Firefighter roof operations are seen being performed without any PPE being worn in the video below, shot earlier this month in Uvalde, Texas. In the age of technology that puts a news camera in the hand of the civilian, we are learning on a daily basis why we have repeated firefighter close calls, near misses and mishaps.
There was little information that accompanied this video, first posted on a newspaper site, to determine the identity of the person on the roof without PPE. And as some readers have pointed out, it’s hard to know what the circumstances surrounding the fire were. But it does serve to facilitate a discussion around what can happen when departments suffer from low membership, lack of turnouts and budgets — and what must be done regardless to maintain safe conditions at a fire.
But if your department is in a situation financially that limits you from making a safe attack on a fire as a result of inadequate equipment, you may want to consider some of the following:
- Automatic mutual or multiple alarms to adjacent jurisdictions for manpower and equipment
- Fire academy-sponsored training to work with limited manpower
- Altering your attack to accommodate for less manpower and equipment
- Contacting www.terryfund.org/, which may be able to assist you with gear or equipment donations.
Make the best with what you can, and do it in a way that protects your firefighters first.