June Size-up Challange

Using a new program called SimsUshare, we are starting a new segment on the training blog called the Size-Up Challenge. This simulation will use pictures of buildings in our district to hone our size-up skills and discuss strategy and tactics. The pictures in this first one are not very good so bear with me; they will get better as I get more familiar with the program.

The scenario: You have been dispatched to a possible structure fire at Airport Tire on Sea Island Pkwy. Several passersby have reported smoke coming from the building. It is 1500 hours on a Sunday.

The challenge: Watch the video which will take you on your 360 walk-around. Do not rewind and watch the video again. On the fireground we have to take in as much information as possible very quickly and these exercises will help us get better at that. Once you have watched the video, write down what you observed using the 13 point size-up model COAL WAS WEALTH. To learn more about this size-up model refer to Chapter 2 in the Fire Officer's Handbook of Tactics by John Norman.

C- construction
O- occupancy
A- apparatus and manpower
L- life hazard

W- water supply
A- auxiliary appliances (sprinkler/standpipes)
S- street conditions

W- weather
E- exposures
A- area
L- location and extent of fire
T- time
H- height

Once you have written down your size-up observations, watch the video again-several times if necessary-and see if you missed anything. Once you complete your size-up think about and discuss your strategic goals and tactical objectives. Answer the following questions:

What do I have?
What do I want to do about it?
Do I have the resources necessary to do what I want?

Feel free to post your responses to the comments so that we can learn from each other.

Firehouse Survival: Dealing with "Him"

04/01/2013

 

By RICK LASKY
from www.fireengineering.com

Whether you are a volunteer, career, or part-time firefighter, the fire service is an incredible profession filled with people who want to serve others and who would do anything for one another-even for a complete stranger! Firefighters are special, and it's okay to say that.
Not everybody can be a firefighter. A lot have tried but, for one reason or another, some could not do the job. It takes someone special to do what we do. Not everybody can get up at two o'clock in the morning, leave his home or firehouse, crawl into someone's burning home, and attempt to locate a fire and find trapped or missing occupants while wondering if the building is going to fall down on top of him or collapse underneath him. Not everybody can jump out of bed at midnight, respond to a motor vehicle accident, and try to cut someone's 16-year-old daughter out of a car while she screams for her life. Not just anyone can run out the door and race to someone's apartment or house and try to breathe life back into a 10-month-old baby. It's okay to think to yourself, "What I do is pretty special."

THE BEST JOB IN THE WORLD?

So, if this really is the best job in the world, why do we still have some who treat it so poorly, seem to hate doing it, and get enjoyment out of making those who love the job miserable? You know this firefighter, the one who seems to be there for just a paycheck or to carry the pager because it's "just a job." He has a bad attitude, doesn't want to train, and has to be pulled off the recliner when there is work to do. He hates EMS and thinks it's a hassle to give tours to kids in the firehouse. He treats the "frequent flyer" poorly, complaining about how this person calls 911 to pick him up off the floor and put him back in his chair or bed.

Charleston 9, Never Forget

Today marks 6 years since the Sofa Super Store fire claimed the lives of nine Brothers in Charleston. Please take some time today to pay tribute to :

Captain Louis Mulkey
Captain Mike Benke
Captain Billy Hutchinson
Engineer Brad Baity
Engineer Mark Kelsey
Engineer Michael French
Firefighter Melvin Champagne
Firefighter James Earl Drayton
Firefighter Brandon Thompson

Click here for a video about the Charleston Fire Department's response to the Super Sofa Store Fire:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mqiRN9rygoI

The annual memorial service will be held at 1900 and can be watched live at the following link:

http://www.abcnews4.com/category/193350/wciv-live-stream

International Fire and EMS Safety and Health Week

Positive Pressure Attack

Several people have asked me why we don't use positive pressure ventilation for fire attack. My answer is that positive pressure attack works very well when used correctly but has catastrophic consequences when used incorrectly. It takes a great deal of training in live fire evolutions to be able to effectively, intelligently, and safely use PPA. In order for PPA to work you must choose the correct entry point, the correct exhaust point, position the fan properly, perform a thorough size-up to determine that the fire has not entered the attic or any void spaces, ensure that the building is not balloon frame construction, make sure the cone of air seals the entire entry point, and coordinate the timing very carefully. A lot more than meets the eye goes into PPA and you have to get everything right in order for it to work correctly. Conversely, if you get any ONE of these things wrong it can instantly have catastrophic consequences. Watch the video at the link below to see what can happen when PPA goes wrong:

http://www.vententersearch.com/wp-content/jw-flv-player/player.swf?file=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.vententersearch.com%2Fvideos%2Fflv%2Fppvflashover.flv


Now a lot of things were done wrong in this particular incident. As always you cannot see everything from a video but it did not appear that anyone performed a 360. The smoke exiting from the eaves is a sure sign that it is no longer a compartmentalized contents fire but is now a structural fire and has entered the attic space. This is an automatic contraindication for PPA. The fan was entirely too close to the door to seal the entrance with a cone of air. If you don't seal the entire perimeter of the entrance you are not creating positive pressure; you are simply feeding oxygen to the fire. This was blatantly obvious when the fan was started and the smoke began to churn around the door. When using PPA the fan should always be placed and started before the attack crew enters so that you can ensure it is producing the desired effect. The video makes it perfectly clear why this is so important. No backup line was stretched to protect the attack crew. The second line pulled was flowing water from the exterior on the C-D corner. A transitional attack means that you transition from an exterior attack to an interior attack; not conduct the two simultaneously. Notice the lack of situational awareness of the firefighter operating the PPV fan; he was completely oblivious to the changing conditions. This is what happens when you attempt a tactic that you do not completely understand and have not practiced until it has become second nature. You become so focused on trying accomplish that task that you fail to observe what is going on around you. This has happened to us all at some point, though probably not to this extreme. This is why it is so important to practice the basics until you can perform them without thinking.

Again, I think positive pressure attack can be a good tactic in some cases but it is one of the most misunderstood and incorrectly used tactics in the fire service. Before we can add a tactic like that to our skill set we must ensure that we have mastered the fundamentals of fire attack, size-up, incident command, stretching hoselines, communications, and reading smoke.

Amateurs practice until they get it right; professionals practice until they can't get it wrong. Be a student of your profession and master your craft.

Mayday at Fatal Pennsylvania Four-Alarm Fire

An after-action report was just published on this fire. It cited 22 issues that contributed to the firefighter mayday and possible the death of the civilians. Looking through these 22 issues confirms that it is the basic fundamentals of this job that make or break the operation. Learning our response area, checking off equipment, stretching hoselines, and practicing communications may not be fun and exciting, but mastering those skills is what gets the job done on the fire scene. Failure to master those skills is what costs lives on the fireground. Also, being willing and able to put ego aside and conduct a thorough and honest self-evaluation and post-incident analysis after every incident can help continually improve and prevent these mistakes. Too often we get lucky in the fire service: we make mistakes on the fireground but are still successful. If we fail to identify those mistakes and learn from them they become reinforced as acceptable. Once the little mistakes become acceptable they tend to multiply until they culminate into a tragedy such as this one.

Though we can never achieve perfection, we should never settle for anything less. One mistake can cost lives in our profession; settling for mediocrity will virtually guarantee it.

Click here for the report:

http://lancasteronline.com/article/local/857177_The-22-issues--East-Madison-Street-fire-report-excerpts.html

Amateurs practice until they get it right; professionals practice until they can't get it wrong. Be a student of your profession and master your craft.