National Fire Fighter Near-Miss Reporting System: Entanglement

The first featured firefighter near-miss report of 2011 takes us into a basement fire where a familiar hazard is encountered. The advent of flexible duct work has added an additional entanglement hazard to the list of materials that break down during fire exposure and ensnare firefighters. Cool heads, the right tools and prompt notification to command helped end this near miss on a high note.

Brackets [] denote reviewer de-identification.

“…engine [number deleted] was working in the basement extinguishing all remaining fire and hot spots. The engine company officer and nozzle man became entangled in HVAC duct wiring. The nozzle man and the company officer worked on cutting themselves out with a cutting tool that all firefighters are required to carry in their gear. The company officer notified command that they were in the basement, were not in distress, and were tangled up in wiring. Command sent half of the RIT team to assist…

…The engine company has had multiple trainings in self-extrication and this training proved to be beneficial. They worked as a team and kept calm and were able to cut themselves out. The engine company self-extricated before the RIT Company reached them. In addition, it was very positive that the engine company officer did not hesitate to notify command what was happening instead of waiting until they were in distress.”

1. Where would you get the tools to self-extricate from a wire entanglement hazard?
2. Is air consumption a factor in the disentanglement timeline?
3. What is “Step One” in the disentanglement process?
4. Does this incident meet the “mayday” threshold under your department’s SOPs? Why, or why not?
5. What are the critical steps you take to “remain calm” in stressful situations?