Anthony Tester

No it’s not time to throw out or rewrite the books on fire ground tactics. The IC needs to take into account his staffing and their abilities when planning his initial attack.
On all incidents the IC needs to quickly determine the following “what do I have, what do I need, and where is it going” to quickly and safely mitigate the situation while keeping in mind the incident priorities, 1 – Life Safety; 2 – Incident Stabilization; 3 – property Conservation. The IC first priority is the safety of his personnel and then of the public they are sworn to protect, with this in mind we sometimes have to push the envelope and make an aggressive interior search with reduced manpower. However, lacking any reason to believe that there may be victims within the structure and aggressive interior attack should only be perform when the proper personnel arrive on the scene.
Remember, we the willing, lead by the unknowing, are doing the impossible for the ungratefully, we have done so much with so little, we are now qualified to do anything with nothing!

Get some pre hung doors donated along with some 2 x 4's and of course, locks. Or, make a steel frame with the strike section of the lock out of wood (so you can replace the wood and the strikes). A simulator can get old after awhile. Change it up try different locks and combination's on different types of doors. For through the lock forcible entry drilling. you just need the doors and not the frames or hinges. You can also use 2 x 6's or larger and set up a mock up like a door. Be creative and have fun.

Knickerbocker Avenue & Bleeker Street, July 18, 1977.
If you search around the web, there are some great shots of this fire. I believe this went to 10 alarms.

For those of you who think that the training is minimal, you better think again. In your free time pick up NFPA 921 (or if you really want to be on up to date, the new edition should be out anytime now). I encourage you to read and comprehend the entire document. When you have completely absorbed all of it, pick up NFPA 1033. And when you have understood Daubert and Gate keeping, by all means do not stop there...
Fire Investigation HAS NEVER been so comprehensive and scientific than it is right now. If you think a fire chief is going to stroll into court, state the facts, and not be shredded on the stand, it is not just going to happen.Cases are now being overturned because of "junk science". Look up the Todd Willingham case if you really want an eye opener.
I have been doing this as a career for the last several years and it has become such a specialized field it almost to the point you have to be an engineer in the particular case you are working on. Most investigators now have so many letters and advanced degrees after their names its almost funny.
Support the Dutchess County FID. They as a team serve a very important function for the county, and they do it without getting paid.
If you do not realize their importance now, maybe you will when the DA cannot get a conviction because he / she does not have the resources.

For those of you who think that the training is minimal, you better think again. In your free time pick up NFPA 921 (or if you really want to be on up to date, the new edition should be out anytime now). I encourage you to read and comprehend the entire document. When you have completely absorbed all of it, pick up NFPA 1033. And when you have understood Daubert and Gate keeping, by all means do not stop there...
Fire Investigation HAS NEVER been so comprehensive and scientific than it is right now. If you think a fire chief is going to stroll into court, state the facts, and not be shredded on the stand, it is not just going to happen.Cases are now being overturned because of "junk science". Look up the Todd Willingham case if you really want an eye opener.
I have been doing this as a career for the last several years and it has become such a specialized field it almost to the point you have to be an engineer in the particular case you are working on. Most investigators now have so many letters and advanced degrees after their names its almost funny.
Support the Dutchess County FID. They as a team serve a very important function for the county, and they do it without getting paid.
If you do not realize their importance now, maybe you will when the DA cannot get a conviction because he / she does not have the resources.

For those of you who think that the training is minimal, you better think again. In your free time pick up NFPA 921 (or if you really want to be on up to date, the new edition should be out anytime now). I encourage you to read and comprehend the entire document. When you have completely absorbed all of it, pick up NFPA 1033. And when you have understood Daubert and Gate keeping, by all means do not stop there...
Fire Investigation HAS NEVER been so comprehensive and scientific than it is right now. If you think a fire chief is going to stroll into court, state the facts, and not be shredded on the stand, it is not just going to happen.Cases are now being overturned because of "junk science". Look up the Todd Willingham case if you really want an eye opener.
I have been doing this as a career for the last several years and it has become such a specialized field it almost to the point you have to be an engineer in the particular case you are working on. Most investigators now have so many letters and advanced degrees after their names its almost funny.
Support the Dutchess County FID. They as a team serve a very important function for the county, and they do it without getting paid.
If you do not realize their importance now, maybe you will when the DA cannot get a conviction because he / she does not have the resources.

