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
