I bring this up because many departments are straying away from interior firefighting.  I know that some do not have the staffing or experience to do it very often, but there are plenty that do.  This is a fire that happened at 14 T St NW yesterday in DC.  Several reports of heavy smoke and fire showing upon arrival.  Rear was almost fully involved.  However with an agressive interior attack using 1 1/2" hand lines, they were able to get a knock on the fire and extinguish it within under 10 minutes and save this persons house.  Here's a pic after the bulk of the fire on the first floor was knocked down.


My main point is just to show that aggressive firefighting is still something that should be practiced when possible.  Standing outside with a 2 1/2" would have probably meant the loss of this house and possibly others.(These are all row homes which means easy extension)  Thought this may get some people thinking and be an interesting discussion.


Story from fire with pics: http://www.dcfire.com/history.html?view=1&id=70519

http://www.dcfd.com

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Yes is my answer , we would have a go at an internal attack on this fire , however i think that my service is a little different to yours as we would use what you call booster reels for the whole job not your low pressure.
I know that sounds a bit strange to some but we use our reels for 90 % of all our fires and we get a few fully involved fires , im not saying that we dont use lows but it is just very seldom . I know that our tactics would have been go in the front and push it out the back too .With our two reels going we would have great knock down , and ease of movement in the structure . but hey thats just us
I'd have to see the rear side of this one, but based on the ladder pipe visible, I believe that this one is offensive in the attached exposures and defensive in the fire apartment. There is no chance of a rescue in the front of the fire occupancy.
DC uses 1 1/2" handlines, not 1 3/4"?
Yes.
You are right John, experience. Remember when everyone is hired there are guys that have been there and don it many times. They pass the craft on to the new people, you learn as you go, heck, even Capcity and Jack had to learn at one point, they were not born with a haligan tool in their teeth. After you had some of these under you belt you would do them easy pleasy, because you would be with a whole crew of guys that know what they are doing.
Yes, line (2 1/2) to the front door and start working in, unless there is rear acess, then enter from the rear. Lines in both exposures, vent and put it out. I know some cities, Detroit for example, might hit this with a deck gun for a minute then go in, do you do that in Baltimore?
Great video, I liked that!
Rod, I get that, remember our booster reels only put out about 25/35 GPM at 150 PSI. You guys use higher pressure, am I correct? I like using a 1 3/4 inch hose with a smooth bore nozzle, about 210 GPM at 50 PSI, lots of knock down power.
You may not want to try a 2 1/2" for interior. They are a cast-iron bitch to move when they are charged, and and nearly impossible to advance in a residential structure. Two 1 1/2's are a better bet. We stuck with 1 1/2 instead of 1 3/4 because it was easier to manoeuvre and could be managed by 2 fire fighters.

Here is a LODD caused in part because the crew could not advance a 2 1/2" beyond the front door:
http://www.cdc.gov/niosh/fire/reports/face201010.html

Don't get me wrong, I love the 65mm for industrial buildings where you have enough space (and enough crew) to make the attack, or as a portable master stream...but for attacking a residential structure, it's overkill, and may actually make things worse.

We used to carry a 2" line for the "big jobs." More water than the 1 3/4, but still manageable. We kept a stacked tip on it, the lower pressure also made it easier to manage.
It seems like they are popular in the DC/Maryland area. I preffer the 1 3/4 with greater flow, but the 1 1/2 is easy to move and advance.
Yeah, I get your point. But a knock down at the front door with a 2 1/2 then advance a smaller line could work as well.
yes you are we use 250 thru to 350 psi i think and put out 60 gpm so lots of pressure and a pretty good flow, we also have what we call low pressure which is about 200 gpm at 70 psi , now dont quote me on the exact flows as we are in metric so here they are in that form . 4 litres a second at 3500 kpa and for the low 11 litres a second at 700 kpa

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