I want to keep the firehouse up to date with their monthly drills for the kitchen table.  Perhaps someone will print this one and throw it on the table as well!

This is a cross-post from our Facebook page.  If you haven’t added yourself to our Facebook page, feel free to follow the link and add yourself.  There are several other daily/weekly drills that are posted there in addition to class photos and upcoming classes.

This photo provides a great overview of operations in a commercial-type warehouse. Several points of discussion are present:

- The roll-down gate was able to be raised without defeating it, most likely with this type of door, it was raised by using the chain inside the building. The door must be secured open in case of failure, and since this is a large door for a vehicle, conventional methods are not useful. Here a ladder company has used a 24′ portable ladder to assure that the door does not drop down pinching hose lines and trapping members. This is a very simple solution to an often overlooked and very dangerous issue.

- A heavy fire condition in the building with little or no smoke showing from the doorway. This indicates that vertical ventilation is working well, or that the ceilings are of very high and heat and smoke is building up drastically. Communication with members operating on the roof is paramount.

Members must be EXTREMELY AWARE of this build-up. In the photo, visibility is great, even near the fire area. This “false-sense of security” can lure members into trap-like conditions. Once the ceiling reaches the correct temperature, roll-over will occur and fire will rapidly drop down on the members and overwhelm hose lines (in some cases even 2 1/2″ hose lines). The only way to guard against this is by communication and awareness. Use thermal imaging cameras (also in the photo) and 2 1/2″ attack lines. The reach and “punch” of the stream will darken fire down well in advance of the nozzle team.

- The 10′ hook on the right side of the photo is also a must if ceilings must be pulled down. A member in this building with a 6′ hook is all but useless. As a rule, I will drop the 6′ hook and take a 10′ hook at most commercial fires. This will allow me to pull the multiple ceilings typically found in these old buildings. Don’t stop pulling until you’ve reached the roof boards. Sometimes, the 10′ hook can be used as a “thermometer” of sorts in the absence of a thermal imaging camera. You can extend the hook into the smoke above you, then lower it and CAREFULLY feel the head of the hook. This may give you an idea of the conditions above you if you cannot “see” them with a TIC. This will keep you from getting too deep, too fast and getting into trouble.

- A search rope is also present on a few members in this photo. Remember to secure the search rope on the EXTERIOR (parking meter, street light, rig, car, etc…) of the building regardless of conditions inside the building as you enter. Although clear in the building presently, if conditions deteriorate, you want the search line to bring you back to the street, NOT 20′ inside the door, which is now banked down to the floor and you have to “guess” the rest of the way.

- Water run-off: In this photo there is a single 2 1/2″ attack line flowing 250-300 gallons per minute. The trickle of water coming out of the overhead door is not nearly the amount of water being poured into the building. Perhaps it is going to a harmless point in the building, a drain, the basement, out another door due to the natural slope, etc…

What if it is not running off harmlessly? In this case it was being soaked into all of those pallets filled with antique furniture and other combustible and “sponge-like” items. Those items were stacked floor to ceiling, across TWO FLOORS of this 300×300 warehouse. Simple math: 250gpms at 8lbs per gallon = 2,000lbs (or 1 TON) of water per minute PER HOSE LINE! There were at least 8 attack lines on this fire during the offensive stage. That doesn’t even account for the floor load already present.

ALWAYS watch the water run-off. If it is going in, and not coming out it is going somewhere. This is equally important during exterior operations while utilizing master streams. After the bulk of the fire has been knocked down, the tendency is to enter the building to extinguish stubborn pockets of fire. The video below illustrates why that may not be such a good idea if the building is not allowing the water to run-off.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8SUuBXRQyXk

In the video above in Midtown Manhattan serves as a great purpose for watching water run off. D/C Vincent Dunn had command of this fire, and would not allow members to enter the building to extinguish pockets of fire. At :53 seconds, you will see his reasoning.  The early video of the fire, you see no run-off even though several tower ladders throw TONS of water per minute into the building. If you listen to the video, the building was FILLED FLOOR TO CEILING with shoe boxes (excellent sponges).  They flowed water via master streams for ELEVEN hours.  Listen closely to the audio at 1:50 as well. “Engineers” declared this building “structurally stable” 3hrs before the collapse.

