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D.E.R. Deep Environmental Retrofit

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D.E.R.  Deep Environmental Retrofit, the process of adding large amounts of insulation and wind proofing to older buildings.  The concept is simple; Add more layers of insulation and wind proofing to cut down on the amount of energy needed to heat or cool a building.

The layers are:

1. Blown in cellulose insulation in the original wall cavity.  Most turn of the century homes in this area didn’t have any insulation.

2. Wrap the entire inside wall with Tyvek, then fur out the walls and add another layer of blown in cellulose.

3. On the exterior wall add 8+ inches of rigid insulation with staggered seams. All seams are taped on each layer and another layer of Tyvek is added.

4. Indicates the 2 layers of Tyvek inside the house, 1 of which is wrapped under the floor.

The end result is 16+ inches of insulation with very little chance of air infiltration.  All of the areas that cannot be filled with blown in or rigid insulation is filled with spray foam.  Even the windows are triple glazed to prevent air infiltration.  The vendor says you could heat the finished room with a hair dryer.

You can see the before and after mock up  in the picture.  In the before picture there is no insulation and plenty of cracks and voids for air to permeate the building.  These leaks help heat from a fire escape and allow fresh air to be sucked in, which is great for firefighters but bad for heating bills.

Firefighters are all too aware of what happens when fresh, oxygenated air runs out at a fire.  The fire darkens down and the temperature continues to rise until something fails or something is opened by a firefighter.  When this happens you get a back draft or a smoke explosion.

We have all been taught that building contents are far different than they were for previous generations of firefighters.  Flashover is being reached at a shorter time than a couple decades ago, and I can post a side by side video if you’d like.  The lower times are caused by a combination of better sealed buildings and the composition of the contents.

So after that overview, how long would it take to starve a room and contents fire of oxygen when the room is sealed and insulated this well?

A couple side notes:

The floor joists were notched during the original construction.  That’s pretty common in these houses.  But you can see in the after picture that the floor is still notched.  How much extra weight has been added to this building and it remains on the original inferior construction?

The vendor indicated they have done dozens of houses in my area and the biggest concern they heard was from electrical inspectors who wanted the power lines from the solar panels to be candy striped.  PV power too?  I think that is a discussion for another day.

Stay Safe.

Donovan

Posted by on November 28, 2011 • Filed under: Building Construction, Education/Training • Tagged: , , , , , ,

Size up this fire.

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The point of view in this video shows almost everything that is happening so you have to imagine yourself showing up at street level and the limited view you would have had.  The first arriving companies thought it was a fire in the rear porches.  They were right, but, the fire was already inside the second building when they arrived.  

 I spoke with the officers on scene and from their point of view upon arrival they thought it was back porches and they thought they may have inadvertently pushed the fire into the second building.  The officer on the first line to the rear was wondering why the fire was going to 3 alarms, let alone 4.   It was obvious to command what was going on, but from the rear it was a different story.  You can see the rear was a floor lower than the front. 

I wish we could just get a couple second video from the front when the first arriving companies got on scene, but that’s not going to happen.  Too often when someone posts a video the commenter gets to watch the whole thing and then decide what they would have done.  It would be better to just get a few seconds and then watch the comments, to keep everyone honest.  But comment away. 

Was going to the rear with the first line a good choice?

Would going in from the front then making a basement attack have worked?

What size line are you going to bring?

Are there any other issues that should be brought up?

I may sometimes sound like a stickler for rules because a firefighter should at least know the procedures that way if they do something that isn’t in line with the procedures they have to provide reason instead of “I didn’t know”.  My only critique is that at least one of the trucks arriving on the subsequent alarms should have looked at the roof instead of just putting the stick up.  This would have minimized the chance of a guy alone on the roof, especially a relatively new guy.  That’s just my opinion and I have had that opinion since this video was taped almost 9 years ago.

Stay safe.

Posted by on September 22, 2011 • Filed under: command-leadership, Drills, Education/Training, Engine Tips, firefighting-operations, training-development, training-fire-rescue-topics, Truck Tips • Tagged: , , ,

I’m on the Radio.

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I was checking out some of the other firefighter blogs looking for something entertaining.  Lucky for me I stumbled across Lt. Lemon at ELAFF complaining about Radio Redundancy.  http://elaffhq.com/2011/08/19/radio-traffic-redundancy/

I suddenly have the urge to complain about the way some people use the radio.  For entertainment purposes only:

Push and hold the little button before you start to speak, and hold it down until you are finished speaking. Nothing is better than getting the middle and the end of a message. “…teen update for the EMS, patient is not….conscious…”

You aren’t in the military anymore.  “Roger, Wilco” and you don’t have to worry about the enemy tracking you so you don’t need to do the 5 second rush.

On the 5 second rush note, don’t think with the mic on.  Think, THEN speak, and make it short.

Don’t over lawyer it.  Yes you are being recorded, but you still have a job to do.  Don’t start changing protocols or common phrases at random.  For example; MVC or MVA, not giving updates if the patient/incident status changes, don’t hide things that should be broadcast.

Speaking of lawyers; you are being recorded, be professional.  “applyin O2″  classic.  “Patient is disorientated”,”It’s just a bum-he’s moving on”.

You aren’t a Doctor (If you are why are you reading this?). In my department we are only authorized 1st responder level care, EMT-B or P doesn’t matter so-”This guy is drunk” I prefer “altered mental status”.  “Heroin overdose” unless there is a needle nearby I usually go with “respiratory arrest”. 

If you aren’t first to the scene, you don’t need to call off, especially if you have no intentions of leaving the piece, thanks. Exceptions; it is a working incident, you are the chief, the ambulance we are all waiting for, or you are positioned out of sight and ready to provide a function from there. “E12 to dispatch, we are investigating on High St” …3min later…”Ladder 3 is on High St” Good job, the engine is already inside investigating, maybe even done already, they’ll see you when they are done.

Last but not least. DON’T EAT THE DAMN THING!  Keep it away from your mouth.  Did you know you may actually be able to leave it on the clip and speak? That’s 2′ from your mouth!

