Originally printed in IAFC On Scene, May 15
This column is about single-family dwelling fires and the focus of fire officers.
Now that I have gotten that out of the way, here is what I want to talk about first — and then we’ll discuss fires in single-family dwellings.
Perhaps you have read about a fire chief in Texas who is taking heat from some of his firefighters because he, as chief, wants greater control organizationally over when firefighters should go into a burning building.
Well, he should and must. That’s why he is the fire chief. The chief is like the head coach of a pro team. The team must do what the head coach wants or they’ll have a much greater chance of losing the game.
In pro sports, the players get paid no matter what, win or lose. In firefighting, if we lose the game, we may lose our own members in the line of duty. Sometimes the line-of-duty death of a firefighter is necessary — most times it isn’t.
It’s sad when we can’t save as much property as we would like to, but most of that can be replaced. Grandma can’t be replaced. We need grandmas. Do not lose Grandma.
What we do
When fire companies arrive on the scene and the size up and conditions indicate Grandma may be in there, the boss pushes us hard to go get Grandma at great personal risk to firefighters —that’s what we do. That is our business. We save Grandma.
Grandma’s stuff isn’t what the grandkids want us to save — given the choice, they want Grandma. Grandma bakes stuff, provides hugs and always takes kids’ sides. Baby grand pianos require lessons. Who wins here? There goes the S.S. Baby Grand.
Sometimes firefighters and company officers don’t fully understand why a command officer won’t let them inside. Sometimes it really gets them angry, but that’s OK. There are many, many good examples of firefighters being alive and angry. Alive and angry firefighters are good. It gives us the chance to help them get un-angry.
The policy that now requires the first-due officer to do a size-up has angered some of the city’s firefighters, who say it’s their job to save people and property, even when it means putting their lives on the line. Well, it depends.
It always depends on conditions. Assessing conditions as a part of a size-up is what determines if we go in or not (and in most cases we do, as we should). Size-up determines everything else we do until we start packing hose.
That fact is found in every fire tactics book written by firefighters and fire chiefs for the past 30+ years. You won’t find any seasoned firefighter, company officer or chief who’ll suggest firefighters go in without an initial size-up of some kind. If so, they’re probably in the wrong line of work.
Some concerns
There are concerns by some firefighters that the policy could backfire if a resident dies inside a building deemed too risky. That may happen. Conditions and size-up of those conditions help minimize that. So do training — and lots of it, adequate staffing and good bosses working with good firefighters.
So now, back to single-family dwelling fires. And now, here we are again, at size-up. Clearly in our business, we often don’t know what we may encounter, no matter what the caller and dispatchers tell us. There are many situations that we as firefighters respond to that aren’t predictable, so we have to constantly train on what may happen or could happen — and expect that.
For example, when arriving on the scene of a large box building, an industrial factory or a high-rise, size-up isn’t simple; it’s complex and requires significantly more time and resources. However, in most cases, when responding to and arriving at the single-family dwelling fire, there are few complications related to our immediate ability to do a complete size-up, which should include a 360° walk-around to provide us with a much more accurate and clear picture of what we’re dealing with.
Clearly written SOPs directing firefighters, officers and companies on what’s expected — along with regular training and officers complying with the SOPs without exception — are essential for the maximum chance of success. Well-identified operational roles and responsibilities, including riding assignments, can create a smooth and consistent operating environment and a general assurance that the typical jobs that need to get done will get done. When policies exist, are trained on and enforced, it contributes to a more survivable fireground.
Taking time to learn and understand what happened at another fire department’s fire is one of the best ways to not repeat history — we have excellent opportunities to learn without repeating tragic results.
It should be clear to you, Chief, that most of the ingredients for a better chance of success at the single-family dwelling include:
- Planning ahead to determine the neighborhood and the types of dwellings in that area
- Determining the fire-flow requirements
- Determining what tasks that you, as chief, want performed simultaneously (tasks such as hydrant, pump operations, firefighter tracking/accountability, stretching lines, forcible entry, ventilation, search, rescue, command, command support, control and safety, to name a few)
- Determining how many companies with how many firefighters you want on the first alarm (see above tasks)
As chief, you must also establish policy, training and discipline to ensure a size-up on a single-family dwelling, including a 360°, is automatic. That the walk-around is conducted initially and also conducted by arriving officers assuming command — before they take command.
That size-up, with the 360°, will provide you and your firefighters with more complete information that then allows you to best handle the fire, the occupants and most importantly, your members.
As command officers, company officers and firefighters, every bit of information in helping us best understand what we are dealing with is essential to our success. Fire chiefs must take time to have policy, training and leadership in place to best understand what their firefighters are getting into and what the conditions are before going in. One of the best ways to do that is to include a 360° of the dwelling.
While though on occasion the walk-around may have to be skipped if there are clear indications of people trapped, these are rare occurrences. In most cases, the size-up with 360° is essential for our survival and gives us the best chance to take care of Grandma and the rest of her family, who are now having the worst day of their lives.
This article was used with permission from the International Association of Fire Chiefs
