The fire service in my geographic region is very reliant on
preconnected hoselines, particularly 200’ of 1.75” hose, to conduct interior
fire suppression operations in residential occupancies. This hose length and diameter are usually sufficient to complete fire
extinguishment which has led to the widespread reliance. However usually only lasts for so long before you encounter a situation
that doesn’t fit the usually
mold. Within the first few years
of my fire service career, and long before I probably should have been, I was the
Engine officer on a fire that proved to be an educational and motivational
experience.
I will attempt to make a long story short:
Company 2 responded
with 2 Engines and the Ladder Truck to a box alarm in the first due, along with
2 additional Engines and a Rescue Squad from other companies. Heading North on Rt. 1, it was obvious
we would be going to work. The location carried a Rt. 1 address, however it was
accessed utilizing a long gravel driveway. At the end of the driveway, we stopped to let the Ladder
Truck go past us and then began a forward lay. At the time, we had split 4” and 3” beds that were connected
for a total of 1500’ of supply line.
Approximately 400’
into our layout, the Ladder Truck stopped abruptly in front of us. Being 19
years old and anxiously impatient to get to the fire, I’m wondering “what the
hell are they doing!?!” I ran to
the Truck OIC’s door to figure out what’s going on when I saw the rickety,
wooden bridge marked with a 5,000 Lbs. weight limit sign, in front of the
Truck. Now I’m glad they did stop!
Realizing we were
significantly short of our objective and that backing the rigs out was going to
be a major pain in the butt, I decided to proceed on foot to figure out the
extent of the fire and to determine how short we actually were. The fire was an approximately 1,000
square foot, detached garage going throughout and was about 200’ from the 2,000
square foot, split foyer home.
However, the Engine was still about 800’ short of the fire and we needed
to put a plan into action.
At this point of the
operation, our second Engine had established “Command” and designated me as
“Operations”. This was before NIMS
had been adopted and it was routine for there to be a command officer and
operations officer at every working fire. I called “Command” and let him know
the situation and that I’d be putting together a solution momentarily. I began looking for alternative access
points and found that a newly built strip shopping center was approximately
500’ down a hill from the garage and, as luck would have it, there was a
hydrant at the base of the hill. I
called Command and told him to have the 3rd due Engine company come
to the strip shopping center, where they could secure their own water supply
and that we would need to “make up” a line. Things seem to be falling into place, right?
Wrong! The 3rd
Engine proceeded to the correct area but didn’t have much going on beyond
that. I had estimated the stretch
at 500’ from the front of the garage to the Engine at the base of the hill and
had it figured out in my head that we would run 500’ of 3” to a gated wye and
run 100’ of 1.75” off each side of the wye. Once I had done this, I communicated this information to all
units operating on the fireground and Command. I’m feeling pretty good that we’re going to make quick work
of this fire and that the hoseline will be in service momentarily.
I soon realized that
things weren’t going as I had communicated for them to go. Once again, I communicated the plan
with all companies operating on the fireground and once again, I quickly
realized that some folks were struggling with performing the tasks I had asked
of them. At this point I was
pretty angry and decided to communicate the plan of action for the third, and
final, time. I’m not sure of my
exact words, but I remember having to explain every single detail of the
actions to be taken including telling the Engine company chauffeur to hook the
3” hose into a 2.5” discharge and then to charge the line. Somehow, something as obvious as where
to hook the hoseline up was throwing people for a loop. A few moments later the line was in
service and companies made quick work of the fire.
Some folks would call the operation a success since the fire
went out and nobody got hurt. I
don’t fall into that category. I
was embarrassed and angered by the utter incompetence that had just been
demonstrated. How do these folks
call themselves firefighters, I wondered? How did this happen? What did I do to
contribute to this? Why did everybody end up in left field once we had to “make
up” a line? Why were we ill prepared?
I knew that we had to do better and decided to consult with my father on
the matter.
Little did I know, my father had been tuned in to the
scanner listening to the fireground operations. The first thing he asked me was “how mad were you?” I told him I was pretty angry that
evening and asked him why he was inquiring about that. He told me that he could tell I was
angry while he was listening to the radio traffic from the fireground and as
the operation went on he could tell I was getting angrier. At first I laughed. That is, until he broke it down “stupid
style” to me about keeping my composure and explained that the tone, volume,
and speed of your speech can usually tell a lot about a company officer and the
operation they are engaged in. He
explained to me that even when everything seems to be going wrong and things
are chaotic, you always have to keep your cool and think of a way to make
things better. If you lose focus
from the situation or task at hand because you get mad, than you have failed as
a company officer. It’s okay to
get mad, just don’t let it detract the mission.
The second part of our discussion focused on why it became
such a daunting task to “make up” this hoseline. Very early on in the discussion we identified our reliance
on preconnected hoselines had allowed us to become complacent. Instead of identifying tasks we were
not proficient in, making up lines, we simply drilled on running
preconnects. Never once had we done
a drill where our longest preconnected line, a 400’ leader line at the time,
wouldn’t reach the fire.
Something so very simple, and realistic, had completely escaped our
minds and made us look foolish on the fireground.
Once again, my father’s experience kicked in and he told me
of an instance where his company had been dispatched to an auto fire. This assignment brought 1 Engine and 1
EMS unit and they arrived with an RV fully involved and extending to a
residence. Realizing they were
going to be there for a little while without any help since they had filled the
box alarm out upon their arrival, they had to put an effective plan in to
action. They pulled their high
rise pack off and grabbed the 3” while the driver reverse layed to a
hydrant. Essentially they deployed
the “Detroit Load” long before the “Detroit Load” was cool in this part of the
country. How were they able to do
this? Effective training and the
ability to think “outside the box”.
After this discussion with my father, I realized you’re not
a good Engine Company until you can efficiently
make any stretch and efficiently get
water on any fire. I made it a
point to be able to do just that and our company prided itself on being able to
do those tasks. We got there
through training and by realizing that we weren’t as good as we thought we
were. Since this “career
inspiring” fire, I have had to put multiple long, made up lines in service to
include: 550’, 650’, and even a 700’.
Part of learning to “make up” lines is knowing the limitations of
different size hose and the ability to achieve effective flows while
maintaining a reasonable pump discharge pressure. Since technology has improved fire hose and nozzles,
training with your equipment and a flow meter will let you know the limitations
and capabilities of your equipment.
Anyways, I thought I’d share this little learning lesson as
there are many experiences I’ve had along the way which have made me who I am
today. Though this fire was a
detached garage and almost ten years ago, it really stands out in my mind and
changed the way I looked at Engine Company operations. Engine companies must be prepared to
carry out their mission: to efficiently
and effectively deliver and apply water to any fire they encounter.
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