chief concerns richard marinucci
Truck company operations involve most activities on the fireground that support applying water on the fire.
Truck companies do what they can to give engine companies the best opportunity to complete their mission of water application. This involves forcible entry, ventilation, and searching for victims. Included are ladder operations to get firefighters to positions where they can do their job and also to provide a means of escape should traditional ways out be blocked. We may have not included everything here but suffice to say, the truck companies are “jacks of all trades” and vital components of any successful operation.
Modern research should cause fire departments to reevaluate truck company functions and perform those that will assist in mitigating the issues while allowing for reasonable personnel safety. As an example, ventilation on the fireground is an important function. For the most part, this has involved vertical ventilation, which means getting to the roof to open it up. It could also include horizontal options like breaking windows (my personal favorite). There can also be some mechanical options involving fans and such. But in today’s world with the information at hand, there must be more consideration of flow path and how ventilation will affect fire spread. In addition, modern construction techniques make roofs very untenable in a short period of time when supporting substructures are under fire conditions.
Current Research Impact
My time in the fire service has seen many changes resulting from research, with more occurring in the past couple of years than ever before. I have been part of many approaches to ventilation. There have been roof functions that mandated opening a roof on virtually all structure fires, airing of the structure by breaking every window that you could (my personal favorite), and using a positive-pressure fan. There was and is a time and a place for all. But, recent research on flow paths indicates that there needs to be much more thought into the best way to ventilate a structure, and that method must be coordinated with hose placement.
It seems that the arbitrary introduction of air into a structure fire will make things worse. So, the objective would be to greatly coordinate water application with ventilation. This means that forcible entry will wait for the engine crew to get to the access point. Of course, life safety and rescue opportunities will trump this. Roof operations for ventilation, horizontal considerations, and positive-pressure tactics must be done within the right time frame. There can be some standard options, but coordinating operations is essential.
Flow path is the most critical element in fire spread. Intuitively, we know that adding air to a fire will accelerate its growth. It works on simple things like campfires. We blow on them, fan them, or use bellows to get the fire development we desire. Uncontrolled air entrainment will make the fire less predictable and potentially more dangerous to occupants and firefighters. Some departments have changed their approach and are finding success. Simple things like assigning a door person to control air flow will allow for more tactics coordination. Any choices should not be arbitrary and should be based on sound knowledge o
Read more
- 220
- Article rating: No rating
Posted: Apr 1, 2018
chief concerns richard marinucci
Truck company operations involve most activities on the fireground that support applying water on the fire.
Truck companies do what they can to give engine companies the best opportunity to complete their mission of water application. This involves forcible entry, ventilation, and searching for victims. Included are ladder operations to get firefighters to positions where they can do their job and also to provide a means of escape should traditional ways out be blocked. We may have not included everything here but suffice to say, the truck companies are “jacks of all trades” and vital components of any successful operation.
Modern research should cause fire departments to reevaluate truck company functions and perform those that will assist in mitigating the issues while allowing for reasonable personnel safety. As an example, ventilation on the fireground is an important function. For the most part, this has involved vertical ventilation, which means getting to the roof to open it up. It could also include horizontal options like breaking windows (my personal favorite). There can also be some mechanical options involving fans and such. But in today’s world with the information at hand, there must be more consideration of flow path and how ventilation will affect fire spread. In addition, modern construction techniques make roofs very untenable in a short period of time when supporting substructures are under fire conditions.
Current Research Impact
My time in the fire service has seen many changes resulting from research, with more occurring in the past couple of years than ever before. I have been part of many approaches to ventilation. There have been roof functions that mandated opening a roof on virtually all structure fires, airing of the structure by breaking every window that you could (my personal favorite), and using a positive-pressure fan. There was and is a time and a place for all. But, recent research on flow paths indicates that there needs to be much more thought into the best way to ventilate a structure, and that method must be coordinated with hose placement.
It seems that the arbitrary introduction of air into a structure fire will make things worse. So, the objective would be to greatly coordinate water application with ventilation. This means that forcible entry will wait for the engine crew to get to the access point. Of course, life safety and rescue opportunities will trump this. Roof operations for ventilation, horizontal considerations, and positive-pressure tactics must be done within the right time frame. There can be some standard options, but coordinating operations is essential.
Flow path is the most critical element in fire spread. Intuitively, we know that adding air to a fire will accelerate its growth. It works on simple things like campfires. We blow on them, fan them, or use bellows to get the fire development we desire. Uncontrolled air entrainment will make the fire less predictable and potentially more dangerous to occupants and firefighters. Some departments have changed their approach and are finding success. Simple things like assigning a door person to control air flow will allow for more tactics coordination. Any choices should not be arbitrary and should be based on sound knowledge o
Read more
- 225
- Article rating: No rating
Posted: Apr 1, 2018
By Ian G. Poole
On a busy summer afternoon, you’re dispatched to a single-family residential fire with multiple calls reporting fire coming out of the garage door.
