Vent-enter-search (VES)—or vent-enter-isolate-search (VEIS)—is a tactic that has been instructed, drilled and implemented by a large contingent of departments across the nation. This accepted and validated tactic comes from a deeper understanding of modern structural fire loads, improved understanding of fire behavior, and a service-wide demand to access victim locations quicker than ever. But there is an ongoing debate related to where the search component stops. Is it a single room, the room and the threshold outside, or does it extend all the way down the hallway? In this article, we will examine why a ladder-assisted search expansion must happen past the doorway whenever feasible, upon completion of the target room search.
Basic VES duties
For terminology sake, let’s say that the VES area is the target room that was chosen for the entry location. The intention is to let Command and support operations know where the crew is initially working, as well as the location of egress for anticipated victims. We must not confuse the operational tracking of a crew’s location with the working understanding that the VES team will make every effort to expand their search past the original room.
In our department’s staffing assignments, VES is a two-person task, with each member having a defined role prior to the operation. The first person into the window, called the search position, has a multitude of tasks that need to be accomplished in a timely manner. After taking the window, including the center sash, the search position will sweep and sound the floor before entering through the window. This is done in order to check for victims below the sill and confirm stability of the floor. If conditions allow, a quick scan with a thermal imaging camera (TIC) is warranted to help us visualize victims and door locations, thus expanding the search.
Once this is done, and depending on window size, a headfirst entry can be performed. This allows a controlled decent by hooking the feet on the windowsill, as well as using a New York hook as a banister for our weight. Once entry is complete, the search member heads directly to either the door or the victim.
Simultaneously, the second member of the VES crew staffs the sill position by immediately ascending the ladder. Once at the sill, they immediately pick up the TIC and visualize the location of the interior search member. The sill position is responsible for providing and coordinating all support for the search operation. They are there to keep Command informed about the progress of the search, as well as to assist with victim removal when needed. Perhaps the most important function of the sill position is providing the searcher with encouragement and keeping their orientation while inside the room. This makes for a fast, yet thorough search of the room.
Once the search is completed in the initial room and the conditions are favorable for a VES transition into the hallway, the sill position should immediately notify Command that they are transitioning to an interior search of the remaining areas of the structure. This allows Command to understand the need to continuously track and provide exterior support for interior search crews.
Variables of impact
Now that we have established what the baseline VES operation might be, it’s time to expand on some of the variables that may be encountered. These can increase the complexities of our operation, as well as the resources needed. However, by getting in front of these different variables through preparation today, readiness can be assured tomorrow.
Further, it is important to recognize the complexity of decision-making in fireground operations. I worked for an officer who had a saying about this: “The only thing black and white in our field are your medical protocols. Everything else we do is in the gray, and that’s where we are expected to operate successfully.”
Interior conditions
Interior conditions will initially dictate three things for our VES operation: 1) our searchability of the area, 2) the length of time we have to effectively isolate the room and 3) the ability to expand our search past the initial targeted room.
First, as the window is taken, we use the initial smoke exhausted and conditions presented thereafter to determine if the interior door is open or closed. This allows us to more accurately predict how rapidly the fire might be approaching the opened window. These conditions may or may not allow for an interior search.
Lazy or no smoke could indicate that the door is already closed, or the fire is in a further location not currently being drawn to the exhaust opening. Turbulent and dense smoke pouring out of our window would indicate the need to rapidly isolate the room, which would allow us more time to search. This is our “gray area,” where we determine if we have the ability to do a quick scan outside the threshold of the room before closing the door and searching the targeted room.
When conditions allow, there should be a sense of urgency performing this step. Victims of sound mind and body will move toward exits, by means of the interior hallway or stairs, to find a way out. If they are cut off by smoke or fire, they will retreat into the bedrooms to find a window. Also remember that while VES is being conducted, suppression and ventilation operations should be executed simultaneously. Conditions on the other side of the door should reflect that and allow for the search team to access areas they previously could not access. We should allow the conditions to dictate our searchability, but not the survivability of those who are trapped inside. If conditions do not allow a search, then we understand that a successful rescue may be futile. On the other hand, if conditions allow for searchable areas, all efforts should be exhausted to protect the possibility of life.
Encountering victims
Perhaps the most important variable involves locating victims. If a victim is identified on the TIC, should the firefighter go straight to the victim or isolate the room first? This is another decision that needs to be made in a rapid, yet calculated manner.
There are factors we can use to guide the search team toward a higher probability of a favored outcome. We know that if one victim is located in a fire, the odds of finding another increase. It is also known that parents will instinctively try to rescue their trapped children, just as we know children will either hide out of fear or try to make it to their parents for safety. With this knowledge, along with victim-removal techniques, we can improve our chance of locating and removing trapped occupants.
If the victim is of a size that allows a search member to remove the victim with a one-arm grab, they should quickly grab and go for the egress window. Conversely, if the victim is large or multiple victims are encountered, the search firefighter should isolate the room as soon as possible. This buys the crew time, and as the smoke in the isolated room lifts, visibility improves.
The sill position is then able to coordinate further support as needed. If a victim is located past the door of the target room, the decision needs to be made as to the best means of egress for the victim. This again will require Command to be notified as to when the VES is complete and the search team is expanding its range. Command may then adjust the location of the rapid-intervention team (RIT) or exterior ops to further provide for quick egress.
Ladder-assisted search
With the search of the targeted VES room complete, and conditions that allow the search crew to move past the door and into the hallway, the sill position enters the room. This begins what is called a ladder-assisted search. This is communicated with Command, allowing for the now two-person search team to continue as quickly as possible.
The search team has multiple techniques at their disposal to finish the search. If conditions allow, the crew can perform an oriented search. The sill position will maintain orientation back toward the exit, while continuously monitoring conditions and communicating with Command as needed. Crews can split up in order to search multiple bedrooms at the same time. This may be acceptable if vocal communications can be maintained. Trained crews typically operate with the understanding that being one room apart provides the balance of covering as much area as possible while still maintaining contact.
Another less talked about tactic is the Interior VES. This can be effective when conditions are deteriorating. The crew can enter each room, with the hallway as the entry point, then isolate themselves in the room while ventilating the window. This option provides two searchers to a room, as well as an increased visibility. This should be done only when conditions don’t allow crewmembers to be on opposite sides of any threshold. This also requires coordination with the exterior crews, especially if victims are located, as the egress points for civilians and firefighters might change from the original entry point.
Final thoughts
The overall goal of search should always be to put firefighters in places where victims are expected as rapidly as possible. Both VES and the ladder-assisted search give crews the opportunity to achieve that goal.
The search teams, as well as all crews involved on the fireground, should always be on the same page in regard to expectations. We expect that once VES is complete, the crew will make every effort to expand its search. We expect that exterior crews will make every effort to support interior search operations. And finally, we expect that ALL personnel will operate with the assumption that on any response, on any scene, the potential to save civilian life is priority one until proven otherwise.
