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Factors to Consider
What do you notice that could be crucial to your decisions?
We have recently had discussions about size up, so I thought this would be a good picture to post.
If you are the officer pulling up on this one and nobody is out front, what are some immediate “red flags?”
I know this one is easy, but it just drives the point home.
What if this was a vacant house and you noted the same conditions and “red flags?” Would it change how you approach this fire?
What would be your tactics and how much would you risk as the first arriving officer?
Let’s talk fire!
Stay safe and keep training.
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by John Crabbe on
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Well first off, the picture is limited in the view here, we have one side to look at, obvious fire in the back of the fence, but what is it? Is it the house itself? A shed? An unattached garage? Another structure?
For the sake of this discussion, I'm guessing we are going with the house in the picture is on fire and not an adjacent structure. So the obvious red flags, the vehicle in the driveway, kids toys by the car, time of day I would say late morning or afternoon. Given the flags, a search would be in order, people may or may not be in, but one should error on the side of entrapment.
If I were the officer and this was vacant, I would make the same approach. There are some vacants and condemned structures that have provisions for people to be there during the day to make repairs etc. This could an issue with kids playing inside, and who knows sitter or parent tracks down and sees the kids toy, so they go in to look. Again, with such signs in proximity, error on the side of someone being inside and assign a crew for search.
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Permalink Reply by Jason Hoevelmann on
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This is purely illustrative, just go with it. Look at it like it is the back of the house that you see from the Side A view. Sorry for the view point.
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I was approaching this objectively and to illustrate the importance of a 360. If this was the view seen on approach, it is important to confirm if this is an adjacent structure. If deciding to go into rescue mode without seeing the big picture can create a "need to get there now" approach, where mistakes can be easily made. Not sure about others, but there is a different mindset of going in to a building expecting rescue mode and a slow down and more cautious approach when knowing everyone is out.
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You hit the nail on the head. The picture and scenario to was to get people thinking. You right though, the big picture has to be considered on every call. Too bad I can't get 3-D some how. : )
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Permalink Reply by Paul Montpetit on
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Car in the driveway may indicate someone is home and the toys in yard not a good thing either...time of day would be important for both the chance of occupancy AND the availability of resources (manpower being one) Power lines would deter aerial devices till power is cut...Ask yourself...is the inside capable at sustaining life...? if not....don't enter.....vacant structure....? Then guess what.....? Someone just acquired a new parking lot.........protect the exposures, if possible get the car out of there before it cooks off.....good time to get your new people some training on the deck gun or manning a hoseline......
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Time of day is a real good thing to consider, especially for the volunteer departments. Volunteer agencies can have a tough time getting companies out during the day. Good point, thanks for commenting.
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