HeRE are some more tricks of the trade (i.e., better ways to do things) submitted by firefighters and fire departments. None of these tricks, if properly employed, will create an unsafe situation or radically change the way you do things; rather they will hopefully allow you to do things better or more easily. Once again, sincere thanks to all of the fire departments and firefighters who have developed and submitted these tricks. Please keep them coming!
Color-coding fuel cans. Some devices such as generators, portable pumps, and fans run on straight gasoline; others such as chain saws require a mixture of gas and oil to operate. Using the wrong fuel will damage or destroy the engine. Labeling the cans with felt-tip pens is certainly far from foolproof. Instead, color-code the fuel cans and their respective engines to indicate their proper fuel. One color scheme is to use yellow for a gas/oil mixture and red for straight gasoline (photo 1). You can paint the caps on the fuel cans to match the caps of the fuel tanks of the corresponding equipment using that fuel. However, using reflective tape is probably faster, more visible, and easier to replace. Now, even at 0300 hours, it is easy to refuel an engine with the proper fuel.
 Photo 1 |
Cooling apparatus engines. You don’t have to look far in any older fire pictures to see gasoline engines pumping away at large fires with their engine hoods propped open in an attempt to keep them from overheating. Certainly, today’s apparatus have come a long way from those days, but overheating is still a concern in certain situations.
 Photo 2 |
The New Rochelle (NY) Fire Department developed a simple system to keep the radiator cool. If you have a discharge mounted on your front bumper, just attach a nozzle to it, aim it at the front grille, and crack it open. The water spray will help keep the radiator from overheating (photo 2). No front discharge? Just stretch a length of hose from another discharge and position it to aim a gentle spray at the front grille.
The versatile Navy nozzle. Navy nozzles have a simple design, are quite reliable, and can easily be equipped with a “gooseneck wand,” a length of aluminum tubing with a bend on the end, and a spray nozzle head. They come in lengths between six and 12 feet and feature a 45- or 90-degree angle at the end. Originally, they were designed to provide a cooling water spray down on the advancing nozzle team during shipboard firefighting, where heat levels are high and personal protection very low. Since their inception, the fire service has adapted these nozzles for other purposes (photo 3).
 Photo 3 |
At vehicle fires. Navy nozzles are extremely versatile at vehicle fires. Using the nozzle in its straight-stream position, a nozzle firefighter can sweep the ground under a burning vehicle from a safe distance to cool the fuel tank and other potential explosion hazards and can also darken down any accessible fire from a safe distance.
Advancing closer, the firefighter can turn the nozzle upside down and direct the flow into the gooseneck wand; this spray can be used to further cool the fuel tank, bumpers, driveshaft, or any other potential explosion sources.
Then, from a safe position by a front door of the vehicle, he can place the nozzle under the engine compartment. This device allows the nozzle firefighter to place the spray under the engine, where the fire can easily be extinguished while the hose team is safely positioned around the side of the vehicle (photo 4).
 Photo 4 |
The nozzle team positions itself on the upwind side of the burning vehicle by a front door and, with the nozzle inverted, places it under the vehicle so that it is under the engine compartment. A quick operation of the nozzle sprays water up and into the engine compartment. Whatever fire isn’t extinguished by the water spray will be put out by the resulting cloud of steam produced when the water spray hits the hot engine.
All of this is done from the relative safety of the side of the vehicle. After the fire has been extinguished and all dangerous items cooled, the hood can then be popped open.
The gooseneck can also be very useful for a passenger compartment or even a trunk fire. After any visible fire has been knocked down from a safe distance, the gooseneck can be used to cool any explosion potentials and then placed into the fire area for final extinguishment.
