BY RICHARD RAY
Volunteer firefighters comprise 71 percent of today’s fire service in the United States; however, the number of available volunteer firefighters is steadily decreasing. Volunteer fire departments face a staffing challenge different from that of combination and career departments. Personnel availability is largely based on when the emergency occurs. Because of work schedules and family and other responsibilities, there are limits on when volunteers are able to respond. How can you ensure that the functions of the engine company are done safely and in a timely manner when staffing is limited? It takes preparation, training, and execution.
Preparation is a fundamental element of success. For the volunteer fire department, preparation involves having departmental operating guidelines that are relevant and applicable to the department and response area. Operating guidelines create an environment on the fireground that decreases freelancing and overwhelming the incident commander (IC), which both lead to fireground failure for volunteer fire departments. Unfortunately, some departments do not have operating guidelines. Yet, they wonder why their fireground is out of control.
The next step is to prepare and build an apparatus that is functional and versatile for the fire department. However, some departments cannot afford to design and create the engine they want or need. They buy trucks that are affordable and do not always have the features they want or, in some cases, need. Even if your department faces these conditions, you can still create an engine that can serve your department and help you achieve fireground excellence.
If your department has the funding and is able to design your engine, you still must consider several factors. Back in the day, fire engines were smaller and slower. They offered limited compartment space and carried a minimal amount of water. They were simple in design and operation. Today’s fire engines are larger and much more complex. They are designed to allow the fire department to aggressively attack a fire or handle a multitude of other types of incidents. How should your department design its engine?
Start with an understanding of your response area, climatic conditions, terrain, building construction, occupancies and fire loading, water supply, and fire flow requirements. Engine layout should achieve increased utilization and functionality. The problem with the modern fire engine is its size. Because of a lack of personnel available to respond, departments are now trying to maximize equipment and water on the engine, which results in larger trucks. This factor greatly affects stretching hose from the engine, placing equipment, and loading hose and equipment. Taller hose beds and equipment mounted out of firefighters’ reach leads to firefighter injury.
Hose bed location and design affect which hose load is used. A majority of engines today have preconnected hose that uses a cross-lay style hose bed. Of all the loads available to us in the fire service, which one is the best? Preconnected hose is usually loaded in one of three ways: a flat load, a minute man load, or the triple layer load in the cross lay bed. All of these hose loads are versatile and work well when firefighters are trained on how to deploy them. Each of these loads has advantages and disadvantages. The traditional flat load allows firefighters to deploy it from either side of the apparatus unless the hose bed is not wide enough to allow the nozzle to pass through. The minute man and triple layer loads are great loads for one firefighter to stretch. Unfortunately, they have to be stretched from the side on which the nozzle is located. Again, these loads work well for one firefighter, which makes them attractive to use, but they may limit your versatility.
A large advantage of the minute man and the traditional flat load is that these loads allow you to shoulder the working length of the hose to the entry point, which aids our advance once the line is charged. Understand that the type of hoseload chosen comes with advantages and disadvantages. There is no “one size fits all.” Members have to continuously train in stretching hose and facing challenges during training. Stretching hose should be instinctual to the firefighter and done with ease. One way of training members is to have them stretch hose on fire alarm calls. Again, the idea is to present different challenges of stretching hose to the firefighter. What better way is there to do that than on-the-job training?
