from the volunteers view or paid - your at( home or the station) its 3:30am your pager goes off...you've been toned out to a working structure fire called in by a neighbor..neighbor has not herd from the occupants in three weeks but vehicle is parked in the drive-way..unknown on any further information.. what are you gonna do? step by step from the time you get in the truck to the time you get on scene?
Buckle your seat and hold on cause your going work. Number One: I want the blitz fire put into service and along with that order all exteri operations an NO ONE MAKES ENTERY. Number TWO: Make sure all my 1st due run area is covered by other fire company standing by in our house. Number 3 Maintain water supply appears this looks like a possibly a rural area order some local pumper tankers. Number 4: Start advanceing line to rear for grass fire. an possibly exposure to the forst in the back around. Number 5: Ask for par check every 15 min and maintain a man power pool along with safety officer.
Well I do both paid a vol, once I make it to the truck after getting dressed an all that jazz. Arrive onscene and give a "2 story dwelling 90% involved, 891 will be establishing X street command, this will be a defensive attack, second due catch the nearest hydrant and run supply to Engine 1/3 (whichever is onscene) to set up for defensive attack" Then get the ground monitor or deck gun ready then set up the surround and drown. Call for dispatch to have an investigator on standby. Once the fire comes under control and moves into overhaul (depending on the integrity of a building) Send a search team in to find any victims. If so, rope off the scene and call for the investigator. If all clear hit any other spots or foam the building (if its unstable for entry).
Hard to call when your in the heat of the moment, but this is what I'd like to imagine myself doing. It may, may not go as planned as this, but there definitely would be no entry until the fire comes under control and once again depending on the integrity of the structure. This fire is well beyond flash point and and interior attack team would be a call with deadly consequences.
You're calling me nuts? No need for personal attacks here bro. Seriously, you find that upon arrival and you're going to attempt to make entry? You have heavy fire blowing from every opening, as well as through the roof. You have direct flame contact on the overhead to the porch, and if you look closely you can see that the one support post for the overhead has fire involvement as well, as well as fire in the basement. With this type of fire involvement you also have to assume that every floor has been compromised. Listen bro, I'm an agressive, get down and dirty type of firefighter, but no way is anyone even going to think of making entry on that sucker if I'm in charge. If my father is in that house he's already dead and not worth risking another life, he would understand, and I could live with myself with that decision.
Vol.
Get dressed.
Read pager on my way to the car (we get full call details on the pager).
Drive to Station.
Get PPE on.
Get in truck.
Travel to address given.
We're on scene. Enough detail?
Now the rest of it.
RECEO is easy.
'R' - There is no 'R' in that fire. 'E' - Protect whatever needs protecting. That little grassfire out the back is easy, the front one could be put out by size 10 boots, except nobody is going that close, but it's not going anywhere. The rear and the unseen side? Depends what's there and how close it is. 'C' - Surround and drown. 'E' - Keep up the surround and drown until the water flowing into the street is cold. 'O' - What overhaul? You've got a carpark with a swimming pool in the middle. We wouldn't have the pool, basements are extremely rare here.
We are rural with only dry hydrants but I'll give er a whirl.
We are probably gonna stretch 2 1-3/4 handlines to surround and drown. NO ONE GOES IN!!!! Set up a dump tank in front of our engine, call for tankers and manpower from 2 maybe 3 surrounding depts. depending on closest water supply. Call electric company to have power shut off. And protect exposures.
John I'm sorry to say it but it's that same macho attitude that kills. I understand we all want to go in but come on. You can tell by the pic that there are no survivors in that house. I don't know about you but I like comming back home to my wife and kids!!!
If that is the picture you want us to respond to then it is a body recovery / defensive surround and drown, nobody gets excited and we eventually put it out.
We wake up and take a piss (for some reason the tones make my bladder go crazy) get fully gear out and mark enroute on the radio and set the radio to the appropriate TAC channel. Based on the picture I am assuming this is a single family dwelling so my FD would send a 2 and 2 ( 2 engines 2 special service companies and 1 chief). I am also going to assume I am first in. Since I am first in I am going to state my water supply plan to the second in engine....in this case I am going to foward lay from a hydrant and have them in line me and then have there crew pick up the RIT function.
We turn the corner and the driver gets out to wrap the hydrant.....we drive down the block stopping short for the ladder company. I mark onscene "Radio Engine 6 is on scene with a single story single family dwelling with fire showing from side A, mark this a working fire, and we will be establishing the "blank" street command.
After that I exit the rig and tell my FF to pull the 2 1/2.....I make my lap I notice heavy fire conditions and a house fully involved I notice the car but with current fire conditions know that no viable victims are inside the occupancy. I give an update to the radio " Command to radio this is a defensive fire".
My FF opens the line and begins to defensivley attack the fire....once it is darkened down the truck comanpy will do a primary search and we will stretch in to protect them. and fully extinguish the fire. After that we will overhaul and have the investigators do there thing.
After that we will all go home tired but satisfied.