The primary goals of the first-arriving company officer are to ensure that all is done that can be done to protect people, both the civilians at risk and the emergency responders, and that everything is done to preserve and protect the property by confining the fire to the area of origin and then extinguishing it as quickly as possible. This is best accomplished by first identifying the objectives, then developing strategies to support those objectives, and by assigning tactics to drive the strategies.
What should a company officer consider during the size-up and the fire attack to ensure that the most appropriate strategies and tactics are being used? A proper, on-going size-up, which asks three simple questions, “What’s there?” What does the situation need?” and “What have I got to get it done?” will help the company officer achieve a safe and successful outcome of the incident.
What’s there?
Are there any threats to the life and safety of both the civilians at risk and the emergency responders? Emergency responders also include responding law enforcement officers, local security personnel, or employees working at the locations.
What about the involved structures, including the location, the contents, and any water sources? Knowledge of building construction, and how fire affects it, is essential for a company officer to operate efficiently at structure fires. The building may be located in a heavily populated area or near hazardous exposures. Contents may include lots of products, hazardous materials, or both. Water sources may be limited because of the lack of, or no, hydrants in the area.
Look at the fire itself. Is it small, medium, or large, and how rapid is it spreading? The location and extent of the fire will affect how and where firefighters will make entry into the structure, what tactics will be used to safely remove any occupants, the placement of hose lines, the methods selected for ventilation, and the use of any specialized equipment needed.
How about the exposures, which includes people, products, interior rooms or areas, and other structures located nearby? The transfer of heat, through radiation, is a major consideration in the initial and on-going size up. The proximity of exposures, people or things, will determine the order of priority of any tactics deployed.
Weather and time of day always has an effect on the company officer’s decisions. Is it hot, cold, raining, or snowing? Darkness certainly makes operations much more difficult and unsafe. And the terrain doesn’t just include hilly or unstable ground; it can also involve pools, toys in the yard, fences, cars in the driveway, and other tripping hazards.
Last, but certainly not least, are there any unknown factors involved? Did any explosions occur before the fire department arrived? Is the building identified as a target hazard because of the storage or production of hazardous materials, or because of a potential terrorism threat? Initial information provided through dispatch is important so that company officers can formulate a safe and appropriate action plan.
What does the situation need?
The first-arriving company officer will determine the overall strategy of the incident, which will identify the general plan or direction that will hopefully accomplish the incident objectives. The initial strategies are determined based on previous experience, information received while responding to the call, by viewing as many sides of the structure as possible on arrival, through the completion of a “walk-around” size-up, and any progress reports provided other firefighters already on scene.
Strategies are broad terms that simply define what the situation needs. The strategy will determine the right place to operate on the fire ground, whether firefighters will go inside to make an offensive attack, or stay outside and set up defensive operations.
The seven principle strategies for fire ground emergency operations, described by the acronym RECEOVS, include: Rescue, including EMS support; Exposure protection, again, including the occupants; Confinement of the fire to the room, area, or building of origin; Extinguishment of the fire; Overhaul, or finding hidden hot spots; Ventilation, which is needed to make the structure more tenable for occupants and firefighters; and Salvage, which unfortunately, is not completed often enough or effectively enough.
What have I got?
The apparatus: How many fire engines are on scene, or responding, and what are their capabilities? Depending on the size of the fire and the structure involved, most fires are controlled and extinguished using only minimal apparatus. But if the fire involves a structure in a rural area, then apparatus carrying large amounts of water or having the capability of drafting from a natural source is needed. Wildfires demand that vehicles have the ability to travel over rough terrain. A fire in a high rise building requires apparatus that can provide pressure enough to pump water to many floors above the ground, and to extend ladders to upper floors for elevated rescues and master streams.
Personnel may be the most important factor. Not only does the number of firefighters on scene have a direct impact on firefighting operations, but their knowledge, skills and abilities must be taken into account as well. Seasoned firefighters can be given tactical assignments in more generic terms: “Ventilate the second floor;" “Confine the fire to the room of origin;" or, “Establish a water supply.” But inexperienced firefighters, which are more common nowadays because of limited exposure to actual fires, must be managed differently. They may need more direction, such as: “Ventilate the second floor via the stairwell using a positive-pressure fan;" “Deploy an 1.75" attack hand line to the kitchen area and confine the fire there;" or, “Hand-stretch two 3" supply lines from the engine to the hydrant for a water supply.”
Equipment of all types is needed to control and extinguish fires. What’s carried on your apparatus? Lighting equipment is required for night time operations. Ladders may be needed to be placed at second floor windows to rescue occupants, or to provide for a second means of egress for firefighters operating inside. Positive-pressure fans provide a quick and efficient way to ventilate smoke-filled structures providing for a more tenable environment for occupants and the firefighters operating inside.
The application of water and other extinguishing agents has advanced throughout the years. We don’t just put the wet stuff on the red stuff anymore. Firefighting foams and other products now assist in a safer, faster, and more efficient fire knockdown. Some hazardous material fires require a specific extinguishing agent. What do you carry? What’s available in your area?
Hose and hose loads is always a debated issue. The old saying goes, “Big fire; Big hose.” Well, as simple as it sounds, it’s true. Company officers must make an informed decision on what tools, including the size of the hand line they will use to attack the fire. More often than not, firefighters deploy a hand line that is inadequate for size or type of fire involved. And as for hose loads, it all depends on your local operating area and the human resources (firefighters) available to deploy them.
Summary
The application of information gathered in a size-up will determine the results of the operation. Company officers should ask the following questions during the initial and on-going size-up to ensure that the most appropriate strategies and tactics are being used: “What’s there?”, What does the situation need?”, and “What have I got?”