The top hose bed on the apparatus often is a forgotten commodity, especially when designing an apparatus. The preferred method is to have all discharges at the rear of the apparatus so that the hose can be loaded in a static fashion. This allows the firefighter to pull the necessary hose from the apparatus and the driver to break the hose at the coupling and connect it to the discharge. Consider when loading the hose how the truck will be used on the fireground. Generally, half of the bed is loaded with large-diameter hose (LDH) for which there should be enough space to hold 1,000 feet. The other half of the bed needs to be versatile. When using a forward or reverse lay, consider the hose diameter and the function of the apparatus when it arrives. Certainly, adapters give us needed flexibility, but defining the engine’s response helps the volunteer fire department to choose the appropriate lay and load for deployment on the fireground. The district’s needs are a primary consideration when loading the top hose bed. For the 1¾-inch hose loads that are stretched from the rear, the minute man and triple layer loads are efficient and effective. The reverse horseshoe load is useful on the top hose bed, especially with a courtyard load. I have found that this load is best when using 100 feet of 1¾-inch hose. A simple method for deploying this load with a 2½-inch line is to use a piece of webbing through the “U” of the hose and the nozzle. Use a girth hitch to apply the webbing around the nozzle and the hose. The firefighter will grab the webbing and pull; the entire load will deploy, and the firefighter will stretch to the entry point. Once at the doorway, the firefighter will have a working length of a 100 feet of hose that is easy to stretch with almost no kinks.
A final thought about hose beds is that most apparatus are designed little thought to the hose beds on the truck. It seems that compartment sizes and water drive the design of the apparatus. Although both are extremely important, don’t lose sight of the hose bed heights and arrangements; both can adversely affect the efficiency of the engine company’s performance.
Focus on the equipment on the engine when trying to attain engine company excellence. The engine is our tool box. It is a proven fact that without the right tools and training, the job can’t get done. The ISO mandates the equipment a department should have on its engine; however, a department can add to the inventory list. Think dynamically and ask yourself, What minimal equipment can give my fire department an advantage when staffing is limited?
Probably the nozzle is the most important piece of equipment on the engine. The first decision the department has to make is what its target flow on the fireground will be. A 1¾-inch hose requires a minimum flow of 150 gallons per minute (gpm); the 2½-inch hose requires a minimum flow of 250 gpm. The higher flows are needed to address today’s fires. A fire department’s choice of nozzle is a critical decision. Which should your department chose–a fog, low-pressure fog, or smoothbore? Keep in mind that, just like hose loads, there are advantages and disadvantages for each type. For structural firefighting, the smooth bore is a volunteer department’s best option. It is less expensive than the fog and is more effective during extinguishment. Fog nozzles do a good job, too; however, the higher pump pressures, smaller droplets of water, and expense make their use less desirable. There seems to be a culture in the fire service that believes the fog nozzle gives you protection. This is not true for interior structural firefighting. For the volunteer fire department that has limited personnel and wants an effective nozzle and stream for fire extinguishment, the smoothbore nozzle should be preferred.
Water supply equipment is a crucial part of the volunteer engine company. The ability to establish and maintain a positive water supply is a benchmark for an excellent engine company. Factors that affect water supply are apparatus placement, street size, time of day, response route, hydrant operations vs. a water shuttle, and the fill site locations. Having the right tools to establish the water supply is necessary but expensive as well. Which type of water supply does your department mostly use? Hydrant operations are preferred by all departments because usually it is much easier to establish a more reliable supply with limited staffing. Depending on the location of the hydrant, flow may be limited. A four-way hydra-assist valve is essential to boost the water supply. If this valve is not available to your department, you can set up a similar operation using a few adapters, the hose on the apparatus, and in how you establish the connections for pumping back through the hydrant.
Some volunteer departments perform water shuttle operations as their bread-and-butter water supply: They possess the skills and the tools to do this efficiently. Small items, like a jet siphon and low-level strainer, increase efficiency when using drop tanks. These departments then place quarter-turn ball valves on the hydrant at the fill point to aid in reducing fill times for the tankers/tenders in the shuttle. There are a few points to consider when using a drop-tank operation. You want to avoid backing up the apparatus, so truck placement is critical. Safety is decreased when trucks have to back up to the tanks. Operators must also cycle the water; cycling keeps the pump cool and helps the operator to keep the truck primed.