Feel free to jump in with any comments or questions.  I also want to extend a warm welcome to the members of the firehouse that are keeping up with the current events of Brotherhood Instructors, LLC.  ;-)

Stay safe,

Nate DeMarse
Brotherhood Instructors, LLC.
ndemarse.broinstructors@gmail.com

I recently took delivery of the Fire Department Training Network’s DVD’s on firefighter survival and on rapid intervention When I watched these movies they definetly did not disappoint. Both videos are fantastic and Jim McCormack and his crew at the Fire Department Training Network have done a fantastic job producing these videos and bringing their training expertise from their training ground to yours. I would highly recommend the purchase of these videos to any department that is serious about firefighter safety and rapid intervention.

DVD 1 Firefighter Survival

This DVD should be required viewing for all firefighters that ever don a fire helmet on the fire ground. The firefighter survival skills demonstrated in this video will help to ensure that your members will be safer on the fireground, remember that “Everyone Goes Home” is not just a catch phrase or a sticker on your car…… it is an attitude that must be enforced through aggressive realistic training. Every member of your fire company for the probie to the senior man will get something out of this DVD. The thing that I enjoyed the most about this DVD was the fact that it was kept basic and real world, it was not filled with lots of fancy stuff that is not fireground practical.

The DVD includes the following information:

• Developing a Survival Attitude
• SCBA Knowledge
• Mayday Management
• SCBA Low Profile Emergencies
• SCBA Entanglement Emergencies
• Disorientation Emergencies
• Wall Breaching
• Ladder Slide

DVD 2 Rapid Intervention

Jim McCormack and his crew carried on the great easy to follow format that they did for their first DVD and brought it into the second DVD. If your department has an established RIT team and or RIT training program or your department is looking at getting into this type of training this DVD is for you!!!

The DVD includes the following information:

DVD CHAPTERS INCLUDE:

• RIT Positions & Assignments
• Searching for a Firefighter
• Securing the RIT Tag Line
• Converting the SCBA Waiststrap
• Emergency Air Supply
• Firefighter Drags
• Firefighter Rescue Up/Down Stairs
• A RIT Scenario: Putting It All Together
• Ladder Rescues
• Rescue from Entanglement
• Rescue from Collapse
• Rescues through the Floor
• Air Management and RIT
• Commanding a RIT Operation
• RIT Benchmarks

You can pick these DVD’s and other great training material at:

www.fdtraining.com

Throughout our careers we become intimately familiar with the building construction commonly found in our response district.  Most of the fires in these structures are fairly routine, but there are a few that will challenge our skills and knowledge of tactics, fire behavior, and some not so ordinary construction features.  We all have our own bread-and-butter fires, the fires that present with a similar and almost expected behavior where the same tactics work nearly every time.

                Recently, I experienced one of those not so routine fires.  In the last few hours of the tour, we were dispatched to assist at a working fire in an area on the opposite side of the city.  We located the address in the map book and headed towards the expressway.  An easy ten minutes later we arrived on-scene as the sixth due engine company.  We report to command and were assigned to supply a tower ladder being set up.  We located a working hydrant and hand stretched a couple lengths of supply line to the truck’s waterway intake.  Once the water was on its way we grabbed our tools and staged near the command post to await another assignment.  We positioned ourselves across the street from exposure B-1.  Standing there with my company I began surveying the scene to get a feel for the operation.  The fire building was a two-story wood frame with heavy fire throughout.  Exposure B-1 was a one-story frame, to the rear was a yard and exposure D-1 was a one and a half story frame.  There were two deck pipes in operating into the original fire building, handlines were positioned to operate between the exposures and the tower ladder was getting ready to open up into the large opening where a roof once was.  Companies began stretching into the exposures to extinguish the advanced fire conditions present in both.  I took mental notes of company locations, many of which would not normally been at this fire, but there were two other working fires going on in the inner city.  This fact would explain the advanced fire conditions in the main fire building as well as the exposures.

