After peaking at 171 in 1978, the latest statistics show a continuing downward trend in line-of-duty fatalities - but scores of U.S. firefighters still die in the line of duty each year.
Seventy-two firefighters died in the line of duty in 1997, the U.S. Fire Administration reports; more than half of the deaths occurred on the fireground. The fatality list spans all types of departments: career, volunteer, combination, industrial brigade and military.
Photo by Philip A. Holmes The four-alarm fire broke out just after 10 A.M. on Jan. 1, 1998, and left more than 40 people homeless. These firefighters knew how to get themselves out of trouble but many firefighters have never been taught how to survive being trapped or lost.
For several reasons, we need increased fireground safety and rapid intervention teams. The basic concept of the rapid intervention team is simple - they are the first responders sent to rescue or locate trapped or missing firefighters.
Recent reports indicate firefighters are being killed and seriously injured during the initial stages of the fire. Factors that contribute to early injuries and death are:
- Lightweight-wood-truss construction.
- Energy-efficient windows.
- Older buildings.
- Lack of survival training.
Lightweight-wood-truss construction. One feature being utilized in new residential and commercial construction has increased the need for rapid intervention teams - it is truss construction for floors and roofs. Lightweight wood trusses, some as small as "two-by-fours," with up to three members held together by sheet-metal fasteners with punched points penetrating a quarter-inch or less are trapping firefighters within minutes.
A department in Virginia experienced a fire in a store that killed two firefighters. The first company on the scene reported nothing showing. A short time later, both firefighters were trapped by the collapse of lightweight trusses and the hanging ceiling components. A department in Connecticut encountered a fire in a commercial building with lightweight-wood construction, consisting of two-by-eight-inch top and bottom cords and two-by-four-inch webs. Several firefighters became trapped when the roof collapsed on two crews advancing initial hoselines; one firefighter died. Some experts believe that a working fire in a building with lightweight-truss construction gives us less than five minutes to work.
Energy-efficient windows. Another building feature that should send up a yellow caution flag is energy-efficient windows. The older, unprotected, one-eighth-inch glass windows are very energy inefficient, so homeowners are replacing them with energy-efficient windows, Most new construction uses some type of thermal-pane window. This new type of window is two to three panes thick with up to seven-eighths-inch glass. Some companies fill the airspace with argon gas instead of air. Argon is a safe inert gas that does not transfer heat as well as air. When the gas is heated, it may turn the window dark gray, obscuring the view of the interior. These windows are meant to keep heat in and - unfortunately for firefighters - they do a great job.
Photo by Christian M. Fink The rapid intervention team can make the fireground safer by placing additional ladders on the fire building.
I arrived at a building with very little smoke showing, only to be met by a roaring fire inside. The fire had burned through the solid-core door and was out into the public hallway, catching us off guard and almost trapping two firefighters above the fire. Firefighters have been trapped and seriously burned or even killed by fire surprising them in hallways or outside doors. Two members of my company operating at a fire in a 21/2-story frame structure ascended the stairs to the second floor, where a very light smoke condition was seen at the top of the stairs. As they prepared to enter the floor, the fire blew out the kitchen door, surrounding them with flames. Both recovered from their injuries after a short stay in a burn unit. Energy-efficient windows were a contributing factor to the sudden fireball. Outside ventilation and a charged hoseline, as well as proper control of the door or entrance, should be primary tasks assigned at buildings with energy-efficient windows.
Older buildings. Nearly every city and town has vacant structures, open to vandals or homeless people. Inclement weather and time eat away at structural supports and place the firefighting forces in peril. Older buildings can have numerous renovations and little or no fire stopping, hiding fire and spreading heat and smoke above and below unknowing firefighters.
The assistant chief of a volunteer department responded to a "typical" basement fire in a 2 1/2-story private dwelling. Everything was going well until, without warning, the fire flashed over in the attic trapping two firefighters. One of the firefighters was severely burned diving out a window; the other, unable to escape, succumbed to his injuries. There was only light smoke on the second floor as the two firefighters ascended the stairs to the attic bedroom. The dwelling had balloon construction.
Lack of survival training. One of the reasons a rapid intervention team is necessary is that we normally throw every resource we have at a fire when life and property are at risk, toward rescuing trapped civilians, but the same cannot be said for trapped firefighters.
The National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) has stated that in some years 20% of fireground fatalities are related to firefighters becoming lost or disoriented in buildings. In several case studies, once the incident commanders became aware of missing members, there were no resources immediately available to rescue them. If all initial resources are committed to what looks like a "textbook" job, what happens when Murphy's Law comes into play?
Photo by Christian M. Fink Outside ventilation is an important task for firefighters who encounter energy-efficient windows.
