BY JOHN “SKIP” COLEMAN
I see a lot of training topics cross my desk and computer monitor screen. One that passes by on occasion is “large-area search.” Large-area search! What does that mean? Literally, it means taking a fire crew or crews and searching a large area in zero or almost zero visibility. How do we define a “large area”? I would say any single area (one large room or area or several smaller areas in the same business, as in a large restaurant with several dining rooms) more than 3,000 square feet (sq ft). We generally do not think of single-family homes as large areas; however, some departments have 5,000-sq ft and larger homes in their communities. Perhaps it’s easier to define large-area search structures and commercial occupancies as auto dealerships, covered malls, grocery stores, warehouses, large restaurants, meeting rooms, private clubs such as Elks lodges or VFW halls, theaters, and on and on. Can you and your crew really expect to accomplish a successful search in a grocery store or Olive Garden restaurant in zero visibility?
SCENARIO
A fire department responds to a reported fire in a national chain restaurant on the edge of town. There are several chain restaurants in that part of townan Olive Garden, a Chi Chi’s, and an old LongHorn Steakhouse that was converted into a local bar and grill.
Eighteen firefighters respond to the call on two engines, one aerial, one heavy rescue squad, and an advanced life support medic unit, along with a battalion chief. The crews are anxious because they know that today is Saturday. Since it is 8:45 p.m., they expect that if this is a working fire as the dispatchers indicate, there may be many people inside the packed popular restaurant.
The officer of the heavy squad starts to review in his mind the training on large-area search he and his crew completed about five months ago. (Bear in mind that approximately 75 percent of what you learn is forgotten if it is not reinforced within two weeks.) Since the training, they have not had the ropes out because of other responsibilities and the weather. In his mind, he thinks, “OK. Anchor the carabiner outside and then make sure we all know our jobs before we go in. The ‘anchor’ firefighter carries the search line and leads the way. He calls out how far inside the structure we are. I’m next on the line as the team leader. My two searchers follow us in and search off the line with their tag lines. What else? What am I forgetting?”
As the squad pulls up to the fire, the officer sees heavy smoke and some flames coming from the rear of the former LongHorn Steakhouse. He and his crew were scheduled to do a preplan of this occupancy next month. The radio reports say that several patrons and workers may still be in the building.
“This is it,” the officer thinks, as he exits his rig and gathers his crew.
 Figure 1. LongHorn Steakhouse Floor Plan |
Figure 1 shows the floor plan of the restaurant minus the kitchen and bar areajust the dining room. Ask yourself how long it would take you and your crew to search a restaurant like this in zero visibilityand do it well.
First, since there are multiple victims, don’t rely totally on a thermal imaging camera (TIC). TICs, as great an innovation as they are for the fire service, will become truly effective and efficient only when all firefighters have one imbedded in their face pieces. Only then will they become the true life-saving tools they have the potential to become. I say that because of the following scenario.
Refer to Figure 1. Assume your three-person crew and you enter the above restaurant through the door at the top of the illustration adjacent to the restrooms (near the BC corner). You, as the officer, have the TIC. You scan the room to your left and see a victim in the far left corner of the restaurant near the CD corner. You walk toward the victim as your two crew members follow. Once you reach the victim, the two members begin to drag the large male victim out. You and the other firefighter must leave with the two firefighters dragging the victim. What are your other alternatives?
You could let the two firefighters dragging the victim find their way out, but how much attention did they pay to how they got in and where they are and how to get back out? Remember, they followed you in simply by hanging onto your coat. You could give them the TIC, but will you and the other firefighter know where you are and how to get out? Neither option is viable to me. So, until we all have TICs, we must all leave when a victim is located. The restaurant above has a pretty straightforward floor planstraight aisles and few turns. Figure 2 is the floor plan of a more modern restaurant.
 Figure 2. Floor Plan of a More Modern Restaurant |
Again, I ask, How long would it take you and your crew to search this area in zero visibility? One crew, limited staffing! How many air bottles on your back would you go through to cover the restaurant completely? Three? Four? And after the time you would take to go through four SCBA bottles and crawl back out to change the bottle three times, how many live victims would you expect to find in that hour or so?
So I go back to my first question: What does large-area search mean? What are we really accomplishing?
Let’s do some math. The human body cannot live on 15 percent or less oxygen for more than four to six minutes. Let’s say that the oxygen content has been less than 15 percent for one minute prior to your on-scene time. Then, consider the time it took you to don gear and enter the building. Let’s say another three minutes. Now we have to account for the time to locate the victim and bring the victim out. You are surely over the six-minute mark. That’s for the first victim located. What about the second, third, and so on?