                Since we were positioned in front of the Bravo exposure my attention was focused on this building.  By all outward appearances it looked to be just another private dwelling.  As the fire progressed, several crews had gone into this exposure to extinguish the fire there.  I watched as steam rolled out of the side windows multiple times with no change in the thick yellow smoke pushing out under pressure from the eves of the lean-to roof at the rear of this exposure.  The peaked roof that ran from front to back showed no sign of fire involvement, not even a wisp of smoke was evident from the opening in the gable end where the vent was.  Just then the tower ladder opened their nozzle, what caught my attention was not the massive amount water slowly darkening down the heavy fire coming from the main building, but the steam evaporating off a distinct section of the Bravo exposure roof.  As I stared at the building, I asked myself “how hot does it need to be under the roof decking to generate steam from the shingles?” and if the attic space was on fire “why wasn’t it venting out of the gable vent?”  Taking a look at the bigger picture I noticed the foundation under the first ten to twelve feet of the building was newer concrete block.  It happened to blend into the old foundation in line with area of the roof where the steam began.  This is when it became apparent that there must not be an opening connecting the original attic with the addition attic.  After informing the IC of our observation the ceiling under this area was pulled and the fire quickly extinguished, however, the heavy smoke in the rear was intensifying even though the inside the structure was virtually clear.  Low air alarms began to sound and a group of firefighters inside began to exit the exposure.  We notified the IC that we were available and of our suspicions of possible multiple roofs in the rear.  Quickly speaking with one of the firefighters who just exited revealed that they had pulled all of the ceiling in the rear and it was clear all the way to the roof decking.  Instead of heading inside, my company made a different approach, we took our tools and a power saw from the tower ladder and headed to the roof.  We carefully transversed the peaked roof towards the rear of the building.  After sounding the flat roof, coupled with the fact that an uncontrolled fire had been burning underneath for some time, we felt it was safest to deploy a roof ladder across the decking in an area supported by the outside walls.  Moving carefully out onto the ladder I dropped the saw into the roof.  Heavy smoke pressed out of kerf with great speed.  After making several cuts I moved back to the peaked section and withdrew the roof ladder.  Utilizing the reach of our hooks we began the strenuous task of pulling the decking.  Flames rose into the morning sky as a handline was positioned to extinguish the fire.  After the flames were gone it became apparent that there was not one, but two “rain” roofs constructed over top of the original roof.  We finished overhaul of the area and took up with a sense of pride and accomplishment that we saw what everyone else seemed to miss.

                So what are you to do when those routine tactics are not working?  Here are a few questions to ask yourself that may help you out the next time you’re faced with a less than routine fire.

Am I standing back and looking at the big picture?

Avoid tunnel vision and look at the whole scene.  The problem may become completely obvious.  Conditions on the inside may not be the conditions showing on the outside.  Good communication coupled with accurate information between the outside and inside crews is key in these situations.

Am I following my gut instinct?

Your feelings based on real world experience and sound training seldom steer you wrong.

Are there obvious signs of building alterations or does the building appear seamless?

Some alterations are very apparent, but others may not be.  This is why we need to have a solid grasp on building construction and the science of fire behavior integrated with the street smarts.  Based on that knowledge you need to look at what the fire’s behavior is telling you and determine your next course of action.   

Am I using all my available resources?

Technology such as thermal imagers are a great asset on the fireground for locating hidden pockets of fire quickly, but it is also just a tool and can never replace your senses.  Never be afraid to make an inspection hole in a wall, ceiling, floor, or roof.  The cost to repair a properly made inspection hole is minor compared to the damage the fire will continue to do to the structure left undiscovered. 

After locating a downed firefighter the packaging and removal process of the firefighter will be the next step. Packaging and removing a downed firefighter will without question be one of the toughest and most stressful operations that a firefighter will ever have to do in his/her career because we are now rescuing one of our own, the patient is no longer a faceless person but a fellow colleague and fellow brother.

