Gone Hunting

Well here in my neck of the woods it is the first day of Black Powder (Muzzle Loader) Hunting Season. Bow season has just about wrapped up and in 2 weeks General Firearm season (shot guns, rifles) will be in. Unfortunately due to pre scheduled events I am unable to go today but will be heading out Monday, Wednesday, and of course the first day of General Fire Arms season.

Now I mostly hunt deer but if you want to you can hunt just about anything year round. So why am I writing about this? Well a lot of firefighters hunt, in fact my current Captain has taken off every work day for the next 2 months in order to hunt. It makes a lot of sense to me. Hunting offers a lot of the same challenges as firefighting.

Firefighting is a blue-collar job and you can not get much more blue-collar than killing your own food. Its physical, and its hands on which are two things firefighters absolutely love. It is also very exciting, but most importantly it is a CHALLENGE! I think that’s the biggest reason firefighters hunt and with multiple weapons it appeals to our competitive side on multiple levels (man vs beast, man vs nature). Just about every firefighter I know either hunts or has been hunting at least once. So in honor of hunting season coming back around here are some hunting sites, some firefighter related and some not. ENJOY and feel free to share some of your best hunting stories in the comments section.

http://www.firefighternation.com/group/firefightersintheoutdoors?commentId=889755%3AComment%3A2776101

http://www.firefighternation.com/group/bowhunterfirefighters?commentId=889755%3AComment%3A4478199

http://www.versus.com/hunting

http://www.unionsportsmen.org/

http://m2dslivinthedream.com/index.html

Social Media, Video, Pictures and the fire service

Things have been really heating up the last several months on the topic of various media outlets and the fire service.

The latest story featured on Statter911 is here: http://statter911.com/2010/10/28/is-it-time-for-firefighter-social-media-ethics-courses-texas-firefighters-nude-pictures-are-the-latest-online-trouble/  Several other links to previous articles are featured from Houston, Baltimore, and others depicting problems with video, pictures, and the like.

I personally am tired of this, certain things departments do have control over. If they do not want me taking pictures on duty, or facebooking, tweeting, or anything else like that while they are paying me then fine by me they pay me, I listen to what they say. However when they begin to infringe on my private life then I have an issue. If I feel the need to post nude photos of myself on the internet then so be it, as long as it’s not on duty then they have no say over it. Now should I expect some backlash? Sure if they can not discipline me for it then they will surely find someway to make sure you know they do not like it, and that is there prerogative. If I am a good employee (my “hobbies” do not interfere with my work), and I make sure I am not doing these “hobbies” on company time then they should have no say in what and how I spend my time.

Now the picture and video taking issue. Again If they do not want me to take pictures or video on duty, while I do not agree with this I have no choice but to comply they make the rules and no matter how much I disagree If it does not put me in harm’s way, or is illegal, immoral, or unethical I do it. I do however think that we lose a lot of valuable training information by not allowing this. A few years ago a few guys on my old shift bought a “Fire Helmet Cam”. We used it several times and were able to capture some incredible training footage of actual events. Now since the cams are “outlawed” by SOG we have lost a lot of good training footage, one that comes to mind is a house fire were a VES was made by the truck company at my old station. A chief officer called it one of the most picture perfect VES entries he had ever seen, and guess who documented it? NO ONE! So instead if I want to show a rookie a video of VES I have to use a department that probably is not similar to us, instead of using footage with people, equipment, and buildings that this rookie might actually see and use. I personally think that is a travesty.

Now do some people take it to far? Sure, even I on occasion when I used to have a Facebook account probably took things to far with my own opinion, and even though no one could punish me for it, “they” will find a way to make it known that “they” are not happy. Here are some tips that I have found helpful in dealing with these things.

1. Off Duty Only: If you are taking pictures, video, facebooking, tweeting, myspacing, or whatever make sure you do it off duty. I do not blog on duty, nor did I Facebook on duty when I had one.

2. Be friends with your friends: You should only allow your real friends access to your personal pages. Before I deleted my Facebook (which may be coming back in the form of an Average Jake Version) I was friends with everyone in my department, that was until something I said was used against me, after that I learned my lesson. Look you can like your boss, you can hang out with your boss, but at the end of the day they are your boss and you can not be friends with them. There are bosses all the time who have parties and invite people and I do not go to a lot of them, because of the fact that if I slip up will they hold it against me later. Keep business business. Again I am not saying you can not like your boss or even have meaningful conversations with them, but when the top Chief of your organization sends you a friend request, I start to smell a rat.

