The above article is from a fire that my department responded to the night before Thanksgiving. And then it rekindled the next morning. It is unknown what the cause of either fire was at the time this article was written. But it was noted that this house is a ocean front home facing east. The weather at the time of the rekindle was noted as the following: Temps 40-45 degrees and winds out of the NE at 25-30 mph, with higher gusts.

***Now I was not onscene either time they responded to this fire, so just like the previous article, this has nothing to do with the tactics they used or how the crews performed while onscene*** And this views are mine and mine only, they do not represent my department.***

After reading the article, I found this comment from a unknown reader called “yathink”:

“ if the st. john’s county fire department,, had properly extinguished the fire the 1st time around,, they would not have had to make an encore performance… it borders on criminal negligence that the fire was not 100 % contained and put down totally ”

So that got me thinking. Can we as a Fire Department be held criminal negligent for a rekindled fire? Now I’m not a lawyer or a judge so I couldn’t even begin to think about the legal in’s and out’s with this type of case. But I did do a little bit of research on the subject. Here’s what I found:

Below is a link I found when I googled the subject.

http://butlerpappas.com/451

To sum it up if you didn’t want to click on it:

A tenant at a apartment complex put hot ashes inside a cardboard box and placed it in his apartment. Well 30 minutes later you can guess what happened. The FD responded and extinguished the fire that cause appox. $10,000 in damage to only the tenants apartment. 4 hours later the fire rekindled and caused significant damage to the rest of the complex. The insurance company paid it’s portion, but then they went after the tenant to get the costs back. The tenant lawyer stated that they were liable for the first fire and not the second, since the FD did not fully extinguish the fire and it rekindled. They all went to court and the tenant was found 100% liable for both fires.

There wasn’t a ton of information of the subject, or I’m just searching in the wrong spot, so I thought our readers might want to leave their thoughts on this subject.

In today’s society, can we as a FD, a incident commander, or just a plain old FF be held criminally liable for things like this?

 The bell strikes at 0315, working fire with multiple calls. As you arrive on the scene you see a bread and butter job, 1100 sq ft residential, cars in the driveway with smoke showing. You are assigned search, as usual, and you grab the TIC and a tool, and head in with your partner. There is a medium smoke condition, and you make your way to the fire room with no problem. Room is going off pretty good, and you start your search. You throw the switch on the TIC, and nothing happens. A few more cycles, and no joy, damn thing doesnt work. No biggie, the smoke is not that bad and the engine is making their way in right now. You get the first room searched, and everything is going nicely. Suddenly, the smoke drops down to the floor and gets notably hotter, you look behind you trying to see your partner, and see the glow racing out of the room and down the hall. You call out for him, with no answer, You make your way over the junk back to where the glow is, but something is not right, its coming from the other direction now. Did I goto the wrong door? You double back the other way to where you think you came in, but there is nothing there, your pulse is rising, you can feel the adrenaline. Its getting hotter now, and your ask ” where is the engine at?” You call out again for your partner, with no response. And then its hits you. “Im lost”. You search frantically for the other opening, but cant seem to find anything, how did this room get smaller? Its getting hotter now, painfully hot. The chatter on the radio grows quieter, your breathing and pulse are deafening. You go out the door and away from the glow and run into the end of a hallway, not the living room that should have been there. You key the radio and call your MAYDAY. And you think to yourself…. “I can’t believe this is happening to me”.

 This or similar thoughts have entered the minds of hundreds, if not thousands of firefighters before. This fire was just like any other fire before it, but, this is the fire that changes everything. It wasn’t the scariest building in your first due, it wasnt a haz-mat fire, it wasnt a 3rd alarm. It was a bread and butter fire. The fire has no mercy on those who are comfortable, those who don’t prepare, check their equipment, or take the time to do things all the way. Although stretching that line dry into the house and charging it inside was easier, there is no area of refuge if conditions rapidly change, no one taught the new guy that. Stretching the booster line, long laying in 2.5″ instead of LDH, connecting to the standpipe on the fire floor,  not throwing ladders, not training, not pulling your tools out and making sure they are right, not bringing the search rope, not bringing door chocks, are all easier, and you may not get caught this time or the next time. You dont get caught so often that you begin to think ” It cant happen to me, because nothing has happened so far”.  What may have worked out for you 99 times before, has caught you this time, and maybe caught someone else with it.

 This is the fire that requires preparation, “combat readiness”, and real world training. Even the oldest, crustiest man on the crew can get turned around, hopefully he knows it, and hopefully you know it. It can happen to ANYONE. Firefighters are getting lost: before they run out of air, crawl into the room of origin, before the fire flashes over, before they fall into a basement, after they lose the nozzle or hoseline. Trouble getting the line in place because no one practices pulling it for the real world, or you have become reliant on a preconnected crosslay. These are just small examples of how you can prepare yourself for the 100th fire. If you do not become complacent, remain vigilent, always train real world, train hard, you will be ready for it.  Tom Landry said “If you are prepared, you will be confident, and will do the job”. Get out of the chairs, be a student of the job, and hopefully you will be ready for “your” 100th fire…. And remember, it looks just like the 99 before it.

