Part 2: It's only a Vacant...

In the Northeast, it’s been cold for sometime now with some of us having major snow falls of 14+ inches this winter. So let’s imagine that it’s 6am and you’re dispatched as First Due Engine to a structure fire. The wind chill is down around 10 degrees with a strong wind. Your company pulls up to find this:

What to do? As you can see, the structure appears to be vacant, as do the structures on either side. Do you lead off to a water supply only to put blitz lines in service and see how much water weightthe floors of this dwelling can withstand before they collapse?

Let’s say that you are ordered to take this route per your company/commanding officer. The crew quickly knocks the bulk of the fire when a homeless man comes running from the corner and tells you that his "friend" was staying in that house last night, and he had not seen her leave this morning. While you’re waiting for fire investigators to arrive you realize that the cause of the fire may have been the woman's source of warmth? Maybe it was a candle or a kerosene heater? Did she use the proper fuel? Or perhaps she was burning paper in a coffee can? Did she remember to put the can out before she drifted off to sleep?

After their arrival the Fire Investigation unit quickly locates the remains of a female on the 2nd floor. Is someone to blame for her death? Or is it just an act of a higher power taking someone at his or her time? Thinking back, could this fire have been contained with your standard 1 3/4’’ hose line?

From the looks of this picture, it appears to have been one room and was quite possibly only a vacant. Some people in the fire service would have viewed this as a tragic, unavoidable situation. But is it? How difficult would it have been to investigate the structure upon arrival? Did it appear to be sound? How far had the fire advanced? Could the hose team have made a quick aggressive knock on the fire using a handline?

It's quite possible that no one will ever know because the actions may have just killed a innocent, homeless woman. Think about it. We are sworn to protect lives and property. What if the knock on this fire wasn’t quick, and it started walking down the block? Now it’s below freezing, a woman has perished, and houses in this group, that may have been occupied, are now in danger of burning because the company was playing it safe, based on the decision of an officer-in-charge who did not want to make an aggressive command decision.

No one is suggesting that you need to push in to a fully-involved vacant dwelling and placing your firefighters at risk. But 15 minutes of hard, fast, aggressive work…that’s all it takes to save a life.

Or on the other hand, let’s say that the woman left earlier that morning, leaving via the back door. Would the crew have accomplished anything by still pushing in and making the interior attack? YES! For the overall firefight to be effective, firefighters need to stop this fire – any fire -- before it extends to the other buildings (HOMES!) in the group.

It is important to note, that NO structure is vacant until A PROPER SEARCH IS INITIATED, followed by the crew's report, "SECONDARY SEARCH NEGATIVE." This leads us into our next topic. SEARCHING DWELLINGS. This is the fundamental reason why fire departments exist. The volunteer bucket brigades of old were capable of extinguishing a blaze, but they lacked the knowledge and equipment to affect a proper search. Today, we know that it takes an aggressive, well-staffed company/department to make the push into a burning dwelling and pull someone from certain death. And when it comes to searching a structure, we must search "vacant" dwellings as well.

In every part of this country, the economy is down, people are losing their homes and homeless numbers are growing. These are the new generations of homelss, men, women and children who are not accustomed to living on the streets. And until the economy stabilizes, and new jobs are generated, they will continue to seek shelter in these "vacant" dwelling all across this county. Just like foreclosure knows no limits, nor do "squatters" living in these "vacant dwellings". It doesn’t matter if you are in Wilmington, Delaware; Washington, D.C.; Canton, OH; Detroit, MI or Burlington, VT -- homeless is homeless and cold is still cold. Should we not search these structures because a neighbor tells us so? Certainly not! Since when do we take a civilian’s word that a structure is unoccupied? That’s not something I ever was taught.

I urge you, when making decisions regarding firefighting in vacant structures; do not take any extraordinary risks, but do complete the basics of fire attack. Structural firefighting by definition, is a risk and is ranked as one of the most dangerous jobs in the country. So if you are not prepared to take the necessary risks that come with the service; Wal-Mart and the American Legion are always looking for new help.

