FIRE IN A BUILDING IS A LOT like cancer in the body. It can start in a single cell; can stay tiny for a long time; can explode and spread throughout the entire body/building; and sometimes, just when you think you have it under control, it can pop up in a place you least expect. In other cases, the signs and symptoms tell us it is somewhere in the body/building, but the most experienced experts equipped with the latest detection technology are not able to find it. They know that wherever it is, it is growing in its secret place, so the longer they look for it, the worse it will be when they finally locate it, and the less chance they have to control it before it is fatal.
The medical community and the fire service have methods for detection and treatment. The medical experts use X-ray; we use thermal imaging. They use biopsy techniques and surgery; we cut ventilation and inspection holes. They use drugs, chemo, and radiation; we use fire streams and tactical support. We both have seen the beginning, the middle, and the end of a lot of cases, so we are highly familiar with the pathology, progress, and prognosis. Treating and eradicating require opposing superiority-a larger, better-placed, longer, and more effectively timed treatment force than the energy of the destructive disease/fire. But, the docs/firefighters must first locate the problem before they can start the battle to make it go away.
Although there are a number of similarities between cancer and fire, there is one big difference: Cancer fighters (thankfully) do not get injured or killed when the cancer suddenly announces its presence. Sadly, we cannot say the same about firefighters. In the recent past, firefighters operating in completely tenable interior tactical positions have experienced thermal and toxic conditions worsening suddenly to an extent that the conditions overpowered their personal protective equipment (PPE) and their physical survival capabilities. Many times, they were attempting to find the fire when the fire found them-in effect, the fire controlled (assaulted/assassinated) the firefighters instead of the reverse. When this happens, we are inclined to use the word “unexpected,” when “surprised” would be a more accurate and “mature” (experienced) reaction. Understanding, expecting, and then always effectively responding to the lethal potential of what can happen when an undetected fire comes out of its hiding place are the very best ways to prevent surprise. We must always operate with the awareness that if we are in an interior operating position and have not determined the location of the fire, we are directly in what can almost instantly go from a “nothing showing, no big deal” to being in the middle of a defensive huge deal. We must never trust the fire-it is a clever, sneaky, dirty rat. Until we can look the rotten rodent in the eye and know right where it is, we should expect that every innocent-looking situation is a potential sucker punch. We must always be ready to submerge the demon in liberal doses of rat poison (WATER).
Fire spread typically occurs inside a building, so the structure becomes the enclosure (fire area) where the firefight occurs. How we deal with the arrangement of that fire area becomes a major factor in searching for, finding, and then fighting the fire. The incident commander (IC) and the entire command team must quickly develop a profile of the basic fire area, which is the footprint of the fire building and the surrounding area. This is generally written on a tactical work sheet-a simple, one-page, fairly crude but effective standard work form where fast and dirty diagrams and notes can be recorded. A simple line drawing of the scene begins to create a representation of the arrangement of the “tactical field” where the firefight will occur. The sketch of the “terrain” also shows where operating resources must be assigned to cover the critical rescue-the fire control areas. This also becomes the work sheet for the IC to begin to identify and mark heat/fire/smoke conditions.
Sometimes, the location and extent of the fire are very visible (!), so showing it with a red marking pen on the work sheet is pretty easy. In these fire-showing situations, the presence and location of the fire are “knowns,” and making the assignments to go to work on the fire is very straightforward. Now, everybody can better protect themselves (and each other), because they can see the problem, and the IC can now execute an action plan to fight the fire. On the other end of the fire-stage scale is the situation where there is nothing showing or smoke showing, but the location of the fire is unknown-simply, there are no red marks on the work sheet. This creates a huge, potentially high-risk UNKNOWN critical factor-where is the fire? This (unknown) must be regarded and dealt with as a huge red flag. Now, the IC must develop and manage an incident action plan (IAP) to search for and somehow find the fire. Specific assignments must be made to specific companies to search the entire fire area, to develop an incident organization, to start a strong communications plan with quick two-way information exchange, to ready rapid intervention, and to pull “rat poison” application lines. Every level must understand that until the fire (rat) is found, the situation can quickly become a high-hazard event. Larger buildings can hold more rats, so the companies can go deeper inside, making the exit trip more difficult if heat/smoke/fire suddenly develop.
Just like the cancer docs’ knowledge of how to defend the body from the disease, our best weapon is the firefighters’ knowledge of basic fire area dynamics-how an uncontrolled fire starts, spreads, and eventually destroys all the life and property it can extend in, on, and around. This knowledge becomes the basis of our capability to find the fire, cut it off, and then put it out.
Retired Chief ALAN BRUNACINI is a fire service author and speaker. He and his sons own the fire service Web site bshifter.com.
