Even more reason to wear your SCBA interior and exterior!

As I was checking my email today I got one of my regular “Secret List” updates and it just so happens the update was about a fire in an auto repair shop injured firefighters from EXTERIOR smoke and the subsequent fumes. Read the information below and check out the different links on why you should be wearing your SCBA inside the structure as well as outside. Enjoy

From Firefightersclosecalls.com via “The Secret List” :

Hey,        
Early this morning an auto repair shop fire that caused an estimated $2 million damage sent 4 Firefighters to the hospital FROM EXTERIOR SMOKE & FUMES. While “exactly what” was in the smoke hasn’t been identified, (cyanide, CO, are typical at all fires) this is an excellent warning for all of us that operating exterior operations (in addition to interior) in smoke affect all on the scene (see below). REMEMBER: Modern science has changed the way fires burn. Your fires are hotter, flashovers are quicker and the smoke is much more toxic. As we have seen, Firefighters have been injured and have died from toxic chemicals like HCN and CO….which are at every fire you turnout on.
London (Ontario, Canada) Fire Services Platoon Chief Paul Carew said 4 Firefighters were sent to hospital within 10 minutes of arriving at the scene last night. Chief Carew said the Firefighters were still setting up to operate at the fire when they were overcome by noxious fumes from the fire. The Chief said there was auto paint and gasoline, along with highly explosive propane and acetylene present in the building, which includes an auto body shop with “typical” combustibles.
The Firefighters  hadn’t yet packed up when the wind turned around, sending the smoke and fumes their way. 2 Firefighters have been released while two remain in the hospital awaiting the results of blood tests.

The Chief said the department may now consider a change of policy and require firefighters to put on the breathing gear even as they set up for interior ops. The London FF’s have a an excellent history related to safety, health and survival, it seems this could have happened to ANY FD arriving on the scene and serves as an excellent reminder of “what may be in the smoke” we are exposed to today….

FIREFIGHTERS, SMOKE, CARBON MONOXIDE & CYANIDE LINKS:

As we and so many others have shared for years, DON’T BREATHE THAT CRAP, (inside and out) here are some links that will help. REMEMBER: Hydrogen Cyanide (HCN) poisoning is the reality on YOUR fireground. HCN together with carbon monoxide can create a deadly cocktail, while each deadly gas alone may be at sub IDLH levels.

IMPORTANT LINKS HERE:

(Please take time to check them ALL out and review with your Firefighters and EMS Members)

http://www.draeger.com/local/US/HCN/index.html (Excellent WEBINAR From Noted S.M.E.’s Fire Capt. Rick Rochford Lt. Anthony Toro)

http://tinyurl.com/234qh5t (Firefighters, Parkinsons & The Smoke We Breathe)

http://www.firesmoke.org/ (Cyanide Poisoning Coalition: NUMEROUS Articles & Resources For FF’s)

http://tinyurl.com/32pa9gl (How Much Of A Threat Is Cyanide To Firefighters?)

http://www.local799.com/docs/pfdcyanidereport.pdf (Report: FF’s Poisoned on Fire Scene in R.I.)

http://www.firerehab.com/Columnists/Masimo-Inc/  (CO Poisoning of Firefighters)

http://tinyurl.com/39xld8w (CO on The Fireground)

http://tinyurl.com/27753wu (Fire Engineering Article)

http://tinyurl.com/26hvfmp (Fire Engineering Discussion

More SCBA Stuff

Last night  prior to our fantasy football draft (yes we do other things besides the fire department, not a lot but some), my brother and I got into one of our usual debates on fire tactics (imagine that right). he was telling me about a recent fire his department responded to and how the performance from some of the companies was less than stellar.

The thing that really got me was he made the comment of “half of them didn’t have there airpack on”. I asked him if he had is airpack on his response was “oh yea I was wearing my airpack”, then I asked him if he had his mask on. His response was “no, there was not that much smoke”. My reaction to him was “well then I think your worse than the guys with out there airpacks on”, he of course did not like this and asked me why I felt this way, so here is why.

