News of the rescue of two children from a Lake Station, Indiana house fire is making its way across the net thanks to raw video provided by Hobart Fire Department and NWI.com.
Firefighters rescued a 3-year-old child from a bedroom floor and a 1-year-old from a crib. Both children were later airlifted to Comer Children's Hospital in Chicago. As firefighters were extinguishing the blaze, they found a woman's remains in a living room only feet from the front door.

The video also shows a chief officer coming out with one child in his arms, and with no SCBA on. As you can expect, many readers are commenting that this sets a bad example. Others say he is"getting the job done."

 

What do you say?

 

Be sure to also see STATTer911's coverage of this fire and rescue.

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Okay, yeah, I'm gonna armchair quarterback.  It's what we do, it's called a critique, and it's how we get better. 

First thing I noticed is the hoses.  Seemed a bit small for the fire.  Looks like 1 1/2", which to me was not enough for a quick knockdown of that much fire.  I didn't see any LDH, I don't know if LSFD was drafting or what their water supply was like, but I would have liked to have seen a lot more water being thrown.  Don't know what they've got, just an observation.  Hitting the roof with the exterior handline was ineffective, most of the water went right over the house.

Most of the FF's didn't have SCBA's on.  That to me is critical.  That building didn't look all that stable, what if there were a collapse?  Who's ready to go in and do RIT?  There should've been enough guys to bring the kid out, why was the Chief in there?  The FF who found him should've brought him out.  I'd have to speculate on what was done for an initial search, but it was evident from the conversation in the video that there were confirmed victims in the house.  I just didn't see much of an aggresive fire attack or search in the early part of the video.

Serious disconnect between Fire and EMS when the kid was brought out.  EMT's had to chase the FF with the kid down the block with the equipment.  Better communication is needed.

But we have a somewhat positive outcome, so I guess I'll just use the words of Bob Ross the painter and say they had a "happy accident".

Its always easy to sit back and critique....
Issues for future

Accountability....no one checking how many and who went in.....
Scba not worn......
Lighting?????? Very poor.....
The guys on the side by the motor home lucky..
Safety oficer where are you......
Water controll....flowing not flowing....was there issues for rationing water.....too many hoses not enough water...
Like to hear an officer from scene critique video....good and bad.....thats how we learn and hopefully we do it better later....

So to spin this another way.....What does this example do for you?

 

I see simplistic comments of making the grap. I see simplistic statements of "do what you gotta do". I see a resistance to further discuss the video. I also see several points brought up that aren't known.

 

So ....What does this example do for you?

 

Is this something to discuss at the table? Should going into such an environment be codoned? What are the circumstances where you would go without a pack? What would the roles be for your dept?

 

 

To me, I would like to see answers to my questions, being I haven't had them, speculation comes into play. Not knowing the circumstances I can't answer why a chief officer made the grap as opposed to ordering others. I see other FFs in the picture, some with a packs, so I question the video. From what I do see and with my speculations, there should be no reason a chief officer to go in, especially without a pack. The only reason I would see to go in without a pack is if you are arriving first on scene, have confirmed reports of people inside, the next in resources are on the way, and you have no SCBA on the rig.

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