So Transitional Attack Is Wack huh?
Posted by hdf561 on May 17, 2012
The term transitional attack has been thrown around and debated for a while now. Some of the naysayers say it pushes fire, could raise temps in adjacent rooms, etc. In short they do not like it and I have even heard some call it “coward” firefighting.
Now before I get crucified I am big fan and advocate of getting inside as quick as possible, getting to the seat of the fire and putting it out. Thats why I come off the rig masked up. I am however very aware of how factors such as fire loading, heat release rate, building construction, response times, and staffing impact our ability to get in and make that interior hit.
Bottom line when applied in the right circumstances this technique works! Check out the video the temperature of the room goes from 700 to 140 degrees in about 10 seconds. I am not the greatest at math but using the simple discipline of subtraction that seems pretty good and 140 degrees is very livable temperature in adjacent rooms (to be honest it is lower due to shielding which makes it even more livable). Not only do the numbers support it, but I have seen this done in person, and done it myself so my personal experience says this works.
One thing to keep in mind is that some of the naysayers while coming from large prestigious departments, they are actually a minority when it comes to the fire service as a whole. There staffing levels ( number of companies, and members on those apparatus) is exceptional and far beyond 90% of the fire service populations capabilities. While their tactics may be sound for a 5 man engine, where the 2nd,3rd,and 4th due engines are only 1-2 mins. apart in most of the country where that is not even close to accurate. The point is they are not wrong but they are not right it is all just an opinion of perspective. A cautionary tale whenever anyone tells you anything is to determine how it applies to your department and the fires you go to. Sure a guy from FDNY is an expert at putting out a brownstone fire, but how good is he at drafting and putting out a barn full of hay?
So take a look at the video and determine for yourself if this tactic is for you or your department. I can tell you from my own experience in the departments I have worked in, it works. The studies also indicate that this tactic works.
As usual thanks for reading, spread the word, and STAY SAFE!
5 Responses to “So Transitional Attack Is Wack huh?”
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Mark Vonappen said
Transitional attack is another tool for the toolbox and under the correct circumstances it works. We’re an aggressive interior attack department, thats what we’re going to do – including atmospheric control on the way to the seat – if conditions match up for it. All of this debate makes us better. It makes us talk about the job, do some additional research, and keeps us engaged, all of which makes us better.
Michael Mayers said
I don’t know that I can add anything to what Chris eloquently stated. But I guess my piece on it is that being against teaching this to people is the same as saying you won’t carry a screwdriver in your bag because your multi-tool will do everything. We need to equip our people with the best knowledge we can and make sure they know the pros and cons of every trick we teach them.
Kill The Flashover | The Fire Critic said
[...] Average Jake Firefighter recently wrote about the video I shared above. The post “So Traditional Attack is Wack Huh?”, delves into what you watched above and discusses its use in his [...]
Chris Huston (@engineco22) said
Please bare with me as I use a stepladder to get onto my high horse. The transitional attack is no different then any other tactic the fire service has in the toolbox – time and place dependant. Through the years, of my very short career, I have seen brand new Firefighters deploy and attempt tactics that have no place on the fireground. Why? They were trained and educated by Senior Firefighters/Officers that have not stepped into a classroom since they started. Passing down out dated information is a dangerous place to be. Those that are involved with Fire Investigation, we call it “JUNK SCIENCE”. Theories and methodologies based on…untruths, wives tales, not based on a scientific method or the cause was pulled out of the officer’s ass! In smaller communites with minimal access to relevant, up to date information, the cycle will perpetuate until those attitudes, behaviors and decision making procesess are changed. Education and uderstanding that fire has changed since the dawn of time is a good place to start.
We are at a critical stage in the fire service. We are losing seasoned veteran firefighters that actually FOUGHT FIRE. Some, maybe not the way we do now others maybe a little. Those men and women worked inside for a length of time, because they could. A room and contents fire was fun with no worries of hostile, dynamic fire events. The game has changed. We know that the smallest change to the fire environment is the difference between our success and our demise. But with fewer and fewer working fires and a decreased time frame for us to be in feeling the heat, leaves us with a highly under experienced set of frontline firefighters, myself included.
Add this lack of true Fireground expirience with the internet, where we are all experts in everything. We watched a video then blogged about it so it must be right and were ready to respond…along with the next generation of instant gratification, short attention spanned firefighters; we have an uphill battle to fight.
How do we correct and move forward. Ensure all new members get quality training based on TODAYS Science of Fire Behavior, ensure those that have been on the job for a while continue to get new information and finally do not turn everything into an argument.
Senior Firefighters, Officers, Chiefs, please help those of us who want to learn and serve our customers the best we can have access to the best and latest training and information. We know that you have fought fires with no SCBA, riding tailboard and did not think twice about taking out every window. Just as you sit there and say “those kids today…” yes exactly us kids, why is that? It is not us. It is you, the world has changed, we are a product of that world, we want you to be a part of it but you need to open your mind a little bit. It is not that you are wrong you are just not up to date.
Together we can obtain solid, good science on fire behavior, along with other tactics for that matter. We must stay vigilant against junk science and open minded to new ideas. Transitional Attack is just on other tool we have to save lives and if you think that is whack, maybe it is time to move on.
The horse is back in the barn. Excellent piece my brother!
Shawn A. Oke said
Here are several more videos conducted during our Kill The Flashover testing which show the results of a transitional attack, http://www.youtube.com/user/killtheflashoverproj?feature=results_main