After locating the downed firefighter a rapid and thorough size up of not only the patient but of the scene and conditions of the area were crews will be operating can make or break your RIT operation. A failed size up can lead to costly time delays or even worse causing your RIT team to be caught in a potentially life threatening situation (i.e. floor collapse, wall collapse, flashover, etc.)

Once the downed firefighter is located the RIT officer can start doing his/her size up, part of the RIT size up can include the S.A.F.E.S. acronym.

S- Size Up

Not only must the downed firefighter be sized up but the surroundings and location must be sized up as well, the use of a thermal imaging camera will pay huge divides in this situation. Things you want to look for in your size up should include:

Ø      Location of the firefighter

Ø      Conditions (fire and or heat) in the immediate area

Ø      Condition of the downed firefighter (is he or she breathing? Is there face piece still on? Are thy pinned or entangled?

If you do not have a TIC or the TIC is rendered useless due to fire conditions or a malfunction of the camera the size up will have to be done largely by feel. If the TIC does malfunction the RIT officer should call for an additional one to be brought to there location immediately should one be available. A TIC is an asset during the size up, that can sometimes be used to establish weather or not the downed firefighter is breathing. If the firefighter is passing air through the SCBA (breathing) the air bottle should be cold, this will cause the air bottle and air line to show up dark on the image from the TIC. This is not going to happen all the time based on fire/heat conditions and the downed firefighter exposure to heat or fire. As with all use of the thermal imager the user must be able to interpret what they are seeing in the image based on the fire/heat conditions around them.

You also want to get a sense of what kind of condition the downed firefighter is in:

Ø      Are they entangled? – do we have wire cutters to cut them out?

Ø      Are they pinned underneath something? – are we able to free them with the tools, equipment, and man power we have?

Ø      Do they have a face piece on? Is the SCBA or face piece they have on damaged? – do we have a way of getting this firefighter air? Do we have a new mask?

You also want to pay close attention to the fire and or heat conditions around the area of operation, is the area tenable, can we maintain an air supply to the victim and is there extra time to properly package the patient? Or are conditions rapidly deteriorating and we must remove the patient as quickly as possible? Remember the TIC may not give you a good indication of rapidly deteriorating conditions, only you experience and senses will give you a true sense of the heat conditions.

A- Assessment

Once you have located the downed firefighter you will want to complete a quick, proper, and thorough assessment of the firefighter to be removed. The best way to do this is to sit the firefighter up, one firefighter in behind the downed firefighter and on in front. Once you have the firefighter in position you can start your assessment, using the acronym

M. A. B. C. you can size use the air needs of the downed firefighter.

M- Mask- is the firefighters mask and regulator on and in place? Is it melted? Is it leaking air? There is not much point in attempting to transfill the firefighter’s air if it is going to leak out. Does this firefighter need his/her face piece changed out?

A- Air Exchange- Is the firefighter exchanging air (breathing)? The best way to tell this is to hold your breath and get your ear down towards the exhalation valve of the face piece.

B- By Pass- does the firefighters By Pass work?

C- Cylinder Pressure- What is the cylinder pressure of the downed firefighter? Do you need to transfill there air supply?

If the firefighter is found without there face piece on I would recommend utilizing the face piece in the RIT Kit, the reason for this is you would hate to go through all of the work to put the firefighters face piece on only to realize that it is defective and that was the reason for the firefighter having removed it in the first place.

F- Firefighter Needs

After insuring that the firefighter has an adequate air supply you can start to figure out what types of needs the firefighter will require to help with the extrication of the firefighter, the firefighter may only require to be extricated form the environment or he may require some additional equipment and or personal. Some of the additional firefighter needs maybe extensive depending of how trapped the downed firefighter is, some additional resources maybe as follow:

Ø      Bottle jacks

Ø      Pry bars

Ø      Air bags

Ø      Air tools

Ø      Saws

Ø      Rebar cutter

Ø      Etc.

You may also require additional personal to help clear out clutter or ensure that a clear path is ready for the extrication of the patient.

