By Chuck DeLuca
Although all of the tradi- tional size-up points (Construction, Occupancy, Apparatus and Personnel, Life Hazard, Water Supply, Auxiliary Appliances, Street Conditions, Weather, Exposures, Area, Location/Extent/ Volume of Fire, Time, and Height) are always important, some pertain more to the engine company and how it will eventually operate.
The following size-up points should be priorities for the engine company to identify and fulfill to the best of its ability.
WATER SUPPLY
The most important requirement for an engine company to fulfill before it can operate on the fireground is water supply. The water supply is established in several ways: onboard tanks, hydrant systems, tankers and/or shuttle operations, or drafting. Some are more efficient than others, which is determined by the resources available. Identify the water supply method through prefire plans/inspections, training, SOPs, and simply accessing the resources of the engine company ahead of time.
The most important factor after identifying the means of water supply is ensuring that it will be uninterrupted. The most advantageous way (in many instances) for the engine company to accomplish this is to establish its own water supply by connecting to a hydrant, laying and charging lines (either forward or reverse lay), or setting up a drafting operation. All have their advantages and disadvantages, depending on such factors as hydrant availability and locations, drafting sources, staffing, equipment available, booster tank capacity, and estimated arrival time of the second engine. Prefire planning and SOPs will help identify these factors.
The engine company must establish an uninterrupted water supply. How to do this will vary. Without it, the engine company becomes less efficient and will jeopardize the entire operation.
We in the fire service are taught early on that life hazard is the most important priority in firefighting, but without a proper water supply, the engine company members will put not only civilian life at risk but their own as well.
LIFE HAZARD/RESCUE
How you fight a fire will be dictated by life hazard. With the water supply established, the engine company can plan the attack. When a life hazard has been identified, the engine company must start an aggressive attack.
To save a person trapped in a fire, the engine company moves in quickly and efficiently to (at least) get between the victim and the fire. The engine company must now stop the spread of fire toward the victim. The best possible scenario is to extinguish the fire in a hasty manner. Engine companies will save a lot of lives by putting out the fire. If the fire cannot be extinguished quickly (for whatever reason), the engine company must “hold” the fire from advancing until members can safely remove the victim.
When possible, the engine company can advance through the uninvolved side. This is not always possible or desirable, however. If the fire is in the front, it will certainly be more difficult, personnel intensive, and time consuming to take the line through the back or side entrance.
As the engine company advances, it will proceed closer to the fire, where the victims in the most danger are located. The engine company also assumes the important task of protecting the companies performing search, rescue, and removals—for example, a company going over the fire (whether through interior stairs or by vent-enter-search). These searching companies are also part of the life hazard. At this point, the engine company cannot let the fire infringe on the staircase or any egress avenue the companies conducting the search might use to remove a victim or self-egress.
If at all possible, the search companies should make physical contact with the engine company prior to their task. This “contact” should be considered a binding contract for the engine company to protect the members conducting the search. The engine company’s priority now is to not surrender its position until the search companies are safely out and have completed their mission.
With the life hazard clearly identified and protected, the engine company can get on with the business of extinguishing the fire.
FIRE LOCATION
The engine company must determine the fire location before stretching a line. Although smoke may be pushing out of several areas, the engine company must get to what is burning to facilitate extinguishment.
The easiest lead to follow is when the occupant can tell you where the fire is. Such information as “a burning mattress on the second floor” or “rubbish on fire in the basement” will be much welcomed information for the engine company starting its hose stretch. Much time and effort can be saved when this information is combined with the initial size-up.
Many times direct information from an occupant is not available. In such cases, several variables and clues are going to have to be considered.
Visible flame can be a clue to where the main body of fire is. This obvious lead can also be misinterpreted. A visible fire in an attic might also mean that a basement fire has extended up the open cavities of a balloon-frame wall. The hose stretch to the attic may be a dangerous waste of time and effort. The fire’s location in this example may vary.
Multiple fires showing in remote locations can be the work of an arsonist. Danger for the hose team increases in this scenario, and the team must exercise extreme caution before proceeding with an interior operation.
Without accurate face-to-face information or reliable visible flame clues, the engine company must rely on experience and common sense. Smoke and heat are the main indicators as the engine company enters a building and attempts to stretch hose to the fire. Although smoke can and will travel through different avenues, it should not be ignored. When the engine company confronts smoke and heat but no visible fire, it’s a good possibility that the fire is below, maybe in the basement or cellar.
A thermal imaging camera can be an invaluable tool for an engine company searching for the fire. The view of the direction of heated gases afforded by the camera will give the engine company a better idea as to which way to make or continue the hose stretch.