3. Follow you departments procedures: This kind of piggy backs on number 1 but this is the best way to stay out of trouble.

4. Take tasteful pictures and videos: Try to take pictures of scenes that you would want taken if it was you or your mother involved. If you are going to send your pictures somewhere look at them first and try to mark out any identifying characteristics (license plates, faces, body parts, etc.)

5. Do the right thing: If it does not seem right, then do not do it. This is a tough one because unfortunately when it comes to this right and wrong are based in individual morals. Again ask yourself if you would want a family member displayed in this way? If the answer is no then you should probably not even take the shot, and definitely should not send it out.

Well that’s all I have got for now, if you have any questions comments of concerns then please feel free to leave them in the comments section. By the way do nto forget about the Firefighter Netcast radio show tonite. Tonite is featuring Art Goodrich and hsi show “The Voice of Reason”. Show Starts at 9pm eastern time http://www.firefighternetcast.com/2010/10/october-28-9pmet-the-voice-of-reason/   Show page: http://www.blogtalkradio.com/firefighternetcast/2010/10/29/voice-of-reason-current-stories

Hope to see ya tonite on the netcast, and please spread the word about the blog!

Attached Garage Fire Tactics

Again we have a video that begins prior to fire department arrival, which gives us the unique chance to perform our own size up, and develop our own tactical plans without the distraction of operations already occurring. It also gives us the chance to see the effectiveness of a different (or same) plan.

Obviously we have an attached garage with extensive fire involvement. it appears from reading the smoke that the fire has not yet spread into the living area of the house, but some smoke is starting to make its way there and in what appears to be the common attic/void space (laminar smoke flow from side A front door area hard to tell if it’s coming from the roof eaves or the front door).

Once the engine company arrives they take a position in front of the drive way and stretch an 1 3/4 preconnected line. Once it’s charged they hit the fire head on in the garage and knock down a good majority of it. Overall not a bad job, however I think there are some things to point out that can improve operations on garage fires.

1. 360 Size Up: While the video is edited a bit and I will take that into consideration, I never saw anyone do a 360 size up of the structure. Fire showing or not a 360 should always be done. You may see something on the rear that could make or break the call (hidden fire, burglar bars, etc.). Bottom line is its important, most NIOSH reports indicate that people are not doing it and if they had several LODD’s could have been avoided.

2. Check the door: Most texts you read on this subject will tell you to take the first line interior to the door that attaches the garage to the house and maintain its integrity while the second line puts out the fire from the exterior garage doors. This is to ensure that the living portion of the occupancy is not compromised. While I agree with the logic of it, sometimes in smaller departments (and even in larger ones) with limited staffing waiting on the second line is not often practical. However if you elect to go with a frontal assault someone (preferably an officer or senior man) has to go interior to check the integrity of the attached door. If the door is in any way compromised an interior attack is the only option.

3. Line Selection: This is more of a personal preference than a rule but for me the 2 1/2 is the line for a garage fire. While the 1 3/4 did ok here it did not provide a massive knock down (do not get fooled by the color of the smoke, it is still leaving the structure with a lot of velocity, so there is still some serious heat somewhere in that garage), and left no room for error. Additionally we simply do not know what the contents of the garage are. It could be a simple wood working shop, a meth lab, or anything in between. The simple unknown factor makes me want to take the 2 1/2 with me.

4. Apparatus positioning: Its obvious this company positioned themselves for an easy stretch and not for the needs of the incident. They took the best spot away from the ladder company. While this is a one story occupancy if it did get away from them now the effectiveness of an elevated master stream would be diminished because of its reduces scrub area. Bottom line is that ladder is the same length every time, the engine can always stretch more hose. Pull past, or stop short to get a 3 sided look of the building on arrival and to leave the truck the front.

5. Water Supply: I do not know these guys policies and procedures so it is quite possible they have the second engine lay out for them. While I am not a fan of that http://averagejakeff.wordpress.com/2010/07/28/one-of-the-many-fire-service-debates-to-lay-in-or-not/ at least it is a plan of some sort. I will just offer this, we have an advanced fire, with the possibility of it involving the entire occupancy. Our water demand is going to be high, so any steps you can make on the front end to speed up your water supply is only going to help your efficiency.

