine booster tank quickly, the 2½-inch handline is difficult to move inside a structure fire, especially if there are turns and stairs. The problem becomes more unmanageable with an engine company firefighting force of two or three. This is the big reason for not using the 2½-inch handline. However, the benefits of increased water flow and fire stream reach and penetration make the 2½-inch handline a great option. Engine company officers must realize that it takes at least four to six trained firefighters working as a team to deploy and move a 2½-inch handline inside a building. It is going to take two engine companies to deploy this line, and the officer should radio the next-in engine company and ask for assistance. The team should consist of a nozzle firefighter, a backup firefighter, an officer, and one or more additional firefighters staggered back at doorways, large turns, and stairs. These additional firefighters are unsung heroes who make sure that the line moves when advancing, bring up additional hose when and if needed, and maintain the line so that there are no kinks. When using the 2½-inch handline, call another engine company to the fire scene so that the operation is successful and to backfill for the deployed second engine company. The 2½-inch handline fails when it is not properly staffed and the firefighters staffing it are not properly trained (photo 4).
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| (4) For the 2½-inch handline to be advanced successfully, it must be deployed by firefighters who are trained and positioned along the line at doorways, stairs, and turns. (Photo by author.) |
OPTION 4: THE 1¾-INCH HANDLINE
If you are in a position to determine which size hose to put on an engine, think hard about using the 1¾-inch line as the smaller fire suppression handline. It is capable of flowing 160 gpm. When compared with the 1½-inch handline, it provides greater water flow and less friction. Some move that point forward to the two-inch handline for its advantages over the 1¾-inch line. Although the two-inch handline will provide greater water flows and reduced friction loss, it is heavier than and not quite as maneuverable as the 1¾-inch handline. Also, when compared with the 2½-inch handline, the two-inch handline does not provide the water flow, reach, and penetration at the same pump pressures. An engine company should be set up with options for a small handline and a large handline to handle a specific need.
The 1¾-inch handline is the line to stretch for the majority of the fires to which we respond. It easily knocks down the room-and-contents residential fire. It is not difficult to deploy, and just a few firefighters can maneuver it quickly. Most fire departments staff only two to four firefighters as an engine company crew, and this is the line of choice because of that and the reason the fog nozzle is the nozzle typically used on this handline. The fog nozzle usually requires 100 psi at the tip, compared with the smooth bore nozzle, which generally operates at 50 psi at the tip. The fog nozzle handline is less labor intensive because the increased pressure eliminates many of the small nuisance kinks that plague the smooth bore nozzle handline.
The problem with the 1¾-inch handline is that it is undermatched at large fires. Most firefighters who stretch a handline off an engine always select the smaller 1¾-inch handline when arriving at a working structure fire. This is probably because of training. Think back to the live-fire training you did at the fire academy or at an acquired structure. In this training, you always worked with the smaller handline. Fire instructors do this because they want the fire manageable. Following National Fire Protection Association 1403, Standard on Live Fire Training Evolutions, 2007 edition, we keep the fire load low and the building contents to a minimum. Even heavy fire conditions can be extinguished with a small handline because of the low fuel load. This is not going to be the case when a real house or building has heavy fire conditions and normal contents. Tons more water will be needed to extinguish the fire. Today, we do not go to that many fires, but we certainly respond to those occasional fires that are not manageable with the 1¾-inch handline. Too often, firefighters and officers rely on past practices when selecting a handline. Think of this the next time you size up a structure fire (photo 5).
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| (5) The 1¾-inch handline was no match for this fast-moving fire in a vacant house. (Photo by D.B. Weimer, IFPA.) |
OPTION 5: ROLLED HOSE PACK
This option consists of two choices: The first is small-diameter rolled hose, such as 1¾-inch hose; the second is larger-diameter hose, 2½-inch hose. A rolled hose pack should consist of hose, hose straps, and some fittings. Set up the nozzle in the pack to produce a good stream of water for normal and low-water-pressure situations. Include also tools, wedges, an inline pressure gauge, and a gated wye, depending on needs. Most engine companies carry this pack but rarely use it and usually carry only one size diameter hose. Most times the rolled hose pack is called a “high-rise pack” and is pulled off the engine only at high-rise building fires—which, incidentally, are pretty rare.