1. A little bit of smoke is just as dangerous as a lot of smoke. Its been proven that the aggregates in smoke damage, and weaken arteries, and heart muscle. Add to that the things that are present in todays (it’s not the same as in the past since just about everything is made of synthetic material which has cancer causing agents) and you have a deadly combination which does not equally longevity in the fire service or a long life after it.

2. If you are going to carry around 25 extra pounds then why not get the benefit from it. You are carrying around this tank of air and its various accessories that are HEAVY. It makes you work harder, puts strain on your back, and you elect not to use the air in it? Then why bring it? If you’re not going to use it you would be better off just leaving it in the rig and making yourself lighter, and your work load easier.

3. Never sacrifice your safety for your comfort. This is kind of the all-encompassing rule. For all that I know about fire behavior, fuel loads, building construction, air track flow, reading smoke, and fire dynamics fire is still an unpredictable thing that we use all of those fancy words to take educated guesses at in order to extinguish it. In order to be at the height of aggressive firefighting we have to be at maximum protection when operating within the “hot/collapse” zone of a structure (which does include some exterior portions). Remember the story from this post http://averagejakeff.wordpress.com/2010/08/11/another-fire-service-debate-masking-up-when-to-do-it/ about a firefighter that had hot tar from roofing material fall from the soffit on a defensive fire? Thankfully he had his mask on. This same firefighter recently told me of another story of a fully involved vacant building fire where he was venting windows to allow access for the engine company streams. As soon as he did so the fire vented rapidly and fire vented over his head and ignited a porch roof. Good thing he had his mask on and on air already.

4. Even during the overhaul phases of the fire materials can still be off gassing and producing harmful chemicals. Even atmospheric monitoring will not tell you when that stuff is no longer producing, it’s better to just wear your SCBA or at minimum a particulate mask during overhaul.

5. Lastly AIR IS FREE! We pay a firefighter a lot of money every shift to staff our air utility truck so that he can fill air bottles at a fire. ’That’s his job for 24 hours. It’s not costing my department anymore or less money if I only use one bottle or 20 at a fire, so I use it. Most larger departments are in a similar situation so there is no excuse for not using air. Even most of the smaller departments have mutual aid agreements, and in station or on unit cascade systems so again air is not that big of a deal. If you do find yourself in the position of having to manage your air during a shift then use it in the right circumstances, and get some particulate masks even if you have to foot the bill, your family, and your heart and lungs will thank you.

That’s my take, what do you think? Leave some feedback in the comments section, and spread the word about the blog!

Master Stream on a Bus Fire? You be the Judge!

http://statter911.com/2010/08/21/master-streams-used-to-control-bus-fire-pictures-from-anne-arundel-county-md/

The above video has been getting a lot of play on various fire service websites, and even more debate on the “tactics” used to bring the incident under control.

The video shows you a bus on fire, but it’s not just any bus its a bus that utilizes CNG (Compressed Natural Gas). It is utilized as a fossil fuel substitute, that utilized the current combustion engine to provide fuel to the motor. It usually requires a greater storage area for the fuel because they are actually fuel cylinders instead of a fuel tank. to learn more about CNG go here:

http://www.beg.utexas.edu/energyecon/documents/community_benefits/Risk/j.1539-6924.2005.00596.pdf

http://altecheco.com/pages/Safety.htm

www.seattle.gov/fire/publications/cng/CNGAutoFire.ppt

Now I am no expert on this stuff, as I have only read about it and never encountered it in my fire service operations. What I do know is that anytime you are dealing with a compressed gas cylinder no matter what the kind its dangerous. It has the potential to leak, shoot like a rocket if it falls and breaks especially at the neck (this happened in high school and a full-sized O2 tank put a hole in a cinder block wall), and has the chance to BLEVE. I know what your thinking this is not a compressed liquid hence the name BLEVE (Boiling Liquid Expanding Vapor Explosion) but even in compressed gas cylinders BLEVE is a real concern like what happend here:

http://www.cleanmpg.com/forums/general/t-cng-honda-civic-car-fireexplosion-dialup-warning-many-photos-7555.html

As you can see these things are a real danger, and take extreme caution when operating around, especially when they are on fire.

