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Boston’s Ladder Culture

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Why does Boston throw so many ladders?

 

Mainly because it’s better to have them and not need them.

If you ask around Boston Fire you will get 4 common answers.  Most likely after they ask you why a firefighter would even ask a question like that.

1. Why not?

2. It’s a good practice

3. We have to.

4. The Engines can be more aggressive because they know ladders will be in place.

 

The number one answer was no surprise to me.  But I’ll mix 1 & 2 as essentially the same thing.  Why not throw a lot of ladders? It’s good practice.  Throwing ladders at a fire that is under control gives the real world practice that cannot be duplicated on the training ground.  If the fire is not under control there is no Manpower lost bringing a ladder to the building when the crew is already walking up .  The worst outcome would be the ladder gets laid on the ground near the front of the building so the company can go right in to work.  That ladder will be placed as needed later or put away after the fire.  If the building has sustained a good amount of damage, and you have the manpower, there is no reason to leave the portable ladders on the truck.   You can tell good companies from “not-so-good” companies in the actions they take in the support role. Why does the last engine in bring a big line to front door?  If you need it, it’s there and if you don’t need it, it’s good for the practice.  The companies that show up empty handed or say “we’ll grab it if we need it” don’t do as well as the “we do it every time” companies when it’s time to perform.  In Boston the same thing applies to Truck companies.  If a truck consistently shows up without a ladder they are hard pressed to grab one and throw it when needed, granted they will get it done.  One of the main truck company rules is “If you cannot get your aerial into operation you bring a ladder and put it to the building, your company will have a ladder to the building”.

The 3rd answer “We have to” is not as obvious if you have never been to Boston.  The layout of Boston does not lend itself to having aerials wherever you want them.  The roads in Boston are essentially paved cow paths that meander around terrain features and public grazing areas like Boston Common.  Just like many old cities, Boston’s housing stock  averages 100+ years old, and they were built as close to each other as possible.  The result of that are vast neighborhoods where there are only narrow walkways to access tiny backyards.  These houses have large back porches stacked on top of each other for tenants to hang laundry out and enjoy some fresh air.   Just inside the porch on one side or the other is the rear egress, so when the wooden porches would light up, one means of egress would be taken with it.  Another part of this is that no firefighter wants to be in a building with only one way out, throwing many ladders became a necessity.

Many areas of Boston are made of reclaimed land; hills were scraped down and used to fill in low laying sections of the city. This is not unique to Boston and is very common in other parts of the USA.  The first floor in the front is street level and the back is an additional 1-2 floors down.  This was done so the fill they had would go further by not having to bring all the elevation up, just the street level.  That in itself does not make a difference, but Boston decided that more units would be better than having alleyways or access to the rear of the buildings.  So getting to the rear became a real chore for firefighters. I recall an old timer telling me “We would grab the 40’, go 2 doors down and walk through that unit to get to the rear”.  The idea being the fire may be in the exposure unit but hopefully not extended into the 2nd unit down and it would be quicker to walk through someone’s house than trying to found a way around the buildings.

The average street in Boston usually only allows for 2 aerials to make it to the building, many times, less than that.  Not many sections of the city have the electrical utilities underground, there are not many driveways or garages causing vehicles to block corners and congest the street, these are just a couple of things that make successfully placing an aerial difficult in any city but a particular nuisance in the North East because of the narrow roadways.  When more than 2 aerials can be put into operation, the scene looks like an aerial party with every aerial on scene attempting to get their stick to the roof. Even then you will still find extensive ground ladders to the building.

 

As for the final answer “Engines can be more aggressive knowing ladders will be placed”, this contributor is on the fence.  I’m not a gambler.  How would an Incident Commander explain to someone’s family if a firefighter got hurt because a ladder was not in place in time?  How do you explain we USUALLY have ladders up pretty quickly, but THIS time we didn’t?  I’m not against this mentality, and know people who have benefited from and firmly believe in it.  A friend was on the first due truck searching the 3rd floor of what turned into a 4 alarm, 3 building fire when things started to look bad.  The stairway started to look like a less attractive option so his boss said “let’s move to the front windows, there should be a ground ladder up by now”, and there was.  So yes, Boston can be more aggressive knowing the ground ladders are on the way and the engine companies can be bold because they know the trucks will be also.