When I was a young chief in my volunteer department in the late 1970s, most of our fires were "typical" private dwelling jobs, involving one or two rooms. One of my concerns was trying to give everyone a piece of the action. I spent many hours standing alone outside a fire building watching my guys getting experience. If Murphy's Law had confronted me back then, I would have been hard pressed to find a crew to rescue trapped firefighters.
A lack of time spent teaching firefighters how to survive being lost or trapped in a burning building is of grave concern. I recently asked more than two dozen new firefighters from six departments how much time was spent learning survival techniques such as emergency radio messages, head-first ladder escape, self-contained breathing apparatus (SCBA) low-profile escape, search-rope techniques, emergency use of personal alert safety system (PASS) devices and breathing-control exercises.
Very few of the new firefighters had been taught survival techniques as part of basic training. Some of them had no idea what I was talking about; others said they were told survival training would come "on the job." I recently read about a rookie firefighter who died in a house fire when the second floor collapsed. He was responding to his first fire.
Without fireground survival training, the rapid intervention team had better be ready. Although numerous hours are spent on hazardous materials and emergency medical training, the techniques necessary to save ourselves are given low priority. The National Fire Academy found in one study that 79% of the firefighters caught or trapped during interior firefighting had not activated their PASS alarms. How much time was spent selling the importance of a PASS device to those firefighters?
Tool Assignments For Rapid Intervention Teams
What tools does this important fireground team need? The same tools that are used to rescue civilians. Firefighters can become trapped or lost in a building just as its occupants do.
The basic tools are SCBA, prying tools (axes, halligan tool, Kelly tool and short pike pole); striking tools (flat-head ax, sledgehammer and maul) and cutting tools (K-12 or chain saw). Every member of the team should have a handlight and a portable radio. I also recommend the team carry a search rope.
All members of your department should be trained in team search procedures and search-rope techniques. If the incident conditions deteriorate enough to trap or disorientate a firefighter, the search and rescue team shouldn't become part of the problem; the search rope will ensure a thorough search and rapid exit if necessary.
The team also should carry any specialized equipment your department has available; for example; a thermal imaging camera. Remember, this is a "rapid" intervention team - loading down the members like pack mules will only take away the little survivable time a trapped member has.
Once the initial rapid intervention team is in the building, the incident commander can consolidate other resources. Depending on your standard operating procedures (SOPs), additional equipment such as a Stokes basket, extra SCBA, rope and hauling systems can be assembled to be used in the rescue. The rapid intervention team can contribute to fireground safety and assist the incident commander by monitoring fireground radio traffic, since the front of the fire building is normally the noisiest sector. The team can provide an extra set of eyes and by watching the fire building for early signs of collapse can be helpful during escalating incidents. The team should place at least one ground ladder up on the front of the building. This simple task will add another "fire escape" for any member in distress.
I have consulted and written standard operating guides for several fire departments. Most include the following rapid intervention team tasks:
- Upon arrival, the team arrival will begin a size-up noting locations of entrances and means of egress.
- One member will monitor fireground radio transmissions. The fireground is often very noisy; this will assist the incident commander with monitoring emergency traffic.
- The team shall assess the location for portable ladders. The team shall place at least one ground ladder on the front of the fire building or endangered exposure, to the fire floor or floor above.
In my department, if a ladder truck is in front of the building and the aerial or tower is not up, the rapid intervention team sets the stabilizers and raises the aerial or tower. All of these tasks keep the team in front of the fire building and near the incident commander where it can be summoned quickly. Once the team has placed a ladder, members should watch for any firefighter in need of assistance. The team may assist by simply footing a ladder for a firefighter exiting the building.
The rapid intervention team should be assigned as part of the incident commander's overall strategy and tactics. The same steps you would use to summon additional manpower for an escalating fire should be put to use to call for a rapid intervention team. Many departments have made the rapid intervention teams part of the mutual aid plan, with automatic deployment at reported working fires. Yes, there has been a downward trend of reduced firefighter deaths. To continue this trend, every proven fireground safety technique should be utilized to enhance firefighter survivability.
Robert W. Cobb, a Firehouse® contributing editor, is a 25-year veteran of the fire service in volunteer and career departments, currently a battalion chief in the Jersey City, NJ, Fire Department. He is an ex-chief of the Dumont and West Milford Township, NJ, Volunteer Fire Departments. Cobb is a New Jersey Division of Fire Safety Fire Instructor Level II and a State OEM ICS instructor, Level I-300. He is associate editor of the Professional Firefighters Association of NJ (IAFF) newspaper, Newsline©, and is a lecturer on a wide range of fire service topics.
