Making The Best Of A Bad Situation

The worst nightmare for any incident commander is to hear the words "Mayday! Mayday!" or that a firefighter or firefighters are down or missing.

What happens at this point is that emotions and adrenaline push a fireground into chaos and confusion and drive an already dangerous scene. This exact moment will be examined and reviewed by many people after the incident whether it turns out successfully or not. The incident commander will be second-guessed or even rebuked for what should have happened that didn't or what didn't happen that should have. People who have NEVER commanded an incident too often are the main perpetrators of these actions.

I want to present some ideas and tactics that may help when an occurrence like this occurs. I hope these ideas will make a bad situation have a successful outcome.

First, you must recognize that you can't continue to command the incident and a rescue effort at the same time. You need command help immediately. Next, what is already in your command toolbox? Do you have a rallying point? When a "Mayday!" is given, all units need to form up at set points either in the building, if possible, or at another location and a roll call taken. This is also referred to as accountability. Do you have a rapid intervention team available on the scene? Do you have a plan for this type of occurrence?

Every time we respond to an incident, we put our people in harm's way. We need to recognize that fact and not make light of it. Many firefighter fatality reports contain the word "routine." In my opinion, there aren't any routine incidents anymore.

Every incident commander needs a plan for the unthinkable. This plan can be put in the form of a checklist. When an incident like this occurs, thinking and processing information can become extremely difficult - if you have a checklist, you can react to the items on your list. Items on your list would include accountability, fireground control, communications, time line, rescue sector personnel (not already committed at the scene) for rapid intervention and a rescue sector leader, EMS and utilities control.

When firefighters go down, the emotions of everyone on the fireground run high. The problem with this situation is that in many cases the scene becomes chaotic and confusing as everyone tries to do something. If the building is becoming untenable or has dangerous conditions, the incident commander may not want anyone else in the structure for fear for their safety. This is why another command officer (a battalion chief or above) is needed. This chief can take control of the access to the building admitting only those who have a mission to perform (the rapid intervention team) and who have been processed for accountability. The worst situation at this point is for ALL of the personnel on the scene to attempt to perform search and rescue, as this will only lead to a total breakdown of accountability and more people could be lost.

Another major aspect of a successful outcome is how well the incident commander handles himself or herself. First, you need to get control of yourself. How you sound on the radio will lead the scene. If you are calm and professional, the balance of the units will follow your example. This is another reason for another chief. You should continue to command the scene while that chief leads the rescue sector. Those activities should be handled on another radio channel, if possible.

What has been done prior to an incident going bad can have a great effect on its outcome. Are your personnel trained in self-rescue, building construction and fire behavior? Does your department address VACANT buildings as the firefighter killers that they are? Have you imparted to your troops that "when in doubt, you'll pull them out" and there shouldn't be any hesitation on their part. Do you have standard operating procedures (SOPs) dealing with accountability and rallying points?

We as incident commanders must recognize that firegrounds are not sterile situations like tabletop exercises. Once we have accepted this fact then we must prepare for the unthinkable. I hope that these ideas will help you.

The firehouse is draped in black and the flag is at half-staff. A family mourns the loss of a loved one and wage earner. This scene continues to be played at a continually alarming rate. Heart attacks still lead the list for on the job firefighter fatalities. Burn injuries, however, are on the increase. Although the numbers haven't reached epidemic levels, they are at the point where we on the job need to take a concerned and concerted look at how we are battling fires in this country.

In over 200 years of organized fire protection in this country, the fire service has made many significant strides towards keeping up with the challenges that face us every day. But, we still send kids "down the hall" to put out the inferno. We dress them better and we provide them with cutting edge technology. Maybe we dress them TOO WELL and maybe we rely on technology TOO MUCH. We need to take a look at what has served us well over the years and perhaps begin there to thwart this problem of fatalities from burns.

What has worked very well for the fire service over the centuries is our concept of teamwork. An aggressive interior attack and search can only be accomplished when all of the members of the team are doing their parts.

