The pump operator of the first-due engine without a doubt is one of the most important riding positions on the fireground. In fact, he probably sets the tone of the entire operation in the initial critical minutes. You can have the best officer in charge and the most aggressive attack team, but if the pump operator can’t figure out the engine pressure needed for the attack line stretched, secure a water source, and solve a host of other potential problems (unsupervised), the entire operation will come to a grinding halt. Most fire departments in suburban settings do not have enough personnel to keep the chauffeur’s position dedicated only to certain firefighters. Consequently, all members of the company must be able to drive and operate the engine at the same level of efficiency.
My shift has developed several drills in which all company members participate to keep their pump operating skills sharp and fluid. The drills are based on scenarios in which we would expect our operators (unassisted) to secure a water source after the attack line is flowing water and make the switch over to the hydrant before the truck runs out of water. These drills require almost no setup and, other than for the fuel burned, incur no costs. The drills can be completed within an hour, with all members rotating through the pump operator position.
Since these drills are based on individual performance, the rest of the company will be able to stand by and watch. This becomes helpful when you run the critique after every evolution. This is a chance to get everyone’s input on what they saw and their ideas on how to make the operation smoother (team building). I have found that having three or four experienced firefighters watch an operation and then asking their opinions about it usually produces some pretty good ideas on how to improve it. The more input you get from the firefighters performing the evolution, the more they will feel like they had a part in it even if you do not use their ideas. Little things like moving a piece of equipment from one compartment to another or changing the order of how you make your connections can shave 10 to 15 seconds off an operation that is very time compressed. You have only so many minutes based on your booster tank size and line selection before you run out of water. Remember that everything you are doing from an engine company standpoint usually comes to a screeching stop when the attack engine runs out of water.
DRILL 1
Simulates a private dwelling fire where your standard 13⁄4-inch attack line would be stretched. The hydrant is within 100 feet of the dwelling.
 1) Photo by Tony Iliano. |
Setup: Take a nozzle that has the same gallons per minute (gpm) as your 13⁄4-inch attack line; place it on a right side 21⁄2-inch discharge. Open the nozzle and, if applicable, place it on a fog stream. We do this so we do not take a chance on destroying any property. Stress to your members the reason for changing the pattern and that straight stream is only for interior operations. Place a cone 75 feet past a plug on the engine’s right side, to indicate where the engine should stop (photo 1).
Execution: The engine pulls past the hydrant and stops at the cone. We tell our operators to try to line up the pump panel with the cone. This provides practice in spotting the engine with objects on the operator’s opposite side. The operator engages the pump and charges the appropriate discharge with the required nozzle pressure.
Remember to use nozzle pressure as your engine pressure, not the engine’s pressure used to pump the attack line.
Once the proper pressure is reached, the operator opens the discharge and starts water flowing. This is a worst-case scenario for a pump operator because as soon as he charges the line, water begins flowing. Usually, a line will get charged and then be advanced into the structure before the nozzle is opened, buying the pump operator more time.
Also in this scenario, the nozzle is never shut down, adding more pressure to the operator. Immediately after opening the discharge, the operator starts his hand stretch to the plug behind him. He has to flush and dress the hydrant before making his connections.
Once the connection to the hydrant is made, he must return to the engine to make the connection into the suction inlet and then go back to the hydrant to turn it on. Once the plug is charged, he must report back to the engine to open up the inlet and complete the switchover from tank water to hydrant water. For a successful operation, all this must be accomplished before running out of tank water and cavitating the pump.
 (2) Photo by Shawn Forster. |
The operator should not be allowed to make the connection to the engine with the supply line first, before stretching to the hydrant. The reason for this is that if the operator comes up six inches short of the plug when the hose is already tied into the truck, he just added an extra trip back to the engine to disconnect the hose and add another length. This extra step in our drills often resulted in the engine’s running out of water and cavitating the pump at the worst possible time, when the operator was 75 feet away at the plug (photo 2).
Editor’s note: An experienced pump operator should be stationed at the pump control panel to immediately return the engine to idle speed if the pump begins to cavitate from lack of water. Damage to the pump components can occur in a short period of time if the pump is dry.
DRILL 2
Simulates a scenario of a fully involved building with a severe exposure problem and a hydrant directly in front of the occupancy, the type of fire at which you need to put a 21⁄2-inch line in service immediately, to prevent extension.
Setup: Put a 21⁄2-inch nozzle with the same gpm as your standard 21⁄2-inch handline on the same right discharge. Place a cone 10 feet from the hydrant.
Execution: The engine pulls up to the cone and charges the 21⁄2-inch nozzle. In this evolution, the operator should be allowed to make the connection to the truck before deploying the supply line to the plug. We feel that the operator should be able to judge with 100 percent accuracy if a plug is within the 10 to 15 feet needed to make it eligible for use with the short section of supply line most engines carry. If the operator makes a mistake in estimating the supply line stretch, he would be only 20 to 25 feet away from the engine (the length of your short section of supply line), not 101 feet as in the first evolution, if he underestimates the stretch. This evolution may not be possible if you are using a 500-gallon booster tank. It’s better to find this out on the training ground than when someone’s house or business is burning down. We use a 750-gallon booster tank and can complete this evolution consistently with practice.
These drills were developed to see what you could expect from your pump operator. Is it realistic to expect that a pump operator can hand stretch 75 feet of four-inch hose by himself and get the plug in service before the engine runs out of water? The answer should be YES if a 13⁄4-inch handline is stretched; it is probably NO if a 21⁄2-inch line is stretched, unless you are operating off a 1,000-gallon booster tank. If you do not try it, you will never know.
By finding out this information on the training ground, company officers can make realistic decisions based on proven performance. If you discover that it was not realistic for your operators to be able to get a plug in service 10 feet from the engine when a 21⁄2-inch line goes in service for exposure protection (because of the amount of water in your tank and the gpm expected from your 21⁄2-inch hoseline), you would know that you should immediately assign another firefighter to assist the pump operator in these situations.
The key to these drills is to instill in all the participants that they need to do it right the first time. Sometimes you can cut a corner or two, and sometimes you get caught. If you get caught on the fireground, the operation will suffer and people could be placed in danger, especially if an engine runs out of water during a fire attack. Stress that taking an extra 10 seconds in the beginning to complete a task properly may save you minutes later in the operation by preventing you from running out of water. Training and experience constitute the foundation for all fire department operations. Hopefully, your department is blending the two so they are almost seamless. They should build on and complement each other. These drills are meant to give you realistic expectations of your personnel based on experience on the training ground. Once you know these limitations, you can adjust for them before attempting these evolutions on the fireground. ■
TOM SITZ is a lieutenant and 19-year veteran of the Painesville Township (OH) Fire Department.