E- Extrication

Once the firefighter has been given a positive air supply we are ready to package and extricate the down firefighter. The quickest way to remove the firefighter is to do a conversion of his/her SCBA straps into a harness. There is nothing fancy about the removal of a firefighter in distress, it is simply a lot of work and there is no real way around it. There are some things that can and will make the removal of the firefighter easier, some of the ways are:

Ø      Utilizing a 2:1 mechanical advantage

Ø      Using your tools to help drag

Ø      Using the push pull method

Remember don’t waste valuable time doing the fancy a creative things the best thing for that firefighter is going to be getting them out of the IDLH atmosphere and into the hands of Paramedics, remember that the more simple you keep it the easier it will be to remember in a pressure situation.

S- Situational Awareness

Situational Awareness is probably the most overlooked part of the RIT process, but it is also the most vital. Firefighters tend to get caught up in the tasks of the RIT operation and tend to loose sight of what is happening around them. Maintaining that situational awareness is a very hard thing to teach firefighters, and it is an even harder thing to ask firefighters to do when they are focusing so hard on the monumental task in front of them. This is where the RIT officer must come in, the RIT officer must try to stay as “hands off” as possible to prevent getting tunnel vision and loose his/her situational awareness. Some things that you will want to constantly be aware of and monitor are:

Ø      Heat Conditions

Ø      Fire Conditions

Ø      Air Supply of your crew and yourself, you may have to call a “freeze” every once in a while and have the members check there air supply.

Ø      Monitor the progress of the crew; are they trying something that is not going to work? Do you have a different idea in mind? Are they making progress?

Ø      Monitor the radio

Ø      Give Command up dates as needed

Ø      Do you need a handline?

Ø      Additional resources? Try to stay 10 steps ahead of the game, don’t wait until something is needed before calling for it…… try to stay progressive

Ø      Is there another/better way out of here?

Remember that the best thing that you can do for the downed member is to get the out of the building as quick as possible, your size up should be very thorough but also must be very quick.  A proper a thorough size up can make or break your RIT operation or it could make the situation worse by creating additional downed members that must be rescued. The only way to become proficient at the task of a proper downed firefighter is through aggressive, realistic, and frequent training.

There appears to be a current trend for Incident Commanders to keep their RIT/FAST team standing in the front yard like a piece of ugly lawn art. Most firefighters have an inherent nature and work ethic that is not conducive to standing in front of the building, and watching everyone else work. All of us know the feeling that occurs when responding to a confirmed fire. You are struggling to listen to the radio, adrenaline flows, you from a loose game plan….building layout…..type of building. As you pull out of your first due response area continuing towards the fire, you hear over the department radio, “Ladder XX, you are responding as the RIT team!”

The members in the rig immediately feel “deflated”. In addition, groans and sighs immediately follow the transmission, and typically members will again start talking about ESPN or dinner plans. This is very common in today’s fire service, as these highly motivated firefighters feel that they will most likely be standing in the front yard. The “deflation” is a very dangerous condition and may be considered one of the rawest forms of complacency. Why not give these firefighters active tasks that correspond with their RIT assignment, and improve the safety of members operating on the interior? These tasks will be completed on the exterior of the building, and still allow the RIT team to remain available in case needed.

Of course there are members of “management” who will resist this or similar operations. Those individuals will most likely hide behind the word, “freelancing”. In reality, the RIT team is not freelancing. They have been given assigned tasks and locations by their officer and are conducting those tasks to PREVENT a “mayday” situation. In fact, they are proactively starting or accomplishing their job! In the event of a “mayday” transmission, the RIT team members will return to the designated RIT area (where they would have been standing), and deploy to assist the stricken member(s).

Example:
A RIT company arrives to a fire in a single family or small apartment building. Upon arrival, the company officer locates the incident commander to confirm his arrival, and gather a briefing on the incident. The officer may even perform a quick 360 degree walk-around while the firefighters gather equipment and transport it to the designated RIT area. Upon the officer’s return, he/she may assign them to tasks that will aid the RIT team in case they are activated for a downed firefighter. These tasks WILL NOT include suppression operations, and will be conducted on the exterior of the building.

