Are you a PRIC?

Most of the time, if someone called you a prick, that would be a bad thing. In this case, I'm just playing with the word in order to grab your attention. PRIC, in this case, means Prepared Rapid Intervention Crew. And my question is this. Are you?



I'm tired of Rapid Intervention being put on the back-burner. We seem to feel so much better when we say that the RIT has been established (that way, we can check the box on our tactical worksheet); but it's really only a false sense of security. Most people don't have the first clue about what they should be doing as a RIT before or during the deployment. And that's just plain scary.



But by God, we all know how to fill out an ICS 201. Very comforting.

Here's the thing...a Rapid Intervention Team could possibly be the most important assignment you ever have. First, you have to be proactive...if someone hasn't laddered the structure, it is your job to ladder it. If someone hasn't softened the structure, you force entry and make a quick sweep for victims. You should make sure utilities are controlled. You should attempt to determine where crews are operating and how long they've been inside. You should be prepared to go in, locate a downed firefighter, and get them on air.

If you are sitting on your ass or bitching that you don't want to be RIT, I don't want you on my fireground. You can be damn sure that I'll do everything I can to make sure you don't need me...but if you do, I'll be there for you. 'Cuz I'm a PRIC.

Critique this fire

What a wonderful age in which we live!! You cannot go anywhere without having your actions photographed or videotaped...therefore, it would be best to stay on your toes at all times. Remember the whole Rodney King incident? That was a news helicopter, I believe. Nowadays, someone can whip out there cell phone and get some pretty good video footage. Do I think that this should be our only incentive for doing our jobs well and right the first time? No. Do I think that it ups the ante a little bit in regards to what the public (and other firefighters worldwide) uses to form their impressions of us? Yes.

Youtube has a lot of awesome examples of fireground footage. It can help us learn and enhance our tactical practices. Take a look at this one and let me know what you think:

http://youtube.com/watch?v=NcWR5QbYZlQ

Tell me why the reverse lay won't work

Perhaps this is just one of my epiphanies, and perhaps it won't work. It would require some work and some practice. But I've noticed that we do a horrible job of placing our apparatus. We line the cross-lay hosebed right in line with the front door, and don't leave room for the Truck. Beyond that, we are almost always staffed with 3. Now I don't like this, but it's reality.

So, why don't we use the reverse lay? It would require the first in engine to drop a pre-determined amount of 2 1/2 (hell, bundle some 1 3/4 to it, if you are so inclined) and move to the closest hydrant. Most of the time, it wouldn't require us to pull more than 300 feet of hose, depending on the neighborhood. The officer and nozzleperson take the line and go to work. The FAO hits the hydrant. The truck has room. The second (or third) engine can take their own water supply to pull a backup line.

Again, I'm not advocating this in every circumstance...but I do think that it is an evolution worth practicing. It would require us to pull less LDH, and would also REQUIRE the first pumper to take their own water supply. They should only operate on tank water for as long as it takes to get their own water supply.

Instead of doing bullshit, why don't we get out into our neighborhoods and see what works? Develop a little bit of a standard, so there is less guesswork.

The picture that I posted is from Chicago. They see a lot of fire. And they are SERIOUS about Truck work. And that means they leave room for the GD Truck!

Think about the past few fires where using a truck earlier might've made a difference. And I'm not talking about lights and fans. I'm talking about using the big stick to the roof or to a window. The Truck is our toolbox. Let's use it. We shouldn't have purchased them primarily to piss water from up above...they should be used for Rescue and Ventilation FIRST.

And in order to do this, we need to place our apparatus correctly. LEAVE ROOM FOR THE TRUCK!!!!

Fill in the box or get the job done

I used to be really in to Incident Command. I'd study it, practice approach reports, and felt pretty good about myself when someone said, "man, you did a good job running that call." Now, after observing some people who are considered "good" incident commanders, I've noticed that we approach things all wrong. Rather than focusing on the results, we focus on "filling the box." "I have assigned ventilation, so it must be 'done'." This isn't always the case. Your incident may look good on paper, but if you look over the steering wheel at the incident, does it really look as good as it does on your fancy little command chart? When you call for ventilation, what do you mean? What about fire attack?

We are really deficient in our expectations as Incident Commanders. We haven't "front loaded" the troops with enough training, and so we aren't surprised when we look up and see the troops attacking a fire in a commercial building with an 1 3/4" hoseline. Nor are we surprised when we ask for ventilation (in another LARGE structure) and a fan (or two) is placed in the door. How about primary and secondary search? I've heard us assign a secondary search before the fire was under control...and that's inappropriate. Oh, and don't even get me started on RIT.

We are so impressed with ourselves that the Plans section was implemented at a large fire, so we pat ourselves on the backs. Meanwhile, we completely ignore tactis applied that could've been disastrous.

RIT Training? It's been asked for...but I think we need more than that. We need to hit the RESET button, decide upon a doctrine, and get everyone up to speed.

