2014.....Make It Better Than 2013

With the new year upon us, new opportunities will be presented to us and each of us has the potential to make 2014 better than 2013.  Folks, myself included, often make New Year’s Resolutions that sound great but never actually come to fruition. Having been guilty of this, I understand how and why this happens. Fortunately I have also been able to follow through on a couple New Year’s Resolutions to include eating healthier/exercising and utilizing my SCBA waist straps.  The only reason I was able to follow through on these items is because I truly committed to following through on them. I didn’t do it because someone else wanted me to do it. I did it because I realized the importance of these things and because I wanted to.  There are lots of things that happen in the fire service that we do not have direct control over. However, there are also plenty of things in the fire service that we have complete control over.  Unfortunately, the fire service often falls short in our quest for excellence due to matters that we have complete control over.  If we commit, and I mean truly commit, to overcoming some of these matters in 2014, than the fire service will be moving in a forward direction. It won’t be easy and it won’t always be fun, but it will always be for the betterment of the fire service.

1.     Eat Healthier and Exercise

We all know that firemen love good food and, in many instances, this good food is not very healthy.  We also know that heart attacks are the leading cause of firefighter deaths.  With that said, it would help if we paid better attention to the food we eat and it’s effects on our health. I’m not advocating eating grass! I’m merely stating that we should be cognizant of the fact that some food can be detrimental to our health, especially when consumed regularly. I love a good, greasy burger as much as anyone. However, I will not eat burgers 4 or 5 times a week! Learn how to read food labels. Learn how your body uses or stores the various foods you eat and develop a diet that is heart-healthy, doesn’t put you at risk for diabetes, maintains a healthy body-weight, and supports your lifestyle.  In addition to eating healthy, regular exercise activity is extremely beneficial to firemen.  Firemen need strength AND endurance to maximize their effectiveness. While any exercise is better than no exercise, functional fitness is extremely beneficial to firemen. Functional fitness simply means doing exercises that are related to the tasks we perform. If we develop the muscles and perform the motions that are used to do our job, we will likely better perform our job.  Simply put, while not a 100% guarantee, being healthy will likely allow you to perform more efficiently on the fireground.

2.     Wear Seatbelts

I’ll be the first person to admit that I am not the “safety police”.  If you want to classify me as something, I’d be flattered with the title of the “do your job police”. I’d like to think that’s what I am, as that’s where my focus is.  With that said, there isn’t a legitimate excuse for not wearing your seatbelt on the rig. When I joined the fire service I never wore my seatbelt, mostly because none of my idols were wearing theirs.  As I’ve become older I’ve realized that getting tossed out of a rig because you weren’t wearing your seatbelt is a “chump” way to go out. I don’t mean any disrespect to those who have been killed due to the lack of a seatbelt. I simply mean that in comparison with all of the legitimate risks I take, not wearing a seatbelt is just plain silly. I’m not okay with my kids growing up without Daddy because he failed to wear a seatbelt on the rig. Not wearing your seatbelt doesn’t make you any more aggressive or better of a fireman than the next guy. It just makes you a little more ignorant than the next guy.

3.     Wear and Use SCBA

Again, I’ll revert to my above comment about being the “safety police”. I am not that guy. We know that firemen are much more likely to develop cancer than the general population.  One of, if not the, greatest fire service innovations is the SCBA.  SCBA allows us to operate in otherwise untenable areas while protecting our respiratory system.  When operating in an IDLH we need to be wearing our face piece and breathing air, plain and simple. Again, like the seatbelts, there is no good reason not to be wearing and using your SCBA in an IDLH area. This includes auto fires and on a roof directly over an area involved in fire. If you’re going to put the SCBA on your back in these instances, you might as well breathe the free air in the cylinder. Otherwise don’t exert the extra energy wearing it on your back.

4.     Train Everyday

It’s pretty self-explanatory. When you’re at the firehouse, some part of your day needs to be spent drilling. This develops skills and thinking that will be used on the street, It’s not a matter of “if” but a matter of “when”. Second to runs, training is the best way to become good at what we do.  I might take it a little to the extreme but as long as you do some kind of training everyday, then you’re doing the right thing.

5.     Use Size-Up To Make Tactical Decisions

In today’s fire service too many folks are using assumptions or blanket statements to drive their tactical decisions. We need to stop this and use the information gathered during our size-up to make decisions. We need to transform information gathered into intelligence and make decisions. This is the only way to maximize our effectiveness. We need to breed a generation of thinking, performing firefighters. Using our size-up to guide our actions will aid in this.

6.     Do Your Job and Be Prepared

Put your gear on. Position your apparatus. Lay supply lines. Pull attack lines. Place ladders.  Regardless of what’s showing or what you may assume. If you’re dispatched to an incident, it is that incident and more until proven otherwise by us.  If it turns out to be a good intent or less than what it was dispatched as, it was good practice.  If it turns out to be what it was dispatched as or more, than you will be prepared.  If you adopt this mindset, you won’t find yourself playing catch-up, you’ll be able to easily work through problems, and you’ll be better at your job.

