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.