Posted by on September 1, 2011 • Filed under: Drills, firefighter-safety-health, technology-communications, training-development • Tagged: , , , , , , ,

Door Chocking

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I know we’re called Firefighter Basics.  I was actually wondering if this subject was TOO basic to cover.  It’s not.  We went on a run the other day and the officer told the 5 year guy to chock the door.  The 5 year guy reaches up to his helmet and lo and behold the 2 chocks that he wears to balance out his helmet were missing.  He says “My chock is missing”.  The way he phrased it made it seem like it’s not his fault made my mouth drop.  (He didn’t say “I don’t have one.”). The second reason I stared at him like he was and idiot was because we were in a crappy building with litter, debris and CRAP everywhere.  I carry a chock block and have only used it once, to help pop a car door, I only have one chock and I know it’ll magically disappear if I use it somewhere.  So here is a quick primer on “chocking” that door. 

Remember; the Fire Service is goal oriented.  When we do a job there is a mission to accomplish and steps that need to happen along the way.  What are the goals of chocking the door? 

  1. We can get out easily if needed, no locked doors behind us.
  2. Others can get to our location easily, no locked doors in front of our back-up.
  3. Cause no damage or as little as possible if appropriate.
  4. Walk out with all of our equipment.

There are 2 basic ways to chock the door, the first is so its wide open with unobstructed access, and the second is to prevent it from securing.  Preventing the door from securing is usually pretty simple; obstruct the frame, wrap the latching hardware or some sort of complex remove the cylinder process (I’m not a fan).  Preventing the door from securing is the most reliable, the door will usually hold these things in place, they may fall out the first time the door is used but that may be all that is needed.  Propping the door wide open is actually more complicated because whatever you use has to be heavy enough or wedged in adequately to hold the door open reliably

Honestly the highest demand for propping a door open is on the routine medical calls where the apparatus arrives before the ambulance.  An example is a semi-secure building with a desk guy or a buzz to enter building.  The goal is to allow the door to be opened without someone there.  All of these will work and I prefer to use a magazine or flyer of some type at these places.

Everyone loves to talk about chocking a door at a fire. “Door control is paramount” true, but at a legit fire I don’t give a shit about the door, put the Adz end of the halligan behind the hinges and pop the bottom ones free, the door will shift and sit on the ground.  If you need to shut it the top hinge is still in place and the door can be closed if needed.  Understand I’m not talking about forced entry here.

Stay safe

At a tech rescue call where all the other options to chock the door were more of a problem.

Cord, rope or inner tube with 2 holes wrapped around door knobs.

Rug, Mat or some item of clothing thrown over the door.

Old reliable

Floor mat, Magazine, Newspaper under/opening side of the door

Floor mat, Magazine, Newspaper Hinge side of the door

Trash can, furniture, Flower pot as a chock on an open door or agaist the frame.

Some purchased hinge hanger, could also us a wooden Dowel 3/4"X3" with a bent nail for this.

The inverse old reliable, watch out, it falls, but it has it's application.

Posted by on July 18, 2011 • Filed under: Drills, training-development • Tagged: , , ,

Mother-in-Law is back in town

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 Well, my wife’s mom is back in town.  My kids are excited that they would now get more help with their homework.Grandma was an elementary school teacher for 40 odd years before retiring to focus on her true passion; making my life miserable. 

 I found it interesting that they would look forward to her arrival because last time she was here they actually asked me “When is she leaving, nothing is goood enough for her?”.  I can only imagine they LIKE her high standards.  They really do want people to ask more of them. 

So, in an attempt to make this relevant to the fire service….I went to my next assignment as a rental officer the other day.   No big deal I know these guys, and they know me.  I’ve worked with them at incidents before and done training with them.  Before I could get through my first cup of coffee one of my new, and temporary, crew asked me about elevator incidents.  I told him we could go out that day and see a few different types and go over some basics.  He said “That’s why I asked you.  I knew you’d take us out and show us.” 

 The boss of the house also seemed pleased to have me on his company.  He hinted at the fact that I did not get the best group in the house and that others may have refused the spot because of the crew.  I could care less who I get, I have a job to do and they are part of it.  I partially believe that a “bad” crew is a reflection of the officer. 

We took the chain saw apart and visited the elevators at the nearest mass transit stop on the first day. The next tour we went to a high rise under construction for a preplan, a couple of the guys didn’t know the site was going on, let alone in their district.

We will see how long before they get tired of me and ask “when are you leaving, nothing is good enough for you?”

Stay Safe.

Posted by on June 17, 2011 • Filed under: Thoughts

Tech rescue rant…

4 comments

Ok, let’s talk technical rescue for a minute.  High risk/low frequency. 

 Will you get one in your town?  Yes.

Will you be able to identify it for what it is?  Probably not.

Will you get hurt at this incident?  If you’re lucky, yes.  If unlucky, you’ll die.

I’m not good at drama, that’s as close as I can get.  My gripe and or whininess stems from training with people FOR YEARS and the minute they get a technical rescue they forget most of their training.  I don’t care if you can tie a knot.  I don’t care if you know a good way to attempt the rescue safely.  I do care that you at least give a crap about your own safety and wear your damn safety equipment the same way you do EVERY TIME WE TRAIN.

Fire helmets are not for tech rescue they are bulky and extremely top heavy, your neck muscles wear out fast if you are not standing upright the entire time.  Hell, your neck gets tired if you ARE standing up.  When you are in a hole, on a wall or have climbed into some odd place you want a lighter helmet, and my department has them available.  Yes, my favorite line from guys is “I’m a firefighter, I wear a fire helmet”  Awesome, go over there, distract the cameras by modeling your helmet and wait for a fire to break out near here, because you aren’t going anywhere till this job is done.

Command staff, do me this one little favor; TAKE COMMAND!  That’s right, you spent half of your lifetime to get that white coat, now use it.  You know your men.  You know better than to send the best guy over the edge leaving you with second best to get him and the victim out.  You know better than to leave your guys in a hole for 2 hours while 20 guys wait around the top.  Make it happen.  Rotate your men, a decent technician will not quit until forced to. 

What about this zone thing, what is it called.  Oh yeah!  Hot, Warm, Cold.  Get the men/women back.  They are professionals, they can handle it.  The crew should not look like a bunch of rubber-neckers that stopped and got out of their cars to stare.  Things need to get done, lots of things.

OK, let me stop and move onto something informative. 

