For Firefighting In Canada

As I sit and listen for the 100th time to the recording of the Toronto Fire Services response to the hoarding fire on the 20th floor of 200 Wellesley St. in September 2010, one thing stands out: firefighters could not attack from the sides. 

Over the past two years, during which I have taken on the topic of fighting fires in hoarding conditions, one glaring similarity comes out every time I reach out to a fire department to learn from its experiences: the firefighters attacked from the sides. In the case of Wellesley Street – which was the worst hoarding fire in Canada – firefighters simply could not access the unit of origin from the sides given its location on an upper floor of the building. (See the December 2010 issue of Fire Fighting in Canada and the October 2011 issue of Canadian Firefighter and EMS Quarterly – at www.firefightingincanada.com – for more on the Wellesley Street fire.)

Attacking from the sides offers firefighters a safer environment, provides for more entry and exit points, and allows firefighters to make an assessment of the interior conditions before committing firefighters to the interior. Let’s take a look at this common attack strategy when it comes to dealing with fires in hoarding conditions.

Since the days of Homer and Langley Collyer in Manhattan – they were the first real documented hoarders, eccentric brothers who were found dead in March 1947 among the 140 tons of collected items in their Harlem home – the fire service has been dealing with the problem and challenges of hoarding. The reach of this disorder is being felt worldwide. Compulsive hoarding disorder crosses all borders, races, and income levels. It can affect people in your district the same as it did in Manhattan in the 1940s. One advantage today is the availability of information; a new awareness of this problem has been brought to the world by television shows that document the struggles of people who are affected by hoarding.

Read the full article here.

By Linda Willing
For FireRescue1.com

I recently wrote a column about working with older, less motivated crews. In this column, I said that officers must insist on accountability with their crews, but “you don’t have to be a jerk about it.”

In response to this column, a reader contacted me.

“What about the times when you have to be a jerk?” he said.

I asked him to clarify.

“Well, what about the situation where you’ve given a firefighter several warnings and he’s still coming to work late? Or a firefighter won’t wear full protective gear no matter what you do?”

“Write them up,” I said.

“That’s what I’m talking about,” he replied. “They force you to be a jerk and write them up.”

Not if you discipline, but how
But writing someone up or imposing other reasonable discipline is not the same as being a jerk. Many officers get confused about this. They mix up what they do with how they do it.

It is certainly possible to be a jerk when writing people up. You can yell at them, berate them, make sarcastic comments, compare them unfavorably to others, or make irrelevant personal observations to support your actions.

You also can be nice when holding others accountable. You can ask about personal problems, empathize with individual challenges in combining home and work life, offer support in finding resources to help.

These actions and attitudes will make a disciplinary encounter go better in most cases, but cannot be used in lieu of setting clear standards and holding people to them.

Read the full article on FireRescue1.com.

By J.R. Dennison
For the Leatherhead Instructors

I wrote the blog two weeks ago pertaining to some of the available schools around the State of Ohio; I was fortunate enough to attend one of them last week.  I attended the Heavy Rescue class at Bowling Green State Fire School that has been held for the past 15+ years with many of the same instructors, but countless new tactics.  JD Vasbinder from Columbus Ohio Heavy Rescue 16 is the lead instructor and developer of the program.  Many problems were presented that involved semi-trucks, school buses, heavy equipment, vehicles in water, and heavy objects.  Holmatro, Genesis, Paratech, and TNT are just a few of the vendors that provided their latest and greatest for us to use over the 4-day class.  There were about 30 students from Canada, The U.S., and Austria in the class, working together in three groups.  I am going to talk about some of the highlights in the class and what I feel are the most important items to pass along.

Most of us have heard of or used the hi-lift style jack, but have also probably been guided away from them due to their instability or just the ability to use a hydraulic tool instead.  I was amazed at all of the situations where a hi-lift jack could be used and the stability offered.  The jack can be deployed much faster than a hydraulic tool or any complicated strut and can accomplish the same objective.  The jacks are great for stabilizing a load or just lifting an object a few inches to release a caught extremity.  If you add a modification (not endorsed or recommended by the manufacturer, but highly accepted in the fire service!) to the strut that enables you to place a 4×4 of any length on the lip of the strut, you can lift objects that are above your head or simply increase the versatility of the jacks.  These modifications can be made by a local steel shop according to the folks that have made them!

We were dealt a scenario that involved an overturned vehicle in a small creek with someone trapped inside.  Many of us have heard of departments experiencing this type of extrication nightmare, but most of us have never had to deal with it ourselves.  As in all types of extrications, stabilizing the vehicle is the first and most important task to tackle.  You can accomplish stabilization by anchoring the vehicle to a tree, bridge, or any other solid object.  Knowing how to operate your tools and which button does what is important because you often cannot see where your tool is, operating only by feel.  The tools feel lighter when in the water, but due to even small currents, the tools are difficult, at best, to work with.  Keep in mind that most of your equipment will work in the water, but will require being wiped down with a penetrating oil of some sort when done.  Electric and battery powered tools are not recommended in extrications involving water!  The extrication techniques are the same as what would be used in most other situations, but will require some improvising!

Probably the most valuable thing that I learned was to never overlook the basic tools.  When someone has an extremity trapped under a jersey barrier or a concrete drainage pipe, the fastest and easiest way to get a few inches may be the use of a spud bar and cribbing and some good old muscle power!  There are probably a million ways to do the same thing, but in the end, the safest and fastest way is the best.  You only get better by training and taking the time to make a difference.  There are many additional things that I learned, but only mentioned a few!