Example tasks:

- Perform forcible entry on rear and side doors
- Remove window bars
- Placing portable ladders under sills of upper floor windows.
- Clear out sashes of windows taken by interior companies

ALL tasks mentioned above provide egress for members operating within the building. ALL tasks mentioned above provide access for the RIT team, in the event the RIT team is activated. Finally, many of the aforementioned tasks can be accomplished in a few minutes, and usually with little exertion by the RIT team.

Modifications

Proactive RIT operations may be modified to various building types. In the event of a fire in a multiple dwelling/apartment building, the RIT team may add a lower floor reconnaissance to their list of possibilities. This will provide a layout of the fire apartment above. A radio transmission stating, “I am trapped in a rear bedroom” will no longer leave guesswork to the RIT team that is going to get the stricken member. Those members now know that they enter the apartment door, move down a hallway passing two doorways (a bathroom and a closet) and will then enter the third doorway to the bedroom. If an exterior route is chosen, they will know which windows to start placing ladders. If a fire occurs within a warehouse or other large commercial building, the RIT team may be utilizing search ropes or a LAST (Large Area Search Team) to rescue the stricken member. The RIT team may proactively look for objects to secure the rope, points of entry, etc…

Possible Obstacle and/or Problem

The proactive RIT assignments that are discussed above are all completed while in direct communication of the RIT officer. At any time, RIT team members performing proactive tasks can drop what they are doing and report to the RIT staging area for deployment. The proactive RIT concept is not an excuse to “freelance”. If a team has a plan of attack, known assignments and are being supervised by their officer (either directly or via radio), it is not considered freelancing.

Advantages of Proactive FAST/RIT Operations

One advantage of the proactive RIT team lies in the fact that there will be a crew operating on the exterior of a fire building constantly performing a size-up and providing feedback to the RIT officer and the incident commander. While crews perform this size-up, they are gathering information on building construction, smoke conditions, fire travel and the progress and location of crews operating within the building. This information may allow crews to “predict” when and where a problem or “mayday” may occur and plan for those issues. The best “mayday” is one that is resolved before the RIT team is in operation.

Imagine a ladder company operating on the floor above the fire. A charged line is aggressively being advanced in the fire apartment and things appear normal. The ladder company above is conducting searches and opening up to check for fire extension. Suddenly, conditions change and the crew cannot exit from the entry point that they used. Conditions worsen, heat continues to increase rapidly while smoke banks down, and “maydays” are transmitted as they work their way to the rear bedroom window. Seconds later, the RIT team, (deploying to assist the stricken members) round the corner into the rear yard. They witness two members descending the ladder and the last member, an officer, stepping out of the window and onto the portable ladder. Over his head, heavy black, velvety, churning smoke is pushing under pressure from the window. The room lights up as the officer descends the ladder. The officer notifies the incident commander that all of his members are accounted for in the rear yard, and that his “mayday” can be cancelled.

This tragedy was averted because of proactive RIT/FAST team operations. Minutes before, the RIT team had placed portable ladders to several windows in the rear of the building. In the above case, the members on the floor above would have most likely resulted to jumping from the upper floor windows, unable to await the assistance of the RIT team. Proactive RIT/FAST operations turned a tragedy into a mere “close-call”.

Brotherhood Instructors, LLC. believes in “Proactive RIT/FAST Operations. If you are interested in the concept, or would like to host a class centered on this topic, please feel free to contact us at brotherhoodinstructors@gmail.com. As always, feel free to add comments or questions to the article. We appreciate your feedback, and your continued interest.

Stay safe!

Dusty joined the Appleton City Volunteer Fire Dept (Appleton City, MO) in 1996, In 1998 he started as a part-time firefighter with the West Peculiar Fire Protection District(Peculiar, MO) Dusty was hired as a full-time firefighter with the Southern Platte Fire Protection District(Parkville, MO) in 1999 and later in 1999 left South Platte when he was hired by the Kansas City Fire Department(Kansas City, MO) In 2001 Dusty transferred to a rescue company and is currently assigned to Rescue 31 where he has been since 2005. Dusty also serves as in Instructor for the University of Missouri Fire and Rescue Training Institute.