 Thanks to Wikipedia we have this: 

Technical rescue refers to those aspects of saving life or property that employ the use of tools and skills that exceed those normally reserved for fire fighting, medical emergency, and rescue. These disciplines include rope rescue, swiftwater rescue, confined space rescue, ski rescue, cave rescue, trench/excavation rescue, and building collapse rescue, among others… Often involving multiple jurisdictions.

Hmmm, sounds bad. Lets see the numbers here.  Are you trained to the “would be rescuer” standard or “professional rescuer”?

Confined space 60% of deaths were “would be rescuers”.

Swift water 50% “would be rescuer”

Trench 65% “would be rescuer”

Not to beat history to death but from Mexico City in 1985 on through Oklahoma city 1995 and through more “modern” times like Katrina, ”would be rescuers” die frequently at technical rescue operations because they don’t know the dangers.

So I wonder, if you are a “professional rescuer” shouldn’t you act like it?  Sure you’re a macho tough guy, but really? Are you more concerned about “saving” a dead body than protecting your own life?

 60% of  ”would be rescuers” are killed in technical rescue operations.  Don’t you owe it to your family or co-workers to at least know when to set the brakeand wait for the knowledgeable guys to show up?  Even if they SUCK to deal with, you live and get to continue working.  Tough guy get’s to show off, and everybody gets to go home.

Fires= go fast

Tech rescue= wait a minute…

Stay safe.

Posted by on April 18, 2011 • Filed under: command-leadership, Education/Training, major-incidents, rescues, Thoughts • Tagged: , , ,

Sliding Across the Seat

3 comments

  We have a brand new Lieutenant on my company filling in while our assigned boss is out.   I can see the Jr. Lt struggling with his new role and trying to find his place in the chain of command.  He came from a slower district with very few EMT-B’s and a company without a specialty (Hazmat, Tech Rescue, CAFS, Tower etc…) to a Technical Rescue house where you can’t throw a rock without hitting a paramedic. 

  We do our daily training and we don’t expect him to get involved because he is just passing through.  He wants to get involved but he thinks he needs to be the boss during the evolutions.  When we are on medical calls he tries to coach the crew through treatment protocols but he is the only current member of the crew that has never worked for a private ambulance service.

  I suppose I’m not helping very much.  The boss across the floor omits our new Lt every once in awhile.  I don’t know a good way to approach him to offer help with the computer programs, he’s behind on reports, possibly because he’s not familiar with the system.  He can’t access information from the mobile computer while we are responding.  And he won’t get off the damn Federal while we are responding.

  He is a great example of the need for an officer training academy or something similar.  I know it sounds like I’m just busting on him, but I really want to help him out.  He, like every other new officer on my job, is handed a set of bugles on Monday and shows up at a company on Tuesday without any advice, training or mentoring. 

  I’m currently a part time officer.  I fill in for a few weeks here and there, but not permanent.  Don’t think I’m jealous either, I’m not, he got the spot before me fair and square.  I’m sure he’ll be fine after he adjusts.  But why isn’t there a “minimum standards” class or something to that effect?

  I’m going to try to talk to him next tour and see if we can get him up to speed on the computer at least, then we’ll work on his Federal addiction.

Any advise would be appreciated.

Stay Safe.

Posted by on April 11, 2011 • Filed under: command-leadership • Tagged:

Am I My Brothers Keeper?

1 comment

I’ve been spending some time training the probie lately.  What a good time.  Where does that motivation go?  What should I teach him?  At what point does my “teaching” become “storytelling”? How long before he becomes the next whining lump on the couch?

My goal: Prevent him from becoming a couch creature, ever.

Here’s what I’m telling him;

  1. You are going to hear a lot of different things from different people.  Don’t argue, just agree with them and do it their way for that day.  You will find your own methods, you just aren’t allowed to right now.
  2. If someone doesn’t answer your questions adequately go to your officer or me.  I’ll have time for you; I’ll get you the best answer according to our SOP’s.
  3. Until you prove yourself and/or you are off probation your priorities are as follows; getting here early, checking your personal gear, checking/washing the truck, then house duties, finally you will be the last one to leave at the end of shift, sorry.
  4. When we do drills ask questions after the evolutions, not during.  Then ask for clarification if needed, get it done right during training.  Also during training is when we have time for mistakes and redo’s, not during incidents.
  5. Stay away from the coffee table until you know the first and last names of everyone there, and then sit there quietly until invited into discussion.
  6. Listen to the war stories, but try to find the truth in them.  Try to figure out what was done incorrectly to end up in that situation.  Ask you officer if you have questions, don’t ask the storyteller.
  7. I know you want to learn tech rescue, we’ll get there.  Learn the pump and medical protocols first.  We will get to the rest later.
  8. Make your own opinion about other people and other companies.  Worry about doing YOUR job correctly first.
  9. No naps, don’t park/wash your car in the firehouse, keep your butt in the radio room.

10. These guys are not going to be around when you are 80 years old sitting in a rest home.  Hopefully your family will.  Be Safe, always remember your family when you are at work.

11. Wear your equipment.  Let the “salty dogs” get caught with their pants down, they will have some excuse that makes it someone else’s fault that they weren’t ready, you have none.

12. Always have promotion in the back of your mind.  Find an officer to emulate.  Study, study, study there is a lot to this job and plenty of nationwide opportunities for knowledgeable and motivated personnel.

I’m not a mean guy and there are exceptions to everything, but I think if he follows this general outline he’ll be just fine.  Even if he does make some mistakes I think he’ll be better off then the probie on another group who asked the officer to move his car out of the firehouse so the probie could wash his own car.

Good luck all you new guys.  This is the greatest job.

Be Safe.

Posted by on March 8, 2011 • Filed under: Thoughts, training-fire-rescue-topics • Tagged: , ,

Real Advice to Probies

1 comment

I’ve been spending some time training the probie lately.  What a good time.  Where does that motivation go?  What should I teach him?  At what point does my “teaching” become “storytelling”? How long before he becomes the next whining lump on the couch?

My goal: Prevent him from becoming a couch creature, ever.