Here is the link to the original article….http://firstduetactics.com/2011/11/the-crossbar-crawl/

The metal stile door is found on most commercial occupancies. They are almost all constructed the same, metal frame enclosing glass with a welded crossbar and secured with a pivoting metal deadbolt. Its tempting to see that big pane of glass in a fire situation and get real “swingy” with the halligan or axe, but if we step back and look at not only the “how” but the “why” of opening these doors, hopefully we can save our own, and also save the occupancy owner some money next time. Thats that other tactical priority right?

More often than not these occupancies will be protected at night with rolldown gates.  The option for opening the roll ups are pretty straight foward. Either cut the locks, cut the rails around the lock, or cut the door. If your going to cut the door remember to start the cut as high as possible. This allows the hottest smoke and fire to vent out the opening, allows fire streams to be directed into the ceiling of the occupancy,  and in the case of storefront doors, allows them to open fully when the lock is defeated. Taking the “shortcut” by making the “short cut” will wind up costing more, if things go south.

Now that you have opened up the roll up gate with the saw, keep it running and drop it down into the jamb and cut the pivoting deadbolt. Viola! the door is opened, and it took 10 seconds. (Dont forget to disable the autoclosing hardware). Doing it this way does a few things. It saves time: when you swing at the glass in the door and hit laminated glass, you’ll wish you had cut the lock. When you eventually get through the laminated glass, our old nemesis the cross bar rears its ugly head. These bars are often square tubing and welded onto the door frame. The more you swing, the more it smiles and just hangs in the middle of the doorway.

“No problem!” You say? ”Ill just reach in and unlock the do….” You find that it is double keyed and you still cant get the door open. How much time have we spent now?  By sawing the lock, and opening the door conventionally, you have saved time, made a safer opening for crews inside, and saved the owner money by costing him a lock, and not an entire door.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PZe8QKYTEn8&feature=related

Here is a link demonstrating the deadbolt cut with a rotary saw. Apparently WordPress has some embedding isssues.

Photos by of Alan Alsobrook

Reps: 21-15-9 3 rounds
Pull ups
75#> overhead thrusters
Burpees

Why? When? Where? How?  Who?……..these are all valid questions an officer should be running through his head. At the same time, these are all questions the officer should have somewhat planned out prior to the call.

Preparations to get on the roof

This takes place before the call.

I would hope that every officer is doing the right thing and getting on these roofs prior to the incident. Pre-plan your first due. HELL….pre-plan your third due!!! I can’t stress that enough. Mainly talking commercial/ residential flat roofs here but let’s not limit it to that. Gotta give some love to those residential homes with pitched roofs, terracotta tile, etc… They need a plan as well. Let me put it this way…Say your training division is putting on a multi-company drill and your scheduled to participate. You show up 20 mins early and stumble upon the training IAP. You now know the entire scenario front to back. Ohhhhhh…..don’t sit back all innocent and judging!!

So you go through the scenario and pass with flying colors!! This is the same case with pre-plans, it’s a way to cheat (have an advantage) on the exam! We have the majority of answers prior to arrival. Does cheating always improve your chances? Not necessarily, but in the instance of knowing a roof layout prior to a 2 am Roof operation, it does!!

Does your department have a detailed  Roof Ops. SOG? Do you train on a regular basis? This type of operation is not something we can screw around with. This operation can be assigned to any company, Truck or not. Roof Operations is plural, meaning more than one firefighter needs to be assigned to the task. At the start of your shift, discuss tool assignments, what’s expected of them, and a general guideline of operations for roof work based on construction type. This is where training and experience really come in hand. Generally, the guys assigned to the roof need to be the most experienced ones on the job. These fellas need to be well versed in roof ops., building construction, and fire behavior.

What are you bringing with you?

Prepare your tools. This starts at the beginning of your shift, not when you arrive. Take pride in your tools. Grip Tape on the pike poles, special markings on the tool to indicate beam spacing 16”/24”, clean the saws, inspect your ladders/ropes/PPE, etc… There is nothing that frustrates me more than seeing tools collecting dust or rusting on a rig. There is no excuse for that other than you just don’t give a damn. Unacceptable!!

Look for ways to effect getting tools to the roof without killing your men. There shouldn’t be a reason to carry a saw, a K-12, irons, and a hook while ascending a ladder. Distribute the weight/tools between your men. When using an aerial, I find tool slings to be very beneficial. Looped webbing or small diameter rope with a carabineer does the trick.

Tools of the Trade

-Vent saw

-K-12

-Flat head axe

-TIC

-6’/10’/12’ pike poles

-Halligan

- Trash hook

- Roof Rope for bailout (150-200ft preferred)

-LIGHTS!!

- 24’,28’,35’ extensions

En route to the call

Take into account the time of day, location of the call, exposures, known hazards, Dispatch information regarding possibility of victims, fire involvement, etc..

Communicate!! Communicate!! Communicate!!

Listen to your first due arrival report! Hopefully the first in officer paints a picture you can work off of.  When used upon arrival, the IDEAL size up acronym provides a description of the situation that includes the following:

· Arriving Units

· Building size

(small, medium, large)

· Building height

(# of floors)

· Type of construction

(wood-frame, masonry, steel, building class, etc.)