The use of the rolled hose pack at a high-rise fire is not the focus of this article. The focus here is to show that the rolled hose pack is a great option at any fire where you have to travel up and over with a handline to reach the objective. However, if selecting this option, keep in mind that you will also need to select the size of the hose, 1¾- or 2½-inch. How many handlines should go into a house or building through the same opening? How many should be on the stairs? It is pretty hard to travel over these obstacles, especially if you are deploying another handline. It is even harder to advance a handline if other lines are stretched on top of it. Think about building codes and exits. If you saw this during a building inspection, would you allow this? If there was an evacuation of the fire building, would these hoses slow or prohibit a speedy exit? Granted, you have to make concessions with at least the first two lines deployed. However, you should consider a different way to deploy subsequent handlines. This is when the rolled hose pack can save the day (photo 6).
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| (6) The stairs can quickly become impassable as additional handlines are deployed. (Photos by author.) |
An interior attack on a working second-floor fire of a residential or commercial building is going to require at least two handlines to extinguish. Always stretch an attack line and a backup line. If there is a floor above, you might need to stretch another attack line and perhaps another backup line. Take these lines in another way to alleviate hose congestion on the stairs and exits. Why not carry in hose and drop it out a window or an opening to a firefighter below, who will make a connection to the base engine pump panel? This firefighter could easily stretch a line from the engine for a connection. If using a smaller handline from a rolled hose pack, such as a 1¾-inch line, you could piece in a 1¾-inch hose to it or use a three-inch hose with a gated wye at the connection below. For the firefighting crew inside the building, it is a good idea to secure the handline by tying it off near the window or an opening. This option is not that complicated and is easier than using congested stairs to deploy another handline.
The question of what size handline to use in a rolled hose pack will come up. This is the reason you need the option of two rolled hose packs—one consisting of 1¾-inch hose and another of 2½-inch hose. There are definitely times when you should use a 2½-inch rolled hose pack. However, are you going to need this big line at a residential fire where, after you deploy it, you have to travel somewhere else to fight a fire that a 1¾-inch handline can manage? Keep in mind that rolled hose can be placed or formed to fit in any open space inside or outside the engine so that both sizes of hose packs should fit on an engine.
Besides the training needed to deploy a rolled hose pack, which is easy to do, two additional problems may develop. The first is the length of hose needed. An officer is going to need to determine the length of hose needed. Most firefighters can carry only 100 feet of 1¾-inch rolled hose and 50 feet of 2½-inch rolled hose safely. If you must deploy more hose, especially with a two-person crew, the officer will need to coordinate obtaining the additional hose and personnel needed for the stretch. The second problem with a rolled hose pack is obtaining proper pump pressure in the handline at the nozzle. A pump operator or an engineer may have a difficult time determining pump pressures because of unknown hose lengths, hose diameters, and elevation changes for a rolled hose stretch. The officer on the hoseline will need to coordinate and determine the pump pressure needed and then radio the information to the pump operator or engineer (photo 7).
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| (7) The firefighter drops the hose from a rolled hose pack out an upper-story window; hose from the engine is brought to it and connected. |
The engine company should be versatile to handle a variety of situations at a structure fire. No two fires are the same, and the engine should have options to deploy based on a size-up to develop an IAP. You may use the same option a dozen times in a row at a fire and have a successful outcome. This is where you will need to train on the other options so that you do not become proficient in only one. Remember to keep your options open; don’t be afraid to change based on the situation.
Endnote
Isman, Warren E. Fire Service Pump Operator’s Handbook (New York: Fire Engineering, 1984).
SCOTT JOERGER is an engine company captain with the Rochester (NY) Fire Department, where he has served for 16 years. He was a wildland firefighter on an engine and Hot Shot crew with the U.S. Forest Service in Oregon and was also chief of the Pittsford (NY) Volunteer Fire Department, where he has served for 25 years. He has an associate degree in fire protection and a bachelor’s degree in management.
