ON FIRE ❘ by MICHAEL N. CIAMPO
Getting “moved up” (or whatever term you use) to another station to provide coverage while those units are actively engaged at a fire, an emergency, or even a training event can happen at a moment’s notice. Many times, it comes at an inappropriate time of the day or night, puts a damper on your plans or activities, or even interrupts a delicious meal. When the dispatch is transmitted, strive to get out the door as quickly as possible. Lollygagging around can cause some serious issues and put firefighters and civilians in jeopardy in unprotected areas with no help in sight or a delay in backing up our own. Plus, if you get out the door quickly and an additional alarm or units are requested, instead of sitting in another firehouse listening to the radio, you may find yourself at the scene and doing work!
When you’re eating, being transferred is a nuisance, but you’ll have to wrap it up and take it with you so you can finish eating at the other firehouse. If the dinner isn’t anywhere near ready, you’re going to have to eat when you get back. When it’s just being served, a quick phone call to the dispatcher to say you’re monitoring the radio and will be on the road shortly can make everyone’s lives easier, especially when they’re looking for you to take in the fire as an extra unit and you’re sitting in the firehouse with nobody monitoring the radio. Dispatchers can help you out when things might not be falling into place. Letting them know you’re having a retirement or promotional meal for a member may just result in their giving the assignment to another company. We’re one service, and being upfront and honest can help the entire organization deal with small issues that arise.
In some instances, the transfer can be quite simple—to the neighboring firehouse or town—and the buildings you’ll be responding to are like the ones in your fire district. However, there will be times when you are relocated to areas that have buildings that you are very unfamiliar with. Transferring from an area that is all private dwellings to “downtown,” with high-rise buildings, can be an eye-opener if it’s not your bread-and-butter operation.
As you’re driving through the area, size up the structures, talk in the crew cab, and mention that this entire area is going to need your standpipe hose packs. If you’re really on your game and standpipes aren’t your normal response, when you get to the coverage quarters, it’s OK to pull out the standpipe kit and ensure you have the necessary fittings and appliances in place and ready to go. It’s also normal for the engine chauffeur to rearrange the fitting cabinet’s shelf to put the necessary adaptors for hooking into a siamese right up front so there’s no digging around looking for them.
If you’re riding on the truck and you went from private dwellings to a mid-rise and high-rise area, a host of issues can arise. Stalled elevators, compactor fires, rubbish in the stairwells, or trapped smoke on numerous floors from a bad food-on-the-stove call can make your coverage assignment that much more difficult. If you have time when you get there and you feel that out of place, it’s perfectly OK to look at your department tactics and procedures for the incidents described above. These incidents, although normal to many, might create large headaches for others unfamiliar with responding to them daily.
The power room for the elevator could be in the basement, in a roof bulkhead, or even in a mechanical room on a different floor. Trash compactors might have large holding areas for refuse bags or a large dumpster bin in the basement or at a loading dock. Removing smoke on numerous floors from the haze of burned food can take a while and require chocking open multiple doors.
A bundle of 10 or 12 penny nails in your pocket, wrapped up in a thick rubber band (that’s often found on a bunch of broccoli), can help you chock open numerous doors. Put the point of the nail into the screwhead in the door hinge and the flat nailhead on the door frame to keep the door to the stairway open and allow the smoke to lift.
Another concern for these mid-rise tenements or multiple dwellings is roof access of the isolated building. Although you might be well-accustomed to using the aerial or tower ladder to vent a peaked roof, you now have a much longer and, in many instances, steeper climb. Throwing the roof saw carrying sling completely over your head and one shoulder helps the saw to sit farther down on your back. This helps you climb the aerial ladder better, allowing you to maintain a solid grip on the way up. Hopefully, the tip or bucket has some hand tools and hooks stored on the fly section of the ladder so you don’t have to climb with those.
If you’re lucky and there are adjoining buildings and you used one of the exposures for roof access, make sure you cross in the front so you don’t fall down an open shaftway, which is normally farther back in the building. Always sound the roof while crossing over to ensure you’re stepping onto a substantial deck.
If you weren’t called to the scene and get to the coverage assignment, make sure you look in the house watch or radio room for specific instructions for responses. Many companies have an information book/cards with running routes and an index of short streets or complexes. You may find special hydrant wrenches on the apparatus bay wall for wall hydrants or industrial complexes. Most of all, be prepared to go to work! It’s Murphy’s Law!
MICHAEL N. CIAMPO is a 38-year veteran of the fire service and a lieutenant in the Fire Department of New York. Previously, he served with the District of Columbia Fire Department. He has a bachelor’s degree in fire science from John Jay College of Criminal Justice in New York City. He is the lead instructor for the FDIC International Truck Essentials H.O.T. program. He wrote the Ladders and Ventilation chapters for Fire Engineering’s Handbook for Firefighter I and II (Fire Engineering, 2009) and the Bread and Butter Portable Ladders DVD and is featured in “Training Minutes” truck company videos.
MORE MIKE CIAMPO
