By Carl Nix

Training firefighters to be safe and smart while using a thermal imaging camera (TIC) when responding to an incident is perhaps the most rewarding aspect of providing TIC training.

Firefighters are the ones in the trenches when a call comes in and lives are at risk, but what about the incident commander (IC), who is responsible for getting these firefighters home safely? Does the IC need a TIC?

When a company officer or incident commander arrives on scene, one of the first challenges is to identify the seat of the fire. Coordinating a scene full of firefighters, apparatus, and other resources - often from multiple agencies - while performing a multitude of tasks in an environment where decisions can make the difference between life and death is a lot to ask. This is the job of the IC: being responsible for the safety of all involved as well as the successful outcome of an often rapidly evolving and unpredictable incident. The demands placed on an IC can be overwhelming; that’s where a TIC can help the IC make decisions to ensure the safety of all involved.

One of the most significant challenges an IC faces is the ability to quickly gather vital information on the conditions unfolding at the scene. Obstacles including rapidly changing conditions, unknown building construction features, blinding smoke, and poor nighttime visibility make this job incredibly difficult. Many hazards are also simply invisible to the naked eye. Experienced firefighters will agree that if initial information is gathered quickly and accurately, incidents tend to go well. When an incident is running on inaccurate or incomplete information, problems can occur and result in the loss of a structure or a life.

Fortunately, many of these obstacles are now being addressed with the use of thermal imaging technology that enables firefighters to rapidly and efficiently collect information that would otherwise be unavailable. With this information, ICs can better determine the resources required and where to deploy them. Most importantly, this new information has made operations safer and has meant the difference between life and death for responders and civilians.

More and more fire departments are realizing this benefit and are equipping chief officers with TICs in their vehicles to ensure ICs have the necessary information to make the best decisions on the scene. Using a TIC can help pinpoint a concentration of heat within an area of a building, saving a great deal of time, especially in large commercial or multistory structures. An IC with this knowledge can better direct firefighters regarding their point of entry and plan of attack and can apply the appropriate resources to endure a safe resolution.

1 A thermal imaging camera is a safety tool that helps the incident commander make informed decisions while in the heat of the fire. (Photo courtesy of Bullard.)

Take a structure fire, for example. In planning for a response at a structure fire, the IC should consider the total number of TICs available on scene, including the number of units that will be there, where they are coming from, and how quickly they can arrive. There can never be too many TICs at an incident, so every effort should be made to have and use as many units as possible. The IC can use a TIC for size-up and assessme

By Carl Nix

Training firefighters to be safe and smart while using a thermal imaging camera (TIC) when responding to an incident is perhaps the most rewarding aspect of providing TIC training.

Firefighters are the ones in the trenches when a call comes in and lives are at risk, but what about the incident commander (IC), who is responsible for getting these firefighters home safely? Does the IC need a TIC?

When a company officer or incident commander arrives on scene, one of the first challenges is to identify the seat of the fire. Coordinating a scene full of firefighters, apparatus, and other resources - often from multiple agencies - while performing a multitude of tasks in an environment where decisions can make the difference between life and death is a lot to ask. This is the job of the IC: being responsible for the safety of all involved as well as the successful outcome of an often rapidly evolving and unpredictable incident. The demands placed on an IC can be overwhelming; that’s where a TIC can help the IC make decisions to ensure the safety of all involved.

One of the most significant challenges an IC faces is the ability to quickly gather vital information on the conditions unfolding at the scene. Obstacles including rapidly changing conditions, unknown building construction features, blinding smoke, and poor nighttime visibility make this job incredibly difficult. Many hazards are also simply invisible to the naked eye. Experienced firefighters will agree that if initial information is gathered quickly and accurately, incidents tend to go well. When an incident is running on inaccurate or incomplete information, problems can occur and result in the loss of a structure or a life.

Fortunately, many of these obstacles are now being addressed with the use of thermal imaging technology that enables firefighters to rapidly and efficiently collect information that would otherwise be unavailable. With this information, ICs can better determine the resources required and where to deploy them. Most importantly, this new information has made operations safer and has meant the difference between life and death for responders and civilians.

More and more fire departments are realizing this benefit and are equipping chief officers with TICs in their vehicles to ensure ICs have the necessary information to make the best decisions on the scene. Using a TIC can help pinpoint a concentration of heat within an area of a building, saving a great deal of time, especially in large commercial or multistory structures. An IC with this knowledge can better direct firefighters regarding their point of entry and plan of attack and can apply the appropriate resources to endure a safe resolution.

1 A thermal imaging camera is a safety tool that helps the incident commander make informed decisions while in the heat of the fire. (Photo courtesy of Bullard.)

Take a structure fire, for example. In planning for a response at a structure fire, the IC should consider the total number of TICs available on scene, including the number of units that will be there, where they are coming from, and how quickly they can arrive. There can never be too many TICs at an incident, so every effort should be made to have and use as many units as possible. The IC can use a TIC for size-up and assessme

By Edward Monahan

Many districts across the country have overhead steel roll-up doors in their first due, usually at warehouses or auto repair shops.