For Incident commanders in Boston throwing ladders is not an option, getting water and getting ladders to the building go hand in hand.  Many times at fires in Bostonyou will see a guy rolling a ladder from one window to the next or watch someone else move a ladder from the side of a building to the rear.  Do you know why they could do that?  Because the ladders were already there.  You cannot redeploy something that is still on the truck.  Running down the street to get a ladder that you desperately need now only adds time and potential delays.

I enjoy looking at pictures that were taken at fires and asking questions about what I see.  Not Monday morning quarterbacking, learning from what others did.  Sometimes you will see a roof ladder in a window or to the second floor porch at a very low angle.  Why?  One guy threw it while the rest of his crew was running the line, or it was the only ladder available on the nearest truck.  It may not be perfect but it is a usable and redeployable ladder.

If that is not enough to strengthen the case for excessive ladder use, let’s consider a few other things.  The best RIT crew is the one you never need. Boston’s RIT SOP calls for proactive RIT crews to ladder for secondary egress. How better to get quickly familiar with a building than to walk around and place ladders based on the conditions found in case you or a company inside needs them.  With the big push on flashover awareness how can a department say they are aware and concerned about firefighter’s safety and in the same breath say there are too many ladders to the building?

Construction styles have changed just like construction materials.  It is now not uncommon to find Philly style apartments in Boston (Middle floor of a 3 story shared between 1st and 3rd floor units) where this never used to be the case.  Even recently there was an upper floor fire and the only way to get to the seat of the fire was from an exterior staircase in the rear, a staircase that burned out.  Some homes and buildings just have confusing layouts and odd stairway patterns that cause longer hose lays and further travel distance for egress if needed.  Why not throw more ladders?  If a stairway gives out during a fire you cannot just give up that egress, it’s easy to find and firefighters will be attracted to it, you have to get a ladder in there to prevent firefighters from falling and getting injured.  The closer the ladders are to the point of need the quicker they can be put into use and the potential for injury will be lessened.

I’ve heard people complain about excessive laddering and the drawbacks,  get over it.  The only drawback I can put any stock into is the fear of firefighters getting hurt deploying ladders that will not be used.  If injury is a valid concern on your job then maybe you need to do more training, whether it is physical or ladder operations.

During the Boston Fire Academy recruits will climb over 2,000 stories on ladders, all ladders combined; roof ladders, 24, 35, 40, 50 and aerials.  They will each have to throw the ladders dozens of times and also have to prove to themselves the biggest ladder they can personally deploy on their own.  The recruits will also deploy Pompier ladders individually and as a group in the form of chain Pomps.  With a start like that there is no question about the importance Boston puts on laddering a building.  Recruits that start the fire academy afraid of heights still have a healthy respect for heights after but have no reservations about working from a ladder.

So the bottom line is the same as for everything else on the fire ground; call for the equipment, put it in place, if you don’t need it you can put it away.

I’d rather have it and not need it.

Photos courtesy of The Legendary Billy Noonan  http://www.billnoonanfirefotos.com

Photos courtesy of Stephen Walsh     http://www.box714imaging.com/

 

 

Posted in Aerial Operations, command-leadership, Education/Training, firefighter-safety-health, firefighting-operations, Motivation, Training, Truck Tips

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May 8, 2013 • 1 comment

A.C.T now!

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Over the last year, what did you do to increase your emergency services knowledge, skills, and abilities? What supporting educational programs did you complete? What training classes did you attend? Most importantly, what changes in behavior did you implement after attending the programs?

Here’s a three step process to help you further your abilities and provide new information to fellow crewmembers. The process can be remembered using the acronym A.C.T. The letters stand for:

A- Attend a class.

C- Contribute to the classroom conversation.

T- Take-back what you learned to your crew.

Don’t just “ATTEND” any course. When you peruse a course catalog or conference schedule in search of a course to attend, think about topics of interest to you. Remember, the idea is to increase your knowledge about subjects you find interesting and want to learn more about. If you could care less about driving or pumping an apparatus, don’t register for a pump ops course!

“CONTRIBUTING” to the course can occur in a variety of ways. You hear other students with questions about what is being presented but the other students will not ask the instructor? CONTRIBUTE by asking the question for the other student. Trainers love questions! If the instructor asks for assistance with a demonstration or needs some help, volunteer! Your participation will be greatly appreciated.

“TAKING IT BACK” is the most important thing you do with your new knowledge, skills, and abilities. The department spent money to send you, one person, to the class. Why not help the department get the biggest “bang for the buck” and spread the new material with your co-workers and others?