So back to the video, this company seemed to notice the fuel tank, or the fuel venting aggressively. Either way they recognized it and deployed a master stream (pre piped deck gun) in order to maintain a safe distance, put the fire out, and protect exposures all at the same time. They then ran out of water for about 5 minutes. Then some other companies come (10 in all I think) and they eventually even set up a ladder pipe to finish it off. These tactics are getting debated, criticized, and praised on several fire service forum, and blog sites. So instead of posting some obligatory anonymous post I am going to put what I think about it right here.

 I think the deck gun was a good idea. Lots of fire, lots of exposures, and the dangers of a BLEVE make this a good tactic in my book. What I really have a problem with is the execution and lack of planning. The stream goes over the bus and they lose half their water. Maybe that was by design to protect exposures, but more likely it was due to inexperience with deck gun operations, and the lack of an officer constantly assessing his scene in order to check the effectiveness of the stream. On our engines we have the extend a gun feature which allows us to raise our guns up to about chest level. This coupled with storing your tip below the elevation lock making the stack tips horizontal allows us to shoot straight at something instead of arching over it.

The water supply seemed also to be lacking. I do not know where the hydrants where, or when they called for more companies but even if it’s the most insignificant call we have to plan for water supply. Fire alarms, brush fires, smell of smoke, car fire, you name it you have to plan for water. You’re the engine company its your job. This need for water planning is multiplied when you start to utilize large GPM streams. Do not take water for granted, and be self-sufficient with your water supply.

10 companies, and a ladder pipe? Not knowing all the circumstances I am trying not to judge, but initially it does seem like overkill. People often fear what they do not understand however. I can remember several times in my fire service career trying something “new” in front of older fireman and then nay saying it from the outset. So my only advice here is to try to keep an open mind, however do not do anything unsafe, and always have a back up plan.

Lastly it seems a lot of people feel this tactic lacked aggressiveness. I disagree completely. Aggressiveness is not related to you geographic location to the fire, it is about what you are DOING, not were your standing. Sitting next to a fully involved house with a booster line while close to the fire is not aggressive its just dumb. This tactic was at the height of aggressiveness, it just lacked some preparation, and planning which are training issues.

I want to know what you think? Overkill, Aggressive, or something else. Leave some feedback in the comments section and as usual spread the word about the blog!

Great Minds Think Alike

It seems that a lot of people are talking ventilation these days, and since the last 2 posts here on the blog have been about ventilation it seems that we have taken that trend and ran with it!

As I usually do everyday I have several firefighter blog sites that I check out, most of them are a great resource for training, and others are just funny. While I was checking out the Firefighter Net Cast site to see when the next broadcast was I noticed that it was tomorrow and the topic is “Positive Pressure Ventilation During Fire Attack”.The show is being hosted by Art Goodrich (aka Chief Reason). Art runs a regular fire service blog (http://chiefreasonart.com/), and hosts “The Voice of Reason” netcast under the “Firefighter Net Cast” banner of production. They also have shows featuring fire service figures and bloggers Chris Naum, Tiger Schmittendorf, Justin Schor, and of course the regular Firefighter Net Cast show featuring Rhett, and Jon. I will definitely be checking this one out and I think you should as well.

Here is the link to the website with a very familure video demonstrating a PPV failure: http://www.firefighternetcast.com/2010/08/the-voice-of-reason-82410-positive-pressure-ventilationattack/

The show page: http://www.blogtalkradio.com/profile.aspx?userurl=firefighternetcast

Hope to see you there tomorrow nite!!!!!!

Roof Ventilation

http://www.fireengineering.com/index/articles/display/3599238959/articles/fire-engineering/firedynamics/2010/08/Primary-Roof-Ventilation-Operations-for-Flat-Roof-Structures.html

The above article from Fire Engineering is from a DC ladder company captain and it focuses primarily on flat roof ventilation operations specifically on residential flat roofs. It’s a great article and well worth the read.

Having been previously assigned to a ladder company for about 2 years (I needed a break from doing real work) and having done some ladder work in my volunteer days, I have had the chance to operate on a few roofs. My roof experience is typically in the suburban environment but i have had the chance to operate on commercial, and urban roof environments and they are all different and all brought unique challenges. I have never gotten to vent a roof on a row house, or tax payer, but I doubt that many from an urban environment have gotten to vent a roof on a log cabin.