With dry chemical extinguishers. Dry chemical extinguishers have a fairly good reach under normal conditions. But fires don’t usually occur under “normal” conditions. Occasionally, a firefighter may encounter a fire that necessitates using a dry chemical extinguisher, but an obstacle may prevent the dry chemical stream from reaching its intended target. Slide the end of the gooseneck wand down over the nozzle of the dry chemical extinguisher, and seal this joint by placing your gloved hand over it (photo 5). When you discharge the extinguisher, the dry chem will be pushed out the end of the gooseneck wand and down onto the fire below. You can also adapt a length of electrical conduit to achieve the same basic purpose.
 Photo 5 |
As a rehab tool. With its gentle spray, a gooseneck wand also works great as a rehab tool. Attach it to a rig-mounted deck gun and turn it so it hangs out over the side of an engine opposite the operator. Charge the deck gun; you now have a gentle water spray for personnel to walk under to cool off. Or, hang it from a tree branch or other overhead secure point to create a gentle rehab spray (photo 6). Thanks to Deputy Chief Doug Kelly, New Rochelle (NY) Fire Department, for these tips.
 Photo 6 |
Collar your equipment. Dog collars with plastic clips can be used to secure a wide variety of items together. Hose packs, ropes, and electric cords are just a few examples of what these adjustable straps can secure (photos 7, 8). These adjustable straps are available at your local dollar store and come in three sizes and a variety of colors. Get the type that uses a two-piece plastic clip assembly to secure the ends together. They are easily adjustable and have a metal D-ring that enables you to hang up the items they secure. If a dog collar is too short for a specific use, connect two or more collars using the plastic clips for visibility. Some even include reflective tape. Thanks to Chief Henry Campbell (Ret.), Mount Vernon (NY) Fire Department, for this tip.
 Photo 7 |
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 Photo 8 |
Class B foam training. Since Class B foam plays a vital role in numerous incidents, everybody must be well-versed in setting up and using foam equipment. Since foam concentrate can be a costly training expense, a less expensive substitute, such as detergent or car soap, is a good alternative. A local car wash or a manufacturing plant may be a good source for a detergent donation.
For training, just use the detergent instead of your foam concentrate; set up and operate your foam equipment just as you would when using real foam. Although it doesn’t have the extinguishing capabilities of real foam, it does flow and lie on the ground much like real foam. As with real foam concentrate, make sure you thoroughly flush your equipment after each use so the detergent (or foam) doesn’t gum up the inside of your eductor.
Another option is to use training foam some foam manufacturers offer. Again, it doesn’t have the fire suppression capabilities of actual foam, but it flows and looks like the real thing and costs a lot less.
The previous tip addresses the setup and use of the foam equipment only; it doesn’t show how foam works for fire prevention or suppression. For that, you need real foam and fire. Environmental concerns have dramatically reduced the number of sites at which Class B live fire training can be conducted.
But around the fire station or your house, you can substitute a number of ordinary items for use in some small-scale foam operations. A small glass jar, an old spray bottle, a handheld garden sprayer, a garden hose sprayer, or even a pressurized water extinguisher can produce a good-quality foam. Each one takes a little experimenting to get the mixture right; with some, the pattern needs to be adjusted to properly aerate the foam solution.
The cheapest, most readily available item is a glass jar. Pour a little water in the jar and then a small amount of foam concentrate. Put the lid on the jar, and shake to aerate the foam solution. Now, you have finished foam you can use to show trainees how real foam spreads out when poured and even how it extinguishes a fire. With all the proper safeguards in place, pour a little combustible fuel in a small pan and ignite the fuel. Then, gently pour the finished foam down onto the fire and observe how the foam spreads across the fire and extinguishes it, or pour only enough foam on the fire to extinguish some of the fire. Your firefighters will be able to see how long the foam withstands the ravages of fire.
Another cheap foam producer is the common spray bottle. Pour some water and then foam concentrate into the bottle, mix them together, and then operate the sprayer. You’ll get a small foam stream.
