An assignment of two engine companies, one truck company, one rescue company, and a chief has just been dispatched to a report of a fire at a residential address. It is 1100 hours on a Saturday morning in October. The weather is clear and the temperature is seasonable.
Engine 24 has started its response. By the running assignment and the address, crew members know they will be the second engine company on the scene. As they respond, they hear the incident commander on the radio. He has arrived on the scene. He reports a working fire in a 2½-story residential dwelling and continues the report with the building’s construction type, size, exposures, and general conditions.
Shortly after the IC’s report, the first engine company arrives on the scene. Engine 33 radios that it has secured its own water supply and is stretching a 1¾-inch hoseline for interior attack, as the IC has ordered.
The IC radios Engine 24, approximately one minute away from arrival, to stretch a hoseline from Engine 33 to back up the attack team in the interior of the fire building.
As Engine 24 approaches the scene, the chauffeur knows that the apparatus is not needed at this time and parks out of the way of any later-arriving units. The company now proceeds to the fire building with full protective gear and SCBA. Several members grab hose packs from their apparatus, just in case.
Apparatus placement at the scene is nearly perfect. The ladder truck is parked right in front of the fire building; several of its members have already placed extension ladders and are on the porch roof proceeding with vent-enter-search (VES). The ladder truck chauffeur is maneuvering the “stick” into position. The rescue is parked just down the block from the fire building.
According to a radio report, the rescue company is about to enter the building to start its search. The IC has his vehicle parked across the street in an unoccupied driveway and has established the command post there.
Engine 33 is parked just past the fire building and has its front suction hose attached to a hydrant. A 1¾-inch preconnected hoseline is coming off the engine; members are advancing through the front entrance of the fire building.
A quick size-up by Engine 24 members shows an older frame dwelling, a common residential type of building in this district. Heavy flames and smoke are showing at the B/C corner. The main body of fire appears to be at the rear of the first floor. Engine 33’s chauffeur confirms to Engine 24’s officer that his crew has just starting flowing water with the 1¾-inch hoseline that was stretched to the interior of the fire building.
The members of Engine 24 now start their assignment of stretching a backup hoseline from Engine 33. The officer decides to use a 2½-inch hoseline, which will be easily deployed off the rear of Engine 33.
The normal practice is to stretch a backup hoseline equal to or greater in size than the initial attack hoseline. With the heavy body of fire and relatively easy exterior stretch, the 2½-inch hoseline is a good choice.
Engine 33’s chauffeur assures Engine 24’s officer that there is enough water supply for this line. The connections are made at Engine 33; the crew of Engine 24 stops its hose stretch at the front entrance of the fire building. The Engine 24 crew knows that it can follow the direction of the 1¾-inch line at this point and get in the vicinity of Engine 33’s hose team.
At this same time, the officer of Engine 24 notices that the siding of the nearby exposure building on the B side is starting to burn. He directs his hose team to back the line off the porch to the B side of the fire building. As soon as the 2½-inch hoseline is charged, the hose team extinguishes the siding fire, which was burning on the exposure, and wets down the rest.
As the hose team is about to shut down and bring its hose back to the front entrance of the fire building, flame comes out of a second-floor window of the fire building on the B side. The flame is like a blowtorch, and more siding on the exposure is on fire. The flame and heat are threatening the exposure’s roof overhang, and the glass in one of its second-floor windows has failed. There is now an opening for heat, smoke, and flame to enter the interior of the exposure.
Engine 24’s officer decides that his company must commit to exposure protection. The 2½-inch hose gives excellent stream reach, and members have been able to keep the siding wet. The officer notifies the IC that Engine 24 will not be able to accomplish its initial assignment as a backup hoseline. He also suggested that an engine and a truck company are needed to enter the exposure building. The IC confirms the message and notifies Engine 24’s officer that second-alarm companies are responding but are several minutes out.
