In this series, Fire Engineering Senior Editor Mary Jane Dittmar looks at the things that motivated and inspired instructors to present on their topics at FDIC International 2016. Segments will be posted on a regular basis up to and through the conference, April 18-23.

Shan Raffel

Station Officer

Queensland Fire & Emergency Service

Redland, Queensland, Australia

Dynamic Decision Making and Reading the Fire: CFBT Presentation 3

April 19, 8:00 a.m.-12.00 p.m.

Near misses and line-of-duty deaths (LODDs) involving modern fire phenomena propelled my quest to determine what was causing “routine” fires to escalate into sudden and unexpected flare-ups that were injuring and killing firefighters. My search for this knowledge has taken me to more than 20 countries.

I have been in the fire service since May 1983. My department, which has a tradition of aggressive interior attack, responded to many structural fires. In the early 1990s, I had experienced a number of close calls. Respected senior firefighters could not explain these incidents; their replies to my questions were often vague and sometimes even contradictory.

In February 1993, we lost two firefighters in the line of duty in a fire at a Honda dealership. In many ways, it began as a “routine” fire. The loss of the two firefighters was devastation and perplexing. No one was certain of what led to the sudden and unexpected eruption of the fire that killed our colleagues.

About three and a half year later, two more firefighters were caught in another sudden and unexpected ignition of accumulated smoke in a hallway while conducting search and rescue operations. The official report stated that nothing seemed to be out of the ordinary prior to the flashover. It explained that conditions changed rapidly and it got extremely hot when fighters reached the end of the corridor; a blast (like a rush) was experienced; and the smoke overhead lit up into aggressive flames and projected radiant heat in all directions...”

At this point, I was conducting independent international research into the unique approach developed in Sweden that was beginning to gain acceptance in the United Kingdom (UK) and other parts of the world. I submitted a proposal to study the emerging methods of teaching compartment fire dynamics and techniques to deal with the range of modern fire phenomena. I began a six-week intensive study in the UK and Sweden in July 1997.

Firefighters from many parts of the world have informed me that they successfully used the knowledge and skills they learned in this class. Some say they believe serious injury or worse may have been prevented. Most memorable was an incident involving a firefighter from my own service during the early stages my teaching reading fire in 1998. He immediately told me that the two-day program was a waste of time. By the end of the second day, his attitude improved somewhat, but he was still skeptical. Five weeks after the class, he phoned me to apologize. He explained that he was conducting an aggressive interior attack and while advancing to the room of origin, encountered extreme conditions. Somewhat hesitantly, he said they applied the knowledge and techniques taught in my class. Conditions began to improve and eventually they gained control of the conditions and safely extinguished the fire.

One of Colorado’s most historic fire districts is a featured apparatus at EONE’s booth #5300 at FDIC International Conference in Indianapolis on April 18-23. The Red, White and Blue Fire Protection District of Breckenridge, Colorado, will receive delivery on its all-new eMAX™ Cyclone II Pumper, made by E-ONE, a REV Group fire truck manufacturer based in Ocala, Florida, following the FDIC conference.

While the industry has seen a 4x4 rescue pumper before, it has yet encounter this the E-ONE eMAXs horsepower. E-ONE’s newest eMAX pairs a Cummins ISX15 550 HP engine, Allison EVS4000P transmission, Dana Spicer 27,000-lb. rear axle with power divider, and a Meritor 22,800-lb. front drive axle. With all this of this unbridled power, the 30-foot-long eMAX has no trouble toting a 780-gal. UPF Poly III tank and providing up to 1,500 GPM flow from the split shaft mid-ship pump.

“Our newest 550 HP eMAX is the perfect match for a division like Red, White and Blue,” said EONE Product Manager Joe Hedges. “With so much ground to cover and mountain inclines that would challenge any vehicle, this unique eMAX doesn’t mess around when it comes to delivering on its impressive versatility.”

The Red, White and Blue name originates from three different fire companies that were organized in 1882 to protect the then-mining district of Breckenridge after three large fires almost destroyed the town. Today, this historic division responds to approximately 1,400 calls per year from its Red, White and Blue stations. The district covers roughly 140 square miles of Summit County, Colo., including the Breckenridge Ski Resort.

Visit booth #5300 for one-on-one sessions for media and prospects interested in getting an exclusive sneak peek of this rescue pumper. To coordinate one-on-one time, please contact Angie Tennyson at atennyson@e-one.com.

E-ONE will be located at Booth #5300, a 20,000-square-foot space that will feature the REV Group fire truck manufacturer as well as several REV ambulance brands, including Horton Ambulance, Wheeled Coach, Road Rescue, America Emergency Vehicles, and McCoy Miller Emergency Vehicles.

See the latest E-ONE Product Videos at: youtube.com/EONEFireApparatus

Ferrara—Clarksville (TN) Fire Department, HD-107 rear-mount quint. Inferno cab and chassis; Cummins ISX15 600-hp engine; 107-foot aerial; 750-pound tip load flowing 1,500 gpm; TFT Monsoon 1,500-gpm monitor with Auto Stow feature; Hale 8FG 2,000-gpm pump; UPF Poly 400-gallon tank; 100-gallon foam cell; FoamPro Accumax 3090 industrial foam system; Onan 10-kW generator. Dealer: Chris Stockton, American Emergency Response Training, Rockford, TN.

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