Grab the fire academy course catalog, thumb through a training conference schedule, or check out your county fire association’s website. Select an interesting class, register, and attend the program. When you come back to the station, share what you learned with your co-workers. Alternately, search the web for a computer basd course, complete the course, and share what you learned with others.

Hurry! A.C.T. now! Operators are standing by!

Posted in administration-leadership, Education/Training, fire-rescue-topics, firefighter-safety-health, Motivation, Thoughts, Training, training-development, Uncategorized

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April 24, 2013 • 1 comment

“He writes his own headlines”

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What does “Writing his own headlines” mean?  That’s when someone spends so much time thinking about how this is going to look in the news they forget they have to do the work before the story gets written.

Example:

“Hey Lt Can I borrow one of your guys for this medical call?  My guy is cooking supper.”

“Of course, no problem” was my reply.

1/2 hour later both companies get a call for a Central Station Alarm, and the cook shows up on his piece to go.  When we return the cook asks my guy to cover for him again.  I say No.  He says “But how can you let US run short?”

I understand the cook is doing something for the benefit of everyone in the house that’s why I have no problem running short if his boss does have a problem running short.  My guys are not here to fill in so you can cherry pick your calls, either we cover you or we don’t.  So, in order to prevent digressing into an all out rant, let me be a bit more positive.  Or try.  All companies are equally important in the fire service.  If a company was not needed believe me the bean counters would close it.

If you think that chasing the beeping boxes all day downtown makes you a more important firefighter than the firefighter that works in the retirement firehouse in the affluent neighborhood, you are wrong.  It’s just your job, volunteer or paid.  For the paid guys who think they are more important than the vollies ask the residents of Breezy Point about how important their volunteer companies are.

What makes a company more important than another one?  Nothing on a day to day basis. No resident cares as long as someone shows up.

Knowing your job and doing your job when it matters makes you a BETTER company, more PREPARED Company.  I’m sick of hearing about the “Elite” companies that just drew a short straw that one time. EVERY TIME. Wow, the “Elite” company has a straight up figure eight in the feeder….. that IS awesome.

You know what, I’m going to go negative.  It’ll be more fun this way.  Here is a short list of ways to tell if your company is spending more time writing their own headlines then they are making the story worth reading.  Please feel free to add your own.

1. Oh jeez!  I thought Stedman Court was off Stedman Ave, why would it be 3 blocks away?

2. If you can get to the address, but not to the fire.

3. If you can get to the roof, but dog gone it that guy yesterday didn’t fill the saw.

4. If you know what every other Fire Company did at the incident.

5. If you know what every other Fire Company did WRONG at the incident.

6. What the hell is he checking that tool for?  We never use it.  He must be new.

7. I didn’t know they were building this massive apartment complex in my district.  Those lazy Fire Prevention guys should have told us.

8. We don’t need training, they do.

9. Look at them wearing their equipment while investigating.  Are they afraid of fire or something? It’s just an alarm.

10.  Its not our fault the piece is all beat up.  It’s too big for our district, the city should have thought of that.

Maybe you should have a look in the mirror and see what is really there.  You cannot be that unlucky, maybe you just suck at this.  There is hope, and training is the light at the end of the excuse tunnel. If something is going wrong every time you go out and it always seems to be someone else’s fault, um, sorry but it’s not them…it’s you.

Let’s do the Jeff Foxworthy thing; “You might be writing your own headlines if;”….

 

Posted in Motivation, Thoughts

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January 16, 2013 • 1 comment

We Honor our Fallen Brothers and Those Who Perished On This Day

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We thank you for your service and lives you touched! You will Forever live on in our Hearts

Posted in line-of-duty, Motivation

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September 11, 2012 • 3 comments

“I hate you, papa.”

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Those were the last words of a dying child, beaten for hours by her mother’s boyfriend. The man beat the child for most of a day; when EMS and law enforcement were finally summoned, the limp child was found in her bed. Hospital staff worked to revive the child; however, she succumbed to her severe injuries. A law enforcement officer in the ER noted the girls last, powerful words in his incident report. Another article told the story of a child beaten to death by both her mother and father. When brought to the hospital, the child was covered in bruises, old and new. X-rays showed current and old broken bones. Neighbors said the child was constantly screaming in that house. The grandparents said they were concerned for the child’s safety. No one, neither family nor neighbor, intervened for these children.

