BY GREGORY SELLERS
In this era of financially hard times, one thing that seems to suffer is fire department staffing. Despite brownouts, layoffs, and limited hiring of new firefighters or volunteers experiencing personnel shortages, fireground operations still need to be carried out safely and effectively. With today’s fire loads, lightweight construction, and tightly sealed buildings, basic truck company tasks (forcible entry, search, and ventilation) still need to be completed. National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) 1710, Standard for the Organization and Deployment of Fire Suppression Operations, Emergency Medical Operations, and Special Operations to the Public by Career Fire Departments, 2010 edition, suggests a minimum truck company staff crew of four. This is usually the case in major cities—such as New York City, which sends five firefighters and an officer, and Chicago, for example—but most departments staff with only three, sometimes two, firefighters. This article discusses what a three-person crew can do and how it can effectively complete basic truck tasks in a timely manner during a residential structural fire.
Editor’s note: Neither the author nor Fire Engineering endorses staffing levels below those contained in NFPA 1710. This article is presented to assist those departments that are forced to operate at noncompliant staffing levels.
DRIVER
With a three-person crew, the driver/chauffer’s responsibilities include getting to the scene safely in the quickest way, taking into consideration approaching companies; positioning of the first-due engine company (who should be pulling past the structure for a three-sided view of the fire building and leaving an opening for the ladder apparatus); the type of structure involved; and, of course, wires and trees.
When pulling into the scene, always anticipate the worst. Position the apparatus for the rescue of life first, if that is a need on arrival, or as if the aerial or tower ladder is going to be used. Once the apparatus is properly positioned and it has been determined that the aerial or tower ladder is not immediately needed for rescue or access, you will perform as the outside ventilation firefighter. The tools you carry will vary with the type of occupancy you encounter, but you should normally carry a six- or an eight-foot pike pole and a halligan tool. You can use these tools to take glass and force doors.
Perform a 360° survey of the structure. Doing this accomplishes several things. First, it will assist you in determining the fire’s location as you read the smoke or actually see the fire and determine where to begin horizontal ventilation. Second, you will be able to provide the incident commander (IC) and interior crews with additional information such as autoexposure to the floor above or extension to exposures. Once a hoseline is in place and advancing toward the fire, begin horizontal ventilation, which, of course, you must coordinate with the interior truck officer. Remember to make “windows into doors” by removing all glass, screens, curtains, blinds, and sashes.
If contained in your department’s standard operating guidelines, secure any power and gas meters and panel boxes you may observe during your 360°.
Secure the power at the panel box first, if possible. Pull the meter as a last resort; you should be properly trained to do this. Once the utilities have been secured, notify the IC. You can also force a door in the rear or side for secondary access or egress.
Once these tasks have been completed, begin throwing ladders for secondary means of egress for interior crews or additional access points into the structure. A common tactic for a multiple-story structure is to throw ladders to the fire floor or the floor above or throw ladders to the roof of single-story structures if roof ventilation is a possibility. Place at least two ladders for egress, and notify the inside crews of their locations. Don’t forget that using your ladders for upper-floor ventilation is very effective. Once you vent with the ladder by taking out the glass with the tip of the ladder, climb up to finish the ventilation opening. The tasks of upper-floor horizontal ventilation and positioning ladders for egress have now been completed.
If positive-pressure ventilation (PPV) is in your department’s operational standard, this would be the time to start the fan, after confirming with the officer inside. Again, the building must be properly ventilated with horizontal/vertical ventilation with an exhaust opening opposite the fan. Now that ventilation has been started, the utilities have been secured, and ladders have been placed, hopefully the fire has been knocked down. If not, remember the aerial. You may want to begin setting it up for defensive operations. If the fire is knocked down, consider running interior lighting—extra scene lighting if it is nighttime—to make the fireground safer.