7.     **For The Executive Fire Service Leaders: Realize That Organizations Are All-Hazards, Individuals Are Not!!!

The disturbing trend of ineffectiveness and mediocrity that stems from the “everyone does everything” mindset has got to stop! Organizations are comprised of many people with varying skill sets. All of these skill sets come together to form the organization. That said, everyone has a place in the organization. That’s what makes the all-hazards organization effective. One person doesn’t do it all!  Let people succeed and place their focus in the areas where they will succeed, don’t force or mislead them into areas where they’re mediocre, ineffective, or unsuccessful. Those who are good, and I mean truly good, at everything are the exception rather than the rule.  It’s time for the fire service to regain the standard of excellence that once was the expectation of all those that entered into our great calling, instead of rolling the dice on the law of probability with mediocrity.

As I said above, it won’t always be easy but we need to commit to making the fire service better in 2014.  We need to take ownership and control over the things we can.  It only takes one person to inspire and influence others to do the right thing.  Will it be you or are you going to be the one who is okay with remaining stagnant, just “getting by”, or doing things that take away focus from our operational service delivery?  I know which group of folks I want on the rig with me or responding to my emergency.  Have a Happy New Year and keep the fire service focused and moving in the right direction.

When Science and The Fireground Come Together.....

As we are all aware, there is a ton of useful information being disseminated throughout the fire service courtesy of science and technology. As we are also aware, there are lots of opinions related to this information. My brief opinion on much of this information is: when information gathered from labs and firegrounds matches up, there is probably validity to the information. With that said, don’t simply take all information that’s disseminated as gospel. Get out and formulate your own opinions based on your observations and experiences.  Of course that means you actually have to be observing AND processing what your observations are telling you. For many, that may be easier said than done.  Anyways, I want to share a story about a recent fire where information gathered from science and actual fireground experience facilitated efficient and effective fireground operations in the modern fire environment……without a hoseline. I know, I know. It can’t be done without taking unnecessary risks, right? I’d beg to differ.

It was a typical June afternoon in Virginia, hot and humid with thunderstorms passing through. When these storms pass through, call volume soars and it’s a good time to be at the firehouse. I was in the Chief’s vehicle and we had the Engine Company staffed at our firehouse. The Engine Company was dispatched to the southern end of our county for a reported water rescue and I stayed behind due to the storm conditions that were currently affecting our first-due.  A few minutes after the Engine Company went out the door, I decided to go “on the air” as it was likely additional incidents would be dispatched.  Shortly thereafter, a career medic unit came across the dispatch channel and advised they were on the scene of a house fire in our first due.  Before Communications had finished transmitting the box alarm, the Operations Deputy Chief and I were on the scene as well.  The Operations Deputy Chief established the command and told me to take the medic unit inside and start a search. Of course, this broke my heart! Right. Anyways, I took a lap and observed a 1.5 story detached SFD with smoke issuing from the top floor and knee wall areas. I forced the front door and got it on my second attempt at gapping the door with the adze end of the bar. I closed the door and donned my face piece with the members of the medic unit.  I told them we were going to perform a search and to close the front door behind us when we entered the first floor. I had them quickly search the basement and first floor, which proved to be clear of fire and occupants. The stairs leading to the top floor had an outward opening door at the base and as soon as I opened it, visibility was gone. I immediately turned around and told the medic unit that we were going up and to close this door behind them too. Additionally, I told them not to open any windows or walls when we get upstairs.  At the top of the stairs I encountered moderate heat and smoke was to the floor. I, once again, turned around and reinforced that we were not opening any walls or windows. We were simply doing a search and would not start any of the other tasks until an Engine Company arrived. One of the medic unit members was a month out of Recruit School and this was his first fire. I opted to have him to wait at the top of the stairs while the other member went right and I went left.  As this was occurring, our Engine Company and the second-due Engine Company were arriving simultaneously and stretched lines through the front door. I informed them of our location and the location of the stairs.  After making it to the front of the house without finding any fire or victims, I made my way back to the top of the stairs to meet up with the member who had searched to the right.  He reported the same results. The heat was starting to increase on the upper floor to the point where popping a window was a tempting option, however everyone exercised discipline and waited for the line to make it to the top of the steps before opening up. When the two hoselines made it to the upper floor, I directed one line to work the left side and one line to work the right side. We had pretty good heat conditions but the fire had yet to show itself, so we were going to have to look for it and began making holes in the ceiling and knee walls.  The TIC was showing the all too common, “white everywhere” condition on the screen. After a minute or so of working the two sides we still had not found the fire and the heat was getting to the point where we probably needed to make something happen pretty quickly. One of the linemen opened the line over our heads, which provided temporary improvement of conditions but we still needed to get to the seat of the fire. While this was taking place, an outside crew was working on making the roof to open the area over the knee walls and our heads.  As the officer working the right side and myself were discussing our next move, the fire quickly showed itself from one of the inspection holes made on the right side. It rolled over our heads and the lineman working the left side quickly knocked it back. The line working the right side got in a better position and finished it off, while the roof was opened nearly simultaneously. 