· Type of occupancy

(nursing home, garage, house, etc.)

· Smoke / fire conditions present and LOCATION

(Nothing showing, light – moderate – heavy, Working Fire !… C/D corner, 3^rd floor.)

· Assumption of Command

· Actions being taken

· Instructions to incoming units

We do this by transmitting the components of the acronym as follows:

I - Identify arriving unit (s)

D - Describe what you see

E - Explain what you intend to do

A - Assume Command

L - Let incoming units know what you want them to do or where

you want them to go (Staging, water supply, etc.)

On scene/Access to the Roof

 Take all the previous information you collected… now do your own size up. It’s imperative that the Roof Division officer does this in order to ensure the safety of his men. Determine where the fire is, how much involvement you have based on what you can see, what’s the smoke telling you, and what’s the best way of getting your men to the roof.  Brief your crew on the conditions and your IAP. Be sure to talk clearly and have your men acknowledge their tool assignments and tasks.

Access to the roof

Take the path of least resistance and as safe as possible. Be sure to ladder the windward side of the building for your main access. Remember when using ground (3 stories or less) or aerial ladders to take in account the fire progression and the placement of your ladder/egress. The last thing you want is a fire floor window to vent itself and block your escape. If you got ladders, throw’em all!! It’s a good practice to ladder all 4 sides of the structure and if you have more….throw’em!!

I’ve seen some departments and some ladder manufacturers paint or tape the tips of their ladders with reflective materials to give firefighters an advantage when operating on roofs/ performing rescues. This gives the roof division a clear indicator of their egress points.

When dealing with attached exposures, it may be more beneficial to use the interior exposure stairwells and make access through the bulkhead door or roof access hatch vs. the time it takes for aerial placement.

What if your aerial stops working? I know, I know…..some of you Truckies are gasping right now!! Calm down. We all take pride in our skills but even the best aerial operator can run into a snag every now and then. Let’s keep it simple, when your job is to get to the roof….GET THERE!! Get there using whatever method, access, ground ladder, and stairwell you can!!

To be continued…...

Eng. Bryan Sumner

If you were thinking that it looks pretty hard to get the ventilation saw out, then your right. Having quick access to “First Due” equipment is imperative on the fire ground. Lets take for example this saw. How important is a ventilation saw on the fire ground? Pretty damn important if you ask me. What is its purpose on the fire ground? Ventilation. Now don’t get me wrong, there are other way to vertically vent a structure, but using this tool is typically the easiest way to achieve that task.

So why would you put a “pretty damn important” piece of equipment behind stuff? Now I wish I could answer that question for everyone, but I can’t. But it’s up to you to find these problems and fix them when you are completing your daily checks. No fixing problems that you find during these check is called one thing….LAZYNESS. How long will it take to fix this problem? Not long at all.

See how easy that was?

Now this doesn’t just apply to the location of your equipment, it also includes the way you check your apparatus.

How often do you conduct an inspection of you apparatus? If you didn’t answer daily then you should rethink somethings. The department I work for requires us to inspect/check-off the apparatus daily at the beginning of shift. Everyday the equipment is checked, cleaned and ran. We physically touch every piece of equipment on our engine and insure it is in a proper “Combat Ready” state. Now I know this is often difficult in volunteer systems, but every attempt should be made to have your equipment ran and checked frequently. You never know what you might find. Here is something I found the other day while running the ventilation saw I mentioned above. This happened during our normal check off and was being held and ran at full throttle.

What the drive sprocket is supposed to look like. 

What its not supposed to look like.

Pieces of the drive sprocket. 

As you can see by the pictures, the whole drive sprocket exploded while operating the saw during operations. Now this could have happened just as easily on the fire ground as it happened during the check off, but luckily it didn’t. Normal wear and tear on your equipment is expected. But it is up to you to inspect, repair, report, or replace it if there is a problem. This all goes back to your daily checks. Do them and do them right. Period.

Arriving on scene being mentally and physically prepared is just a couple pieces of this puzzle. But bringing equipment that is easily accessible and it working order is just as important. Til next time….Stay Prepared.

 While watching Karate Kid, I couldnt help but dwell on the motto of the Cobra Kai. Sure they were dicks, but the attitude they had toward the enemy is the same attitude we must have as firefighters against our enemy:  Fire.  John Kreese said “We do not train to be merciful here. Mercy is for the weak. Here, in the streets, in competition. A man confronts you, he is the enemy. An enemy deserves no mercy. ” The fire confronts you, and if you do not strike hard and overwhelm it, you are showing it mercy. By not staying “Combat Ready” for the moments notice, by not training for real world situations, by not maintaining the edge, you are being merciful to the fire, and it will show you no mercy. So get out, train hard, be a student of the job, dont miss any opportunities to learn or reinforce. Strike First, Strike Hard. NO MERCY.

Today’s quick thought is just a reminder that you never know where powerline might be laying. And just because you see them laying there on the ground and not “jumping”around doesn’t mean they aren’t hot. Stay on the look out and stay safe, wait til the power company get there….

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