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Where Goes the Second Line?
We all know that it is easy to fall into a rut when it comes to training and even operating at what is labeled the "routine" call. Especially for those that are in suburban, mostly bedroom communities.
If your like most of the country, you pull past the house to get three sides, stretch a pre-connected hand line and make entry into the front door. Does this sound familiar to anyone? And, more times than not, this works just fine.
However, sometimes the bigger issue becomes where to take the second line? What apparatus does it come from and what size should it be? What about the length?
For most single-family, single story homes, line placement becomes mundane and we get a bit complacent. The second line many times gets pulled from the same rig as the attack line and goes in the same door as the attack line.
Again, I prefer a seconday apparatus for the back up line, but in most house fires the front door is appropriate for the back up line too. Of course, it all depends on what is taking place and many other variables as well.
One of the biggest problems I see quite often is on two story house fires. The first line goes to the fire up stairs and the back up line is at the door. One of the primary concerns is the integrity of those stairs. That second line needs to go to the stairs to protect the egress for the crew operating on the second floor.
The same has to be done if you have an attack team on the first floor and a search team on the second; a line needs to be deployed to the stairs. We must protect that egress point. In addition, note changing conditions to the search team and the attack team. Maybe the fire has spread or can't be found by the attack team and your observations are important.
What are your operational guidelines for the back up line? Share you experiences and thoughts.
As always, stay safe and train hard.
Jason
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Jason Hoevelmann on
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Ben, those are great questions, this was intended for residential fires. However, the examples that you provide require much different initial line operations than that of a residential fire.
First, you likely are operating from a lead out or skid load line or off of a standpipe. In those instances the second line may be used to attack a large body of fire from a flanking position with the initial line, help initiate egress points and to back up the first line with a larger line, if appropriate.
It is not as cut and dry, if it is at all, as in a residential setting. Let's face it, a strip mall may require the second line to go to the exposure unit/tenant space.
The 3500 square foot single family home I still believe should be used to protect the egress of the attack line. Granted, there may be times that a second attack line is needed and that will be a command decision based on conditions. The biggest issue with line placement is length depending on how deep you have to go to get the fire and the setback from the road.
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Permalink Reply by John Crabbe on
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A good topic of discussion, one difficulty is with such responses is getting the same stuff over, so I'll try not to repeat what has been touched on.
First, a second line should be the same size or a size larger than the attack. We operate a first and second line off the same pump (third in engine company is RIT and will pull a line off a second pump).
I understand the concept about pulling lines off different rigs with the "what if, what if" stuff, but on the downside when pulling a line off different rigs youu can get issues with staging apparatus, as well as losing personnel on scene, meaning if you have a charged line, the engineer is now stuck at the pump vs being able to be doing other fireground priorities. We do use our engineers as firefighters in many scenarios, especially with a residential fire. As mentioned a third in pump is RIT, if pulling a line from three different pumps, you basically lose a RIT member, and frankly I disagree with such a concept.
I mentioned apparatus placement because a scene can get quickly bottled up with many rigs, lines, equipment out. If pulling a line from 3 different pumps, you can definately run into distance differences, whereas if pulling the first and second line from the same rig, the distance should be about the same, especially if it is a say a 200' preconnect. Other considerations should be forward lays or reverse lays to prevent "jamming" up the scene.
What are your operational guidelines for the back up line?
As already mentioned by others, protecting the attack line. Although this means typically following the attack line, not using a seperate access point. Backup line is there to protect the attack if they get jammed, to protect a retreat, or to help make a push if need be depending on incident priorities.
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Permalink Reply by Ben Waller on
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If you have the kind of setbacks we have here, you'll be talking about leader lines for many of the residential fires.
6,500 square-foot, 3-story McMansions with setbacks and the yacht basin for Side C will do that to you.
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That sounds fun, Ben. Ahoy mate!
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You haven't lived until you have a 3-firefighter engine company hand-jack 1,000 feet of 2.5 inch hose to a boat fire at the outermost finger dock at a marina fire.
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