Several good things happened at this fire that reinforced the validity of information that’s been disseminated through UL, NIST, LODD reports, and stories from real firegrounds. These things include:

-     -  closing and controlling doors is very important when operating without a hoseline

-      - do not make large holes in void spaces without a hoseline present and ready to flow

-      -properly timed and placed vertical ventilation will improve conditions very quickly

-      -when encountering high heat and no visibility, opening the line overhead is a good thing

-       -good old fashioned firefighting skills cannot be replaced by technology, as technology sometimes fails

-       -coordinated line placement allows for egress protection, confinement, and extinguishment

-       -discipline and experience is necessary when operating independent of a hoseline

"Warm Bodies" Won't Suffice

After a busy, and extremely fun, past week teaching at my career department’s “Rescue Engine School”, I finally have a few moments to get back to the blog.  As I’ve stated in a previous post, we are a small department that operates within a larger fire and rescue system.  With that said, on the suppression side we operate with an Engine, Truck, Rescue Engine, and Battalion Chief.  The Rescue Engine runs as an Engine Company or a Rescue Company depending on the nature of the call and our location in the run order.  This is determined at the transmission of the alarm and there is no confusing what our role is at any point during the incident.  I believe this procedure and our equipment compliment greatly assist us in effectively operating a dual-purpose rig.  However, I believe these two things are only half of the equation.  The people on the rig make up the other half of the equation of operating effectively with a dual-purpose rig.  I became inspired to write this after a well-known fire service acquaintance saw some photos of Rescue Engine School and complimented our department for having qualifications to ride the rig, instead of just putting “warm bodies” in seats.

If you read this blog, then you know my stance on mediocrity and the lowering of standards within the fire service: it’s detrimental and has a negative impact on our efficiency and effectiveness.  My department has done an excellent job of ensuring that our folks are certified AND qualified to ride the Rescue Engine.  When operating a dual-purpose rig, members must be efficient and effective in multiple company operations.  Literally we can run a box alarm or pin job as a Rescue Company and be returning to quarters from those incidents when we are alerted to respond to a first-due box alarm or gas leak as an Engine Company.  To operate effectively, there can be no stumbling or excuses for lack of proficiency in either Engine or Rescue Company operations.  Simply allowing “warm bodies” to sit in the seats on your rigs is one of the quickest ways to set your department up for failure.

So how do you prevent “warm bodies” from occupying the seats on your rigs?  Ensure your members are certified AND qualified.  Simply attending training and getting a certification does not mean you are qualified.  Displaying competency with the rig’s equipment and performing tasks associated with your respective company responsibilities are essential. Continuously strive to improve performance and gain knowledge.  The fire service and the environments we operate within our dynamic.  It’s essential that we adapt to the conditions we may encounter.  Not to discredit “old school” methods or training, but just because you attended a vehicle extrication or fire behavior class in 1990 doesn’t mean you will be efficient or effective in 2012.  Conversely, new members of the fire service should learn the “old school” methods as they still may prove to be applicable in today’s fire service.  Be “Into” The Job.  While we can’t, and shouldn’t try to, control what members are doing outside of the firehouse.  We should ensure that the fire service is a priority to them while they are at the firehouse.  Too often folks are in the firehouse focusing way too much of their time and attention to their part-time jobs, fantasy football, sports scores, or other non-fire service items.  Sure, folks need time to tend to things outside of the fire service but it shouldn’t be the majority of their time.  It’s our responsibility to show these members why being “into” the job is beneficial to themselves, to their fellow firefighters, and to the citizens we serve.  Create “thinking” firefighters and encourage innovation.  Lay the groundwork for the members by impressing the “principles” of what we do, but don’t necessarily bind their hands with procedures.  Teach them to apply the principles when making decisions and carrying out tasks.  This is how new methods are developed.  Some work, some don’t.  As much as some folks try to “dumb” this job down and remove decision-making from it, there simply isn’t a manual or procedure for every incident we will respond to.  We need folks that can think and make solid decisions at all levels within the fire service.  You don’t wake up one morning, get promoted, and all of the sudden become a good decision maker. 

While I led this post off talking specifically about our Rescue Engine, the principles of this post can be applied to any rig.  No rig should simply have “warm bodies” in the seats.  It’s up to you and your department to determine which course of action you take.  However, simply putting the “warm bodies” on the rig will do nothing for your efficiency or effectiveness.  I'll leave you with some photos of various evolutions we conducted during our Rescue Engine School to ensure our members operate in an efficient and effective manner.  