Here’s what I’m telling him;

  1. Until you prove yourself and/or you are off probation your priorities are as follows; get here early, check your personal gear, check/wash the truck, then house duties, finally you will be the last one to leave at the end of shift, sorry.
  2. Wear your equipment.  Let the “salty dogs” get caught with their pants down, they will have some excuse that makes it someone else’s fault that they weren’t ready, you have none.
  3. Stay away from the coffee table until you know the first and last names of everyone there, and then sit there quietly until invited into discussion.
  4. No naps, don’t park/wash your car in the firehouse, keep your butt in the radio room.
  5. When we do drills ask questions after the evolutions, not during.  Then ask for clarification if needed,we will get it done right during training.  Also, during training is when we have time for mistakes and redo’s, not during incidents.
  6. Listen to the war stories, but try to find the truth in them.  Try to figure out what was done incorrectly to end up in that situation.  Ask you officer if you have questions, don’t ask the storyteller.
  7. If someone doesn’t answer your questions adequately go to your officer or me.  I’ll have time for you; I’ll get you the best answer according to our SOP’s.
  8. You are going to hear a lot of different things from different people.  Don’t argue, just agree with them and do it their way for that day.  You will find your own methods, you just aren’t allowed to right now.
  9. Make your own opinion about other people and other companies.  And put that off as long as possible, worry about doing YOUR job correctly first.
  10. I know you want to learn tech rescue, we’ll get there.  Learn the pump and medical protocols first.  We will get to the rest later.
  11. These guys are not going to be around when you are 80 years old sitting in a rest home.  Hopefully your family will.  Be Safe, always remember your family when you are at work.
  12. Always have promotion in the back of your mind.  Find an officer to emulate.  Study, study, study there is a lot to this job and plenty of nationwide opportunities for knowledgeable and motivated personnel.

I’m not a mean guy and there are exceptions to everything, but I think if he follows this general outline he’ll be just fine.  Even if he does make some mistakes I think he’ll be better off then the probie on another group who asked the officer to move his car out of the firehouse so the probie could wash his own car.

Good luck all you new guys.  This is the greatest job.

Be Safe.

Posted by on March 2, 2011 • Filed under: command-leadership, training-development • Tagged:

Advice to all Probies

4 comments

The latest crop of future leaders emerged from the physically and mentally demanding fire academy 1 week ago.  First off; Congratulations, and great job. Welcome to the best job on Earth.

Now that we got past that “LET ME TELL YOU SOMETHING KID…“:

1.Forget EVERYTHING you learned in the academy.  Those book smart idiots don’t know shit about how real firefighters work.

2. Top priority everyday is to make sure the coffee is made.  Get your equipment ready after that.

3. Learning your streets is your second priority after the coffee.  I know you aren’t allowed behind the wheel for a year but you need to know all the streets right now.  Where’s Action Court?  Ha, Wrong!  It’s a street off Action Road that doesn’t have any buildings on it, actually it’s just a named driveway, learn your streets kid.

4. Never leave the truck without a tool.  if it’s a minor car accident bring the pick head axe.  The ambulance drivers can do the medical crap, that’s beneath us.

5. Always carry the pick head axe when investigating alarms.  It looks cool as hell and you can hit things with it.

6.If you wear your tank while investigating an alarm you are a punk and/or scared.

7. Take that suspension and ear flap crap out of your helmet.  You look stupid.  As a matter of fact we could put in the oven for a couple of minutes and take that shine off.

8.In order to be a more streamlined and effective firefighter you have to control your weight.  Dump the search rope, pliers, cable cutters.  Take the liner out of your Bunker pants.  You already have an integrated pass so get rid of that stand alone nonsense.  Now let’s get some cake and watch Wheel of Fortune.

9.Those guys down the street on the west side are so caught up following the book that they forgot they are supposed to be aggressive firefighters.  If you see them stop to catch a hydrant drive around them and we’ll run a line off the tank.  We’ll be alright but if we run out they can fill us.

10. I’ve been on this job so long that I don’t need to check my equipment or the truck.  Besides, the guy yesterday should have done it all.

11. I don’t care if you are a grown man who did 3 deployments to Afganistan as a combat medic.  You don’t know what you’re talking about, I’m a better medic than you’ll every be.

12.  “There I was at that 4 alarm fire……Just me….against the Red Devil…..”

This is advice I’ve heard people tell Probies.  Most of these are direct quotes.  The caliber of leadership can sometimes be astounding.

Stay Safe

Posted by on February 7, 2011 • Filed under: command-leadership, Thoughts, training-development, Uncategorized • Tagged: , ,

Inmates running the Asylum.

7 comments

We have a “tradition”  based firehouse in my city.   It is in a busy area with lots of good work to be done.  Keeping it “traditional” requires the chain of command to continually assign new recruits (relatives) to this house.  So as time has gone on it has developed an “us versus the rest of the department” attitude.  A high percent of the firefighters have a small amount of time on the job.   The firefighters actively run officers out of the house if they feel the officer is not adequately qualified (related).

So….This is my question to the 3000ish people that read this.

If you as an officer get assigned to this house how do you handle the following:

1. The firefighters in the house.

2. The chain of command that will be overly involved in your day to day business.

3. The overall atmosphere involved.

My answer:

Classic start tight and then go light theory.

We will follow “the book”  word for word as much as possible.  Document every stupid little infraction.  I believe doing this will help keep the in-laws at bay and also have a written history of my and the firefighters actions incase this becomes a bigger issue, which it may.

I would like to go out training as much as possible within the constrains of the written rules.   The high frequency of training, pre-fire planning, district familiarization will hopefully keep them focused on the real reason they are at this firehouse 2X’s a week.

We would check the apparatus and do firehouse maintenance as a crew, all members involved, no excuses.

If this plan does not work I’m sure I’ll hear about it.  If  it does work on the other hand then we can lower the frequency of the additional training.

It sounds a bit romantic and overly simple.  Let me know your thoughts.

Posted by on January 11, 2011 • Filed under: administration-leadership, Thoughts • Tagged:

Remember the Horses

3 comments

When it’s my week to be the operator, I have my own routine. Just like everybody else has their own. I wash the truck and scrub the hard to reach areas that others don’t do. Then I check the oil, the medical equipment and the rest of the equipment in the cab, then I pull it out front and run the pump. By this time the truck is mostly dry and I get a towel and spend the next 30min or so polishing all the chrome and stainless steel.

Well, during the polish time today a junior firefighter comes up and tells me “you don’t have to put so much effort into washing the piece”. What? Did he seriously say that?