6. Building Construction: This is a very common thing in California, but it is not something you see here. I am specifically talking about the Spanish Tile roofing material. While I am unfamiliar with the building codes out there, one thing I do know is that Spanish Tile are heavy. They add weight to the roof which is normally not a concern, that is until the roof support structure is challenged by fire. While there are no indicators of collapse on this fire it is something to be cognizant of during the operations especially once they are transitioned into an interior mode.

7. Show up ready to work: Call it “Combat Ready” call it ready to work, I do not care but you should show up on a scene ready to do your job. We should expect a fire on every run, and I am sure these guys knew they were going to work either from the smoke column or the multiple calls they got. When the first engine gets there they just show no sense of urgency, in fact it is not very clear but it appears that the officer does not even have is coat on yet. The rest of the video shows arriving fireman slowly making it to the fire and having to finished getting dressed prior to being put into action. Some might think this is good, and I agree a calm demeanor is paramount, however this looks like lack of preparation, or caring either way it’s not ok.

So what do you think? What would you and your crew do? If you have any feedback, or tips please leave them in the comments section, and as usual spread the word about the blog!

Garage Fire, posted with vodpod

 

Rivalry

As I have said in other posts besides firefighting I am a huge sports fan. If you asked my wife she would refer to herself as a sports widow. Lets just breakdown my next few days. Today I am watching a lot of college football (as is most of america) with my real interest today in the LSU vs Auburn game, also at 1pm the Craftsman Truck Series Race from Martinsville Va, 7pm the Washington Capitals will take on the Thrashers plus more football, at 9 the UFC 121 prelim fights come on Spike, and at 10 UFC 121 is live on PPV. The onto sunday where its the NFL, and the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Race from Martinsville Va. It will finally cap off on Monday with Monday Night Football, and then a get a few days break until Wednesday when the Capitals play again.

As you can see I am kinda into sports. I think one of the biggest reasons I am into sports is the rivalry aspect. Two teams that do not like each other battling it out for supremacy. There is teamwork, drama, precision, composure, and athleticism. In fact it is a lot like a well oiled fire company. Lets face it even if it is friendly we still have somewhat of a rivalry with our fellow fire companies.

I know I for one do not want them to perform better, or beat me into my area. I also want to maintain the reputation that my company is better than any of the other companies.

So the rivalry in firefighting motivates me in the same way it motivates athletes. I want to be better at forcible entry so I took a class from Captain Robert Morris FDNY Rescue 1, A mixed martial artist wants to be better at kickboxing then he would seek out Mark Delegrotte, or Duke Rufus. Athletes travel all over the country to get better, I go to FDIC (Indy), Firehouse EXPO (Baltimore), NFA (Emmitsburg), etc.

Now there are rules to rivalries, that must be maintained to keep it friendly. First off respect has to be given. If your rival gives you an assignment then you do it, no freelancing, no skirting of task, you do that assignment and do it with a smile. If they beat you into your district dead to rights then you concede defeat, however if you are both coming head to head and you are both making the turn onto the fire block at the same time whoever’s district it is gets the fire (although you can give them a friendly reminder that they should sleep with their socks on). No fighting on scene, this sounds like a no brainer but how many times have you seen it or read about it? There is a time and a place to argue, and even fist fight be a professional and discuss it later when the house is not on fire. Finally remember that we are all on the same team, sure you want to be the ones who got to force the door, vent the roof, or put the fire out but as long as it’s all toward the end goal of service delivery for the customer.

Do you have a rival who motivates you? What are your thoughts on the rivalry theory? Share your thoughts in the comments section, and of course spread the word about the blog!

What would you do?

Here is a rare chance for us to see a video prior to fire department arrival.

As you can see we have a single story commercial occupancy with a significant fire, and subsequent turbulent smoke conditions. It is visible by reading the smoke from the B side gable vent that the fire has already taken control of the attic and will soon flash over. You’re the first in engine company take your departments alarm assignment, and staffing levels and figure out what you would do to bring this fire under control. Let us know your ideas in the comments section.

Just so you can see how things turned out for them here is the link for part 2 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=khmZQCN1og4 

I do have some ideas but I want to see what you guys come up with first. Stay safe out there and of course keep spreading the word about the blog!