As firefighters, many of us wear our leather helmets with pride and see the fire service as protectors of all people. Without a search warrant, we have unique opportunities to see what other agency representatives rarely get to see: the inside of a home, bared to us without much attempt to whitewash living conditions. Firefighters are in houses for medical calls, public service calls, and fires. We are able to see how people are in their day-to-day lives.

On your next medical call, when examining and caring for a child, will you look a little harder at what you see? Will you assess the child and try to determine his/her wellbeing?

1. Is the child overly dirty and uncared for?
2. Condition of diapers? Changed, as needed?
3. Child look in good physical condition and well fed?
4. Appear to have an exceptional number of bruises and/or other injuries?
5. For age, appear to appropriately respond to stimuli?
6. Living conditions: acceptable or unsafe squalor?

Today, at the kitchen table, discuss this article. Ask if any member has run across anything similar in his/her past work. How was the problem handled? Does your organization have a method to report child and/or elder abuse? If there is not a policy or other method, does your organization need one? What do you think should be in the policy? Until the policy is developed, how will you and your crew handle a call similar to those in the above paragraph?

Children don’t have the necessary skills to communicate in the adult world. It’s up to us, as adults and as firefighters, to speak for those without a voice. Will you have the courage to protect a child and report a situation to social services?

Silence is acceptance; inaction is approval.

Posted in administration-leadership, Education/Training, ems-topics, Motivation, patient-management, Thoughts

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September 7, 2012 • 4 comments

Hello from the EMAGUY!

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Thank you for the introduction, firestudent1. I’m EMAGUY, another contributer for the site with a strong desire to learn. I have a diverse background, including fire, ems, and emergency management. My fire experience includes paid (county and industrial) and volunteer; my emergency management experience includes time at a county agency and healthcare positions.

In some articles, I may include a different viewpoint than you’re used to; however, I hope the different perspective helps you see the point I’m trying to make. Also, if you have a question, thought, or concern, post a comment! Maybe your comment will help generate additonal conversation about the topic.

Here are some article ideas I have:
Haz Mat: there’s always opportunity to learn something to keep us safe at haz mat incidents.

Fire and EMS: articles designed to help you operate more efficiently and effectively on the scene.

Company officers: the critical link between department administration and members. It’s a tough job; we’ll look at some ways to make better operational decisions, manage staff, and provide quality company level instruction.

Training officers: how to develop a training program and plan, covering regulatory and department requirements for all staff, including: firefighters, company officers, instructors, and department administration.

Again, thank you firestudent1 for providing me the opportunity to work with you and The Basics crew!

~ EMAGUY

Posted in administration-leadership, command-leadership, Education/Training, ems-health-safety, ems-topics, fire, firefighter-safety-health, firefighting-operations, hazmat, Motivation, Thoughts, training-development, Uncategorized

August 27, 2012 • No comments

10,000 Hours?!

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How do some firefighters get really good at their job and some, well, not so much. I was just perusing Malcolm Gladwell’s book “Outliers” and one of the focuses of the book is the 10,000 hour rule to become an expert or successful. I don’t plan on reading the book, but I’ve heard this 10,000 hour number before.

10,000 hours….

5 years full time employment (40hrs a week)

10 years part time

For the average firefighter that may take an hour a shift to check the piece; 64 years, if you do 3 shifts per week

OUCH! And that is just operating the piece and the equipment on it, not RIT training, not roof operations, not EMS skills, not fitness all of which a firefighter should be an expert at. Or is it 10,000 hours of “firefighter job related stuff”? Either way, I’m nowhere near it.

Now Gladwell is far from THE authority on the subject, having written about other people’s research and weaving in some interviews for flavor, but the idea is interesting.

I may have brought this up before, but have you ever watched someone at an incident farting around with a power tool like a monkey fornicating a football? Don’t you just think “Come on guy, the switch is still off”? How much time has he spent with that saw? How many hours? Minutes? He is acting like it’s his first time.

We ran a 2 1/2″ line in an attempt to fill our local pond on my last shift. The crew was all experienced and professional and I would consider a most of them to be experts. I asked for a solid stream (built into the nozzle) we had an issue finding it, when the hydrant was charged it gave the line too much pressure, We had a difficult time with apparatus placement to have an easy escape in order to stay available for responses.

The placement issue was all me. It was a silly new officer mistake. I try not to micro manage so I let the driver pick the placement based on my requirements, now I know better. The line problems were just rust. Not equipment rust, but firefighter rust. I know they are good at their jobs, it was a good refresher for all. The total delay or inconvenience was negligible and barely noticeable to anyone watching but everyone involved knew what happened and how to fix it.