Members utilize the First Responder Hi Lift Jack to "pop" a door from the latch side at the "no hydraulics" station

The end result

Members utilize the Harrington Chain Hoist to perform a column pull at the "no hydraulics" station

No big deal right?

Members utilized the Paratech 10 ton lifting rams to lift the pole and facilitate roof removal

"Victim's" leg pinned between the pole and the headliner of the vehicle

Final extrication scenario

Principles applied

Assistance from Redman's Heavy Wrecker

Stokes litter evacuation from the 5th floor

"Mountain Biker" injured in Mosby Woods National Forest

**Update**

Life has been pretty crazy lately, hence the lack of updates to my blog.  Unfortunately for those who don’t like the message I’m helping to spread, I still have a lot of stuff I’d like to write about to help ensure our fire service remains efficient and effective.  Last weekend I was in Philadelphia for the “Leadership Under Fire” seminar.  It was an excellent seminar with great information that definitely stimulates the mind of the “thinking” firefighter.  After the seminar, one of the local bars had an area set aside for seminar attendees, which proved to be a good time too.  It was great to be able to interact with like-minded, and well-known, members of the service.  Anyways, “Leadership Under Fire” is hosting additional events and I strongly recommend checking them out.  Their website is: www.leadershipunderfire.com.  This past week was busy with work and a 3 day Rope Rescue class in Lynchburg.  With that said, hopefully next week I have a little more time on my hands to put some more thought-generating posts on here.

Until then, I have posted photos of 2 methods of evacuating patients from a roof top.  There are obviously numerous other ways to make this happen.  With that said, how can your department effectively and efficiently carry out this task?  Consider the resources your department has available.  Also, consider the pros and cons of various methods that may be used to accomplish this.

Fire Behavior: A Tale Of Two Fires

I recently posted about flashover training and the importance of having a strong knowledge of fire behavior.  Fire is predictable.  We know what is required for fire to occur and we know what it requires to sustain.  Fortunately, the 21^st century fire service has been provided more information than ever before on fire behavior.  Technologic advances, scientific studies, real world experience, and some very intelligent folks have come together to produce and distribute this great information. While we have known much of this information for a long time from our real-world experiences, the science behind it reaffirms our observations and provides us with information on the “how and why” of what we’ve seen.  In November 2007 and February 2008 I ran two nearly identical fires and was able to observe many of the things that UL would reaffirm a few years later.

November 2007 Fire

We had three crews at the firehouse on this particular evening and I was the Wagon OIC.  We were eating dinner at a restaurant that sat near the end of our first due when the alarm was transmitted for “Smell Of Smoke In A Structure” and we were dispatched as the second-due Engine.  At the time, an incident of this nature received a full box alarm.  As usual, we turned out quickly and I knew it would be a tight run between us and the first-due Engine.  The information we received was that the homeowner had come home and found smoke in the house.  We arrived first with a 2 story detached SFD with nothing evident from the street.  We secured our own water supply one house up from the address and I made my way to Side A of the house while my crew was stretching a hoseline.  As I approached Side A, fire had begun to show itself from the top of an upstairs window.  Our department’s Assistant Chief had now arrived, established command, and provided the update of “fire showing”.  The homeowner met me at the front of the house and said everyone was outside.  My company and I advanced in the front door and stretched dry to the second floor landing.  We stopped to don our face pieces at the top of the stairs and I could tell we had a fire in the growth stage in the first room to our left.  I figured this was a “home run” for us and we’d make quick work of the fire without incident.  I called for the chauffeur to charge the line and I advanced into the room ahead of the line, completing a quick search and clearing the bottom portion of the window before crawling back to the hallway.  I was a bit surprised when I got back to the hallway and the hoseline still hadn’t been charged.  Once again I called the chauffeur and told him to charge the line.  Predictably, the fire in the room was transitioning from the growth stage to the flashover stage.  It didn’t take us long to figure out that we probably needed to hang out around the corner at the top of the stairs until we got water.  Soon the room flashed over, which was a great “real world” fire behavior class from the refuge of the hallway.  However, we still didn’t have water and the smoke and heat was starting to come down on us in the hallway.  I called the chauffeur one more time and told him to charge the line to which he replied “it’s coming”.  Seconds later we had water in the line and pushed in quickly knocking the room out.  After all was said and done, the room of origin and a small section of the hallway had sustained fire damage.  However, smoke had banked down to be about 2’ throughout the hallway walls.  We put a knock on the fire quickly and nobody other than us knew what had happened on the second floor, however there were lessons learned.

