The engine company resurrection that’s taken place in the last decade or so in the fire service has placed a lot of emphasis on “the initial line.” Fire Department of New York (FDNY) Lieutenant Andy Fredericks, the godfather of engine company operations, coined the well-known phrase: “As goes the first line, so goes the fire.” This phrase has laid the foundation for generations of engine firefighters, elevating the job more than the idea of “put the wet stuff on the red stuff.” While this mantra remains true, a subject that gets less focus but can be just as critical is the follow up to the initial line—the second line, the knockout punch of extinguishment. Many bread-and-butter fires will never require a second line because a well-placed first line gets to the seat so effectively that the job is done in short order. The infrequent use of a second line can develop, in some jurisdictions, doing no more than satisfying local requirements that a “backup line” be pulled. Unfortunately, this can create complacency that is exposed during those fire operations where more than one line is needed.
As important as the first line is, every fire department will arrive at fires where their staffing is inadequate to overcome the momentum they are met with initially, where a quick win with a single line is not a given. This can be a three-person engine company arriving at a four-story, wood-frame apartment fire with flames actively spreading into “the ways” (the breezeways, walkways, stairways, or common hallways that are civilians’ only means of egress besides their balconies). A deep-seated fire in a “tilt-up” commercial building or warehouse, a row of wood-frame townhome buildings with heavy fire and difficult access or stretches, and many more scenarios will strain the initial companies and present them with a small window of opportunity to turn the tide in our favor. Brian Brush, training chief of the Midwest City (OK) Fire Department, penned an article and class called “The Exponential Engine” where he discusses the relevance of Admiral McRaven’s concept of “force multipliers” on the fireground. A force multiplier can be defined as “a tool, process, or tactic that increases the effectiveness of something without increasing its size or firepower.” While there are many force multiplying options such as blitz attacks available to us for the initial water application, the second line can serve as a potential force multiplier if done correctly when needed. To do this, firefighters must be able to anticipate what ways that second line may be needed, and not just pull a “backup line” to drop dry on the ground without thought so that a box can be checked.
Three Uses for the SECOND Line
There are three primary ways in which we can anticipate using a second line or multiple lines:
- A true backup line
- A flanking/leapfrogging line
- A confinement line
If you are a crew arriving with or behind the first-due engine, it is vitally important that you quickly recognize how and where an additional line would help capitalize off of the work being done by the initial line or how to protect them. As the first-due officer, it is just as important to understand how to quickly relay how the next companies can best be used so that there is minimal time to task.
The Backup Line
A tried-and-true backup line is typically what people think of when they discuss a second line. Backup lines are critical in situations like the above. In one instance, you have heavy involvement of a furniture store. In the other, you have a well-off residential space of a taxpayer. In large, uncompartmentalized spaces like the furniture store or most commercial occupancies, our attack line faces an uphill battle against a large space with high volumes of volatile smoke. We would hope that the first line here is a 2½- or 2 ¼-inch line flowing 250 gpm or more to maintain great reach and punch to the hot surfaces which are driving the gas problem. As Scott Corrigan says: “We need to view ventilation limited fires as operating under 50% of their potential.”
Scenarios that require a proper backup line:
- Anytime you suspect the first attack line could be out gunned
- When you short stretch due to an undetermined seat location and need to hold the position while another line makes the seat
- When the first line may need a junction protected so members do not have their retreat cut off.
Firefighters must consider a backup line at least one length longer and the same size or greater than the initial line so that the above situations can be addressed quickly.
In the taxpayer fire above, a 1¾-inch line was placed onto the fire floor to work on extinguishment of the units above. The line accessed the tenant stairs from the alley side to make the push. A backup line was established to capture members’ progress and protect their egress, since the volume of fire and avenues of extension were at the upper end of what you would want a single crew handling solo. Remember, though, the first responsibility of a backup line is always to help get hands on the first line to move them deeper into the building. Ensure that the stretch of the backup line does not hinder the advance of the first line by going over the top of them and creating friction.
Flanking LInes
FDNY Deputy Chief (Ret.) Vincent Dunn was the first person that I have heard talk about “flanking” lines in the fire service. He primarily discussed them in the context of wind-driven conditions as a great way to have a line from an alternate position get water onto the fire to soften the advance for the initial line. Chief Dunn states in his book “Strategy Of Firefighting”: “To effectively and safely move a hoseline or direct a master stream into a fire building from a flanking or opposing direction at a wind-driven fire preventing advancement of a hose line, the first thing that must happen is to realize wind is the problem… Then when all interior forces are confirmed in a safe area, the commander orders an opposing or flanking hose team to advance, or directs a stream into a window”.
There are many situations in which a flanking line can be extremely effective, and sometimes even outright necessary, for extinguishment. Nozzles are line-of-sight tools, and although a well-placed initial attack line on plane and to the interior is our goal for final extinguishment, several things can limit the initial line’s effectiveness: compartmentalization, hoarding conditions, grade changes, wind, and fire extension through multiple spaces. All these factors inhibit the first line’s ability to map water at the seat of the fire.
In the UL Fire Safety Research Institute (FSRI) study titled “Coordination of Suppression and Ventilation in Multi-Family Dwellings,” experiment 5 had a lower-level unit fire with an interior advance that had stalled out and needed an exterior flanking line to hit the unit before members could advance down for final extinguishment. The following pictures are from the FSRI online multifamily study training.
Flanking lines are well worth discussing with your crews as an “audible,” but crews employing a flanking line must be disciplined and communicate so that streams are not directed into spaces with firefighters in them.
