10 Backdraft Magazine | A Volunteer Fire Service Publication | Volume 5 | Issue 1 | www.thebackdraftmagazine.com
Continued from Page 9
The fire service likes to tout that it is progressive. Yet, as
recently as November 2012, firefighters were dying in
flashovers. This is not progressive.
What is progressive is changing the culture of the fire service
in a way that eliminates these unnecessary exposure of
firefighters to products of combustion. We need to instill in all
our firefighters--new and old--that the aggressive fire attack
can be performed other ways than entering a dangerous,
hazardous materials environment.
The simplest way is to not make entry until the fire is darkened
from the exterior and ventilation has taken place. This is
becoming commonly known as "softening the target." This
assumes that fire is showing from the exterior and is mostly
confined to the room of origin. After the initial knockdown,
ventilation can be started and entry made the traditional way.
Many veteran firefighters will argue that will push the fire
further into the structure. That is simply not the case--
Underwriter Laboratories has studied this and has not
found any evidence of pushing fire. What does occur is that
firefighters don't put enough water on the fire and it grows
accordingly and away from the hose streams. There are still
departments flowing less than 100 GPM on fires that need
200 GPM. That's not pushing the fire, that's poor tactics that
let the fire grow.
What if the fire can't be attacked from the outside? Then
provide immediate ventilation. Positive Pressure Attack has
also been tested by U.L . and has been found to be a solid
form of ventilation. Whatever you venting method of choice,
vent first, enter second! Do not allow your firefighters to enter
a smoke-charged residence where they cannot see the walls
on the other side of the room.
We need to stop teaching that offensive means to attack
from inside the unburned portion of a structure. We need to
teach that "offensive attack" can mean getting water on the
fire quickly to control the fire before entering to extinguish.
Our current model of an offensive attack means minutes
added to the scene before water can be applied to the
fire. Stretching a line to the exterior portion of the structure
where fire is showing can happen much more quickly than
attempting the same stretch using an interior attack.
Fighting fire from the outside, survivability profiling, positive
pressure attack are all new terms that are aimed at changing
the fire service culture and that solves an old problem:
firefighter line of duty deaths.
Are you ready to join in the culture change? It can be difficult,
but seeing your firefighters go home at the end of the day is
very rewarding.