FHExpo17: Exploring New Strategies and Tactics

Fireground strategies and tactics vary from community to community and Firehouse Expo sessions explored a variety of hot topics.

Top-floor fires

Michael Scotto presented “Top-Floor Fire: Why We Do What We Do.”

The area above a top-floor fire is probably the most serious exposure. Today we find solar panels, green roof systems, blue roof systems, cell sites, roof top bars, additional structures, cocklofts, membrane roofs and lightweight construction materials. How can these features affect a top-floor fire?

Scotto stated that the fire service needs reevaluate tactics and strategies concerning top-floor fires. Cockloft fires have always been a game-changer and now electrical, radiological and weight issues add new hazards. You need to determine how and where are ventilation cuts  are made with a solar and cell systems above? Their presence means cutting may not be possible, or they may have to be remote from the fire. This can lead to further fire spread.

Roof access for a top-floor fire might be unattainable with a cellular service site, and snow covering rooftop solar panels pose additional hazards. Wiring for the solar system may have caused the fire.

Another factor firefighters need to consider is whether the top floor is an attic used for living space. If so, the top floor must be attacked rapidly, as attics generally were not designed as living areas and egress for civilians is extremely challenging.

Building construction must be understood so firefighters know the avenues for fire extension or understand the location of hidden voids. Petroleum-based products have more BTUs, which creates hotter fires. Also, the smoke is more of a fuel, which increases interior conditions. Escape may be harder from a top floor because it is higher and proper laddering is essential.

Green roofs create a weight issue with the additional weight of dirt, planters, pavers and trees, plus blue roofs collect rain water.

Rooftop bars often feature flooring and roof cuts will be nearly impossible, plus the flooring is an extension point. Then there is a local collapse potential into the top floor.

Choosing the proper size hoseline for speed, mobility or volume is an important strategy, Scotto said. Firefighters can consider a second line or large caliber stream initially if the top-floor fire is in the cockloft or under a solar panel roof. If the fire apartment is a duplex, entry is made through the floor below the fire. 

Our strategy should focus on rapid searches, especially if mentioned roof features are in play. 

Garden apartment fires

LeRoy Smith presented “Strategy & Tactics for Garden Apartments."

It’s 3 a.m. and you are the officer on Engine 8 returning from your fifth run of the night. This is only your third shift since the promotion, and you have handled everything thrown your way. On the last shift, your crew handled a small room-and-contents fire in a townhouse and your performance was recognized by your battalion chief. Little do you know, in about 2 minutes, your crew’s skills will be put to the test. 

The radio calls out “Dispatch to Engine 8.” You answer and they tell you to stand by. You wonder where the next medical call is going to be? Dispatch rings out again: “Engine 8, copy … tones Engine 8, 12, 9, 14, Ladder 17 and 29, Rescue 4, and Battalion 1 and 3 respond for smoke in an apartment building, Main Street.”

Upon arrival, you locate the hydrant, give direction to your driver and pull into the complex. As you approach the building, you observe a three-story, newly constructed, wood-frame apartment building with open stairwell. Side Alpha has light smoke showing from a window on Division 2 and heavy smoke on coming from the apartment on Division 1. The stairwell is clear and being used as occupants evacuate the building. It’s go time—what do you do?

It is important for any officer who may be riding the front seat on an apartment building fire incident to understand the building features that are unique to apartment buildings. They must know what’s different about their features, horizontal and vertical void spaces, combustible exterior finishing, and large open attic areas that contribute to rapid fire spread. There are also features in place to assist during a fire incident: attic draft stopping, sprinkler systems and protected stairwells. If utilized, these features can be instrumental in achieving a successful operation. 

It is also key for officers to have response protocols for newer, larger buildings, which may go by different names, like doughnut construction or podium construction. These construction methods make combatting a fire much more challenging.

Crew preparation and “front-seat leadership” are also crucial factors at these incidents. Smith asked, are you and your crew ready for an incident as described above? 

Wind-impacted fires

George Healy presented “Strategies for Dealing with Wind-Impacted Fires.”

Through research, the fire service has learned much about the effects that wind can have on fire conditions. After a series of line-of-duty deaths in wind-impacted fires, the fire service partnered with fire protection engineers to learn from these tragic incidents. Testing commenced to better understand what influence wind had on the fire, and with that knowledge, the fire service implemented new tactics and tools to mitigate these deadly fires. The studies into wind-impacted fires became the foundation for fire research that continues today, allowing the fire service to validate our tactics and improve firefighter safety.

Understanding the impact of the wind and improving fireground size-up is critical to ensuring firefighter safety when wind is a factor. The research showed that a 10-mph wind is enough to cause a wind-impacted fire. Further, research, as well as actual incidents, has proven that wind-impacted fires can occur in any type of building, even on lower floors and in below-grade areas. When a wind-impacted fire develops, the heat and smoke from the initial fire will follow any available flow path, from the high-pressure fire area to other lower-pressure areas on the interior and exterior of the building. Operations in the flow path will place members at significant risk. Members will experience floor-to-ceiling convective heat energy that will overwhelm the operating member. These severe conditions are in excess of the thermal protection of the member’s PPE.

Preventing a wind-impacted fire by implementing alternate strategies and withholding ventilation until the fire is controlled is critical to a safe operation. Fireground size-up will need to take into account the speed and direction of the wind. Wind conditions must be communicated to operating units. If wind is impacting the fire apartment, ventilation must be controlled until the fire has been extinguished. If a window into the fire area has self-vented, alternate strategies must be implemented, and clearly communicated and acknowledged by all operating members. Possible alternate strategies include exterior attack, flanking the fire from an adjoining apartment if it can be safely accessed, or deploying a wind-control device over the vented window.

Departments must realize that a wind-impacted fire will severely challenge their resources and endanger their members. Education and training will allow members to appropriately size-up the fire to communicate and implement alternate strategies when wind is a consideration on the fireground. Members must remain vigilant and ensure their size-up takes into consideration the impact of wind on the fire.   

The why of engine operations

Jordan Hood presented “The Forgotten Engine Company Culture."

The forgotten engine company culture is derived from a culture of yesterday’s fire service—a service that established the priorities of placing the citizen first. 

Almost every firehouse across the nation has one thing in common, and it’s the backbone of all fireground operations: the engine company. The engine company is the workhorse of the fireground day in and day out. Unfortunately, time and time again, the basic engine company skill set is pushed away and is therefore subpar on the fireground.

A no-nonsense mindset, courage and the will to do the right thing at all times are the key qualities that an engine company must incorporate into their actions. Further, they must deliver the quality professional performance associated with disciplined engine company skills.

Career or volunteer, citizens expect proficiency every time our apparatus roll out the door to assist them in their time of need. While operations of an engine company are not tough, the basic tasks often get overlooked or pushed to the wayside. This is where the forgotten culture of yesterday’s past must be incorporated and brought back to the forefront. 

Having an understanding of our apparatus and our response district(s), we are able to functionally cut down our thinking process upon arrival. This, in turn, get us to a quicker deployment of water to the fire, giving the citizens a better chance of survival and giving back to the men and women before us.

While engine company operations isn’t rocket science by any means, the need to instill the “why” mentality into creating a better engine company firefighter is paramount. If we do not incorporate a disciplined mindset and make every move count on the fireground, then who will?

It is up to us to bring back the backbone workhorse of yesterday’s fireground operations with an aggressively safe mindset and pride. We need to hone our basic skills so that those skills and tactics are quickly deployed while reducing any delay in lowering the chances of a room-and-contents fire escalating into something bigger.