For those of you who think that the training is minimal, you better think again. In your free time pick up NFPA 921 (or if you really want to be on up to date, the new edition should be out anytime now). I encourage you to read and comprehend the entire document. When you have completely absorbed all of it, pick up NFPA 1033. And when you have understood Daubert and Gate keeping, by all means do not stop there...
Fire Investigation HAS NEVER been so comprehensive and scientific than it is right now. If you think a fire chief is going to stroll into court, state the facts, and not be shredded on the stand, it is not just going to happen.Cases are now being overturned because of "junk science". Look up the Todd Willingham case if you really want an eye opener.
I have been doing this as a career for the last several years and it has become such a specialized field it almost to the point you have to be an engineer in the particular case you are working on. Most investigators now have so many letters and advanced degrees after their names its almost funny.
Support the Dutchess County FID. They as a team serve a very important function for the county, and they do it without getting paid.
If you do not realize their importance now, maybe you will when the DA cannot get a conviction because he / she does not have the resources.

For those of you who think that the training is minimal, you better think again. In your free time pick up NFPA 921 (or if you really want to be on up to date, the new edition should be out anytime now). I encourage you to read and comprehend the entire document. When you have completely absorbed all of it, pick up NFPA 1033. And when you have understood Daubert and Gate keeping, by all means do not stop there...
Fire Investigation HAS NEVER been so comprehensive and scientific than it is right now. If you think a fire chief is going to stroll into court, state the facts, and not be shredded on the stand, it is not just going to happen.Cases are now being overturned because of "junk science". Look up the Todd Willingham case if you really want an eye opener.
I have been doing this as a career for the last several years and it has become such a specialized field it almost to the point you have to be an engineer in the particular case you are working on. Most investigators now have so many letters and advanced degrees after their names its almost funny.
Support the Dutchess County FID. They as a team serve a very important function for the county, and they do it without getting paid.
If you do not realize their importance now, maybe you will when the DA cannot get a conviction because he / she does not have the resources.

For those of you who think that the training is minimal, you better think again. In your free time pick up NFPA 921 (or if you really want to be on up to date, the new edition should be out anytime now). I encourage you to read and comprehend the entire document. When you have completely absorbed all of it, pick up NFPA 1033. And when you have understood Daubert and Gate keeping, by all means do not stop there...
Fire Investigation HAS NEVER been so comprehensive and scientific than it is right now. If you think a fire chief is going to stroll into court, state the facts, and not be shredded on the stand, it is not just going to happen.Cases are now being overturned because of "junk science". Look up the Todd Willingham case if you really want an eye opener.
I have been doing this as a career for the last several years and it has become such a specialized field it almost to the point you have to be an engineer in the particular case you are working on. Most investigators now have so many letters and advanced degrees after their names its almost funny.
Support the Dutchess County FID. They as a team serve a very important function for the county, and they do it without getting paid.
If you do not realize their importance now, maybe you will when the DA cannot get a conviction because he / she does not have the resources.

For those of you who think that the training is minimal, you better think again. In your free time pick up NFPA 921 (or if you really want to be on up to date, the new edition should be out anytime now). I encourage you to read and comprehend the entire document. When you have completely absorbed all of it, pick up NFPA 1033. And when you have understood Daubert and Gate keeping, by all means do not stop there...
Fire Investigation HAS NEVER been so comprehensive and scientific than it is right now. If you think a fire chief is going to stroll into court, state the facts, and not be shredded on the stand, it is not just going to happen.Cases are now being overturned because of "junk science". Look up the Todd Willingham case if you really want an eye opener.
I have been doing this as a career for the last several years and it has become such a specialized field it almost to the point you have to be an engineer in the particular case you are working on. Most investigators now have so many letters and advanced degrees after their names its almost funny.
Support the Dutchess County FID. They as a team serve a very important function for the county, and they do it without getting paid.
If you do not realize their importance now, maybe you will when the DA cannot get a conviction because he / she does not have the resources.

