SEARCH AND RESCUE IN SINGLE-FAMILY DWELLINGS, PART 3

SEARCH AND RESCU IN SINGLE-FAMILY DWELLINGS, PART 3

BY BILL GUSTIN

Part 1 and Part 2 were published in the August and September 1998 issues.

As recruits, we were trained to search using the following approach: Follow a wall, maintain contact with the same hand, proceed in the same direction, and you will eventually get back to where you started. This technique is fine for searching small areas or an area close to the entrance door. But it can take too much time and too much air to reach an area remote from the entrance–the bedrooms, for instance. In addition, you may have to drag a victim back through several rooms, following the walls, to reach an exit. Fortunately, there are other ways to navigate in smoke.

A hoseline provides protection (from fire) and can guide firefighters as they search in and out of the fire area. Once a hoseline is in position and has darkened down the fire, engine company members can often begin a search of the area near the fire. The nozzleman must always remain with the line and act as a beacon for his crew members searching along or close to the hoseline. With a powerful light and a strong voice (no yelling), the nozzleman maintains voice, if not visual, contact with his crew. Continuous tapping on a wall also serves as a constant reference of where the hose and other members are located.

Ladder company firefighters can also search along a hoseline, beginning or ending their search at the fire area and then following the line back to safety. Leaving direct contact with the hoseline depends on the amount of visibility, the area to be searched, and the experience of the searcher.

Practice identifying hose couplings by feel. They can tell you in which direction you`re heading. The male coupling has a raised rocker lug on its entire length. The female coupling consists of two pieces: a smooth shank with no raised lugs, and a female swivel with a rocker lug that is much shorter than the one on the male coupling. The smooth lugless shank readily identifies the female coupling by feel. Following a hoseline in a “male-female” direction will eventually get you to the last male coupling on the line–the one connected to the nozzle. Going in a “female-male” direction will ultimately get you to the last female on the line–the one connected to the discharge of the pump (see “Enhancing Our Life Line” above).

A search rope will enable you to advance rapidly to the area to be searched and return to safety without following every wall, especially in larger houses with wide open floor plans. (In smaller houses, a search rope may not be needed or desirable, since the ropes tend to get tangled/wrapped around things in smaller spaces.)

Attach the free end of the search rope outside an exit door. As the search team advances, the rope will play out of its bag, giving searchers a line back to their exit. It is not always necessary to extend the search rope into every room. One member could remain with the rope bag at the doorway and (with a strong light and voice) guide his partner as he searches the room. As in the case of the hoseline, leaving physical contact with a search rope depends on visibility, the area being searched, and the experience of the searcher.

If you locate a victim, tie off the search rope. It will be easier to follow it out and will mark the point where the search must resume.

SEARCH TECHNIQUES

One firefighter can rapidly search an average-sized bedroom. Committing two firefighters to a small bedroom is a waste of time and personnel; they can get in each other`s way. Large bedrooms and other areas can be searched by two firefighters who begin at the doorway and conduct a wall-oriented search–one to the left, one to the right. They maintain voice contact until their paths meet, and then they leave the room together.

Searching large areas will be safer if partners stay in close contact and extend a search rope. One firefighter follows the wall and holds on to his partner`s boot; the partner extends outward into the room. Two firefighters lying flat on the floor can cover areas several feet from a wall, reach into the middle of the room, and sweep with their arms or legs. Searchers can extend their reach even farther by sweeping with the handle (end) of a tool or using a short piece of rope or nylon webbing between them.

Each firefighter should carry 20 to 25 feet of small-diameter rope or nylon webbing in his turnout coat pocket. By attaching his “personal rope” at a doorway or branch off the main search rope, a firefighter can extend his search and then use it as a guide for backing out of the area.

Some additional guidelines for searching follow:

Be sure to check under beds by sweeping with a leg or the handle of a tool.

Check the space between the mattress and the wall for victims who may have rolled out of bed.

An unusually low mattress may indicate a bunk bed and the need for a check of the upper bunk.

Check closets, identified by a door that opens toward you (flush with the wall), for children and adults who may be buried under clothing.

On entering a house, check the area behind and near the door for victims who may have passed out before they could unlock themselves out of their homes.

Keep moving! Remember, a primary search is a rapid search; the objective is to locate the most victims in the least amount of time. You can`t search every nook and cranny. New firefighters particularly tend to be too slow and meticulous. I would venture to say that`s because many of them practiced searching for a spanner wrench or some other small object in basic training. A secondary search is more thorough than a primary search. Firefighters conducting a secondary search can take the time to examine all areas carefully for victims who may have been overlooked in the primary search.

