TOOLS OR WEAPONS?
BY WILLIAM E. CLARK
Planning for safety should not overlook the prevention of minor injuries. While such injuries are not sensational, they can be painful; and because they are frequent, they can cost a lot in time lost and medical bills. Many of these injuries are caused by “friendly fire”: fellow firefighters wielding tools with good intent but careless aim; or, worse yet, such injuries can be self-inflicted.
Our commonly used hand tools can inflict injury. After all, the axe and the pike pole were popular military weapons in early times. Those ancient pikemen were considered fearsome; so are some of their modern counterparts. In a recent Random Thoughts, Tom Brennan explained how the pike pole should be carried; that evoked memories for me. We were taught to carry it with the point down when outside the building; but as Tom said, it should be carried point up when inside the building. Thus the danger zone is usually at the entrance, right behind the guy who is changing the pike pole`s position. Failure to duck can result in a broken nose or other minor injury from the backward flip of the handle. Of course, the firefighter should first have made sure nobody was in the area of the handle, just as you should when you are about to wield any tool.
This sort of damage is easily avoided by requiring the firefighter with the tool to first reach with it carefully before he begins to swing it, to make sure no one is close enough to get hit. Also, if there is a possi-
bility that someone nearby may back into range, it is good to sound a warning such as “Watch out for the axe!” Following these simple steps will reduce the number of firefighters hit by other members` tools.
The friendliest fire is that in which the victim is also the victimizer and hurts himself. This can happen in several ways. He can pull down a portion of ceiling so that it falls on him instead of in front of him. He may hurt himself by using force instead of leverage by pulling up (instead of prying up) a floor board. If you pry the board up gently by using the floor beam to provide a fulcrum for the tool to pull the board straight up, there is less chance of getting hit in the face by the suddenly released board. This also is true for removing roof boards.
When the trim around doors or windows is to be removed, pulling it from the bottom up is safer than from the top down, which may bring you a face full of molding in a hurry.
Being close together can result in injury when firefighters are working individually; so can failure to work together properly when two or more people are performing a job in concert. For example, a man sitting in the waiting room of the fire department medical office had a horrible-looking hand: Four fingers were broken, swollen, and badly discolored. He had been handling the claw tool while forcing a locked door as another member pounded the tool with an axe. When he heard the lieutenant say, “OK,” he took it to mean that he should take his right hand off the shaft, put it on the claw, and start to pry. Unfortunately, the member with the axe took “OK” to mean “Give it one more good whack.”
COMPANY OFFICER`S SAFETY DUTIES
It is the company officer`s responsibility to require coordination and to receive it by giving concise orders. Officers have other safety duties as well. One is to look out for hazards. Even well-trained and experienced firefighters may encounter a dangerous situation without noticing it because they are deeply intent on the work they`re doing. If the officer is alert, he can detect and help avoid a hazardous situation. An example of this occurred when two firefighters were forcing a well-locked door in a recessed entrance between two plate-glass show windows. As the members pried the door, the officer noticed a large crack developing in the heavy glass window above the men. He quickly called a halt to their work and ordered them to back away before the broken glass could fall on them. An important lesson in this is that, had the officer been engaged in the actual work, he would not have discovered the hazard in time to prevent injury.
Furthermore, company officers have an obligation to carry on continuous training at fires. There is a limit to what can be taught at the academy. It is up to the company officers to explain and demonstrate the correct way to work with tools as the opportunity arises on the fireground.
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Experience with hand tools has provided the knowledge needed to handle them safely. This knowledge, properly applied, will reduce the toll of a prolific category of injuries. The underlying lesson is that people get hurt with tools but by people. The tools are safe if used safely. n
WILLIAM E. CLARK has had a long and distinguished fire service career and has long been an advocate of firefighter safety. He spent 20 years in the City of New York (NY) Fire Department, where he rose to the rank of battalion chief; he also has served as an industrial fire chief. Clark founded the International Society of Fire Service Instructors and was its president. He has served as chairman of the National Fire Protection Association committee on protective equipment and chairman of the International Association of Fire Chiefs training and education committee. He is the author of Firefighting Principles and Practices, published by Fire Engineering Books.
