MARKETING BY THE NUMBERS, CONTINUED
RANDOM THOUGHTS
I recently was a participant in a workshop exploring the probability of an organization’s producing universal tactical suggestions as an aid to marketing its starting problems. One participant stated that “ …in many instances, levels of personnel intervention and commitment are inappropriate to the size and/or degree of involvement or risk that is evident on our arrival.” One cannot disagree with this statement — as a matter of fact, it was soundly applauded by attending fire service members.
The degree of risk at occupied structure fires is in inverse proportion to the amount of trained personnel arriving and the time lapse between the ignition and that arrival. In addition, the inverse proportion can be positively influenced by the levels of leadership, training, and experience of those arriving.
last month, we discussed the staffing levels needed to mount an aggressive attack in a strip store or taxpayer. Let’s apply this idea to another of America’s common fire problems, the one in which most of our civilian life loss is suffered, the private dwellingin particular, the twoor more-story private dwelling. The time is late and it is very’ dark The smell of burning wood, paper, paint, and things is unmistakable for blocks. The structure is occupied. Risk level is at a maximum for both civilians and firefighters.
Here again, tactics minimize risk! And tactics are performed by people who accomplish needed objectives— not by apparatus delivered by drivers! Initial handline to probable fire location, protect the interior open stair and the rescuer and the trap. Water supply, handline operations, and supervision/leadership—an officer and at least three firefighters (four). The minimum needs of one backup line to ensure fire control, stair isolation, and protection and to extinguish vertical extension of fire (four). Truck functions (extinguishment and lifesaving support) must be simultaneous! Risk to civilian life is removed by rapid entry and quick access to the trapped life and its removal. Firefighter safety in this case means rapid knockdown, fire control, and making the building behave]
Entry usually is not a major problem, but the second problem for the first truck team —interior search—is. Leadership, coordination, communication, and control in the hands of a truck officer supervising at least two firefighters (three).
Hopefully, this team can accomplish both objectives—primary entry and search. Ventilation depends on fire location and the ty pe of construction. Delay the roof ventilation and get horizontal ventilation to the fire floor “behind the nozzle,” the rear, where the nozzle is going (two — remember NFPA 1500). If this structure is of balloon construction, roof venting (cutting) cannot be delayed. Two firefighters on the roof and one at the turntable for safety and communications (three).
The secret to saving civilian life at these structures is for the inside search team to “make” the interior stair and for the outside team(s) to provide additional alternate entry, search, and horizontal ventilation to each of the sleeping rooms of the second floor. Risk is reduced for the interior stair team by greatly reducing their objectives to just the hallway and perhaps the one bedroom and bath that are not readily accessible to the outside team.
Ideally, a properly placed tower ladder can ensure that the outside team of searching firefighters providing this alternate entry meets its objectives. Placed just past the corner of the structure, the tower basket can “hit” two of three, three of four, or four of five bedrooms (the numbers most common for America’s two-story dwellings) (three more firefighters). The last bedroom of these buildings is accessed from the outside by a portable ladder (two more). If you have to accomplish the same objectives using a combination of aerial and portable ladders, it will involve a great deal more time and more personnel than you may have available.
So here w-e are. We have presented a case for at least 21 firefighters to arrive on this fireground if we are to accomplish our objectives and have a risk level that is manageable by experienced risk takers —and we still haven’t accounted for the incident command “boxes,” the third handline. or water supply problems to those districts without hydrants spaced at 250-foot intervals! Who is kidding who?!
