Lets Talk About S&O

In this job, we love fires. We anticipate them and can't wait to fight them. After the adrenaline of the fire runs out though, its time for salvage and overhaul. When I was in school and when I first started in the service, I think S&O was looked at as a job more for eliminating fire extension. It's grimy, its hard and its tiring. Recently, I've read a few articles that have completely changed my thinking on the topic of overhaul with more of an emphasis on property conservation.
The thing is, while fires are kick-ass for us, its easy to forget that these are traumatic and horrible experiences many times for residents(our real bosses). Losing property is a terrible thing especially when there are irreplaceable things involved. So here's some ideas on how to ruin less stuff and be more efficient once you get a good knock on the fire.
-When you get the main body under control and you think its out, use touch as well as the TIC to check for heat on the walls. I look at the TIC just like the Lifepack in EMS; its a tool. Don't rely on it as your only form of heat detection.
-Work from the seat of the fire outward to clean unburned areas.
-Know your building construction and where to look for extension. This means studying construction types and reading pre-plans for your juristiction.
-Keep a charged hoseline with you while you look for extension. This is especially important when pulling ceilings. I've seen rekindles damn near burn down buildings in my few years on the job. Many times this is because hoslines were pulled too early.
-When you are finished with overhaul, wash down the area but don't drench it with a biblical flood. And remove valuables beforehand.
A good rule of thumb is to remember customer service. Treat every structure you go to work on as if it was property of you or your loved one. Do no unreasonable harm.

Training On the Basics

So today we had our monthly Departmental Fire Training and the focus topic was the bare-bones basics of our Department. A lot of our recent trainings have been on pre-plans, table-top scenerios and walk-throughs, which I think is absolutely important, but what we did today was actually a nice refresher that I think anyone in the Fire Service could use.
We started the training by having every member take the map tests we had to take as probies focusing on our township. I thought it would be a breeze, since I was the one that made the test over a year ago, but some of the newer housing developments are pretty tough to keep organized in your head. They all look fairly similar and they're filled with young families, so we're rarely there. We reviewed the tests and answers afterward and went over some other important details pertaining to maps in our area before moving on.

Next, we went over our SCBA's in detail. We practiced everything from changing bottles to cleaning masks and went over RIT connections and buddy-breathers. This was good for our new probies, Joe and CJ and a great review for the rest of us who may not have taken one of our packs apart in a little while.

Next, we took training out to the bays and had a little donning and doffing competition among crews. I'm not tryin' to brag but my crew was the fastest  with times between 1:04 and 1:12. Its also worth noting that we also happen to have the best hair in the department as a shift. Whats probably most important though, is that everyone on the department did the donning and doffing drill in well under two minutes. And props to Lt. Richards for having the fastest time at 1:00.
 This stuff is all just review and was pretty simple but lets face it, we don't see a ton of fire in my township(or in our neighboring communities for that matter). The chance of catching a burner on shift is slim. So the chance of putting on a pack, going on air and going in is even smaller. But we NEED TO BE EFFICIENT AND READY for those small kick-ass moments when a fire does come in.

Basement Fire

So the other night I'm laying in bed at home when my minitor radio goes off and it was for a confirmed structure fire in our juristiction. Now in the township I work, we go to a decent amount of fires every year but we only get a few that are in our township. So I fly out of bed, grab my radio and get in my truck to get to the station.
On the way, I hear the dispatchers and first engine giving updates on the condition of the structure. From what I hear, it is a fire in the basement of a single family one story home. There is one occupant inside the home who states she is staying in the basement trying to put the fire out and refusing to leave. Shortly after that, I hear the first engine arrive, stating there is smoke coming from the A, B, and D side windows of the structure and that the occupant had decided to exit due to heat and smoke. I then hear our tanker go enroute.
As I get to the station, my Shift Leiutenant comes in at the same time and we go enroute to the call on our second engine. On the way, we hear command state they have extinquished any fire and would be starting ventilation with salvage and overhaul.
When we got to the scene, we set up a few fans upstairs and in the basement, opened some windows and removed burnt objects. Overall, it was a very small and simple fire but it could have easily been much worse. Here's some pics of what we saw, courtesy of our Fire Prevention Officer, Lt. Morrison.

This was the culprit. Apparently, the ventilation tube that goes from the back of this dryer to the outdoors was filled with lint, which builds up over time. So when that tube had enough heat to light off, it spread to other objects in the basement on the dryer.

There were many objects on shelves against the vent tube from the dryer as well as clothes laying on the dryer that easily went up. The fire wasn't burning very long and you can easily see that it was already becoming involed with wooden members and floor joists. It was an easy little fire but there are some important things to think about and learn from.