Size up of forcible entry operations is one of the most important functions of forcing entry into a building. Being able to identify what exactly is locking the door is half the battle, knowing your locks and secondary locking mechanisms are paramount. The best way to know your locks is to get out in your area and visit hardware stores and locksmiths and see the types of locks that are being purchased and installed in your area, and the other way to see the forcible entry problems in your area is to get into the buildings you will be responding to.

This following drill will show you several different forcible entry problems and then we will ask you to add your comments and ideas for forcing entry into the following buildings. On some of the doors only the exterior will be shown initially, this will allow you to make your forcible entry decisions based on only your knowledge, experience and training. Not on what you know is there because you can see it. The back side of the door will be shown at a later date to allow you to see if your forcible entry procedure would be effective or not.

Door 1

What type of door construction are we dealing with?

What are the primary locking devices?

What are the secondary locking devices?
What forcible entry tools would you want to have with you?

What forcible entry techniques would you use here?

Inside of the door will be shown later

Door 2

What is the primary locking device?

What are the secondary locking devices?

What forcible entry techniques would you use here?

Door 3

What way does this door swing?

What locking devices are on this door?

What additional forcible entry issues might you have?

What forcible entry techniques would you use here?

Inside of the door will be shown later

Door 4

This is an interior view of a double door in the rear of a commercial building.

What forcible entry techniques would you use here?

Door 5

Answer the following question without the use of a power saw.

What way does this door swing?

What are the primary locking devices on this door?

What are the secondary locking devices on this door?

What forcible entry techniques would you use here?

Inside of the door will be shown later

Door 6

What are the primary locking devices on this door?

What are the secondary locking devices on this door?

What forcible entry techniques would you use here?

Door 7

This next door is located at the rear of a supermarket in Clinton, Ontario. Clinton is a very small rural community in Southern Ontario, as you can see having heavily fortified doors in your community is not just a problem for large cities.

What are the primary locking devices on this door?

What are the secondary locking devices on this door?

What forcible entry techniques would you use here?

Inside of the door will be shown later

Door 8

What are the primary locking devices?

What are the secondary locking devices?
What forcible entry tools would you want to have with you?

What forcible entry techniques would you use here?

What would your back up plan be if your initial forcible entry plan failed?

Inside of the door will be shown later

All of the questions can be cut and pasted into your answers. The Interior views will be posted in a months time so you can see how close your tactics where.

Special thanks to Josh Materi from Seattle Ladder 3 and Chris Collier FDNY Ladder 49 for the use of their pictures.

All answers must be posted with your full name and department, no unsigned posts will be posted.

Wayne Benner (Port Colborne, Ontario FD) sent us this photo compilation video of several of our class photos taken from our website.  Wayne took our “Back to Basics” Engine & Ladder Company Operations class in Oakville, Ontario last year and has been in contact ever since.  Thanks Wayne, nice work!

In addition, there are two other conventional forcible entry videos uploaded to Youtube as well.  Feel free to subscribe to the Brotherhood Instructors, LLC Youtube channel, and you will be notified when other videos are posted.  We hope to post an Engine Operations video in the very near future.

Class Announcements:
We have several class announcements that we would like to make everyone aware of.  All class announcements are always posted on our “Upcoming Classes” page.

• July 6th-9th:  MABAS Division 10 (Western Chicago Suburbs):  3-hour Power Saw Operations discussion/demonstration
• July 26th:  Beeton, Ontario - Basic Forcible Entry Operations at FFAO Training Weekend
• August 21st & 22nd:  Frankfort, IL - ‘Back-to-Basics’ Engine & Ladder Company Operations (open enrollment)
• September 17th: Wildwood, NJ - Basic Forcible Entry Operations at the NJ State Firefighter’s Convention (open enrollment)
• September 19th: Centerville, MA - Basic Forcible Entry Operations (open enrollment)
• October 10th: Hughsonville, NY (Dutchess County) - Basic Forcible Entry Operations (open enrollment)

Past Classes:
Our “Past Classes” page has a new look.  Now all photos are uploaded and can be viewed as a slideshow instead of the multi-click that we used to have.  We are working to upload all of our classes to the new format.