February 2008 Fire

We had two crews at the firehouse, it was Super Bowl Sunday night, and I was the Truck OIC.  The alarm was transmitted for a “House Fire” in our first due.  The address was right up the street from the firehouse and we would be there pretty quickly.  As the Wagon stopped to lay out, we proceeded past them in and took position on Side A.  We had a 2 story, end-of-the row townhouse with fire showing from the top of an upstairs window again.  We only had 3 personnel on the Truck, so the Irons FF and myself proceeded to the front door while the Truck Driver handled the outside duties.  We were met at the front door by an adult female and child who were exiting the home.  The adult female said everyone was out of the home, however she was in a panicked state and the kid was only wearing underwear so I wasn’t certain she was completely cognizant of what was going on.  These townhouses are not very big and we were able to perform a primary search of the first floor in about 20 seconds before heading upstairs.  The Wagon was just pulling up to the front as we headed up the stairs.  The Irons FF went to the rooms on the left and I went to the rooms on the right, to include the fire room.  When I entered the fire room, it was still in the growth stage and I crawled through it quickly performing a search and finished breaking the bottom portion of the window before retreating to the hallway to await the hoseline’s arrival.  This time when I left the room, I pulled the door closed.  Conditions in the hallway and other rooms were very tenable as the Wagon made their way to the second floor.  The SCFR career DFC-operations arrived and established the command.  I communicated the results of our search and that the hoseline was getting in position on the second floor now, shortly thereafter he struck the second alarm.  In my head I was thinking, “What the hell did he do that for?” and then I began to wonder if he’d seen something we couldn’t.  In the hallway, we popped the attic scuttle and didn’t have any fire above our heads.  I met the Wagon OIC on the stairs and told him where the fire was and that it was confined to the room.  He called for water and got nothing.  He again called for water and got nothing.  He walked the short distance out the front door to see what was going on and found a kink right next to the Wagon and saw the impressive sight of fire out of the second floor window.  As soon as he freed the kink, water filled the line and I was crouched down in front of the lineman.  It was his first fire on the pipe and I told him as soon as I open this door fire is going to meet us.  “Are you ready?” He said yes and we pushed in making quick work again of this fire.  The door held for at least 3-4 minutes with a good fire going behind it and the conditions in the hallway and adjacent rooms were completely tenable until we opened the door to complete extinguishment.  The second alarm was quickly cancelled and the alarm was held with “2 and 1”.

These two fires were quick, easy, and uneventful jobs.  So why would I tell their stories?  While they were quick, easy, and uneventful, a lot can be learned from these two stories.  These were “real-world”, not in a laboratory and yet they reaffirm much of the information that UL disseminated.  Fires in rooms furnished with synthetics reach flashover very quickly and even quicker when we introduce air.  It’s pretty common sense stuff if you think about it, yet every day there are fire departments across the country that can’t grasp the concept or dismiss it because it’s just a bunch of “nerds trying to reinvent the fire service”.  It’s not.  It happens in the real world and I bet if you truly look at fires you’ve operated at, you’ll see that it happens.  Of course, that means you have to be paying attention to what’s going on around you, which also seems to be a challenge for many.  If you aren’t truly paying attention and aren’t able to read the conditions, you’re likely going to find yourself in a bad spot.  If I had taken a second to close the door at the first fire, I would have been able to isolate the fire compartment.  This would have kept the fire and products of combustion within the compartment and not made the entire second floor untenable for anyone not wearing SCBA.  I assumed since the hoseline was right behind me, we’d have water and knock the fire out before it ever reached flashover.  I was wrong and the pump wouldn’t go into gear until the third try.  Not closing the door and clearing the window in the room provided the fire with as much oxygen as it wanted.  If we hadn’t got water, there’s a good chance we would have burned the piss out of the second floor for a fire that was in the growth stage upon our arrival.  Unacceptable!  It was a great learning experience and hopefully someone reading this is able to learn something and apply it on the fireground.  Again, having a strong knowledge of fire behavior will help to maximize your efficiency and effectiveness on the fireground.   

Backing-Up and Supplementing The Long Line

In a previous post I discussed additional hoselines, specifically the difference between a “back-up” line and a “second” line.  For further information on this topic, reference this link: Previous Post On Additional Hoselines Since we have already identified the differences in these hoselines, I’m going to talk about how to put these hoselines in service.  I know, simple right?  Unfortunately, real life experience has shown me this is easier said than done for some folks.  Fortunately, as with many of our job skills, a little training of the muscles and brain will improve your efficiency and effectiveness when performing this task.

As I’ve stated previously, the majority of Engine companies in the Metropolitan Washington D.C. area utilize preconnected hoselines.  Generally, the preconnected hoseline deploys quickly and water is on the fire in a timely manner.  However, as I’ve also stated, I believe many folks have become too reliant on preconnected hoselines.  With that said, they lack the ability to operate efficiently and effectively in the instance that a preconnected hoseline won’t reach the fire.  This doesn’t only apply to the initial hoseline stretched and, in fact, may apply in more instances to additional hoselines that are stretched.