A good rotary saw with an abrasive blade is a must for an engine. It can be used in a multitude of ways to make the engine’s job easier. If funding allows, a vent saw is also a good tool to have. These tools are a good investment especially if a ladder company is not responding with your department. Technology has made the engine’s job much easier. Thermal imaging cameras and four-gas meters are critical to the safety of our firefighters and the civilians we serve. Does your engine company have a rope jug for stretching hose vertically? It is simple to use, cheap, and effective.
Engine company and fireground success depend on firefighters’ knowledge and skills. Critical thinking skills and the ability to make decisions set the tone for an incident’s outcome. Stretching, advancing, and operating hoselines are the most fundamental and important functions of an engine company. For the engine company, it all starts with placing the initial hoseline in service. The first hoseline is the most important life-saving tool on the fireground. It must quickly control the fire and stop the production of smoke; that is how we give civilians their best chance of survival. Place the initial hoseline between the fire and the victims–at the front door. In most incidents, placing the initial hoseline through the front entrance ensures fire control and rescue. In today’s volunteer service, there may not be enough firefighters on the scene to make entry. In this case, the first line must be placed in a position to get water on the fire. Aggressive firefighters may not prefer this method, but it can extinguish the fire. Unfortunately, some departments respond with only one or two people and this method of attack has to wait until more personnel arrive. Again, we are the last hope for that homeowner.
How does the firefighter determine which size hose is needed for extinguishment? Base this on several things: Is the building residential or commercial? If it is residential, consider the 1¾-inch hoseline; if it is commercial, the 2½-inch line is a must. Fire volume is a key indicator. Firefighters must deliver enough gpm to cool the British thermal units. Some departments have experimented with high-flow 1¾-inch lines that deliver around 250 gpm because of the limited staffing; they want an option other than the 2½-inch line. The late Andy Fredericks said it best, “No combination of smaller handlines can duplicate the volume, reach, and knockdown power of a single well-placed 2½-inch line!” For the volunteer firefighter, training is critical to overcome the stigma of not wanting to stretch the 2½-inch because it is heavy and hard to work with. When trying to decide whether the 2½-inch line or the 1¾-inch line is better, use the acronym ADULTS: Advanced fire on arrival, Defensive operations, Undetermined fire area, Large open area, Tons of water, and Standpipes.
Once you have decided where to place the hoseline and the diameter of the hoseline to be used, stretch the line to the entry point. The disciplined firefighter does not just grab a nozzle and run. It is just as bad to pull the hose and pile it at the apparatus. Engine firefighters must be able to estimate the stretch. To do this, the firefighter must know the approximate location of the fire in the building, the amount of hose needed inside the building, and the amount needed from the apparatus to the building. Preplanning is critical. When stretching, take the shortest route possible, avoid a bunch of turns (which causes kinks), and avoid tunnel vision. Pay attention to how you are stretching and the obstacles that will be in your way. The key is to know the location to where you are stretching and how you are going to get there.
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An excellent engine company is aggressive but disciplined. The aggressive company takes the time to position the truck correctly, estimate the stretch, place the hoseline in the correct location, chock doors, and chase kinks. It looks and sees the big picture. It operates in a deliberate, patient, and professional manner.
You achieve this status by training, being disciplined, and employing a can-do attitude. The training must be hands on and realistic, frequent, and muscle-memory type training. It should mimic the training quality of professional athletes and our military: Amateurs train until they get it right; professionals train until they can’t get it wrong. It does not matter if you are a career or a volunteer firefighter. The job of firefighting requires us to be professional in our attitude, skill, desire, training, and equipment. Citizens expect us to be able to handle their problem with knowledge, ability, and speed. Think about your department. Does it display professionalism through preparation, knowledge, technical competence, and personal commitment? If not, it is up to you to make the change!
BIO
RICHARD RAY is a 21-year veteran of the fire service and has served in volunteer and career departments. He is a captain with the Creedmoor (NC) Volunteer Fire Department and a captain with the Durham (NC) Fire Department. He instructs in the areas of engine company operations, live fire, and company officer.