Summerville fire, posted with vodpod

 

Re-Entry Time

As a soon to be married man myself I found this article very interesting.  The wife of Seattle Fire Captain Mike Gagliano (The Seatttle Guys) is the author of the article called “Re-Entry Time” .  The basis of the article discusses a process she uses for when her husband comes home from a shift at the firehouses and it gives him a set amount of time of “free space” where he can chill out and destress before being bombarded by questions and real life issues.  It goes on to discuss in depth about how  healthy communication can help build and repair relationships. 

I found it very intersting and wanted to post it here for all the readers to view. 

http://www.firelife.com/index/display/article-display/0487213610/articles/fire-life/marriage/2010/10/gagliano-re-entry.html

October Drill of the Month: Engine Rescue

For this drill of the month we are going to use the video attached to the post. You can see that we have an Engine Company arriving at a multi story dwelling with an advanced fire. During the time of their initial arrival they are pointed out that a victim has presented itself from a third floor window and is in danger.

They immediately spring into action and begin to deploy a ground ladder to attempt a rescue. The ladder comes up short and the victim is forced to almost hang from the window in order to be rescued. This got me thinking about how and what I would do in this situation with my staffing. On a side note this is something you must always do when you go to training, read an article, watch a video etc. Some things simply do not translate to lower staffing levels. For example FDNY’s riding assignments and division of labor amongst the crew is great if you have the amount of people they do. However those of us riding with less have to adapt our operations, and division of labor to meet our staffing and our districts.

Now back to the video, at my old company where we housed an Engine, Ladder, and Medic this rescue would not be a problem. Upon arriving (as the engine officer) I would simply instruct the Truck Company to make the rescue. They would be right behind us, and better equipped with a 35 foot ground ladder. This would also allow us to make our stretch and begin confinement and extinguishment of the fire, protecting the victim, and the subsequent interior search that is to come shortly once more units arrive. It is a fact that if you put the fire out everything gets better and engine companies must remember that only the engine is capable of doing that, no other unit can save victims, property, and stabilize the incident with a single act (stretching the hose line and putting out the fire). In my current assignment with an engine only house and waiting on truck company help; I struggle with what we would do. Part of me wants to stretch in and put this fire out thus buying time for the rescue and protecting other victims that may have not presented themselves. I feel this way because of our staffing level (officer, driver, and firefighter) and that we are ill equipped for the height of this rescue (24 foot ladder on the engine). However the other part of me looks at the victim’s body language and knows that when the better option is to jump we do not have a lot of time.

After really thinking about it and watching this video several times I have come up with what I think is a good solution. I would have my firefighter pull an appropriate sized hand line, and then have the driver charge it while the officer retrieves the ladder and begins to throw it to the window. Once the line is charged I would have the firefighter start an exterior fire attack, while the driver comes to assist the officer with the rescue. One thing I feel we have in our favor is all of the citizens hanging around. If a citizen was willing (and they usually are) I would have no problem having one of them foot the ladder so the driver could make a rescue and the officer could then team back up with the firefighter in order to enter the structure and put this fire out. A few things to point out to make this a success.

1.Pre arrival instructions are key: You have to lay out your plan prior to arrival, especially with low man power. Water supply and unit assignments need to be handed out before you get there. Once faced with a situation like this or any other fire with lower staffing you cannot afford to be a well dressed by stander, or sidewalk commander, you have to be in the action in order to succeed. This also requires everyone to be in full PPE (yep driver too).

2.First in lay in: Put the hose on the ground and allow that second engine to charge your supply line. If the second engine never shows once the rescue is done you can head up the street and do it yourself, if you don’t do it however you are going to be even more behind the curve.

Is any of this ideal? Of course not, but it is realistic. I am all for better staffing, and fighting the powers that be for that, but until that day comes we still have the responsibility to save lives. Mr. and Mrs. Smith do not care how many you bring to the fire they just want results.

So I have said what I would do, I want to know what you would do. Better yet show this video to your company, table top it, and then get out and practice it. Stay safe out there and spread the word about the blog.