Let’s look at some more math. Say you find someone in time and you are a four-person crew, including the officer. You locate a 150-pound female on the carpeted floor about 60 feet from the door. How many firefighters of the four will the officer allocate for the rescue? One? That’s probably too much to ask. Two? That’s probably very doable; they leave with the victim. But once outside … how many times have you seen firefighters bring out a victim and turn around and go back into the building? Not too often. I’m not saying it never happens, but it doesn’t happen often.
So, the 18 firefighters who responded to the above scenario now are doing what? One IC (probably wishing he’d taken the pension two weeks ago), two engine companies tasked with locating and darkening the fire, one truck company forcing entry and getting the ladder to the roof for vertical ventilation, and one-half the heavy squad out with the advanced life support (ALS) unit working the victim and one-half the heavy squad looking for another victim.
When the second half of the squad locates and begins to move the next victim, the IC must pull crews from other tasks to continue the search, suspend the search, or wait until mutual aid units arrive. None of these options is good.
SOLUTIONS
All I have given you so far is problems. What solutions can I provide? Is there an effective way to conduct large-area searches? A new method of search, perhaps? One that allows fewer firefighters to find more victims in less time? No, not one of which I’m aware. A new rope configuration that will allow the firefighters to quickly maneuver in the above restaurant layout and not get tangled up in the chairs and tables? No. Try searching a restaurant sometime. (Try setting out a bunch of tables and chairs in the fire department meeting hall or training room and watch what happens to your search rope.) Here’s what I know.
1You can’t realistically search the area using ropes or hoses or anything else in zero visibility. You don’t have the time. You may eventually locate victims, but they most surely will not be alive (remember the four- to six-minute oxygen limit). First locate and remove live viable victims at a fire. You can look (visually) for and remove deceased victims later.
2You may find a victim or two, but you’re up against a clock and limited staffing (at least initially). If you find a victim, while you are tending to him, you are doing nothing for victims yet to be located. I offer these three words: positive-pressure ventilation.
Positive-Pressure Ventilation (PPV)
Here’s what I know.
1 When the fan is turned on correctly (see below), visibility improves almost immediately. You can probably begin to see five to 10 feet in less than one minute.
2 If visibility is improving, living conditions are likely to be improving for the yet-to-be located victims (more oxygen and less carbon monoxide).
3 If visibility is improving, you can “look” for victims as opposed to blindly feeling for them. Hence, you can cover a lot more area faster.
4 If you find victims and begin to remove them, the fan is still improving conditions for yet-to-be located victims.
5 With a 60,000-cubic-foot area (60 × 100 × 10 foot ceiling) small restaurant, you can almost totally exchange the air in three minutes with the average PPV fan. I realize that’s a qualified “totally,” but whenever you turn on a PPV fan, one of three things happens:
- Things get better. Keep going.
- Things stay the same. Make an adjustment.
- Things get worse. Turn off the PPV.
Two out of three isn’t bad.
Using PPV Correctly
Above, I mentioned using the PPV fan correctly. Following are a few rules for proper use:
- Know where the fire is. If the fire is where there is the probability of large life loss and you didn’t initially know where the fire was, order the fan and remember to evaluate its effects, as described in Step 5 above.
- Have an adequate vent hole. The hole must be near the fire and away from the opening where the fan is. A good rule to follow is this: If the fire is in the front, put the vent hole in the front and the fan in the back. If the fire is in the back, put the vent hole in the back and the fan in the front.
I have thought and thought about this. Again, I know you can’t set up ropes, carabiners, and anchor points and also search a large restaurant or an office or a store in a short enough time to be effective. I know a PPV fan can move adequate quantities of air and rapidly improve visibility and conditions on the lower levels of a building. I know I can locate victims faster by looking for them as opposed to blindly feeling for them. I also know that I may push some fire up and into other areas if I have not knocked down the fire or if I incorrectly placed the fan. Finally, I know of nothing else that would be feasible and work. Do you? I have worked with the National Institute of Standards and Technology on this problem, and we have had some encouraging results.
JOHN “SKIP” COLEMAN retired as assistant chief from the Toledo (OH) Department of Fire and Rescue. He is a technical editor of Fire Engineering; a member of the FDIC Educational Advisory Board; and author of Incident Management for the Street-Smart Fire Officer (Fire Engineering, 1997), Managing Major Fires (Fire Engineering, 2000), and Incident Management for the Street-Smart Fire Officer, Second Edition (Fire Engineering, 2008).