Here in the suburban setting residential roof venting is a lot different. There is typically no security set up to prevent you from roof access, and with the exception of louver vents, and sky lights built-in roof openings are limited or non existent. The construction is also a very different factor. In the urban setting you typically deal with older style true wood construction, while in the suburban environment newer construction with engineered structural elements are the norm severely limiting you from roof operations from a safety standpoint.

Here in the suburban fire setting staffing also seems to be an issue. Typically you have a ladder company driver doubling as an OVM (outside vent man). Venting the roof is a labor intensive task and will take time when this person has to set the ladder out riggers, spot the ladder to the roof, gather tools, climb and then finally begin the roof work. It is not impossible but it does take time and time is usually not on our side so in order to get quick ventilation needed for interior crews the driver/OVM will default to horizontal vent in order to vent quickly and give the interior crews an alternate exit point. This in my opinion give you more bang for you buck (accomplishing 2 tasks with one person), but you do sacrifice some effectiveness.

The biggest problem facing any department venting a roof is the utilization of the attic space. In the past attics were used for storage and in some places had full floors. In todays economic times I have personally seen attics crammed full of “stuff”, attics converted into living spaces, and converted into entertainment rooms. In all of these instances the attic space was fully floored and carpeted. If you had a fire on the top floor of this occupancy and tried to vent the roof, making the punch through to the actual room would be impossible, thus all you would have vented is the attic.

This is again is another reason why horizontal vent is usually a prefered method vs. vertical vent.

This is really a topic I could talk all day about. There are so many nuances, tricks of the trade, and styles of doing business that this is one of those endless topics. While I do plan on expanding this topic in later posts (tools selection, basket/ladder cuts) I want to hear from you out there.

What if any kind of roof operations are you doing? What tools are you taking? What kind of construction issues are you encountering? What kind of tricks, or techniques are you using? Leave some feedback in the comments section, and spread the word about the blog.

A possible PPV during fire attack win?? You be the judge!

Take a look at this video from Thebravestonline.com http://www.thebravestonline.com/news.html?view=1&id=30141

In the video shot from an overhead view-point. In it you will see a fire that appears to have started on the exterior and autoexposed into side C of the occupancy and into the attic space. The fire then progresses in intensity and it becomes obvious that there is fire on 2 floors, plus the attic space, and a medium to heavy smoke condition through the occupancy.

Fire apparatus arrives around the 13:39 mark in the video and while they are deploying one of the first things the ladder chauffer pulls off is the PPV fan. After taking a while to determine were to put it he elects to place it on side A at the front door start it and leave it running but not blowing in the occupancy yet.

Crews begin to make entry at around the 12:15 mark obviously encountering heavy heat, and smoke. Smoke can even be seen issuing out of even small pipe vents on the B side, and out of the front door.

At the 10:22 mark with still heavy fire on side C and heavy smoke conditions throughout the occupancy the truck chauffer puts the fan in, and with in less than a minute smoke is no longer coming out of the front door, and the entire smoke direction, and air track of the fire has changed, with the fire appearing to intensify on side C. A minute or two later the companies are able to get a knock down and the visible fire is gone.

Now I for one am not a fan of the fan during active phases of firefighting as I stated here http://averagejakeff.wordpress.com/2010/05/14/are-you-a-fan-of-the-fan/ . However I do belive my own eyes and the fan on this one appears to have aided in the engine company stretch and made it easier to make a push in on the fire area, in order to achieve knock down.

So what do you think? One in the “win” column for PPV during active firefighting? Or just a group of guys who got lucky? Was this the “perfect storm” for PPV? Or a well rehearsed deployment plan? Leave your feedback in the comments section and as usual spread the word about the blog!!!

Turn Out Gear: When do you wear yours?

Kind of keeping with the great fire service debates we have going on in the blog right now this topic is another one I do not understand. I consistently see firefighters not wearing appropriate levels of PPE during calls.