Hopefully the preconnected hoselines on an Engine company reflect the needs of their response district and facilitate efficient and effective operations.  With that said, many folks have a preconnected “long line”.  In most instances, preconnected hoselines are 300’-400’ in length.  Some folks use a leader line, some use a long 1.75” line, and some are using 2”.  With that said, I’ve yet to see an Engine company that has two preconnected long lines.  I’m not saying there isn’t an Engine somewhere that does, however I am saying the majority of Engine companies do not.  Generally more than one hoseline should be stretched at a structural fire.  If the first Engine company leads off with their long line, are you ready to back them up or provide an additional hoseline?

An Engine company may lead off with their long line for a variety of reasons including: setback, access, apparatus positioning, size of the structure, or incident nature(it’s good practice to position further back on a gas leak than a house fire, however it’s good practice to stretch a protective hoseline too in the instance that the gas leak ignites thus creating a house fire).  Regardless of why the first due Engine led off with their long line, subsequent Engine companies must be prepared to back-up the long line or supplement it.  In most instances, the hoseline used to back-up or supplement the first hoseline needs to be at least the same length as the first hoseline.  If the first due Engine stretched their long line, additional hoselines will likely need to be “made up” to make this happen.  Waiting until the task needs to be performed is not the time to figure out if your company can efficiently and effectively carry it out.

Training on this skill before an incident occurs will allow an Engine company the opportunity to perform with maximum efficiency and effectiveness.  Get out and identify the hose loads and nozzles on the Engine companies you run calls with.  Figure out how long the hose loads are, how the hose loads pull, and what the nozzles will flow.  This information will allow educated decisions to be made when your company is tasked with “making up” a hoseline to back-up or supplement the initial hoseline.  After gathering this information, put your gear on and start putting some hose in the street.  Simulate that “Company XYZ” has led off with their 400’ leader line and your company needs to stretch an additional 400’ line capable of flowing 185 GPM’s.  There are probably numerous options to make this happen, figure out which one is the most efficient and effective.  Ensure the firefighters understand the decision making part of the process too.  After all, they are the future fire service leaders and it’s your responsibility to ensure they are educated and prepared to make good decisions.

As I stated above, for some folks this task is much easier said than done.  It’s not because these folks aren’t smart enough to figure out what needs to be done, in most instances it’s because these folks have never actually practiced the task.  Practicing the task numerous times in varying situations will allow the Recognition Primed Decision Making to occur when it’s the “real deal”.  My company at work has many areas in our first due that require long stretches.  One of these areas is a large, courtyard-style townhouse plaza that is surrounded by three high-rise buildings.  Access is extremely limited and some of the stretches are 400’ to the front door of the occupancies.  One morning a few years ago we went as the first due Engine for a townhouse fire in one of the plaza units.  We arrived first with smoke showing and led off with our 350’ 1.75” hoseline.  The second engine arrived and secured our water supply.  When their officer, a 30 year Captain, got to the back of our rig and saw the long line deployed, he stumbled a bit as to how his company was going to back-up our line.  It was simple: put two 200’ 1.75” hoselines together.  As soon as I said this to him, he directed his firefighters to make it happen and they did with no problems.  This officer was a smart guy but this slightly “different than the norm” situation caused him to stumble.  As I said, he was a smart guy and probably would’ve figured out a solution eventually.  However, training and preparation beforehand would’ve probably facilitated a much quicker decision and, in turn, allowed for a more efficient and effective operation.

With a few exceptions, most departments do not operate at a fire with every Engine pulling a line off of their own rig.  However every department must be prepared to back-up or supplement any line that is deployed off of a rig.  As I’ve previously stated, in my world, hooking into the wye of a leader line does not constitute a “back-up” line as there is no redundancy.  We must be prepared to think outside the box and complete our stretches in an efficient and effective manner.  Preparing for these stretches beforehand and familiarizing yourselves with the rigs that surround you will help to maximize your company’s efficiency and effectiveness. 

            

  

    

5 Years Later....Remembering Our Brother, Jason Mooney

October 19, 2007 was a Friday as it is today, five years later.  My day was spent in Fairfax finishing up the last day of the rope component of the City of Fairfax Fire Department’s Rescue Engine School.  My initial plan was to stay up in Fairfax as I worked a normal shift the next day and didn’t want to contend with the traffic I-95 southbound produces on a Friday.  However, we finished class at a decent hour and I decided to head south to Stafford.  Thankfully, deciding to head home to Stafford unknowingly provided me with an opportunity that I was fortunate enough to get.  The opportunity to hang out with a friend one last time.

I made good time on the trip home and arrived at “the 2080”, the old Company 2 firehouse, around 1600 hrs.  The usual crowd of “live-ins” and “regulars” were hanging out and we had the Engine and Truck staffed.  Rain was in the forecast, however it had yet to arrive and we were all hanging out in front of the firehouse with the bay doors open (as they were almost always kept, we didn’t want the bay doors slowing down our turnout!).  Jason Mooney, a good friend to many of us and one of our “regulars”, was a Stafford Sheriff’s Deputy and that afternoon he did as he did many times before: he stopped by the firehouse prior to his night shift with the Sheriff’s Office.