Do you remember the horses? Strong, dedicated, fearless and outdated. Horses had a shaky start in the fire service, just like every new technology does, but they took over and dominated for 60 or so years. There are stories of horses dying in the harness. Horses that were sold that still race towards fire alarms. Horses that would find the fire and the hydrants for the firefighters. Great animals. But it came time for them to go. Guess why? Financial reasons. Don’t think you are exempt from that reason, you are currently allowed to be at the firehouse because your city has not YET cut the staffing to you. You are allowed to be here because the current technology that your city has decided to afford requires the current staffing level. So, yes I do have to put so much effort into maintaining the truck because I am grateful to have this job.

Here are a few other reasons I put so much effort into making the truck look good.

1. The neighborhood\d LOVES to see us out in front of the firehouse washing the truck. Far more people stop and look. Far more people bring their kids to look, and more people ask questions about what we do. Hmmm, customer service? Community relations? You pick the category.

2. Cities will cut staffing as they see fit. Not too many of us have to look very far to see evidence of that, right Lawrence Massachusetts, Wilmington Delaware Rescue 1?. If the neighborhood loves you they will fight for you, you can ask Boston Engine 50 about that. So making friends in the neighborhood is a good thing.

3. New sprinkler heads (not so new now) that turn off by themselves have the potential to make the down and dirty job of firefighting all but obsolete. Much like what happened to the horses. Sprinkler heads like Grinnell’s F920C and others may still be working the kinks out, but when they get these things figured out they will change our job. Also sprinklers may eventually be required in ALL properties. Real estate developers are currently fighting sprinkler installation in new construction, but even if they succeed in postponing it, it’s still only a matter of time. By the time a new firefighter today gets near retirement age the job will be far less dangerous, have far fewer members and have a higher scope of practice than it currently does. It will be a different job.

I polish the truck for me, my crew and for every member of my community.

I polish it for the horses.

Stay Safe

Posted by on January 6, 2011 • Filed under: Education/Training, Thoughts • Tagged:

Hello VPS!

17 comments

I heard these were coming to my city.  The department said they would be put on some vacant properties in the “less desireable” areas of the city.  Imagine my surprise to see it 2 blocks from my house.

Moving on.  Cruising the neighborhood DOES count as training.  I let a few truckies in the area know about this and now my street looks like a parade route.  Either they are interested in the VPS security system or someone is giving away free lunch.

These are not easily defeated.  They do not help with ventilation.  They do not help with access or egress for us.  The properties involved are arson targets and as you can see in one of these pictures the rear porch doesn’t have decking on it. What does that imply about the rest of the building?

My thought is exterior ops, then send minimal crews in for overhaul.  Your life safety should not be risked for an obviously vacant building.   Get in touch with the company that is managing the property and take a tour, figure out how to defeat these things.  I’ve heard they have steel cross bars inside just like the wooden models that board up companies put up.  If that is the case you’d need a diamond blade on the demo saw.  I would recommend the standard abrasive blade but I think that would dissolve quickly and you might only get 1-2 cuts at the needed depth.

Let me know if you have a trick to getting these off safely.

Stay Safe, and good luck with these.

www.vacantpropertysecurity.com

Posted by on November 11, 2010 • Filed under: Building Construction, Drills, Education/Training, training-development, training-fire-rescue-topics, Truck Tips • Tagged: ,

1st Due Hydrants….Check ‘em out.

3 comments
hydrant 1
hydrant 2

hydrant 3

I was out for a walk with Mrs. Anchorpoint the other day and I saw these hydrants, in a row.  1,800′ of industrial area with these hydrants.  Imagine this.    This is yet another reason to cruise through your district.  Drills don’t have to be labor intensive to be effective.  Knowing this about an area would really help you out in the event you needed a water supply in the area.

We do hydrant inspections every year.  Each work group is assigned a small section (80-100 hydrants) to inspect.  Part of the fun is finding them as you can see in one of these pictures.

Traditionally each group was married to a sub district.   Shift A has the 3 streets near the waterfront down to the park, for ever.  Shift B only does the streets near the business area etc….. My Captain had a great idea; every year we rotate hydrant inspection areas.  Now everybody has to inspect all the hydrants….eventually.

In case you can’t tell by the pictures one hydrant is too close to the walkway to get a feeder on, might work but it’ll be tough.  One of them the bonnet “lost” all it’s bolts.  And the final one is playing hide and seek.

Keep an eye out, you never know what you’ll see.  Be Safe

Posted by on October 27, 2010 • Filed under: Engine Tips, firefighting-operations • Tagged: ,

Show up Ready to Work.

3 comments

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dOeUeKi5hG4

Lowell Massachusetts got quite a surprise the other day.  They showed up for an alarm and ended up taking 7 people out via ladders.  The roof collapsed.  The conditions were so bad 1 person jumped, and 1 fatality.

This is a a sad story but a good lesson for firefighters all over. They showed up at 4AM with nothing showing  and then all hell broke loose.  Lowell did a great job with what they were handed.  I wasn’t there, and I cannot say otherwise.  But the lesson here is Show Up Ready to Work.

I have 5 reasons for you.

1. Lowell Mass.  You DON’T know what’s going on in the building.  If you get upstairs and meet a smoke condition what are you going to do?  Make the residents wait for rescue because you weren’t prepared?  Very unprofessional.

2. It looks professional to the public.  Nothing pisses me off more than when we are in contract negotiation season,or any time for that matter, and guys are going in to investigate alarms carrying a pike pole and wearing a T-shirt.  I understand you are a salty dog with 3 years on, but at least make it look good for the public.  Show them we are ready to work and that we do work hard.

3. It’s in your SOP/SOG.  If something happens to you because you were too lazy to wear your gear your department does not have to cover you.  NFPA, NIOSH the list goes on and on of agencies that will say it was your fault.   Don’t do that to your family.

4.  IT’S YOUR JOB!  If you call AAA for a jump start and they show up without jumper cables what are you going to think of them?  Same thing here.  If you get a call for a fire, alarm, etc..and you come running out to get your gear, what is the public going to think of you?  Are they going to support any activities your department sponsors, support  the city’s purchases of new equipment?