Leapfrogging Lines
Closely related to a flanking line is what we call “leapfrogging” lines. Leapfrogging is when the first line begins a firefight from a position where members can direct water into multiple spaces, typically the “ways” of the building, to prevent the fire from spreading rapidly via the exterior. A leapfrog line is the next line that immediately charges and begins an interior advance to finish off the fire on plane, capitalizing off the progress of the initial hit. Many agencies refer to this as a “blitz” attack for the initial line, but the complexity of the operation comes with the follow up. Often firefighters will use a heavier stream at larger fires to accomplish the initial knock of large volumes of fire from an exterior position. Crews then follow with smaller, more agile handlines that leapfrog them to the interior. Crews should anticipate the need for a leapfrog line and have it placed and their personal protective equipment ready to go as the initial line is shut down. This minimizes reflex time between the line being shut down outside and the interior advance. This keeps regrowth to a minimum, which, as FSRI states in their study, “Coordinated Tactics in Single-Family Homes”: “Knowing that regrowth is directly related to a continued decrease in occupant survivability, minimizing the time from completion of the exterior water application until the hose team has entered into the fire compartment for final extinguishment is key”.
In the picture of the apartment fire above, a deck gun was used because of the large volume of exterior fire spreading via the walkway and stairways. This initially knocked back the fire so that smaller lines could quickly stretch and operate by “leapfrogging” into place. Many wood-frame apartment fires spread rapidly after leaving their unit of origin, cutting off occupants and extending into the common attic space or adjacent buildings. A savvy first-in crew can oftentimes quickly operate a stream to stop forward progress of the fire in its tracks while one member stretches the leapfrog line so that it can quickly be advanced as soon as the exterior stream is shut down. If you are a company arriving after the first line is in operation, anticipate the need to leapfrog and get things moving to capitalize on the momentum. This is often the difference between winning and losing at wood-frame apartment fires.
Confinement Lines
Anticipating and placing confinement lines can be one of the most important skills you build as a firefighter. The confinement line is ultimately what stops the forward progress of the fire. As stated before, nozzles are line-of-sight tools, so they are limited to extinguishing only what the stream can reach out and touch. This is not a problem for most fires that are contained to a unit or spaces in closer proximity to each other, like a couple of bedrooms in a house that can be controlled by a single line. However, there are other fires can erase the progress of a first line quickly if another line is not quickly placed into operation:
- Fires extending to multiple floors
- Fires running attic spaces in larger buildings
- Loading dock fires that extend to the interior of commercial buildings
- Common hallway fires
- Fires on balconies
In such instances, a confinement line must be placed to get ahead of what the initial line cannot quite get to.
Again, it is vital that the first line gets placed and is not hindered by any of the subsequent lines (remember, no more than two lines per stairwell). When operating in stairwells, take care to stretch to the outside if the first line is stretched to the inside. If you are advancing a common hallway, be sure to keep your line on the opposite side of the initial line. Get hands on the initial line to help members move forward as you advance your line, if possible. If possible, officers of the first line and the confinement line should interact face to face on the fire floor, if time permits, so that the second crew can increase their situational awareness.
As the first crew, develop the awareness needed to relay the immediate need for a confinement line as quickly as possible. This can be the difference between winning and losing at fast-moving fires. Oftentimes by the time you realize you need one, the time it takes to assign, stretch, and operate it can be extensive. At fires of significance, everyone on scene should anticipate and assume the need for one or multiple confinement lines.
The fire pictured above was a breezeway-style, wood-frame apartment with a fire that had spread out into the stairway, multiple units, and the attic. This fire was initially knocked down in the stairs, then firefighters placed confinement lines in units from low to high as they worked to extinguish the extension.
Lastly, alternative stretches like coupling drops and rope stretches can oftentimes be the most valuable confinement line stretches we have at our disposal. These techniques are very fast and can help us get lines placed without clogging stairways. They can also be extremely valuable when a crew searching above the main body of fire locates extension. Members can quickly drop a rope bag and hoist a line to operate in their location, if needed, which is usually faster than assigning another crew and waiting on a stairway stretch.
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As much of North America’s urban centers sprawl into wood frame apartment complexes, strip malls, and tilt-up commercial buildings through every municipality, multiple-line fires have become just as much of a reality as the days of brick-and-mortar fires that took out entire blocks. Many companies are great at stretching and operating the first line, but to capitalize off their effort, the next lines must operated as proficiently and well placed or the success of the first line will be short lived. Some of the proudest stops that I have been a part of in my career are those where we placed multiple lines quickly and stopped the runaway freight train in its tracks. At the same time, some of the fires I look back on with regret are because of the question: “What if we would have been able to place that next line?” You do not have to be a large, urban department to be good at placing multiple lines. The key is to anticipate the need for them and getting on it quickly. Time to task with hose is always more than we think and longer than what we do on the drill ground, so the key is to get good at placing them early and with intent. Above all, though, remember that we do everything in the name of search in residential buildings—keep the tasks of stretching lines and searching separate from each other so that they complement each other.
REFERENCES
Brush, Brian. “First-Arriving Engine: A Progressive Fire Attack Plan.” Fire Engineering. February 24, 2020.
Corrigan, Scott. “Beyond The Door: The Risk Analysis.” Fire Engineering blog. September 27, 2015.
Dunn, Vincent. Strategy Of Firefighting. Fire Engineering Books. 2007.
Fredericks, Andrew A. The Official Book of Andy. Fire Engineering Books. 2023.
“Analysis of the Coordination of Suppression and Ventilation in Multi-Family Dwellings.” FSRI. June 2020.
“Analysis of the Coordination of Suppression and Ventilation in Single-Family Homes. FSRI Technical report, March 2020.
Jay Bonnifield is a captain with the Everett (WA) Fire Department, serving on Engine 6. He has taught locally and nationally for many conferences and venues, including FDIC International.