Facebook Page:
The Brotherhood Instructors, LLC. Facebook page has nearly 400 members.  If you are a Facebook member, we invite you to join us.  All of our class announcements are posted in the form of events, class photos and videos are posted.  Facebook also allows the members who took the class to post their photos as well.  In addition, we have some quick-drill training videos, and discussions.

Youtube user Chasefire has come up with some excellent footage once again.  Here, we see footage as the first or second due ladder company arrives at the scene of a fire in an apartment building.  The footage is located on Youtube here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8hstF-UH3qg.

The first 1 minute, 30 seconds of video is simply the rig responding to the fire.  Trust me that it gets better at the 1:30 mark and the video (and ensuing discussion) will be well worth the wait.

Here are a few questions for discussion.  Feel free to copy/paste these questions, and answer them as you see fit as they pertain to your department and/or your observations.  If you would like, let us know what the response would be in your department and how many firefighters would be fighting this fire if it occurred in your town.

Engine Operations:

1) Ideally, where would the engine stop at this fire?  Why?
2) What type of stretch would you perform (pre-connect, reverse, forward, etc…)?  Why?
3) What size & length of attack line would you stretch?  Why?
4) Any other comments regarding engine considerations that may arise from the video?

Ladder Company Operations:

1) In your department, who conducts the searches and when?
2) At this fire, where would your members start to search? why?
3) If searching above, and there is a loss of water on the fire floor what may be your second means of egress?
4) Would you or your department ascend to the floor above without the protection of a hose line? Why?
5) Forcible Entry Considerations:  What special considerations may arise at a Motel, Hotel or Inn?
6) How would you ventilate this structure?  Who is doing it?  Where and when?
7) Are there any other comments regarding ladder company considerations that arise from the video?

Remember to keep this discussion a tactical discussion.  Brotherhood Instructors, LLC. pride ourselves in running a professional Online Drills area.  We are strictly moderated, and comments that simply bash a department’s or firefighter’s tactics (or any responses) will not be allowed and will not be posted.  Nate & Andrew will post their answers to the questions above and other discussion points on approximately April 10th.  Any and all levels of firefighters are encouraged to post and ask questions.

All posts MUST be signed with at least your first and last name
(we also prefer your department)

Facebook Users:  Join us on our new Brotherhood Instructors, LLC. Facebook page
Fire Engineering Training Community members:  Join us here

It is important to keep in mind that some departments in the United States respond with only ONE FIREFIGHTER on a truck company.

In our opinion, this is a near-criminal act that is committed by the penny-pinchers at city hall.  However, it is reality that this scenario occurs.

This is just one tool for the tool-box concerning a one-firefighter ladder raise.  Feel free to comment or question below.

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This flyer was created to explain a few of the tips, techniques and tasks that the members of your department will receive when Brotherhood Instructors, LLC conducts an 8-hour class at your department.  All of the needed information is on the flyer below (click the photo for a larger pdf).  At the “Basic Forcible Entry Operations” level class we also discuss roll-down gates and demonstrate methods for defeating slide-bolt locks.

Up to 40 members trained per day, no enrollment or payment worries on your end AND………….

EVERYONE performs ALL of these tasks!

Hosting an open-enrollment class for your mutual aid organization, chief’s association or region has NEVER been so EASY!

Contact us at info@brotherhoodinstructors.com for more information on hosting your class.  We can provide open-enrollment training for Forcible Entry, VES, Roof Operations, Search operations and Engine Company Operations.  *Now booking summer and fall 2009 dates.

For Facebook users, we invite you to join our “Brotherhood Instructors, LLC.” Facebook group.  We have over 210 members and counting.  We will post upcoming classes & enrollement information, class photos and more.  Welcome to the group!