In most cases, this is a “bread-and-butter” fire. Today is different, though. Today you’re the officer of the first-due “ladder”—a 105-foot straight stick quint with a 1,500 gallon-per-minute (gpm) fire pump and 300 gallons of tank water. During the response, you realize the closest engine is delayed because it is on a medical call.
Arriving on scene, you see a two-story single-family structure with an attached garage on the D side. The garage is well involved and threatening to extend into the house. As the first arriving fire officer, you must quickly evaluate your tactics—are you a ladder or are you an engine? Do you perform ladder work, or do you pull a handline and attack the fire? As many departments have decided to equip their ladder trucks with pumps and water, many officers are now faced with the tough decision of whether or not to pull a handline if that ladder arrives first. The decision is not clear-cut and requires careful consideration of the quickly evolving situation.
As progressive officers and firefighters, we are conditioned to go right to work and to put out the fire. We know the best chance for victim survival and preservation of property is to extinguish the fire. The solution may not be that simple, though (photo 1).
1 Ladder 10 arrived first on the scene of a residential fire while Engine 10 was tied up on a medical call. They elected to pull handlines because of time and distance of the next-in engine. (Photos by Rayford Smith.)
In National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) 1901, Standard for Automotive Fire Apparatus, the design of a quint essentially allows us to package an aerial device and an engine into one apparatus. The combination of an aerial ladder, ground ladders, hose, and water can be a major advantage to departments facing limited staffing and budget. The debate here, though, is not about the effectiveness of quints in a fleet or the total quint concept; rather, it revolves around the decisions faced when arriving first on scene as a ladder that has a pump and water. In the context of this question, references to “ladders” in this article assume they have a pump and a small supply of water onboard. While pulling a handline and putting water on the fire might seem like the first choice, let’s consider the alternatives. There are many reasons a ladder arriving first on scene should look to avoid pulling handlines if engines are responding. We will review when and where a ladder should and shouldn’t pull attack handlines.
Ladders Play an Important Role
In most departments, there are clear and direct procedures and operations for ladders (not considering the fire pump and the tank) when they arrive at a fire. They usually include forcible entry, search and rescue, ground ladders, ventilation,
Read more
- 247
- Article rating: No rating
Posted: Apr 1, 2018
By Ian G. Poole
On a busy summer afternoon, you’re dispatched to a single-family residential fire with multiple calls reporting fire coming out of the garage door.
In most cases, this is a “bread-and-butter” fire. Today is different, though. Today you’re the officer of the first-due “ladder”—a 105-foot straight stick quint with a 1,500 gallon-per-minute (gpm) fire pump and 300 gallons of tank water. During the response, you realize the closest engine is delayed because it is on a medical call.
Arriving on scene, you see a two-story single-family structure with an attached garage on the D side. The garage is well involved and threatening to extend into the house. As the first arriving fire officer, you must quickly evaluate your tactics—are you a ladder or are you an engine? Do you perform ladder work, or do you pull a handline and attack the fire? As many departments have decided to equip their ladder trucks with pumps and water, many officers are now faced with the tough decision of whether or not to pull a handline if that ladder arrives first. The decision is not clear-cut and requires careful consideration of the quickly evolving situation.
As progressive officers and firefighters, we are conditioned to go right to work and to put out the fire. We know the best chance for victim survival and preservation of property is to extinguish the fire. The solution may not be that simple, though (photo 1).
1 Ladder 10 arrived first on the scene of a residential fire while Engine 10 was tied up on a medical call. They elected to pull handlines because of time and distance of the next-in engine. (Photos by Rayford Smith.)
In National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) 1901, Standard for Automotive Fire Apparatus, the design of a quint essentially allows us to package an aerial device and an engine into one apparatus. The combination of an aerial ladder, ground ladders, hose, and water can be a major advantage to departments facing limited staffing and budget. The debate here, though, is not about the effectiveness of quints in a fleet or the total quint concept; rather, it revolves around the decisions faced when arriving first on scene as a ladder that has a pump and water. In the context of this question, references to “ladders” in this article assume they have a pump and a small supply of water onboard. While pulling a handline and putting water on the fire might seem like the first choice, let’s consider the alternatives. There are many reasons a ladder arriving first on scene should look to avoid pulling handlines if engines are responding. We will review when and where a ladder should and shouldn’t pull attack handlines.
Ladders Play an Important Role
In most departments, there are clear and direct procedures and operations for ladders (not considering the fire pump and the tank) when they arrive at a fire. They usually include forcible entry, search and rescue, ground ladders, ventilation,
Read more
- 264
- Article rating: No rating