Rescue , posted with vodpod

 

Great Fire Service Debate: Vacant House Fire Operations

One of the biggest debates in recent years is what to do when encountered with a Vacant structure fire. Some are in the camp of go in every time, search every time. While others are in the camp of no entry at all in these structures. So what is the right answer? I think they are both right and they are both wrong. It all starts on the front end in my opinion. You have to get out in your district find and take a look at the vacant structures, even from a distance can tell you a lot. If you can get closer you can look at things like structural stability, evidence of “squatting”, and other hazards to firefighters. Once this is done then you can begin to make determinations and adjustments to your training, and operations. I know doing a similar survey in my old company we found several vacant homes that no matter the conditions we would not be able to enter (missing floors, unstable structural elements, hoarding conditions) so they were listed as “NO GO” , while some we decided we could search if the conditions were right. Here are some operational tips on how to handle vacant structure fires:

1. SIZE UP, SIZE UP, and SIZE UP: It sounds simple but size up really is everything. Again this starts on the front end and continues throughout the incident. This is not just a 360 (although that vital to any fire ground operation)

2. Building conditions and Fire conditions dictate everything: This goes hand in hand with size up but it is worth mentioning because it really is the back bone of everything we do. I do not care if 400 people are reported inside if the fire is advanced to a state where a victim cannot survive, the building is in a state that will not allow entry, or a combination of the two we cannot make an interior attack. The below video in the post is a good example of this. The firefighters arrived on scene to find a building fully involved. While this was a known vacant structure even if it was an occupied dwelling the fire and the building are keeping us out.

 3. Make buildings firefighter safe prior to entry: This is a personal thing of mine but again I think its vital. Plain and simple we do not want to commit firefighters to the interior without multiple exit points. This is our goal at every fire but becomes a bit more difficult in vacant structures. Most vacant are boarded up, or even secured with metal security shutters. Sending interior crews into occupancies with these in place is a death trap. If you do not have a crew on scene for removal of these devices (depending on the size of the structure and type of device more than one or two may be needed) then sending in interior crews in my opinion is irresponsible and not worth the risk.

4. We are here to save LIFE and property: Some people place the same emphasis on these two items but honestly it is time to rethink this. We should risk our lives for others; it is what we signed up for, however taking that same risk for property is not appropriate. Sure we should do our very best to save the property of citizens but in a very safe in controlled manner. I honestly think most people use the “I also signed on to save property” line use it as an excuse to fulfill their own selfish needs. I also bet you that these “property savers” have never thought of placing salvage covers over property during the firefighting portions of the incident. In fact they probably complain when asked to perform salvage. I am all for saving property but lets put it into perspective.

5. Situational awareness: Again this is like size up but it’s a little different. No matter what you decide to do keep track of yourself, your company, your task, and the conditions you are presented with. It sounds simply but lots of people are not doing it.

Here are two good articles on the subject from http://www.backstepfirefighter.com http://backstepfirefighter.com/2010/10/10/why-we-search-baltimore/

http://backstepfirefighter.com/2010/09/24/when-did-it-become-okay-to-say-no/

I want to know what you think. Give us some feedback in the comments section or email us. As usual spread the word about the blog!

Great Fire Service Debate: Vacant Structure Fir…, posted with vodpod

 

WE ARE BACK!!!!!

After a long trip to “The Most Magical Place on Earth” (no not the Seagrave Factory Walt Disney World) I am finally back home. I would say well rested but if you have ever been to WDW especially with children then you know that everything (wallet included) gets a work out.

So while I have been gone a lot of things have been happening in the world of the fire service. A lot of fires and a couple of injuries and LODD’s. The most prominent a fire department that stood by and let a house burn due to an expired subscription. That has been getting a lot of coverage over at Statter911.com, Firecritic.com, and was even the topic of a recent Firefighter Netcast show. While a lot of opinions have been brought to light on the subject and I am far from equipped to banter with the likes of bloggers like Dave and Rhett I would like to say that I see both sides of this story. As a firefighter it would be hard for me to stand by and watch someones life, and house go up in flames. However as a family man the risk of getting fired from my livelihood and ability to provide for my family is also something I am not willing to do. I also understand why the media covered it. It’s what they do, do they sometimes over sensationalize things? They probably do, however its the job of the news to get you to watch ratings matter and they will do what they have to do to get you to tune in. I also understand that the two major ends of this debate (Rhett, and Dave) are going to defend the sides they are apart off (Rhett the fire department, and Dave the Media). Overall what would I do? I can honestly say I do not know and I do not think anyone can give an answer unless faced with the situation.

Well that’s all for tonite, It’s good to be back home, and I am looking forward to getting back to blogging and back to work on Thursday. Stay safe out there, and spread the word about the blog.