Do everything possible to help the Brothers in Newburgh. Their backs are against the wall and literally, are in dire straits. The statistics do not lie. Talk to anyone who is over there. I have, and its a very dangerous situation (for everyone) that is on the table.
Hang in there guys, you have our support !

Sadness, the feeling I get every time I read about a brother who passes. Line of duty deaths strike a nerve unlike any other, emotions run wild, and well my heart hangs heavy.
If in this day in age you, your department , your town, village, city, etc., are not following what the Department of Labor says, OSHA, NFPA, NYS Building and Fire Codes, OFPC, Nationally Acceptable Practices, NIMS, etc., then please quit the fire service NOW.
I do not know all the facts of the Tarrytown FD and cannot comment on this incident, but I would sure hope they have followed all of these guidelines and any other applicable guideline(s).
If you really think it cannot happen in your department, you are sadly mistaken.
My sincere Condolences to the Tarrytown Fire Department and to the friends and families of these two brothers.

Sadness, the feeling I get every time I read about a brother who passes. Line of duty deaths strike a nerve unlike any other, emotions run wild, and well my heart hangs heavy.
If in this day in age you, your department , your town, village, city, etc., are not following what the Department of Labor says, OSHA, NFPA, NYS Building and Fire Codes, OFPC, Nationally Acceptable Practices, NIMS, etc., then please quit the fire service NOW.
I do not know all the facts of the Tarrytown FD and cannot comment on this incident, but I would sure hope they have followed all of these guidelines and any other applicable guideline(s).
If you really think it cannot happen in your department, you are sadly mistaken.
My sincere Condolences to the Tarrytown Fire Department and to the friends and families of these two brothers.

I could not help but chime in. After 7 years of being involved in all the Subway Drills and handling the Fire end of things, I had to comment. From my experience, go to the Drills and treat it as it is the real deal. You are going to have to work with all of the agencies involved, and if you have never had the pleasure, it is not going to be easy. A UNIFIED command post has to be to set up from the get go. And those IC's have to stay there. Representatives from each agency have to be there. Oh, and they probably are not going to be there as fast as you like, so you better have some contact numbers. Pre-plan information is really going to come into play here, hopefully someone has that information, especially if you are underground. If not, things are looking up for you. Hopefully, besides getting traction power off, train traffic stopped, and some of the immediate hazards identified, you better hope its not a rush hour train packed with passengers. You will need a calculator at this point to calculate how many passengers are on each train car then times that by how many train cars you have. Oh, and some train cars are longer than others and therefore can hold more passengers. But you have attended the Drills and already have been able to identify what kind of train cars you are dealing with. All the agencies share the same frequencies and can immediately go to those channels, right? You have tried out your radios in different areas to make sure they are in range, correct? There are going to be dead spots and hopefully you have learned to relay radio to radio, and get the information back to the Unified command post. Are you sure you are only dealing with the train involved? Or are there multiple trains involved. An incident I had a few years ago involved 3 trains. One agency was operating at one train, another on an additional train, and a third that had to reverse itself to get away from the fire. One agency had no idea that there were other trains involved. Hundreds of people were injured, thankfully not to seriously. This incident was outdoors AND underground. Enough with the war stories.... The acts of terrorism has crossed your mind and you have thought about primary and secondary devices, chemical and biological devices, right? You have a MAJOR MCI plan, you ARE going to need it. Its going to be a very hectic incident, hopefully you and your other departments have been working together as well as the other agencies and have all learned to place nice in the sandbox. I have been to every major incident down here for the last several years and have had the fortune to work with representatives from so many agencies. Utilize them and work together with them now, because when it happens, there is no time to work the kinks out.
Just my few cents worth. Be Safe and don't be afraid to reach out to Spanky, Gerardi, or myself.