How does your department conduct a search?

[WTFD10]

I had an idea of posting an occasional poll on here regarding training for and tactics and operations at "bread and butter" house fires. I always find it interesting to see how other departments do things.

For this one, I'm wondering how your department trains in and conducts search.

I know many departments require the search crew to drag a hoseline with them while searching. Others use a tag/rope line. My department teachs/uses the traditional one guy on the wall and his partner on his boot.

How does your department teach and conduct search operations?

[ff7134]

For our house fires we do the same as you...one on the wall and one on the boot. For commercial we have to use a tagline. We usually don't drag a hoseline in on our primary search.

[Weruj1]

There is no SOG for us on how to search............alot (for me anyways) depends on the experiece of the person I am searching with....soemtimes it is orietned man at the door , or sometimes ya all go in together, the hand on the boot routine.Commercially, I am sure we would use ropes or the hoseline. in residences, search may or may not have a line ........again depends on experience and water and personnel etc., with that said MOST times search has a line.

[WTFDChief730]

For house fires, my crew uses what we call an oriented man search. In a residential search the officer stays in the hall near the room doorway as one crew member goes into the room to perform a quick primary search another crew member will search another room close by. We always maintain voice contact at all times, its just to hard to search with two FF's in a small bedroom with all the furniture, dressers and bed we just run into each other, one FF can go in a small bedroom and cover alot of area. If we get a fire in a large house such as the ones in the old west end, then we may tighten up our search as a crew so we dont get to far apart, but for a small regular bread and butter house, this is our crew preferance, we practice this and we all know the routine.

The search you mentioned Moe as far as two members staying on the wall is obviously a good safe search method that works very well, but the oriented man seach is what we do, what ever search you use takes practice and everyone has to be on the same page, trying to figure out what you want to do on the fireground is not a good time.

Good post Moe, and I'd like to see what everyone else does too.

[firenresq77]

Good post, and as Josh said, it depends on your crew and the experience levels. I would prefer to do the oriented man, but if experience levels of the crew aren't what we would like them to be, we will do wall/boot method.

If it's a commercial structure, we have our tagline set for wide area searches that we would utilize. Works very well.

[WTFD10]

OK, to throw something else into the mix, does your department have a thermal imaging camera? Has it changed your search methods or just sped up the same one you've always used?

I think the camera operator being the oriented man is an excellent method. He/she remains in the doorway directing his/her partner on where to search. This is something my department may work more on in upcoming drills (We've had our TIC for about 6 months now).

[Weruj1]

that is a good thing to throw in the mix............200 said you were smart ........anyone got any SOP's on this ?

[firenresq77]

No SOG for that........ yet. I'm with you. Let your TIC operator be your oriented man in the hall.......

[Weruj1]

so..............let me say this ..........if you are in the hall, and your searcher(s) are in the room, wouldnt they need the camera ?> I mean you know where you are, and they should know how to get out ...but with all the noises, and room sizes, if YOU as the oriented man has the camera, how can you if see something direct crews in that room? In other words .........wouldnt the searchers want the TIC?

[WTFD10]

I'm thinking of a bedroom or similar small to medium room.

The person searching needs to feel under the bed, etc. and can move faster without stopping to look through the camera. Orientation is maintained by voice contact with the person in the door.

The oriented man can call out "you've got the bed on your left", "dresser on your right", etc. His/her job is to scan the room and tell the searcher what he's seeing through the camera.

[firenresq77]

I see what you are saying, 201, but my thinking was along the lines of what Moe said........

[Weruj1]

Oh I wasnt disagreeing..........and like I said depends upon room size mostly huh ?

[firenresq77]

Oh, it definitely would depend on room sizes.....

[NFD159]

So, are you guys saying in the bedroom size DOES matter?

[firenresq77]

Originally posted by NFD159
So, are you guys saying in the bedroom size DOES matter?

LMAO!! I guess so.........

[WTFD10]

Originally posted by NFD159
So, are you guys saying in the bedroom size DOES matter?

Like 77 always says

That's funny, I don't care who you are

[firenresq77]

Originally posted by WTFD10


Like 77 always says

LMAO!!! Good ole Larry the Cable Guy.........

[PFD109NFD107]

Getting back on topic and off talking about each others tools....

I agree with the oriented man method in most houses... In some of the houses in Pburg, Rford and a few in Nwood I would recommend using a search rope.

[ff7134]

We are working on this for to figure out our SOG's. Currently if we send the TIC in on search it's a 3 man team.A 2 man wide search with the TIC/3rd man in back he sweeps the area and keeps track of his partners. Since we have only 1 tic...its not always their for the intial search.

[NFD159]

The oriented man can call out "you've got the bed on your left", "dresser on your right", etc. His/her job is to scan the room and tell the searcher what he's seeing through the camera.

I'm kind of with Josh on this one. The guy in the hall knows where he's at. Use the camera to make your way down the hall, but I would give the camera to the guy actually goin into the room. I think it would be too hard to communicate enough by calling out to the guy in the room where to search. If he has the camera he'll know where to look.