1. This basement was absolutely packed. There were endless piles of clothes, a maze of clothes lines, multiple rooms, a bar and I even saw one of those chairs where you can get yer hair permed. If this fire had a few more minutes of free burning and the occupant had not left, we would have some serious safety concerns for the guys that might be searching the area. The place was just plain dangerous.

2. We got there early enough that the initial crew had a member put the main fire out with a water can. It was smoky but a very small and at the time, manageable fire. The important thing though, is that the first in crew also had a charged hoseline with them ready for a bigger situation. That hoseline stayed in place until we were into salvage and overhaul operations and were sure all fire was out.

3. We had a thorough salvage and overhaul operation. We cleared the basement of the dryer, all involved shelves and any damaged or burned property in the basement.

4. We transported that occupant for what appeared to be symptoms of minor smoke inhalation but there were no other injuries during the incident.

5. In two and a half hours, we had four EMS calls and a fire and handled all of them on our own with 11 out of 13 department members responding. The only outside help we had was one auto-aid engine (not to say that we don't call for help sometimes). Now this may not seem like a big deal to larger departments with more staffing and a higher call volume. But in my opinion, with recent neighsaying and public mudslinging from outsiders, this is a huge deal and it shows that we are stepping up and handling our own.

Ice Rescue Course

So about a year ago, I took an ice rescue class put together by the PCWR team (which I recently joined). The classroom portion was great, but we had an early thaw in 2010 and there was no ice. So the practicals were just swimming in a lake. This weekend, we got to redo the practical portion of the class and this is what the lake looked like.

So we put on the gumby suits, cut a few holes in the ice with some chain saws and did some great drills. Believe it or not, the methods and tools used from throwbags to rescue techniques are very effective. How fun does this look?

Learning about 1214

Nothing like starting the day out as a brand new probie and finding a little hazing on your helmet.

After a little ball busting, we did actually get to some training. We had Joe do a detailed check of 1214, our first out engine, which included identifying and explaining usage of all tools, checking airpacks to make sure everything is ready for use, running all generators and checking fuel levels. He also ran all our saws and we had a fairly in depth review of the pump. As the weather gets warmer, we're going to get a lot of work in on the pump.

Brushing Up

So I know this blog is normally about fire stuff but my job is actually 85% EMS. So a huge part of training at our department and others like us is EMS Continuing Education. It helps to keep our skills up and its also a state requirement to keep our certs. So in that vein, I recently took a 48 hour paramedic refresher course that helped me finish up all the requirements I have to re-up my card. Not only that, but I learned some cool new skills and reviewed A TON of old ones I haven't reviewed in years.

A few new tools I learned to use in airway patients;
1. The bougie introducer- This is an awesome tool that helps a medic gain access to the vocal chords prior to intubation.
2. The Salt Airway- An pseudo-oral airway you put in prior to blindly inserting an ET tube that makes it almost impossible to miss.
3. The Grandview Blade- I've always been a mac blade kinda guy but this thing helps you see everything by moving the entire tongue out of the way. I'm checking into getting one at my department.
4. Retrograde Cricothyrotomy- If all hell breaks loose and this is your last option for an airway, its an interesting way of doing things. I also had the opportunity to practice this and other procedures on pig trachs courtesy of Kiko Meats in Akron.

I also learned an easier way to take secondary 12 leads in inferior MI's by moving the V4 lead to the opposite side of the chest, taking another read and labeling the 12-lead as V4R for the hospital.

All in all, it is an inconvenience to lose two weekends to talk EMS, but this is what we do most of the time. And who knows when we'll need the skills we rarely use but need thorough training in. I'd recommend the class to anyone looking to brush up on their skills as well as get a ton of CE.

Goodspeed's Upper Lip



New Guy

Meet Joe. Joe is the new guy on our shift. He's a brand new medic and firefighter and we have the opportunity to show him the fire service from the beginning. Its a huge task but I think it will be a huge step for my entire shift to improve ourselves and our department. Also, he brought donuts so we let the kid in the station. Here is the breakdown of his first day...



 We reviewed a two minute donning and doffing drill. We aren't testing out on it yet, just reviewing. I think firefighters should test this skill at least every couple of months to keep the muscle memory fresh. New guys need to practice this all the time.

We gave a brief overview of all the apparatus we have, then a detailed review of our ambulances, inside and out. Every piece of equipment we have on the buses got looked at. Then we cracked open a drug box, reviewed drugs, doses, how to administer them and when we would use them. The most beneficial thing a new guy can do in my opinion is know where shit is on the trucks. And it starts with the big red taxi.

We showed him a map of the township and gave some tips on studying. I feel like this is the next important thing that new guys just need to put the work in for. Half of your geographical knowledge comes from maps. The other half is driving. And this guys about to get six hours of studying on every truck we have. 

So we're going to have a ton of training coming up, shredding cars, search and rescue drills, pump ops, etc. Lets get it.