We did as we often did and gave Jason a hard time about being a cop since he showed up to the firehouse with his cruiser, decked out in his Sheriff’s Deputy uniform.  It was all in fun and Jason gave it right back to us.  We decided to mess with him a little more and turn on the emergency lights and sirens in his cruiser while it was parked in front of the firehouse.  This would get him all worked up since the Sheriff’s Office was in very close proximity to the firehouse and being the new guy there, he didn’t want to risk getting in trouble for having his siren blaring for no reason.  We also decided to put another one of our buddies, Daniel “The Hamburglar” Davis, in the back seat of his cruiser and get a bunch of pictures (yes, there is a story behind the nickname which was the whole reason for the pictures).  I know, stupid right? Oh well, it was funny to a bunch of easily amused firemen.  After we decided we’d goofed off enough (for the time being anyways), we sat on the front bumpers of the rigs talking about whatever.  After a while Jason had to go to roll call across the street at the Sheriff’s Office and told us he’d swing back by the firehouse later that night as he was working in a “North End” zone for the night.

Shortly thereafter, a few of the guys headed out and we dropped back to only one crew.  The night seemed like any other Friday night as we checked the rigs, ate dinner, and planned on doing a drill.  A pretty steady rain had begun to fall and soon we were dispatched for an “Auto Accident-Vehicle Overturned” on I-95 Northbound.  This type of call is a fairly common occurrence, especially in foul weather, for our company due to our proximity to the interstate.  The Engine Company was stacked with people and since I was an officer, I responded with the Engine Company in a support vehicle.  In addition to our company’s response, another Engine, Rescue Squad, and EMS resources responded to this incident.  The other Engine, Engine 9, ran the southbound assignment from Rt. 610.  I followed behind our Engine during the response and we were coming out of an “Emergency Vehicle Only” cross over at the 140 mile marker when Engine 9’s officer transmitted a message I will never forget.  Engine 9’s officer, a good friend of mine, stated that a Sheriff’s Deputy had wrecked in front of them at the 142 southbound, to start a Rescue Squad, and that the Deputy was hurt.  Seconds after this transmission was made, we arrived on the scene of the originally dispatched accident.  Engine 2’s officer advised there were two occupants trapped and I established the “I-95 Northbound Command” and asked for another operations channel since both accidents were now on the same channel.  Early on in the incident, I monitored both radio channels to get an idea of what was going on and to see if I’d need to divert any resources to the other incident.  Since our county didn’t have the fire and rescue resources we do now, I ended up holding our incident with Engine 2, Rescue Squad 1, and the EMS resources and diverted the Engine that had been added to replace Engine 9 to assist on Engine 9’s incident.  Engine 2 and Rescue Squad 1 had the extrication completed in about fifteen minutes and due to the weather, both patients were ground transported.  As the patients were being packaged I began to listen to the other incident again to hear what the situation report was.  I didn’t hear much other than a request for a Medevac, which was going to be tough due to the weather.  Shortly thereafter I heard a Medic unit on the other incident’s channel go enroute to MWH with “CPR in progress”.

Our incident was deescalating, the suppression companies were cleaning up and the EMS units were ready for transport.  I ran over to Engine 2 to check the notes of the other incident on Engine 2’s MCT, since the vehicle I was in did not have one.  The only information in the notes I could gather was that the Sheriff’s Deputy was from the same zone Jason was working in and that the Medic unit had gone enroute to the hospital with CPR in progress.  I immediately pulled out my cell phone and called Jason’s phone.  It rang a few times and went to voicemail.  I figured he was probably at the other accident and busy there.  However, I still wanted to know it wasn’t him so I called right back hoping that back-to-back calls may help to convey that I urgently wanted to talk to him.  Again the phone rang, playing the ringback tone that I’ll never forget: “Here I Go Again” by Whitesnake.  Again, it went to voicemail.  Now concerned, I called communications on my cell phone and told them who I was and that I knew they were extremely busy but could they tell me one thing: Was Jason the Deputy in the accident?  The dispatched told me “Yes” and I hung up.  I was shocked and don’t remember exactly what I was thinking but I called Engine 2’s officer over to me as the rest of the crew was still picking up.  I told Engine 2’s officer, John Wehr, the news and told him we needed to get to the hospital ASAP.  The majority of the crew riding in the back of Engine 2 was pretty young and we chose not to tell them all of the details, other than the fact that Jason had been in an accident.  We went back to the firehouse, since it was on the way, and put the company out of service.  Another officer at Company 2, Shawn Dunstan, met us at the firehouse and we headed to MWH in the Engine and Utility.  Having done this for a little bit, I knew when the Medic unit went enroute with “CPR in progress” that things were not looking promising.