Recently I have seen several head scratchers on calls and I just do not understand the logic of it all. For example while riding in charge of an engine we were responding to an accident on the interstate, I as usual put on my pants, nomex, coat, safety glasses, Ringers Barrier 1 extrication gloves, traffic safety vest, and upon arrival would have put on my helmet. As we approached we were told to return to service, when we passed I noticed that no one on scene had any firefighting turn out gear on they were in station uniforms and traffic safety vests. When I made a comment to the crew the firefighter riding backwards (a transfer from that company) said “well I think the SOG (Standard Operating Guideline) says if your only doing patient care you do not need your gear”.

My question was “how do you know until you get there that your only doing patient care”?

The same goes for other emergencies as well, I often hear about people saying I’m not getting geared up for this one, sounds like BS. This is at the height of complacency, and as we all know complacency kills.

My personal stance is I wear my gear on just about every call with the exception of EMS calls. I will wear my gear on an EMS call especially if it sounds like its going to be nasty (ghetto apartment, low-income housing project, etc.) Even when I am driving the engine and when I used to drive the ladder truck I would put my gear on (typically just the pants while responding, then add the rest upon arrival, unless it came out as a confirmed fire, then I would get it all on). The reason being is a couple fold. 

 Currently we ride with 3 person staffing. When we arrive at an incident we can not afford to have a well-informed bystander sitting in the front yard. When you drive yes you have to get water, but after that there are other things that need to be done that are critical on the fireground, especially waiting for a ladder company to arrive. I have been on incidents where as the driver I have had to throw ladders, force doors, vent windows, help move hose into a building, and pull additional lines for in coming companies. All of these things happened in the “hot zone” where building collapse, venting fire, rescues etc. could have happened at a moments notice, and would have required the need of turn out gear. 

Additionally when driving the ladder truck the driver has to double as the outside vent man. This function dictates that the ladder company driver be in full PPE, and don SCBA upon arrival.

Now I realize for companies with greater staffing levels this may not be needed, however this does not excuse the complacency of other crew members for wearing their gear.

So what do you do? When do you wear your gear? Leave some feedback in the comments section, and as usual spread the word about the blog.

Also stay safe out there, no matter who you are, what fire department your from, or how much fire you see bad things can happen without proper preparation, training, operations, and education on TODAYS fire problems. Do not rest on your accomplishments, or experience get out there and keep getting better.

Another Fire Service Debate: Masking up when to do it?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rp3f-96Po-8&feature=player_embedded

The above link will take you to a fire from the City of Detroit. It shows a wind-driven fire and a crew climbing a ground ladder to a roof section to apply exterior lines. Now we could analyze the tactical benefits, and things of that nature all day, but what I really want to focus on is the guy (I think a company officer) masking up on the roof section.

First a little background. When I first go into the fire department at the ripe old age of 15 we have the old style belt mounted regulator MSA air packs with the “elephant tube”. In my early SCBA instruction I was told to never…..NEVER mask up in the rig. It affected size up, the mask fogged up, it would lead to early fatigue, and would obscure perifial vision.

When I was hired in my second career department, I was told that masking up in the rig was an expectation. When we arrived there was to be no delay in the start of fire fighting operations, and with the MSA mask mounted regulators, your regulator could hang in the track on the mask and clipped in when you needed to go on air, and unclipped when ambient air was appropriate.

So having been on both sides of instruction and theories I can say with honest assessment I think they were both right. With the technology that was available prior to me joining the fire service and even at the beginning of my career I can understand why one would elect to mask up in the front yard, or floor below the fire. However with the current technology that exists (Ultra view face piece, MMR, heads up displays, voice amplifiers, etc.) I think masking up in the rig is the way to go.