Let me start with this. We lament the loss of the Charleston 9. But we need to learn from them. Did you know that they used booster lines in that furniture warehouse? Sure, a few 2 1/2's got pulled, but it wasn't their initial line.

Here's my point...If we are going to call ourselves a fire department, then we need to fight the fire RIGHT. We shouldn't take anything but a 2 1/2' line into a commercial building. Place ourselves in a safe spot, and work it. Then, move in as we get it knocked down. We either need to start embracing this appliance, or we shouldn't even go in these buildings. And if you want to go there, what is the point in having anything more than a giant deck gun on the back of a flatbed truck. We could get by with half the engines and fewer personnel. We could go back to colonial times and keep the fire to the "village" of origin.

Now you know I don't really believe that we should cut staff and all that stuff. But if we don't pull our heads out of our asses, we'll continue to feed the bastards of those that want to see us cut.

Stay safe.

Making sense of everything

I'm trying to compile some information related to things that are near and dear to my heart. Namely, fire tactics, ventilation, fire streams, and firefighter survival/RIT.

It is my opinion (this is my blog, remember...you can disagree if you like) that a lot of the fire training in Nebraska has been watered down and/or very "vendor" influenced over the past few years.

In addition to this, I've noticed a lot of leaders in the fire service tend to have spent a lot of time during the past few years getting themselves to where they want to be, and, as a result, they haven't continued their tactical fire service education.

As many of you know, I'm an avid reader...especially when it comes to Firehouse, Fire Engineering, etc. But I've learned not to believe everything that I read. I've also learned that if you question something, you need to investigate it.

So, that's what I've done over the past couple of years. If a concept has been introduced to me via book or trade journal, I attempt to find someplace close that is holding an educational opportunity on the subject. Okay, so maybe it doesn't have to be close...I went all the way to King County, WA last year for a Truck Class.

Perhaps I'm taking being a "Student" of the fire service to the extreme, but I know that I won't find a lot of stuff that will get us anywhere around here.

In fact, my next few posts will most likely be related to some things that I learned.

Here are a few things to whet your appetite:
1) Vertical ventilation is NOT the devil! It is still the best form of ventilation, and is often underutilized. Even with modern construction (lightweight truss, etc.), it can be used very effectively.
2) The 2 1/2" Hoseline CAN and SHOULD be used as an interior attack hoseline on large structures. Fire is not impressed by how fast you reach it, it is only impressed if you can deliver enough GPM's to overcome BTU's. Smooth bore for the hard core!!!
3) Why don't we look at using the reverse lay more often to leave room for the Truck Company? It isn't that tough.
4) If you don't have a nozzle in your hand or you aren't backing someone up on the hoseline, you should have a tool available to you. Whether it is an axe, halligan, pike pole, etc., you should be carrying something. They do make belts to carry axes, if your hands are that precious.

There's more. Let me know what you think!!!

While you're at it, check out this video!!

http://www.king5.com/perl/common/video/wmPlayer.pl?title=www.king5.com/ki_100505tacfire.wmv

Now that's ventilation!!!!

Some EMS Stuff

I was gone for a couple of days. Our USAR team headed to Texas in the event that Hurricane Dean turned into a "Katrina-sized" storm. One morning's USA Today had the following article:

http://www.usatoday.com/news/health/2007-08-20-ems-atlanta_N.htm

It made me think a little about how we really measure an EMS System's effectiveness. Some places go by response times. Others go by cardiac arrest save rates. In my opinion, it is nice (and essential) to have rapid response times and high cardiac arrest save rates, but this should not be the wholesale measuring stick for an EMS System's performance. The article "assumes" that if cardiac arrest save rates are high, that the rest of the system should be good. This, I feel, is a little short-sighted and doesn't take a lot of other important things into account. Even with all the research and new cardiac arrest algorithms, codes are still a "crap shoot." The moon and stars have to align just right for the chain of survival's links to come together. There needs to be a better gauge of a system: clinical accuracy, for instance. How well does a EMT or Medic give a clinical impression? How good are their assessments? If they have an accurate impression, then is their treatment aggresssive, just right, or lacking? If folks are going to use statistics, use real ones...not BS stuff to make themselves look better. For instance...a lot of the cardiac arrest save rates are based only on patients that present in ventricular fibrillation. Other rhythms are thrown out in their statistics.

How do we do this? I don't know. I just know that the media likes to start things, and we really need to get to the root of the problem.

Enough of a rant for now. Stay safe, and learn something new today!!!

Let's do this!!!

Hello, and welcome to my blog!! I'm excited to "talk fire" with anyone, and, hopefully, you'll learn from me and I'll learn from you. Please know that the content I provide doesn't necessarily coincide with the opinions of the organizations with which I respond. Be safe!!!

Welcome to my blog!!!

Hello all! Welcome to my blog. This is a first for me, but I'm excited to communicate some things that I have learned, fire service wise. Please be warned that this is stuff I'm presenting, and opinions don't necessarily reflect those of the organizations with which I belong. If you ever have any questions or comments, jump on in!!!