These doors are easily identifiable by their interlocking galvanized horizontal steel flat slats that ride heavy-gauge steel channel guides on both sides. These channel rails are normally housed in a concrete wall. To gain access, the traditional method has been to use a K-12 rotary saw using several different cuts and techniques. This is the preferred method when you have a suspicion of or a confirmed fire behind the door. It offers great ventilation and attack access, but this method causes extensive damage and requires that the building owner incur a significant repair cost.

But for those instances in which you may have the luxury of taking a gentler approach, you can save the property owner both money and hassle by lifting the door rather than cutting through it. An example of this could be an automatic alarm at a muffler shop in the middle of the night. After a thorough 360-degree scene size-up, the company officer suspects a broken sprinkler pipe run. On closer inspection, the door is identified as a steel overhead door with sliding lock.

1 Shown is a door with an engaged bottom slide lock and keeper. (Photos by author.)

Another option that has proven to be simple and fast is using a Hi-Lift First Responder jack on steel flat slat-type overhead roll-up doors as an easy alternative to any cutting operation. This technique provides full access opening of the door using a controlled movement as well as minimal damage to the door itself. These slated type overhead doors are generally designed to have a slide type locking mechanism and keeper located at the bottom sides where padlocks can be placed (photo 1). Don’t rely on this to be accurate 100 percent of the time, as many owners will devise their own crafted lock alternative to secure the door. Fortunately, this jack technique can force its way past most of these deterrents, ripping the keeper or breaking lock attachments if secured to the side rails. As with most forcible entry situations, the lock is always stronger than what it’s mounted to.

It is important to point out that when forcing any door to make entry into an unknown immediately dangerous to life or health (IDLH) environment, it is recommended to always have full personal protective equipment (PPE), including self-contained breathing apparatus (SCBA) and a charged hoseline with crews in place for protection of the forcible entry team as well as delayed entry once the opening has been secured.

2 The process begins by creating a purchase point access opening.

The Process

Step 1: With a hoseline in place and crews in full PPE including SCBA, create a purchase point/access opening in the middle area of the door through a single slat roughly six to nine inches off the floor. This height measurement may change if you add 4x4 wood cribbing to the bottom of the jack for extra security footing/stabilization on sloped surfaces. Creating a purchase point/access opening can be accomplished with a halliga

By Edward Monahan

Many districts across the country have overhead steel roll-up doors in their first due, usually at warehouses or auto repair shops.

These doors are easily identifiable by their interlocking galvanized horizontal steel flat slats that ride heavy-gauge steel channel guides on both sides. These channel rails are normally housed in a concrete wall. To gain access, the traditional method has been to use a K-12 rotary saw using several different cuts and techniques. This is the preferred method when you have a suspicion of or a confirmed fire behind the door. It offers great ventilation and attack access, but this method causes extensive damage and requires that the building owner incur a significant repair cost.

But for those instances in which you may have the luxury of taking a gentler approach, you can save the property owner both money and hassle by lifting the door rather than cutting through it. An example of this could be an automatic alarm at a muffler shop in the middle of the night. After a thorough 360-degree scene size-up, the company officer suspects a broken sprinkler pipe run. On closer inspection, the door is identified as a steel overhead door with sliding lock.

1 Shown is a door with an engaged bottom slide lock and keeper. (Photos by author.)

Another option that has proven to be simple and fast is using a Hi-Lift First Responder jack on steel flat slat-type overhead roll-up doors as an easy alternative to any cutting operation. This technique provides full access opening of the door using a controlled movement as well as minimal damage to the door itself. These slated type overhead doors are generally designed to have a slide type locking mechanism and keeper located at the bottom sides where padlocks can be placed (photo 1). Don’t rely on this to be accurate 100 percent of the time, as many owners will devise their own crafted lock alternative to secure the door. Fortunately, this jack technique can force its way past most of these deterrents, ripping the keeper or breaking lock attachments if secured to the side rails. As with most forcible entry situations, the lock is always stronger than what it’s mounted to.

It is important to point out that when forcing any door to make entry into an unknown immediately dangerous to life or health (IDLH) environment, it is recommended to always have full personal protective equipment (PPE), including self-contained breathing apparatus (SCBA) and a charged hoseline with crews in place for protection of the forcible entry team as well as delayed entry once the opening has been secured.

2 The process begins by creating a purchase point access opening.

The Process

Step 1: With a hoseline in place and crews in full PPE including SCBA, create a purchase point/access opening in the middle area of the door through a single slat roughly six to nine inches off the floor. This height measurement may change if you add 4x4 wood cribbing to the bottom of the jack for extra security footing/stabilization on sloped surfaces. Creating a purchase point/access opening can be accomplished with a halliga