If you locate a victim, get help. Immediately notify the incident commander so he can alert medical units and send personnel to assist in removing the victim. You are going to need assistance, especially if you have already exhausted most of your air and strength. Take a few seconds to sweep the immediate area. There`s a good chance of finding another family member–a sibling or a parent, for example. Similarly, after a victim has been removed, get back in and resume the search where you left off. Other victims may be nearby. (For example, in disadvantaged neighborhoods, it is not unusual to have a mother and six kids sleeping on mattresses on a bedroom floor.)

Remove a victim by the shortest route possible. It may be faster to take him out of a nearby window than to drag him down a hallway, but you can`t break glass and clear the sash without a tool.

SEARCH WITH A TOOL

The only firefighters who have a legitimate reason for not searching with a tool are engine company members who can`t readily carry a tool and advance a hoseline. But engine firefighters operate within the protection of a hoseline. Ladder company personnel can get in big trouble if they don`t carry a tool for forcible entry and “forcible exit.” Fear of crime has caused citizens to turn their homes into fortresses, secured with double deadbolt locks and bars on every door and window. As soon as possible, outside teams should remove these obstacles to provide an alternate means of egress for firefighters operating inside. But searchers can`t always wait for an outside team and must carry forcible entry tools in case they have to breach a wall or force a barred window or locked door.

A thermal imaging device is an excellent search tool, and I expect that some day it will be a standard component of each firefighter`s personal protective equipment. A thermal imaging device effectively enables a firefighter to see through thick smoke, but it cannot see through walls and furniture. Therefore, the device greatly assists firefighters in their search but doesn`t significantly change how they search. And it absolutely does not substitute for adequate staffing. We still need sufficient firefighters to search every area and perform one of the most demanding tasks–removing an unconscious victim.

A DEMANDING TASK

It`s difficult to accurately simulate removing an unconscious fire victim using a firefighter acting as though he were unconscious or a manikin. There is nothing easy or delicate about dragging a 200-pound person out of a building; it`s nothing short of brutal. An unconscious person`s head will flop around uncontrollably and bang into things as you struggle to drag his dead weight. It`s difficult to get a good grip on a victim. And forget about picking him up. Instead, grab the victim by the wrists and drag him along the floor. Dragging a victim by the ankles has some drawbacks: The ankles are larger than the wrists and harder to grip, the legs are heavier than the arms, and dragging a victim feet-first can cause the arms to open like a toggle bolt and catch between furniture or in a doorway. But you may have no choice, depending on how you find the victim. You can significantly increase your grip on a victim by tying the handcuff knot1 to his wrists or ankles with nylon webbing or a short personal rope. The handcuffs can also increase your pulling power because two rescuers can pull at the same time. A seatbelt or webbing tightened under the arms and around the upper torso also increases the grip and pull and allows a rescuer to get a victim in a semisitting position, which may be necessary to maneuver around corners and through narrow spaces.

It can be extremely difficult for two firefighters to drag a victim out of a small room and down a narrow hallway because they don`t have the space to pull side by side. It is usually better for one firefighter to concentrate all his effort and attention on dragging the victim while his partner leads him by holding on to his SCBA harness and following the wall, hoseline, or search rope.

Dragging someone down the stairs instead of along a level surface is easier because gravity will allow the rescuer to use some of his strength to lift the victim at the shoulders to keep his head from striking the stair treads. His partner backs up the rescuer and controls their descent.

Whenever possible, use the stairs for removing a victim from an upper floor because lifting an unconscious victim off the floor, over a windowsill, and down a ground ladder can be a humbling experience. The task usually requires three firefighters–two to lift the victim to the windowsill and position him on the ladder and a third to carry the victim down. This personnel requirement is a minimum that does not allow for the luxury of a firefighter to butt the ladder and another to back up the rescuer on the ladder.

One method that can be effective–provided that you have enough width to accommodate two firefighters and the victim–is for two firefighters to pick the victim up in a seat-carry with their arms interlocked at the wrists behind the victim`s back and under the legs at the knees. Webbing tied in a girth hitch around the victim`s chest facilitates the help of a third firefighter, if available, to lift and support the victim from behind. The victim is first lifted to the windowsill, facing outward, with his legs dangling out of the window. He is then slid off the windowsill and onto the ladder with the help of the strap secured around his chest. The rescuer on the ladder receives the victim with one knee raised so that the victim`s legs straddle the rescuer`s knee. The rescuer will hold the victim into the ladder by grasping the beams under the victim`s armpits (grasping the rungs for smaller victims). The victim`s descent can be slowed or stopped by “hugging” the ladder, squeezing the victim into the rungs. A leg lock while receiving the victim may seem like a good idea; however, it would be very difficult for the rescuer to lift his leg out of a leg lock when burdened with the victim.