By this time, the firefighters inside will be coming out for new self-contained breathing apparatus bottles or tarps for salvage. The truck driver must complete many duties within a short time—ventilation, a most critical operation; ladder placement; and utility control. A well-trained and confident driver will have little trouble making sure these tasks are performed effectively and safely.
OFFICER AND FIREFIGHTER
As the officer, you should know the type of structure to which you are responding and the operational tactics the truck must perform. In addition, you should know what companies are responding with you. Assist the driver in determining the most direct route to the scene. When approaching, slow down and look for fire conditions, exposure problems, wires and trees, hoselines, and any other obstacle that may block your access to the front of the structure. Be aware of positioning for the aerial, be it to the roof or the upper floors or for use in a defensive attack. Just as the driver, you also always should position the aerial as if you are going to use it. Once on the scene, the officer and the firefighter will act as the inside team. Remember to look at the structure prior to entering. Look for changing smoke conditions; see if fire has broken out of the building anywhere; and look at the windows, which may tell you which room is which. This will be your last time to look at the building.
The officer and firefighter are responsible for forcing entry for the engine, conducting a primary search of the structure (for life and the fire), and assisting with the check for fire extension (open walls and ceilings). Depending on your run area, your basic tools should be a set of irons, a six- or an eight-foot pike pole, and a thermal imaging camera (TIC). Some additional tools may include a hydraulic forcible entry tool for heavier inward-opening doors, a rotary or chain saw with the appropriate blade for heavier fortified structures, and a pressurized water can to knock down smaller fires or assist in “holding” the fire in a specific room during a primary search for life.
Once inside, if the fire location is not immediately known, you will need to assist in finding the fire (search for fire). Communication between the truck officer and initial hoseline crew is critical for a good coordinated attack on the fire. Once the fire has been located, begin to search the areas you haven’t searched yet (search for life). Remember the time of day (nighttime-bedrooms); assist with ventilation and vent as you go.
Be aware of the fire’s location; don’t draft or pull the fire to your location or create an autoexposure problem if you are operating above the fire. To speed up the search, you can send the searching firefighter into the room to search as long as voice contact is maintained. You can alternate this by room; make sure the member not going into the room stays at the door. Your TIC will speed up your search, but remember to stay on a wall and feel things about every 30 seconds. Always search the opposite side of the bed where the TIC can’t see. Stay orientated to furniture, wall turns, and floor types (tile vs. rug) so you know where you are in case the TIC fails. If you are in an area where you can’t get the windows, ask the driver to get them opened up; give your location. If the structure is opened up, contact the driver. Now may be the time for PPV.
If you find a victim, notify command and work as a team to remove the victim. Call for assistance if you need it. Tell the IC from where you will be exiting so assistance or EMS will be waiting.
Once the primary search has been completed, notify the IC of the end result (“All clear” or “Negative”). With the primary search completed and the fire knocked down, begin checking for extension by opening up. Don’t forget to check the attic or basement, especially if it is a balloon-frame structure, because of the lack of fire stops from ground to roof in this type of construction. Use the TIC as much as possible; it will save you time and energy.
By this time, hopefully, you will be going for a second air bottle and have the fire under control. Remember to brief the relieving crew on what you’ve done, and ask if there is anything else that has to be accomplished. If conditions are getting worse, be prepared to leave the building and get ready for master stream defensive operations, for which you had already prepared when you arrived on the scene.
•••
As you can see, a few responders must do a lot of work. Departments without the luxury of four- or five-person crews can still get the basic truck tasks done. Coordination, training, and a well-disciplined truck company will ensure that these tasks are completed effectively and safely.
GREGORY SELLERS is an 18-year veteran of the fire service; he has served 12 years as a career firefighter. He is a firefighter/EMT-E on Ladder Co. 2/C shift with the Chesapeake (VA) Fire Department and developed a large-area search and rescue program for the department. He is an instructor for the Chesapeake Fire Academy.
More Fire Engineering Issue Articles
Fire Engineering Archives