The most dangerous aspect with our profession is the search mode. This action often occurs without the aid of a hoseline and it often occurs above the fire. The current fire fighting gear is truly "cutting edge." An individual who is outfitted completely with helmet, hood, self-contained breathing apparatus (SCBA), gloves, turnout coat and boots can truly withstand more heat than our forebears did 10 years ago. I believe this is one of our problems.

The encapsulation is so good that firefighters are penetrating deeper and faster into fires than ever before without realizing that they are in harm's way (flashovers and backdrafts). In years gone by, firefighters had more of their natural senses to warn them of escalating temperatures - when you were lying on the floor and your ears began to burn, it was time to get out. The fires of today are hotter and grow faster than ever before. The building systems in use today are developed along cost-effective curves. That equates to lighter weight, more plastics and the use of trusses.

This brings me back to the teamwork concept. We can longer continue to push the safety envelope. We must address the manpower issue and not let others outside of the job dictate what constitutes minimum staffing requirements. The most blatant effects of these cutbacks have been the truck companies or ladder companies. I now hear reports of units being manned by two, three or four personnel.

I spent most of my time on ladder trucks and I will state emphatically that anything less than five people on a truck IS NOT a truck company. The truck company is responsible for 7 major regimens: ladders, overhaul, ventilation, forcible entry and lights, rescue and salvage. For the purpose of brevity I will address only two of these: ladders and ventilation.

Anyone who has gone down a hall or into a basement can tell you when he or she was running with a good truck company. The surest test is how well ventilated the structure is as the engine company pushes its attack.

The District of Columbia Fire Department used to have six personnel on its truck companies. This meant that between two and four truckmen were dedicated to throwing ground ladders and accomplishing horizontal ventilation. The remaining two firefighters went to the roof to effect vertical ventilation. Often, there were two or three ground ladders and at least one negative-pressure fan in service before the fire was declared under control.

Now, with only four members assigned we barely get one ground ladder in service, maybe vertical ventilation and no fans in service before the fire is under control. Anyone who has studied the phenomenon of flashover and backdraft can attest to the fact that aggressive vertical ventilation will lessen the probability of their occurrence. Also with aggressive ventilation the engine companies and search companies can operate safer and more effectively.

A friend of mine who runs with three members on a truck company in Florida told me that whatever they touch first, be it a ladder or forcible entry, is all they can accomplish. On a four-member truck the officer is expected to prioritize the needs and go into service.

Today's panacea is positive-pressure ventilation (PPV). And one of the strongest selling points seems to be that you can ventilate a building with fewer people on the fireground. Based on a videotape that I saw, it also allows engine companies to walk right up to the fire and, in fact, stops the fire in its tracks.

This is a good tool. You can ventilate large open areas and you can pressurize stairwells of multistory buildings. BUT don't ever use it in a balloon-framed structure with a fire in the basement, or in a structure that has too many vertical and horizontal openings, or if the fire is in the walls. If you do, then bad things are about to happen to your firefighters and the structure that they are in.

We need to stop pushing the safety envelope to see what the minimum number of people that we can assign to truck companies is before more firefighters are buried. We cannot put firefighters in firefighting gear that lets them go deeper into a burning combat zone without providing enough personnel to reduce the atmospheric dangers contained within that environment.

If budgets prevent staffing, then perhaps we should put one apparatus in reserve and combine the personnel, or perhaps double the response of trucks. Whatever it takes, get at least six members on the scene for residential and 12 at the scene for commercial dedicated to performing truck company operations. Firefighters don't just get burned because its "the nature of the job." They get burned because of misapplications of priorities regarding manpower. Stay safe.

Chief Concerns is a forum addressing issues of interest to chief fire officers. Opinions expressed are those of the writer. We invite all volunteer and career chief fire officers to share their concerns, experiences and views in this column. Please submit articles to Chief Concerns, Firehouse Magazine, 445 Broad Hollow Road, Melville, NY 11747.