When we were harassing each other about it later one of the younger firefighters ask what we were talking about and why it was an issue. So I see we need to do it again and get him a little closer to the 10,000.

Every time you put your hands on that piece of equipment you are learning something about it. All those little things that make checking the piece faster and easier for you also make you more familiar with it. The more familiar you are, the better you are but also the more complacent you become, not getting into that today.

Do I think the saw needs to be checked every day to be maintained? No. I do think it needs to be checked every day to maintain our readiness and competency with it. I can understand getting rusty with a 2 1/2″ line, 75% of our work is handled with an 1 3/4″, but there is no excuse for not knowing your saw, ladder, EMS equipment.

Are you going to get 10,000 hours of training and become an “expert”? I doubt it. Most of us have long passed the expert level at sleeping or channel surfing, maybe Grand Master level for some. But the general idea here is that you need to get your hands on that stuff. Get your face in the books.

Become a student of the fire service.

 

Posted in administration-leadership, command-leadership, Drills, Education/Training, Engine Tips, Motivation, Thoughts

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June 28, 2012 • No comments

Satisfaction lies in the effort, not in the attainment

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I was trying to teach my children about doing quality work and making sure you can put your name on everything you do.  Of course one of them asked “But isn’t that a lot of work?” Yes, yes it is.  But the effort is the biggest part of any job well done.  Like Ghandi said.  Most of the time it’s the struggle that determines if the outcome is desirable or not.  In the fire service if you do good training and drilling you will do good work.

I thought of Rocky Valentine for some reason.  Rocky was the main character in an old 1960’s Twilight Zone episode called “A Nice Placeto Visit”.  Rocky was a career criminal that was gunned down after robbing a pawn shop.  He wakes up to Pip, his new person assistant for the afterlife.  Pip grants every wish Rocky has.  Rocky has amazing luck in this new afterlife, everything works out for him.  He doesn’t have to struggle with anything.  He wins at the casino every time, the ladies love him, his every wish is granted etc…  After a month of this Rocky gets bored and frustrated with everything working out all the time.   He tells Pip “I don’t belong here in Heaven, I want to go to the other place or I’ll go nuts!”  Pip asks him “What makes you think this is Heaven?”

In my new firehouse I go out with the guys and we do a little drill every day.  I’m not a ball buster and I am not trying to test anyone.  We go out as a crew and do something.

The last time we went out was to run the deck gun.  Nothing fancy, run water and play with tip sizes and talk scenarios and water flow.  One guy has been on for 3 years and that was his first time operating the deck gun.  I have to wonder when the previous officer expected this firefighter to learn this basic skill.  I can guarantee if they went to a surround and drown and that firefighter could not get the deck gun going the officer would lose his mind.

A firefighter I worked with months ago called me to complain that a firefighter that just transferred in ran the line around the stair case instead of up the center; they ran out of line short of the fire.  Tragic.  So now if we are out on a call and see some funky access or architectural oddities I ask the crew how they would handle it.

I’m not an engine guy so I am most definitely learning while we do it. But we are doing it.  When it comes time for us to work, we will work and hopefully it’ll work out right.  Other companies that I have worked at like to sit back and talk about the fires they had.

You are only as good as your last fire, right?  What about your next fire? What about the satisfaction of a job well done?

I think the deck gun qualifies as a basic firefighter skill.  I think shagging a line qualifies as a basic skill also.  Do you really want to be known as the company that messed up a BASIC skill?  Advanced stuff and the once in a lifetime things are fun to prepare for but if you mess up a basic skill on the fire ground you will wear that mistake forever.

 

 

Posted in command-leadership, Drills, Motivation, Thoughts

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June 7, 2012 • No comments

WHY?

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Hey everyone, I’m back like a really bad habit! How often in your next tour will you as a fireman or a company officer hear the word “Why” come out of a members mouth? This word can be good, bad, or just downright insubordinate. This is my getting back in the grove, so this will be short, but for anyone that knows me at all, much more is coming on this issue! Drillmaster’s challenge is simple. Count the “Why’s” your next tour, keep track positive or negative. Let me know and we are off to the races! I’m back, more opinionated as ever Brothers! Always remember those who came before us on this Memorial Day Weekend! we are our Brothers Keepers!

Posted in administration-leadership, command-leadership, firefighter-safety-health, Motivation, Thoughts

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May 27, 2012 • 2 comments