5.  If you treat every alarm like it’s a fire one day you’ll be right and everything will go smooth.  If you treat every alarm like it’s nothing one day you’ll be wrong and it’ll be a nightmare for all involved.

My take:  Show up ready to work, at least put on a show for the locals.  If you need your equipment you’ve got it.  If you do too many runs to do the job right maybe you should go to a slower house.  If the gear is too heavy you should find another line of work.

Good job Lowell, Be safe.

Posted by on October 13, 2010 • Filed under: Thoughts, videos • Tagged: ,

Building Inspections

1 comment

This inspection post is going to be based on the 1000+ inspections I have done for insurance companies.  Yes I was an insurance monkey, and I learned a lot doing it.  Namely; Don’t trust a home owner to do what’s right. Keep in mind that you will be bound by your local codes and fire prevention division.

I’ll try to keep it brief.

1.  Photos

Some departments frown on photography.  The main reason is because when you go to court they will try to prove that you don’t know how to take pictures.  Been there, done that.  But the fact remains: If you can prove that those pictures were taken at that place AND at that time the defense comes to a screeching halt.  I’ve gone to court to represent land lords and just the fact that I was there with photos ended the case.  Take a picture of the building when you are walking up, then take one of the building number with as much of the building as possible in the picture, this proves where you are.  Make sure your camera is set to record the time with the picture info which is very common, and make sure the time is right.  Now you are timing your inspection.  A lawyer will have a hard time proving that you went somewhere else during the few minutes between pics.  DO NOT edit the pictures.

2. Approach

Get a good look around.  Are there any power lines in the way, are they being pulled off the building?  Is the building straight? Do any questions pop into your mind as you look at it.  Can an engine and truck operate as they need to? If not it’s time to document it.  Is this the most commonly used entrance to the building?

3. Greeting

“Hi I’m Anchorpoint, I need to do a quick walk-through of your building.  Do you have time now or can we make an appointment?”  Remember, nothing is wrong, yet.  Explain about how pre-planning helps everybody including tenants and the fire department.  If we can find the utilities we can shut them down quicker if needed.  If it is an inspection let them know what you will be looking for.  Don’t leave without an appointment.

4.Outside

Now that you have the landlords attention, take a walk around the outside.  You know what to look for; exits, building falling apart, trash piles, fire hazards, etc…

5. Alarm System

Is it in Trouble Mode?  Does it actually function or is it still there from the previous tenant?  What does it protect and are there smoke detectors attached to it?  Maybe it’s a burglar alarm and the tenant doesn’t even know.

6. Interior Hazards

Trash buildup, living in filth is very common.  Hoarders are a HUGE hazard.  This has to be documented and addressed.  Falling ceilings, structural damage, gas tanks in the house, welding operations in the house, poorly made repairs, the list goes on and on.  My advice is don’t waste your time looking at every detail, the issues will probably present themselves, unless of course you are the fire inspector.

7. Utility Locations

You need to know if they are secured, hidden and just where they are so you can find them later.

8. Special Hazards, Special Services Required

Commercial cooking requires a vent hood, and vent hoods require cleaning.  The funny thing here is the law required “cleaning as needed”  but the insurance companies required every 6 months.  There are dozens of things involved with cooking.  Day cares require permits, painting booths require vents and paint storage.  I won’t bore you with that but keep in mind special hazards require special services.

9. All Areas Inspected?

Did you miss anything? What about roof access? Adjoined buildings? Tunnels dating back to the civil war?  Did you look in the crawl spaces?  Open all doors that you are allowed to, make sure they work and where they go, you’ll get a surprise one day.

10. Wrap Up

Tell them what you think.  Tell them what they need to fix.  If you are giving them a break on something you NEED to follow up on it.  File an abatement or call the chief and let him know what’s  going on there, now it’s his problem.  If you don’t document or follow up you can get sued for breech of duty.  If something goes wrong and they have a financial loss they will say the fire department knew about it.

11. Reporting

Tell whoever walked around with you, tell the chief, enter it into the CAD, File an abatement.  Whatever is appropriate to do, you need to do.  Then follow up.

12. Legal

Oh yeah, legal.  If you do what your are supposed to do you won’t have any problems. If you forget to follow up or file the abatement do it NOW.  If you get called into court you can review your notes.  It’s ok. Remember it’s not personal.  Too many people take this personal.  The property owner thinks it’s cheaper to go to court than install a sprinkler system, so what.  You have to do your job, and you also have to look out for the other firefighters.

Posted by on October 6, 2010 • Filed under: Building Construction, fire-prevention-education • Tagged: ,

Pre-Planning, Where to start.

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In my current capacity as a rental boss I don’t have the privilege of having my own crew.  Where ever I get sent is the crew I have.  It’s sort of like taking care of brothers grown kids; they know what to do, your just there for occasional guidance.  Here is one of those instances.

We were responding to alarms sounding in a building and I hear one of the guys in the back say “I hate this building, It’s confusing and if we get something here we are going to look like crap”.   Well that’s just ducky, thanks for instilling confidence in me.  We run the call and the crew wants to hurry out. I ask them “since we are here and we have the maintenance guy, let’s walk the whole building”.  No problem.  We drew a little map, found the utilities and then found roof access.  10 min well spent.  .  We also realized if we parked on the side of the building we could run a line directly to 3/4 of the building instead of just  the 1/4 when we parked out front.   When we got back to the barn I showed them how to put it into the CAD

2 drills for the day.  They loved it.  The reason they never did it before was because they thought it would take too long.  Now they know, and with the info in the CAD the whole city can know if they want.

In our line of work avoiding things usually makes them worse.  If there is a building in your area that you “don’t like” get on it.  Make an appointment and walk through it.  Find the utilities, roof access, any little secrets you can.

Next time  we’ll talk about the actual pre-planning process.

Be Safe

Posted by on September 30, 2010 • Filed under: Drills, training-development • Tagged: ,

Elevated Master Streams

5 comments

Sooooo, my mouth got me into some trouble the other day.  Again.  I was working at one of the Tower units in my city and they started talking crap about how they get called into all the big fires because the towers have the “Master” of Master streams.  I noticed that the tip on their monitor didn’t look very “Master of Masters”.  Nope, 1 3/4″ smooth bore.  What is the discharge on that?  Right  800-ish GPM.  Wow, impressive.  NOT.  The Captain of the company had decided that a solid stream is better than an adjustable nozzle for surround and drown operations.  And I full heartedly agree.