Part I: The things we have come to fear the most...

Every time one turns around or a new member joins the fire service, we preach about tradition and history. But, is it truly productive discussion, or just lip service? Are we really teaching our new members what they need to know in order to get where we are going? Or are we leaving that space between their ears empty, never truly understanding about the heroic deeds, blood, sacrifice, sorrow and triumph that have accumulated over the past 250 years?

There have been many books and seminars that have touched on this subject. Some of the authors and presenters even to claim to be experts. Although I do not doubt their wisdom, can they truly be experts about "YOUR" local department? Can they tell you about the dedicated men and women who have made your department what it is today? For most departments, this information is not found in books, but rather in the minds and hearts of the old leather lung salts who are a part of your volunteer "coffee club" or members of your union local's "retirees section".

There are a few givens in the fire service history beginning with Benjamin Franklin's formation of the first volunteer fire company. It's known that most major cities started forming into paid departments just after the Civil War a trend which lasted into the turn of the century. It's also known that without the creation of leather riveted fire hose, the American Fire Service would not have the aggressive reputation that we have today. And if you look deep enough, you will learn that fire trucks are red because the color signifies courage. And finally, back in the early 1800's, the volunteers of New York City had a sort of live-in program that is now popular in the Maryland area today.

Reading that last sentence, I believe it's safe to say that in a number of cases, what is once old...is new again. Think about how many people in this country are pulled from the throat of fires every year. Do we think that this is something new? Of course not! It’s a heroic action that has been going on since interior firefighting first emerged.

So, with that being said, I urge you to go ask your less-senior members questions about the history, not only about the American fire service, but of your OWN department. How much will they know? I'd bet not a lot. However, I do not believe it's their fault.

You see, the real issue here is “progress” or at least that’s how people like to refer to it. Take an article I read a few months ago. It spoke of changing our culture, from a Fire Suppression to a Fire Protection culture. I thought to myself, "haven’t we already done this?" Are we not handing out smoke detectors, inspecting buildings, pushing sprinkler codes and other life safety initiatives? We‘ve been doing it for over a generation now, so the culture has already changed. Does that mean that it is correct? Not necessarily.

We see fewer structure fires now than any time in recent history, yet our LODD numbers remain at the same levels. So with fewer fires, should we continue to focus more on fire prevention and less on structural firefighting? I say no, because it robs the younger generation of firefighters of valuable hands-on experience, that they can not receive due to the decreased fire load in this county.

America will always have fires; so let’s stop acting like we can put an end to it all By reminding the public to stop, drop and roll. The firefight will continue, and in my humble opinion, We need to re-establish our core values. This can be found by looking back into our history.

People who are pushing the kinder, gentler fire departments, are the same ones who are ignorant of our culture and history. (or -- the same ones who have chosen to ignore firefighting culture and history.) These are the same folks who preach about risks, serving the public and life safety, and they act as if those who went before us never considered these issues.

Our History has become the thing that many in the fire service fear the most. They push us away from being aggressive interior firefighters opting instead for exterior blitz attacks. Fact is, we can be aggressive and remain safe simultaneously!

So please, I beg you, teach your younger firefighters about the history of your department. Make them aware of the pride and ownership that the men before us had. There is still time to re-introduce our past, but we need to do it soon before we lose the extremely valuable substance that make us who we are today.

Stay tuned!

Stay tuned over the next few weeks.  The next 4 parts will contain Engine Company Operations, Searching Dwellings, Primary Objectives on Dwelling Fires and more!  Be safe and Thank you.

Welcome

Welcome my Brothers and Sisters. Let me start by saying thank you for visiting my little part of the web. Over the next few weeks I will be posting a series of 5 blogs about Bread and Butter Company Operations. Depending on feedback and my ability to write something, there will be a series after that. Thank you for you time and be safe.