Victims can also be carried in a horizontal position, supported at the chest and between the legs by the rescuer`s arms as he grasps the ladder beams. Each method of ladder rescue has advantages and applications. No one should depend on using just one method of taking a victim down a ladder and hope that it will work every time. A final word about handling unconscious victims: All the techniques described can be effective in getting a victim out of a fire building, but sometimes there is no substitute for brute force exerted by many hands working together to lift, carry, drag, or manhandle a victim anyway they can. If you locate a victim, get help–and plenty of it. You`re going to need it.

Saving lives is the most important and fundamental duty of a firefighter. Don`t let the decline in the number of fires or all of the nonfirefighting services we provide today distract you into forsaking the basic firefighting and rescue skills necessary to save lives. Firefighters must prepare their minds and bodies for the challenges of search and rescue by staying in top physical condition; participating in frequent, intense drills; and becoming familiar with the basic designs of homes in their response district. You never know when a fire will trap occupants in their homes; their lives will depend on a properly planned and conducted search and rescue operation. You could be minutes away from responding to the ultimate test of knowledge, skill, strength, and courage.

Endnote

1. To tie the handcuff knot, do the following:

Form two loops in the middle of the rope, as if to make a slipover hitch. Place the right loop over the left loop.

Pull the left side of the right loop down through the left loop while pulling the right side of the left loop up through the right loop.

Place the two loops you have created in Step 1 around the victim`s wrists. Pull the slack out of the knot.

Reference: “Saving Our Own: The Firefghter Who Has Fallen Through the Floor,” Rick Lasky and Ray Hoff, Fire Engineering, March 1998, 14.


(1) As recruits, we were all trained to search by following a wall. This technique is fine for searching small areas close to the entrance door, but it can take too much time and too much air to reach and return from areas remote from the exit door. (Photo by George Izquierdo.)


(2) A hoseline can guide firefighters as they search. Once it is in position, it will lead from the fire area back to the entrance door. (Photo by Michael Heller/911 Pictures.)






(3) Rescuers drag a victim along the hoseline. Following a hoseline is much shorter and more direct than following walls. (Photo by George Izquierdo.) (4) A search rope is an excellent way to search large areas or to advance rapidly and return from remote areas without following every wall. Here, a short piece of nylon webbing extends the reach of the search team. (Photo by George Izquierdo.) (5) Searchers can extend their reach several feet from a wall by sweeping with the handle end of a tool. (Photo by Raul Torres.) (6) Check for victims who have rolled out of bed and are wedged between the mattress and the wall. (Photo by George Izquierdo.) (7) Probe closets, identified by a door that opens toward you (flush with the wall), for children and adults who may be buried under clothing. (Photo by Raul Torres.)




(8, 9, 10) Iron security bars can be a death trap for searching firefighters. Search teams must carry tools so they can force their way out of a building. (Photos by author.)












(11) You cannot accurately simulate an unconscious fire victim by using a firefighter or manikin as the victim. Forget any notion of a Ofireman?s carry.O Instead, grab a victim by the wrists, and drag him along the floor. (Photo by Raul Torres.) (12) You can significantly increase your grip and pulling power on a victim by tying the handcuff knot to the victim?s wrists or ankles. (Photo by Raul Torres.) (13) Small rooms and narrow hallways do not allow sufficient space for two rescuers working side by side to drag a victim. In tight spaces, it is usually better for one rescuer to concentrate all his efforts and attention on dragging the victim while his partner leads him by holding on to his SCBA harness and following the wall, hoseline, or search rope. (Photo by Raul Torres.) (14) A seat belt or webbing tightened under the arms and around the torso also increases grip and allows a rescuer to get a victim in a semisitting position, which may be necessary for maneuvering him around corners and through narrow spaces. (Photo by Raul Torres.) (15) Dragging a victim down the stairs is somewhat easier than dragging him on a level surface because gravity is on your side. Lift the victim at his shoulders to prevent his head from striking the stair treads. Your partner should back you up and control the descent. (Photo by W. Latimore.) (16) Lifting this 250-pound OvictimO off the floor, over a windowsill, and down a ladder is no easy task. A method that can be effective is to have two firefighters pick up the victim in a seat carry. Webbing tied around the victim?s chest would facilitate the help of a third firefighter, if available, to lift and support the victim from behind. (Photo by Mike Hemmer.) (17) The victim is lifted to the windowsill and then slid off the windowsill and onto the ladder with the help of the strap secured around his chest. (Photo by Mike Hemmer.) (18) The rescuer on the ladder receives the victim with one knee raised so that the victim?s legs straddl

BILL GUSTIN is a captain with the Miami-Dade County (FL) Fire Department and lead instructor in his department`s officer training program. He began his 25-year fire service career in the Chicago area and teaches fire training programs in Florida and other states. He is a marine firefighting instructor and has taught fire tactics to ship crews and firefighters in the Caribbean countries. He also teaches forcible entry tactics to fire departments and SWAT teams of local and federal law enforcement agencies. He is an editorial advisory board member of Fire Engineering.

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