But if you are being called to the scene because your apparatus is equipped to deliver 2x the elevated stream punch as any ladder pipe, why, oh why, would you put the same tip on your elevated stream as every other one in the city?  Dunno.

“But, But, But!!!  We have a 5″ waterway.  We need an engine dedicated to us at a fire.  But we can just increase the pressure to get more water.  But all those reducers we had to put on the monitor to get the pipe down to size does not restrict the amount of water that can go through it.  But, fog nozzles need 100psi at the tip, sometimes it’s hard enough getting 80psi up there.”

Oh I’m going to need to do some work  here, or just drop the whole thing all together.  Yeah right, I can’t let this go unchallenged.

So I ask them for the fog nozzle that they had removed.  They had it nearby.  Good for them.

Written right on it “1000gpm @ 50psi, 2000gpm @ 80psi”.   That was 1 “but” out of the way.

The average pump in our city is rated at 1250gpm @ 150psi.  Generally we need just under that to get the 80 at the tip.  If you raise the psi anymore the GPM’s go down.  “You mean to tell me MORE psi means LESS water?” Yes, but that’s a discussion for another day.  Look at the chart on the pump. Dammit, another “but” off the list.

I asked them where the reducers and tip came from. “An old ladder pipe” was the answer.  Really?  you’re using the same equipment as everybody else and expect it to do something different for you?  You have a 5″ waterway and you squeeze it down to a 2 1/2″ so the tip will fit.   I think that “but” took care of it’s self.

I’m no master of hydraulics, and I may have told them some outright lies.  But the idea that command staff believed the towers have a large capacity to deliver water to hard to reach areas, and they do.  To handicap your ability to perform that function is a great disservice to everyone on the scene.

After that little drill and associated research(5 hours) all of us have a better understanding of the capabilities of the tower and now they are looking for a siamese for their intake and starting to tell co-workers that 1 pumper just isn’t enough for their “Master, Master Stream”.

Tip of the day; Don’t arbitrarily change something because that’s the way it used to be.  New technologies can make some pretty cool things a reality.

Posted by on September 16, 2010 • Filed under: Aerial Operations, Engine Tips

"Taking out the Trash"

4 comments

I came to work the other day and the Lt told me “I took out the trash.  FF ____ is going to another house.  He’s not our problem anymore.”  My first question “Why?”.  Now, don’t get me wrong this firefighter is apparently not cut out for this work.  He does not go into the building when commanded to, he abandons the pump at fires and frequently goes AWOL and that is the start of the list.

So he’s gone now, not our problem anymore, right?  WRONG!

Now he could be detailed in.  He could very likely be a pump operator at a fire we are at together. He could do something stupid that endangers everybody at an incident.   At least when he was on our company we knew what to expect, or more realistically what NOT to expect.

What do you do?  To most of you it’s obvious; document, document, document then terminate his employment. My officer decided that strong arming the firefighter into putting in a transfer bid was the best option.

He is a liability to the department and as an officer it’s up to you to do the right thing for everybody’s safety.  But because you think it’s better to “take out the trash” than do your job he remains a liability.

The firefighter in question is a good guy, just not a good firefighter.  He would be better served by seeking other employment but that cannot happen while he believes  he is an “awesome firefighter” (his words).

I think I’m digressing into a discussion about weak leadership here.  Hmmmm..

Stay Safe

Posted by on September 3, 2010 • Filed under: Thoughts

Flashover Friday: "I fight your Fears"

3 comments

OK, after somebody pushed my buttons last week. (firestudent) I just could not deal with this half A$$ dance around the subject crap anymore.  OK, in no particular order.

When you work at THE slowest company in the city “I fight your fears” must refer to insomnia.  And you were appointed there?  Come on.

Posted by on September 3, 2010 • Filed under: Thoughts

Truck Company Daily Checks

4 comments

Like always, I’m not here to tell you your job.  Do what’s in your SOP’s and what you’re told to do by your bosses.  I’ve been bouncing around the city in my half a$$ promotional status and I’ve had the pleasure and displeasure of working with a variety of crews.  I just want to review your apparatus operational checks that you do every day.  Again, this isn’t a safety check or anything else, just thoughts.

1.  Safety check, walk around, brakes etc…. DOCUMENT ALL ISSUES and send the report to the proper place.

2. Check the jacks for operation, and range of motion before setting them to throw the aerial.  Do you know any override procedures and how the override affects the aerial operation?  When you throw the aerial don’t just spin it and drop it in the bed.  Throw it to the roof and climb it, one fire house I was at had a garden on the roof and it was the truck operator’s job to water it.

3. Saws need to be warmed up or they will gum up and won’t run properly.  RUN them.  Run the generators and hook up a load, flood lights, fans, whatever they should be loaded to get to full operating temperature just like the saws.  If you’re allowed to, clean out the air filters.

4. Sharpen your tools.  “Salty” tools look pathetic and unprofessional.  Grind the burrs off, wire brush them smooth, and then a LIGHT coat of oil.  They don’t have to be super sharp or you’ll just damage them worse the first time you use it.  You’ll get the hang of it.

5.  Check the jaws and open and close them, don’t forget to leave them open just a little.  We have had issues where the motor ran fine but the pump wouldn’t work or a line was leaking.  Unless you have a new style tool that can be connected and disconnected under pressure make sure you go back after you shut it down and operate all the valves to balance/release pressure.

6. A quick look at the ladders to see if they look right and make sure to operate any pencil/little giant that you have, they get sticky.

7. Finally; check on all those odd ball tools that never get used.  They might be in that rusty compartment that no one knows about.  Give a quick look and identify their uses.  They all exist for a reason so make sure you know it.  You might get to use them once in your career but that one time you’ll be glad you had it.

Let me know what I missed and Be Safe

Posted by on August 19, 2010 • Filed under: Drills, Education/Training, Truck Tips

Water rescue Basics

6 comments

So, after another frustration round of training where everybody knows everything and the boss gets shouted to the back row,  I’ve come to a conclusion (again).  You need to have an SOP that outlines what companies should do at different incident types.  Lacking that there should at least be a list of minimum standards.

