At FDIC on Thursday, March 24, Rochester (NY) Fire Department Captain Scott Joerger conducted a class which focused on engine company flexibility when selecting options and the necessity of having the options to meet the needs of the target hazards present. He discussed these options from the perspective of a proper size-up.
Joerger stated, “If you don’t see immediate progress when you apply water to a fire, then you have selected the wrong option.”
Among the Engine Company options Joerger presented to the class were the deck gun, the potable monitor, and the 2½-inch handline.
Joerger included several dramatic videos and pictures from recorded house and building fires that required one of the options he was promoting. He continued, “The old saying ‘The fire goes as the first line goes’ still applies. When it comes to selecting a line, the engine company officer determines the initial action plan, which must include five options.”
According to Joerger, an option or handline succeeds–and fails–because of training and experience. There are only four areas that matter here: flow or GPMs, application, support, and movement.
Joerger also offered this ‘myth buster’: “Even the most unlikely person in the world can handle and operate a 2½-inch smooth bore handline; someone who is not well trained. Someone who is not all that big and strong.”