Ind. Firefighters Learn New Way to Battle Blazes

Feb. 07--Fort Wayne firefighters are learning a new tactic for battling blazes.

Vent-Enter-Search (VES) is typically used when firefighters enter through a second-story window. The most appropriate time to use the tactic might be during a lower-floor fire when it is strongly suspected there is a person on the second floor. The same tactic can also be used on one-story structures.

Assistant Chief Adam O'Connor said the tactic is useful for when going up a stairway would be too hazardous.In duplexes, it can often be confusing in the smoke to figure out the right staircase to take. By coming in through a window, the firefighter can search the room, then close the door and get back out the window.Once inside the room, the firefighter keeps his or her left arm and leg against the wall while making sweeping motions with the right arm and leg to search for a person.

The firefighters were being trained at the Allen County Sheriff's Department training ground, 5080 Adams Center Road. The training was expected to continue through the week. By Tuesday afternoon, four squads were already through the training. They lined up two ladders, knocked out a second-floor window and searched a smoke-filled room, coming back out the window when the search was completed.

"Training is all a matter of muscle memory," O'Connor said.

According to Stacey Fleming, public information officer for the Fort Wayne Fire Department, O'Connor has been on the force for 15 years and was promoted to Assistant Chief of Operations on Jan. 1. The position had been open for the past four years while the new administration was streamlining and restructuring procedures.

Copyright 2012 - The News-Sentinel, Fort Wayne, Ind.