I’m going to start with water rescue because we just messed this up the other day, at a drill not an incident.   I’ll just list the minimums and you can go from there.

1. PFD, PFD, PFD.  Don’t go near the water without one.  Stay in the spectator area if you are only going to contribute to the crowd.  Otherwise you can/will  fall in and become part of the problem.

2.  If you have a dingy that you toss on top of your apparatus STRAP IT DOWN.  If it’s on a trailer take the extra second to make sure it’s attached correctly to whatever is pulling it.

3. If that dingy has a motor shut the motor off when near people or floaters or whatever.  Don’t operate the blender near flesh.   Send a rescuer to the victim and pull them to the boat together.  If you don’t need to get in the water DON’T.

4.  Don’t let the non-swimmer do a damn thing. Keep them away from the water or they will find a way to add to the problem.  Have them go get towels or something equally useful.

5. Remember water rescue in this order; Teach, Reach, Throw, Go.

Teach: “Hey, stand up!” or “Move that way”

Reach: “Grab the stick, Side of the boat, or That buoy”

Throw: “Grab the rope.” Grab the ring”  Etc..

Go: “Jump in there Jr. Man”  Make sure your guy has a rope on him.  We don’t play the maybe game.  If he goes out, we always have a way to get them back.

At training there should be a safety boat or another dingy that stays out in the water and does nothing but keep an eye on everyone in the water.

I only say these things because we messed most of them up.  How do you do this all the time and still be clueless?  And every time we go out and play in the water someone gets run over by the front of the boat and everybody laughs, me included, because if reinforces so many points

Be Safe

Posted by on August 18, 2010 • Filed under: Drills, Education/Training

Flashover Friday-officers

13 comments

I’m going to complain about officers today.

In the last week I’ve run into 2 different officers that are poisoning my department from the inside.

1st was a central station alarm. The engine arrived first and investigated with all their gear on. (The right way)  The truck shows up a minute later.  The officer on the truck sees us investigating the alarm with our gear on and decides he won’t stand for it.  He gathers his crew for when we exit the building.  He says “I got scared when I saw you guys in there with all your gear on, I thought there might be a fire!”  He was wearing shorts and a t-shirt at this point.  He and his crew get a laugh.

2nd was a central station alarm in a housing development.  Turned out to be a fire in the penthouse.  We were investigating and the officer wasn’t wearing any equipment except for his bunker coat.  No radio, no air, no tools.  So we find the smoke rolling down the stairs and request the box.  I start heading up the stairs to find the seat  of the fire and get a primary done but the officer won’t let me.  He blocks the door and says “wait for the line”  I understand, OK.

So tell me. ..

How do you deal with officers who are more concerned about being cool than doing their job? Besides making smart ass comments like I did.

Does your department have an officer rating program?  If so, how does it work?

Is there an officer training program on your department?

On my department our training program goes like this: “Congratulations Lt.  You are the boss on Ladder 2 group 1, good luck.”

Posted by on August 6, 2010 • Filed under: Thoughts

LODD's

1 comment

Rest in peace brothers.

After a tough couple days the USFA says there were 49 LODD’s as of 7/27/2010.  2 more in Bridgeport Conn, 1 in Otis Mass, 2 more in Rocky Mount Va.

A Line of Duty Death is one of THE hardest things a firefighter will ever have to deal with.   EVER

For all you vets out there, think about what kept you going when you were deployed.  It wasn’t because you were fighting for freedom for some people from a country you couldn’t find on a map in high school.  You fought because of the soldier beside you.  You fought to protect him/her and the favor was returned.

It’s the same in the fire service.  You do your job and do your best to help out your fellow firefighter, look after each other.  When one of YOUR brothers dies there is a feeling that you let them down.  You let everybody in the department down.  You have let their family down.

This is not the case.

I’ve been involved in the extrication and removal of LODD’s.  Not a highlight of my career.  Dealing with injured children is horrible.  Dealing with the removal of your deceased brother is worse.  The guy you hung out with last week, it’s worse. The guy who stopped you from falling into the water at that dock fire, it’s worse.  The guy that pissed you off because he came in late for work  the one day you needed to leave early, the guy that won’t come to work again, is far far worse.  1 person involved with the same LODD as me took early retirement, it’s that bad.  These  incidents weigh heavy on the people who work them.  And I’m sure it’s the same in Bridgeport, Rocky Mount and Otis currently.  But this is also part of the job.  Personally I was fine until we had the victim packaged and were waiting for his company to come and carry him out.  I came a bit unglued, no details, sorry.

Why do so many firefighters show up at LODD funerals?  Because we all feel like we let our brothers down.  This is the same job city to city, town to town, state to state.  Same guys, same personalities, same family, same families.

The least we can do is show up on their final day and wish them good luck on the next part of their voyage.

The least we can do is show the city that they have more than just their own firefighters to answer to.

The least we can do is show the country why we are  called a brotherhood.

But most importantly, to  show the fallen firefighter’s  family that we look after each other and we take the loss personally also.

Learn from every death or they die in vain.  I hope the best for the people who worked the scenes, and also for those who are still in the hospital.

Rest in peace, see you in Bridgeport.

Posted by on July 28, 2010 • Filed under: LODD, Thoughts

Flashover Fridays

4 comments

Sorry this isn’t where we show you a video of flashovers.  The ticker tape was pretty popular so we will expand on that.  Everybody loves to complain, myself included.  We’ll start with some general things and then see where we go from there.

Complain or praise as you see fit, but you better explain/justify your statements so others understand.  Otherwise you will have wasted your time and others as well.

Week 1 will be apparatus.

I hate E-one.  and here’s why;

1. They are THE cheapest built apparatus on the market.  If you want lowest bidder here it is.

2.  Suspension is Crap.  Broken leaf springs every couple years.  The 2 year old pump we are driving recently broke one.

3. No design evolution.  The new ones look just like the old ones.  Oh no, wait the gauges on the dash now have Blue lights and they are currently working, I’m sure it won’t last.

4.  The good, They are cheap

I like Pierce.  New design, quality assembly with quality parts.  They run strong and look good.  The bad: Price,  The damn doors don’t stay shut, the steps cracked the first year, and there are locks on the doors and only 2 keys.  Who carries Keys?

Posted by on July 16, 2010 • Filed under: Uncategorized