When we got to MWH, as expected, the ER was a mad house.  We made our way inside and the County Fire Chief, Rob Brown, was one of the first people I saw.  He said they were still working Jason.  While the rest of our crew waited in the EMS restock area, Shawn and I wandered down the hall and waited outside the room they were working Jason in.  Shortly thereafter, nurses began to file out and they all had tears in their eyes.  I knew what the tears meant and it was only seconds later that the doctor came out and confirmed that resuscitative efforts had been unsuccessful.  I have no shame in saying it, I cried like a baby.  While I knew it was very real, the next few hours seemed surreal.  How could this have happened?  We had all just hung out with him hours before.  That was one of the roughest nights I’ve had at the firehouse and it’s something I’ll never forget.  As sad and tragic as that evening was, the brotherhood really shined in the days that followed.  Additionally, the folks that worked at Jason's accident performed extraordinarily in the face of adversity that evening and should be commended for their efforts.

So here we are five years later and I look back on this rough time and realize there are lessons to be learned from Jason and from this event.  Jason knew what it meant to serve.  He was a US Marine, a volunteer firefighter, and a Sheriff’s Deputy.  Too often in this day and age, folks forget what it means to serve.  All too often people ask “What’s in it for me?” before they commit to doing something.  Jason didn’t.  Jason would also go the extra mile to help someone out even if it didn’t convenience him.  Whether it meant he drove from Prince William to Stafford to keep our apparatus staffed or you’d been out on the town while he was working and needed a safe ride home, Jason would make it happen.  One of my favorite, and funniest, memories of Jason’s dedication to service took place at an apartment complex in our first due.  Jason was with his fiancée, Cat, and Matt, another Company 2 member, looking for a new apartment when a bad thunderstorm rolled through.  Lightning hit one of the buildings in the complex and started a fire.  I was the Truck officer and we arrived quickly with our Engine to find fire showing.  The fire was located on the exterior of the building and in the ceiling between the second and third floor apartments.  I made my way up the stairs and entered the second floor apartment to begin opening up, when I look to my left and see some clown in a Deputy uniform hooking ceiling with a broom or mop handle.  I quickly realized it was Jason, had a good laugh with him and “politely” asked him to go outside.  

Jason was also motivated to continue to better himself.  In addition to being a member at our firehouse, he was a member at a volunteer department in Prince William County.  We’d often give him a hard time about this and he’d assure us he was dedicated to our department.  As I said above, on more than one occasion he’d make the journey from there to our firehouse to ensure we kept the rigs staffed.  Shortly before his death, he’d begun his driver’s training on the Rescue Squad at his other volunteer department.  As soon I found this out, I had a field day with him.  I’d ask him various questions about the equipment on the rig and he wouldn’t have a clue about it.  I’d jump his case about it and tell him that anybody worthy of being a Rescue Squad driver should know this information.  Sure enough he’d come back to me a few days later and provide me with the answers to the questions I’d asked.  He’d beam with pride only to have me ask him something else that he’d stumble on.  Jason knew I was doing it for his own good and would always come back to tell me he’d been working on learning all of the information I was asking him about.  I remember one of the last times I quizzed him about something, he proudly expanded upon one of his answers and proceeded to tell me about the different types of vehicle construction he’d recently learned in a class.  This moment sticks out in my mind because I remember being happy that Jason had become self-motivated and was becoming a better fireman because of it.  He got “it”, something that some folks will never have.

The days following Jason’s death truly showed the strength of the brotherhood and how far the reach of the fire service extends.  It’s unfortunate it sometimes takes tragedy to realize these things.  When everyone participates and dedicates to the fire service, it’s amazing what can be accomplished.  Within a five day period I observed a firehouse get damn-near renovated, fire apparatus got cleaner than it had ever been, a whole department got outfitted in Class A uniforms, numerous logistical items were handled, and our service to the citizens never got interrupted.  All of this happened due to unselfish dedication to the brotherhood from members of our own department, members of our own families, career members of Stafford County Fire and Rescue, other volunteer departments within Stafford County, Manassas Volunteer Fire Company, the City of Fairfax Fire Department, Prince William County Department of Fire Rescue, and Fairfax County Fire and Rescue Department.

Five years has gone by very quickly and it seems like just yesterday I was goofing off with Jason.  While he is gone, his memory remains and the good times that people had with him will last forever.  Jason’s positive contributions to the fire service and society continue to live on too, with his service and dedication serving as a model and motivator.  Those who serve in public safety or the armed forces have dangerous jobs and tomorrow isn’t guaranteed, nor is it for anyone else but our level of risk is exponentially higher than the average citizen.  With that said, take a moment to make sure you’re making the most of everyday and living life to the fullest.  Don’t let the petty things get you down and don’t let stupid things overshadow the important things in life.  Thanks for letting me take a few moments to remember our brother, Jason Mooney.