Engine 24’s officer now takes one member off his hose team; together, they proceed to check the interior of the exposure building. In a short time, he confirms that the occupants have self-evacuated and are safely out. Some smoke but no heat was observed in the exposure. The two return to their hose team on the B side of the fire building.
The conditions in the fire building are now starting to deteriorate. Without a second hoseline in the building, fire has extended to the second floor. The teams doing search are reporting “all clear.” The second-alarm companies are arriving on the scene. The IC is concerned that only one hoseline is operating in the fire building. He orders all units to back out and changes the attack to defensive.
The fire was eventually extinguished; there was extensive damage to the structure and its contents. The threatened exposure building was saved after the second-alarm companies were able to enter and perform overhaul.
The fire went out. The exposure was saved. No one got hurt. A happy ending? Maybe another lucky day.
Engine companies are trained to stretch their hoselines in order of importance and priority. When a hoseline is stretched (including a backup), life safety is the first consideration. Confining the fire and limiting fire spread are second. Extinguishing the fire is third. Preservation of property is fourth.
In the scenario above, Engine 24 failed to completely consider life safety when it committed to exposure protection. When no life hazard in the exposure building was confirmed, the immediate life hazard was the companies working in the fire building, especially Engine 33.
The assignment of a backup hoseline fulfills several needs on the fireground. The initial hoseline could burst or have a defective length, a clogged or malfunctioning fog nozzle, an unmanageable kink in the hose, or some other unforeseen difficulty. Any of them can endanger the hose team and other interior crews. When a properly stretched backup hoseline is in place, problems with the initial hoseline can be dealt with and minimized.
Another function the backup hoseline fulfills is to increase gallons per minute (gpm) of water at the point of fire attack. If the initial hose team is not making headway or is not showing signs of extinguishment, one solution is to increase the amount of water being applied to the fire. A properly placed backup hoseline can easily accomplish this. Although a hose team may not be able to put out a fire for several reasons (lack of ventilation, poor stream selection, or deep-seated fire, for example), many times, more “wet stuff on the red stuff” will solve the problem.
Stretching a backup hoseline can, at times, be quite easy. By following the path of the initial hoseline, the backup hoseline should reach optimum position. The officer of the backup hose team needs to make physical contact with the crew on the attack hoseline. Physical contact will give an experienced engine company officer a view of the fire attack and how or where the backup hoseline will be needed. It also lets the officer see for himself. Many aggressive and proud engine companies are hesitant to admit if they are having problems.
If the backup hoseline is not needed at the point of attack, it may be repositioned to another interior location. In the above scenario, several companies were in the fire building besides Engine 33. The rescue company was doing a search, probably from the area of the fire outward. The truck company had performed VES and was on the second floor. The backup hoseline could have been moved to protect these companies. As an example, if the backup hoseline were moved to the interior stairway, it would have protected the companies working above the fire.
Engine 24 was adequately protecting a threatened exposure but may have suffered “tunnel vision” in doing so. Once there was confirmation that the exposure was evacuated, the life hazard was the firefighters in the fire building. A backup hoseline was needed in the fire building. Only Engine 24 could provide this in a timely manner.
Engine companies stretch their hoselines to protect life, confine and limit fire spread, extinguish fire, and preserve property. Unfortunately, in today’s environment of understaffed fire companies (coupled with inadequate first-alarm assignments) or because of simple complacency, the importance of the backup hoseline is sometimes taken for granted. This is a dangerous practice that compromises life safety.
Engine companies must stay focused, be disciplined, and be well-trained. They need to know and keep their priorities in order when stretching and using their hoselines. By doing this, the engine company will better protect the civilians and firefighters who make up the life hazard component on the fireground. ■
■ CHUCK DeLUCA is an engine company lieutenant and a 23-year veteran of the Hackensack (NJ) Fire Department. He has an AAS degree in fire science from Bergen Community College in Paramus, New Jersey, and a BS degree in fire science/public safety from Mercy College in Dobbs Ferry, New York. He has several New Jersey state certifications including firefighter I, IMS Level I, and fire official.