 Photo 9 |
Alternatively, use a small handheld pump sprayer such as that used to spray weed or bug killer (photo 9). Safety dictates that it is probably best not to use a sprayer that held toxic chemicals previously. Add your foam concentrate and some water in the container, and mix. Then pump up the sprayer and spray some foam. It might not be quite as bubbly as real foam, but it will serve the purpose of demonstrating the foam’s capability to prevent or suppress a fire.
 Photo 10 |
Taking your foam training to the next level, get a sprayer that can be attached to the end of your garden hose. Again, you have to experiment to get the mixture right. This device will be of benefit if you put some sort of aeration device, such as a short piece of plastic pipe, on the end (photo 10). Or, you can grab a water extinguisher off a rig, discharge it, and refill it with water and foam concentrate. Make sure these components are well mixed, and then recharge the extinguisher. Now, you can discharge the extinguisher with your thumb over the nozzle to aerate the spray. If your extinguisher is equipped with a foam nozzle, better yet.
 Photo 11 |
All of the devices will produce a reasonable-quality foam, but since “seeing is believing,” you need to show your personnel how foam works on an actual spill or fire. Using an old frying pan or an aluminum tray from the local dollar store, put a little combustible liquid in it, and use that as your live fire (photos 11, 12). Or, get an old 30- or 55-gallon drum, clean it out thoroughly, and cut it in half so you have two clamshell-like containers. Be careful to address any sharp edges. Take one of these shells to a safe location, stabilize it so it can’t rock or turn over, put about four to five inches of water in it, and then add some combustible fuel such as diesel. Now, when you are ready, ignite the fuel, let the fire get going pretty well, and then use your homemade foam device to extinguish the fire.
 Photo 12 |
Or, as discussed earlier, don’t fully extinguish the fire; let the firefighters see how the foam reacts with the remaining fire and the hot metal edges. With some fire still remaining, take a long stick and try to scrape away a little of the foam to see if the fire jumps over to that area. Most foam will leave an invisible vapor-sealing layer behind that prevents this ignition; check with your foam distributor to see what qualities your foam has. Make sure you properly dispose of the residue left in your burn barrel.
Another foam trick involves opening a pail of foam. It can be a chore to get a cap off a pail of foam, especially under the stress of an incident. The cap is often sealed very well to maintain the foam’s properties. One method for quick access to the foam concentrate starts with turning the pail upside down and using a pickhead ax or halligan to poke two holes in the bottom (which is now facing up). If you use a pickhead ax, rotate the ax to bore out the hole after you poke it through. This will ensure that the hole is big enough for the end of the pickup tube on your eductor. If you use a halligan bar, make your initial hole with the pointed end and then enlarge it with the adz. The second hole is to allow atmospheric pressure to enter the pail; this is really what “pushes” the foam concentrate up the pickup tube. The downside of these methods is that if you don’t use all of the foam concentrate, you must find an empty foam pail in which to store the remainder of the foam concentrate since foam concentrate must be stored in an airtight container. A word of caution: Make sure you don’t overdo it when you swing your tool. Your goal is to make a hole, not split the container in half. Also, too light of a swing may cause the tool to bounce back up toward you. Always make sure you are wearing all of your personal protective gear, especially eye protection.
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These are just a handful of the many clever tricks in use. Hopefully, one of them will help you work better or more safely. Look around your department; you are guaranteed to find some homegrown tricks of the trade. Send them to me at dkwalsh@optonline.net so that everybody can benefit from your “better way.” Published submissions will be properly credited. ■
DAVE WALSH is a 34-year veteran of the fire service and the program chairperson for the fire science program at Dutchess Community College in Poughkeepsie, New York. He served 27 years as a career firefighter with the Arlington Fire District in Poughkeepsie, where he was the municipal training officer for 19 years. He is a nationally certified fire instructor II, a New York state fire instructor, and an adjunct instructor for the New York State Emergency Management Office. Walsh has a bachelor’s degree in business administration from Marist College and a bachelor’s degree in fire science from Empire State College.