Many times the use of a thermal imaging camera will mean teaming up with the truck or rescue company doing a search. Note that the search is not only for life but also for fire location, so value the other company’s expertise and guidance, since your main task is to extinguish the fire.
VOLUME AND EXTENT OF FIRE
It’s “easy” for an engine company if flame is showing at all windows of a 21/2-story wood-frame dwelling. Fire has extended throughout and volume is high. The fire is most likely into the structure and the building is “doomed.” A defensive strategy would probably be employed.
However, this scenario is hardly ever the norm. For example, a fire in a basement of a dwelling (with proper firestopping) may not have extended upward to the first floor. A quick-moving engine company working with an aggressive truck company may save much of the building and contents. As the truck company opens up the walls and ceilings, the engine company will be in a better position to extinguish any fire that may have gotten into the structure.
Determining fire location and travel direction is essential for a successful fire attack. At this point, it is important that the engine company accurately estimate the volume of fire involved to deliver a sufficient number of gallons per minute (gpm) of water for extinguishment.
Many engine companies initiate fire attack with 13/4-inch or two-inch hose flowing 150 to 200 gpm. These tactics extinguish a lot of fire and are quite successful. This smaller-diameter hose is relatively easy to stretch (with proper training and staff) and can be moved when charged.
The decision on what diameter hoseline to use may also be dictated by standard operating procedures. A larger-diameter hoseline, such as 21/2-inch, may be required at mercantile or commercial buildings, for standpipe use, or when an obviously large volume of fire is present.
Constant size-up during the hose stretch and as fire attack starts is imperative. The engine company must remain flexible enough to recognize that if it underestimated the volume of fire or the extent is greater, the company must call for more water (additional handline) or retreat. At this point, an engine company can get into trouble.
If the engine company is using 13/4-inch or two-inch hose and is not making any headway, it probably needs more gpm. If the engine company’s movement is stalled, it probably is not extinguishing the fire. At best, it is keeping the fire “in check,” but it’s just a matter of time before the fire finds more fuel to burn and starts to extend to other areas (for example, upward).
At this point, the engine company may even mistakenly assume that it has extinguished the fire (which it may have done in the immediate location). By now, the fire might have extended into other areas. The engine company might have “won the battle” but will “lose the building” as the fire extends upward or laterally.
Before this happens, the engine company must recognize it needs more water—more gpm must be directed onto the fire. Getting a second handline (ideally, one with a larger diameter and greater initial gpm) to the point of attack should fulfill the need for more water. The two lines can work together to maximize the gpm flow.
Another time more gpm will be needed is when you cannot locate the fire. If the engine company is not flowing water and attacking the fire actively and early on, the fire will grow and extend, increasing in volume and eventually “showing.” At this point, it may surely be more than one 13/4-inch or two-inch hoseline can handle. A second and larger-diameter hoseline should have been stretched by now (as a backup). This second hoseline will certainly be needed now to increase gpm at the point of fire attack and extinguishment. Another line must also be stretched at this time to replace the backup.
If the above tactics are not successful in a short time, the attack strategy must be reassessed. It might be as simple as repositioning the hoselines or having the truck company increase ventilation or as drastic as changing the attack to a defensive mode. The intensity of the wind might be a reason to change positions and attack the fire from another direction.
When the engine companies cannot make headway, even when gpm and ventilation have been increased, the operation becomes more dangerous. At this point, consider switching to a defensive mode. Conditions are probably deteriorating and fire attack is not progressing. For all attack crews involved, this operation will only get safer when it is switched to a defensive mode.
When the engine company identifies and implements these size-up points correctly, it can set the tone and direction for the whole operation. Any problems fulfilling the engine company’s needs and duties will negate the best ventilation practices, search and rescue efforts, or any other fireground tasks. If the engine company does not accommodate its needs early on, playing catch-up can be disastrous.
Although it may sound simple, water is the essential ingredient for extinguishing a fire (before it runs out of fuel). In the fire service, the engine company is the preferred method for delivering water for fire attack. No one would argue the importance of the engine company on the fireground. It is the engine company’s responsibility to observe SOPs, train and drill, preplan, and be alert to the conditions that develop at any alarm. With this discipline, the engine company will be able to identify and fulfill the needs of water supply, life hazard, location of fire, volume of fire, and extent of fire. As these points are identified and acted on, the engine company can set the tone for the entire operation.
Chuck DeLuca is an engine company lieutenant and a 21-year veteran of the Hackensack (NJ) Fire Department. He has an AAS degree in fire science from Bergen Community College in Paramus, New Jersey, and a BS degree in fire science/public safety from Mercy College in Dobbs Ferry, New York. He has several New Jersey state certifications including firefighter I, IMS Level I, and fire official.