I have been masking up in the rig for 6 years now and it has not hindered my fireground operation in the slightest, in fact I would say it has enhanced it from an efficiency and safety standpoint. If an immediate rescue is needed I am ready, I can stretch a hand line and make entry into an occupancy faster, I can initiate a search faster, and I take in zero smoke. I think the zero smoke thing is a big thing, now I am not advocating yard breathing, when I don’t need it I unclip my regulator and breath ambient air, but the second I need to I can clip in and be on air. Lets face it its 2010 and smoke is different its more toxic than it ever has been and it has always been pretty bad. Todays smoke has been known to have traces of Acrolein, Benzene, and Cyanide (that thing they use to kill you in the gas chamber) to name a few. There are studies that prove that the aggregates in smoke are a contributor to heart diseases and make firefighter 300% more likely to contract some sort of cardiovascular disease, couple that with our poor eating habits, and general lack of physical fitness and its a time bomb waiting to go off. So for me masking up in the rig is the way to go.

Now back to the video, this firefighter climbs the ladder to the roof of a wind-driven fire and is taking a lot of heat, some smoke, now is trying to mask up while balancing himself in the roof, holding on to his helmet, trying to get a line in place, and holding his glove up to his face to block the heat. This is not the height of efficiency to say the least. If you apply a risk benefit analysis to this snap shot in time this seems to be a significant risk of a firefighters health for little to no gain, which should make it unacceptable no matter what fire department your from or how many fires you see.

Now even if you do not wanna mask up on the rig (which is fine) there is one thing to remember NEVER MASK UP NEAR POTENTIAL EXHAUST POINTS!!!!!!!!!!!!

Windows, doors, attic vents etc. if your going to mask up in the yard then avoid them at all costs. At any moment they could fail and fire could vent through these openings and at the very least hurt you and at the very worst kill you. Stairwell landings, and stairwells themselves are also other areas of caution. The stairwell is not only the natural egress point for occupants and fireman, but also for smoke and fire.

What do you do? Do you mask up in the rig? Do you mask up in the front yard? Let us know in the comments section and also try to explain why it is you do what you do, and as usual spread the word about the blog.

Experience: Only as good as its up keep

On various fire service forums, message boards, and blogs experience is often brought up and though to be an end all be all to the fire service. While I think experience is important, I do not think it is the only thing that matters.

Experience is one of those intangibles that really can not be measured. Do you have 30 years of experience? Or do you have 1 year of experience 30 times in a row?

I have seen guys with 15 years on not be able to pump a fire truck or get dressed out properly for a run, yet they have “15 years of experience”! You often hear that the more you do something the better you become at it, so one would assume that the more you go to fires the better you would be at it. However if you went to 100 fires and did not wear your airpack, what kind of experience did you really get? I would say that it is poor experience, but an experience your more likely to repeat if you get lucky enough to live through it. Simply put 100 fires the wrong way is still WRONG!

I heard this quote a few years ago and I really belive it to be true “Experience only keeps you from making the same mistake twice, training and a good plan keep you from making it the first time”. Again simply put good training leads you to creating good experiences, instead of just experiencing things and doing better the next time.

We have to perform preventative maintenance on our apparatus, our tools, and our equipment on a very regular basis, I look at experience the same way, if you do not perform some up keep on your experience level then you will lose it. All of the skills we use in the fire service are perishable, if we do not exercise them then the reach their experation date and spoil. Especially in a service such as this that is changing on a DAILY BASIS. My father is a 30 year fire service veteran and even he would tell you that fighting fires the way he originally learned is dangerous because things have changed.

I think this fire service equation is the key to efficient, effective, and safe fire ground operations:

Training+Experience-EGO-Complacency=Effective,Safe, and Efficient Fire Ground Operations

So do not just rest on accomplishments of your past, keep learning no matter how much time you have on the job, and do not think that just because you have got a lot of time in, that it equals a high level of experience. Leave some fo your thoughts about this topic in the comments section, and as usual spread the word about the blog!

Forcible Entry: Baseball Bat Swing

Forcible Entry-Bball Swing  <————–Click here for the document

The above document comes to us from Dave “Rude Boy” Mylum. It is about a great single firefighter forcible entry technique known as “The Baseball Bat Swing”. It is primarily used on inward opening residential doors.

I have used it many, many times and feel it is one of the best techniques out there when you have to get in and you only have one person to do it.

Thanks again to Dave for once again sharing his wisdom and experience with us. If you have any other interesting techniques for forcible entry, or anything else for that matter we would love to hear about it. Just email us, or leave it in the comments section, and as usual tell your friends about the blog.