I strongly encourage you to check out www.firstduetackle.com and www.facebook.com/pages/First-Due-Tackle for pictures and videos of the class.  A special thank you to Austrian FF Bernd Altinger for the video footage he captured during the class and Instructor Paul Hasenmeier for his photos.  Stay safe and train hard!

You can find out more about the Leatherhead Instructors on their site.

Chicago’s famously known as the city of broad shoulders, and the iconic Willis Tower, formerly known as the Sears Tower, accounts for a lot of the town’s architectural brawn. At 110 stories and 1,450 feet (442 meters) high, it’s the tallest building in the country, as well as in the Western Hemisphere. Its 4.5 million square feet (418,063 square meters) of floor space is home to offices, restaurants, shops, a U.S. Post Office, two chiropractors, and two dentist’s offices. Roughly 25,000 people pass through the building daily.

That’s why building management has teamed up with the Chicago Fire Department (CFD) to conduct an annual large-scale drill to test and fine-tune emergency-response procedures. Drills can number hundreds of participants, including firefighters and the building’s management, security, and engineering staffs. Journal asked Michael Schroeder, director of business continuity and life safety for U.S. Equities Asset Management, LLC, the company that manages the building, and Anthony VanBuskirk, a CFD deputy district chief (retired), to recount their experiences with a recent drill: what worked, what didn’t, and why cooperation is critical for protecting lives and property in one of the world’s most complex structures.

Read the full story on NFPA Journal.

From The Economist

The accelerating pace of modern life is a common lament but American firefighters have more reason to complain than most. In the 1970s draughty homes filled with furniture made from natural materials were slow to burn. It typically took a quarter of an hour or more for an accidental fire to reach flashover, the point at which everything flammable in a room spontaneously ignites. These days, thanks to well-insulated modern homes and fixtures stuffed with hydrocarbon-based foams, flashover can happen in less than three minutes.

As a result, firefighters no longer have the luxury of scouting out a domestic blaze before it takes hold. That can be deadly. “If you’re caught in a room when flashover occurs, you’re pretty much guaranteed to die,” says Ed Walker, director of the Massachusetts Firefighting Academy. This is especially true in America, where firefighters “tend to be aggressive and want to go inside to fight fires”, he adds.

Tragically, flashovers have killed dozens of first responders in the past decade, despite improvements in protective clothing. Ironically, modern fireproof suits may themselves be partly to blame. In the past, firefighters would have physically felt the heat building towards flashover and have been forced to retreat. In today’s fully encapsulated suits, they must rely instead on visual cues that flashover is imminent, such as flames rolling over the ceiling or a scrumpled-up ball of paper bursting alight. These folkloric warnings are dangerously imprecise.

For the past five years scientists at the Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI) in Massachusetts have been trying to understand flashovers in order to predict exactly when they will occur.

Continue reading.

From NFPA Today

The Chemical Safety Board (CSB), the federal agency charged with investigating industrial accidents, recently released a video underscoring the damage from the ammonium nitrate fertilizer explosion in West, Texas, that killed 14 people and injured about 200 others. Narrated by a CSB investigator, the video illustrates the destruction of schools, residences, a nursing home, playgrounds, and other locations.

“The community damage we saw in West was the worst of any chemical accident in the CSB’s history,” says CSB Managing Director Daniel Horowitz in the video.

Watch the chilling video on CSB’s Facebook page, and review NFPA’s relevant resources:

• NFPA 400, Hazardous Material Code
  This document applies to the storage, use, and handling of hazardous materials in all occupancies and facilities, including ammonium nitrate solids and liquids. Access this document online for free.
• NFPA 472, Competence of Responders to Hazardous Materials/Weapons of Mass Destruction Incidents
  This document identifies the minimum levels of competence required by responders to emergencies involving hazardous materials/weapons of mass destruction. Access this document online for free.
• NFPA 1620, Pre-Incident Planning
  This document provides criteria for evaluating the protection, construction, and operational features of specific occupancies to develop a pre-incident plan that should be used by responding personnel to manage fires and other emergencies in such occupancies using the available resources.Access this document online for free.

Read more on the NFPA Today blog.

• Heat Stress
• Ways to combat heat stress
• On-scene rehabilitation
• Rehydration
• Active cooling
• Medical monitoring
• Effective physical fitness

After you’ve finished watching, take the test.

By Ryan Pennington
For FIREHOUSE

As I listen to the audio recording from the fire in Baltimore County, Md.,  that claimed the life of Firefighter Gene Kirschner, I reflect on a lesson learned from my recent rapid intervention train-the-trainer class. If a Mayday were to occur the firefighters most likely to facilitate a rescue are the ones already operating inside the structure.

If you have an emergency and need assistance, the firefighters nearest you will be in the best spot to help — if they are not experiencing the same emergency. Are you prepared to help a fellow firefighter in their time of need? Let’s take a look at some self-rescue and crew rescue situations where you can help save a brother or sister firefighter. Are you ready to manage a crew members Mayday?

The first and foremost thing that needs to be addressed in the event of an emergency is the need for help. The list of situations needing attention vary in each department but should always include things such as an SCBA emergency, entanglements, collapse, and disorientation. Each of these should remain constant on everyone’s list. If you think that you are in a tight spot, call the Mayday. Don’t be afraid to ask for help, even if the problem can be easily resolved.

Read more.

To extinguish the digital flames, trainees must use the proper technique. If a firefighter fails to use proper hose line advancement and stream management techniques, the flames will grow in response. Flames can diminish, grow gradually or reignite at the touch of a button and now can be controlled with an iPad. Senior Mechanical Engineer Evan Ladd demonstrate the unit for FIRE CHIEF Editor Lisa Allegretti.