- Getting things together after a great weekend of Truck Ops with the guys from Parkesburg, PA…
Quick thought: … http://bit.ly/b2tKCY #
- Anyone notice any similarities to some "forcible entry" operations you've seen on the fireground? Funny but:
- Another great suburban engine company setup in response to our "Engine Company Versatility" blog post, this one… http://bit.ly/9wVB5i #
- New video with tips for striking the Halligan during forcible entry operations. Check it out and let us know your… http://bit.ly/bA7KxD #
- Quick actions and a "Combat Ready" approach saves 3 children in DC – excellent work by members of Rescue 3 and 3rd… http://bit.ly/9J7cae #
- Quick actions and a "Combat Ready" approach saves 3 children in DC – excellent work by members of Rescue 3 and 3rd… http://bit.ly/celwtY #
- A video tip and some thoughts for operating in difficult weather… How has the blizzard been treating you? Share… http://bit.ly/chM86M #
We must plan for how adverse weather effects our firefighting operations BEFORE the fire.
Riding the “hook” position at work yesterday, my duties were primarily that of the OVM (outside vent-man). At a fire -- get ladders up, ventilate horizontally, perhaps VES the upper floor, then head in to search and open-up. Being that we got 19″ of snow in DC yesterday, the idea of anything involving carrying ladders sounded terrible.
If you’re anywhere in the mid-atlantic, you’re likely in the same predicament today. Even now that the snow’s stopped, moving ladders through the deep snow that will remain for weeks will be difficult -- not everyone shovels like they should and the sides and rears of buildings will likely be untouched. Many streets may be impassable for apparatus and all our equipment will have to be lugged to the fire building… It’s easy to slip and fall in these conditions, which is usually harmless unless you have a 24′ ladder on your shoulder when you slip. In this situation we should remember two things:
1) Get ladders off the rig closest to your objective. While I usually take “my” ladders from my own rig, yesterday it was coming off the closest thing I could find to the fire building -- engine company, truck company, whatever… No sense in lugging anything further than necessary.
2) Use a ladder drag! As shown in the video, by simply grabbing the TIP end we can easily drag the ladder to our objective. It’s less work for us and less treacherous in the snow. Further, we can quickly throw a roof ladder (hooks out to snag the extension ladder) and maybe a couple tools (even a saw?) on the ladder and easily drag it to our objective. Even better if your partner throws his stuff on the ladder and helps you drag it. Particularly useful for getting a bunch of equipment down a snowy block without killing ourselves doing it.
Another snow tip? Throw a couple $0.99 hand/toe warmers in the inside pocket of your turnout coat. You never know when a BS run will become an extended incident, and all things are possible with warm hands and feet!
How are things going for you? Share your winter experiences and thoughts below…
The Halligan and Axe firefighters must both have strong technique and work together for a fast operation!
A couple weeks ago, TT Instructors Nick Martin, Danny Doyle, and Mike Stothers travelled to Kennett Square, PA for another class with the Longwood Fire Company -- this one focusing on truck company operations. The emphasis of the program was on “two-team” truck company operations, covering both inside and outside tasks simultaneously with small crews.
One of the skills covered was conventional forcible entry for inward and outward opening doors. We talked about having multiple plans and techniques for both a team of 2 and for the lone firefighter. Proper striking technique is just as essential to a quick and effective forcible entry operation as working the Halligan. Check out this video with tips for the striking (axe) firefighter:
There are striking tools other than the axe -- which do you prefer to use, and WHY?? Let us know in the comments…
To learn more about our “Truck Company Operations” or other programs, please contact us or e-mail info@traditionstraining.com.
- To vent or not to vent? Share your views on SINGLE FAMILY VERTICAL VENTILATION. Taking into consideration,… http://bit.ly/cgezF7 #
- Vesatility and teamwork with engine company operations can get you a long way! Take a look at this new blog post… http://bit.ly/bVbrSP #
- Back from a great weekend with the Longwood Fire Company doing some truck company ops. Even worked on this new vent… http://bit.ly/4ARhQu #
- For the Forcible Entry Academy coming up in March in Lancaster, SUNDAY HAS FILLED – still have a few spots on… http://bit.ly/8uBbXY #
- New blog on some challenges I had as OVM at a fire last week… Take a look and let me know your thoughts on how… http://bit.ly/7KUcti #
- Both SAT & SUN of or March Forcible Entry Academy in Lancaster have booked up in less than 2 weeks!
We've seen a… http://bit.ly/5k2HuE #
- Use your Facebook login to jump in with your thoughts:
How would you get through this roll-down gate? http://bit.ly/79iyqQ #
- How and how often do you inspect your nozzles? Check out this blog post with a copy of the policy developed by… http://bit.ly/7RE0Xf #
- Check out this updated post about Plywood "I" beams… I am sure that by now we all know that they are out there,… http://bit.ly/5cNNBi #
We updated this post from a few years back. There seem to be consistent tragedy that follow these lightweight plywood “I” beams. From a construction perspective, they are great! They often times hold more weight, are lighter, cheaper and easier to assemble than nominal lumber. For us firefighters, the plywood “I”, when exposed to fire conditions are potential killers. They silently wait for us to put our weight on them… advance our hose-lines over and crawl under them. We are testing thier fire ravaged and weakened strength. As we advance, we often cannot measure what strength is truly left in that “I”.
“How often do you check your last line of defense?”
Most departments have standards on when to check SCBA, saws, apparatus, etc. But how much attention is paid to our nozzles? Remember – the nozzle is what ultimately completes our mission: putting the fire out!
In all things forcible entry there are many means for accomplishing your goal – gaining entry. Not only should we be looking for the FASTEST method, we also need a number of alternate plans in case our first idea doesn’t work.
That being said, what would be your first thought on gaining entry to this gate? What are your alternate ideas? Let us know in the comments below.
Side A
Last week I responded to this fire on the 2nd due truck company. First arriving companies reported fire coming from the roof and subsequently a cockloft fire in a 2-story end rowhouse (flat roof). Riding our “hook” position my first assigned task was to ladder side C and horizontally ventilate.
I quickly sized up my target window. You can see the window I chose in the picture ( below right) – the 2nd floor middle window. My plan was to vent this window and then my ladder would already be in a good place to vent the two adjacent windows. As you can also see, these windows have metal awnings that are securely mounted to the house and come down to about the level of the window sash (middle cross-bar)…
Engine Company Versatility & Teamwork
CommentsThere are many scenarios that an engine company may face in any given district. From car fires to smaller SFD’s closer to the curb, long stretches from the engine or into deep buildings, heavy duty operations, standpipes etc… It’s a lot to ask to have our apparatus setup to handle all these different scenarios. All to often you see an engine company setup with no versatility in it’s handline selection – leaving it equipped to handle one type of fire very well, and all other types not so well.
Nevertheless, few departments have a rig with enough room to have a dedicated handline for each sceanario. For the rest us, we need to learn to setup our engine company apparatus to have a versatlie assortment of handlines and train on using that complement of lines in various ways…
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