Make The Call #28

[3105]

While there are many types of fires "out there", it can be difficult at times to find a unique one to challenge our size up skills. To me the key to proficiency is practice, practice, practice...the more we see, even repetitively, the more ingrained our thinking becomes towards evaluating and assessing.

The military is a close cousin to the fire service; they have to think in terms of strategies and tactics that mirror those we deal with, like Offensive, Transitional, and Defensive. A good army officer knows when to push, when to hold, and when to back away....all are taught "conservation of forces" as a part of their professional education. Maybe that's an effective way to approach our job as well.

Another military term I think applies to us is "fog of battle", those critical moments when perceptions and communications become sporatic, garbled, and warped...when everyone is in "self" mode instead of working together as a unit in "team" mode. Weird things happen as a result of this "fog", which I contend happens during every working job.

OK, enough jabbering: Make the Call, then explain your reasons.

[gongsquad]

I will start off by saying the guy on the lawn holding the handline needs an air pack.

From the looks of it the fire is located in the front bedroom since it is showing out the front 2 and division b windows. The other windows on the division B side of the house are clear with light smoke showing. I would say an 1 3/4 hoselines to the second floor to start attacking the fire. Another 1 3/4 to the attic area to check for extension. Depending on staffing levels I would have the first due truck split crews sending one crew to the interior to conduct a primary search and the other crew to throw ladders vent the roof. Third due engine would be sent to the exposure property to check for extension.

If you get in there quick enough you should be able to hold this fire to the front room.

[JDub]

One 1 3/4 to the 2nd division and another to the attic. truck Company to the roof to ventilate. Get in there and get boys.

[WebBoss]

Now that's a bedroom fire!

Pick a line, any line, 1.5" or greater, and high-tail it up the stairs and knock that fire down before it spreads anywhere. Offensive Attack!

From the looks of the smoke on Division 3, there may be some extension.

Attack line to the fire
Back up line to protect the stairs
Line to Div 3 as a safety measure
Line to Div 2 of the adjacent house
Search Team (1 each for both sides)
Truck crew to each side of the duplex to open up and check for extention
Lots and Lots of ground ladders
RIT to pose as lawn ornaments on the Div A lawn

[1900]

Now thats a room off...maybe a little more...1 3/4 to Div 2...the fire blowin, but no smoke pushin anywhere really...some good smoke starting to build at the peek/attic window...

Get another line to the attic...open up the windows pry wont need the roof opened up...no acess anyway...

More importantly I think a line needs to get to the D exposure and starting opening up and looking around...

As for the guy with no SCBA...he has no intentions of going in, or anyone else there for that matter or they'd already be in there!

[pcs200]

1 3/4 up to div 2 withe search crew right behind,quick knock and some overhaul. it looks worst than it is?

[thelurker]

Since Chad suggested this in another thread, I will give you guys the low down on what happened here. We were dispatched to a dwelling. 2005 and FM20 on location reporting fire showing. I was riding the nozzle seat on 2021. We arrived first due and I pulled the 1-3/4" pre-connect across the front lawn. I was ordered to drop the line, and begin an aggressive interior search for possible victims.
My Irons man and I began an aggressive interior search without the hose line. The 1st floor was clear and we flew through it. When we went up the stairs to Division 2 we were met with high heat and zero visibility. I held the TI camera up, but could not even see the screen because the smoke up there actually baked onto our masks. We bellied out and began searching up the hallway. We found a bedroom on the B-side (if you look at the picture you can see the fire back inside the window to the left of the flames with what may be a silhouette of my Irons man in it), and my Irons man tried to vent a window, but could not get to it because of the clutter in the room and the heat pushing us to the floor.
About this time, the Officer on our engine and another FF from a mutual aid company came up the stairs with our line, and passed it up to me. I asked them to give me more line, and they told me we were out of line and then they bailed because they didn't have hoods on and were getting burned. About that time, a second line was pulled to Div 1 and truck crews were opening up the ceilings. The found fire below us because the floor in the front room had burned through. We lay there for a minute contemplating our next move, while I opened the line into the big roaring noise ahead of me. We decided to back down the stairs and get more line, 2005 had entered at this point. My nozzle man and I rallied behind him and then went up and got it (which we had to do by holding onto each other's bottle, because our masks were shot to shit). We also had extension into the attic, but I dont believe it ever made it into the adjoining dwelling. Oh and PS the FF on the front lawn is not even considering entering this building, she is just feeding line, and waiting for us to put this out so she can investigate it, because it is in her district.