16fire5

I have began to see it on many existing buildings in my town. I was wondering if they had changed the law but I figured I would have heard about it.

I believe Miami Dade staffs these rescues with and officer and 2 firefighters.

PESH has gone out and done some presentations to help departments understand the requirements. PESH has stated that a body belay is acceptable to them in the proper context i.e. 2 story buildings. As for the mutual aid the wording contains language about regular and ongoing. I'm willing to bet the school dorm being refered to is a class 1 fireproof building and probably fully sprinklered. This is not the building type that is the subject of bailouts. I think it would be a stretch to believe that a rural county needs to outfit with a complex rope system because of a single 6 story fireproof building.

This has nothing to do with volunteers. I was on a run where we were accused after the fact. It was investigated thorourghly until the occupant decided they misplaced the money/belongings. The only difference is no one was charged much to my dismay. What lessons can be drawn? Keep the standards high so we only have those with clear backgrounds. Never tolerate anything like this and when falsly accused stand up for your members.

And Engine Chauffeurs and officers that kept their engines from blocking out the trucks.

Thanks. At a the low elevation and full extension and angled off the cab there was probably a lot of load on that outrigger and even with a pad I wouldn't put it down in grass.

Is the inboard outrigger of the tiller on solid ground?

On the same note lets make sure we do not cause the explosion. It's easy to become complacant on gas leaks since 95% are not serious i.e. defective stove, burner left on. Only use intrinsically safe equipment. Leave the TIC on the rig because it's not intrinsically safe. Don't ring the doorbell or turn on light switches. Turn your handlight on out side. We investigate with two seperate meters. A TIFF (orange meter used by most utilities) pretty sensitive good for locating the source of most leaks. The second meter for most trucks is an ALtair which provides a percent of the LEL reading. This allows you to know when your dealing with a minor or serious leak. One thing to remember is the meters the utility crew uses measure the concentration of gas in the air. It is not uncommon for our members to be assiting a utility crew check basements or gain access. Gas workers are for all intensive purposes deal with gas leaks every day and may not treat the situation with the urgency we feel is necessary. This is all important because a reading of 5% on the utility workers meter is the equivalent of 100% of the LEL. It means the environment is explosive.

First off excellent choice by the good captain to spin this off. When I saw Chief Flynn's paragraph about accountability I found it to be one of the best points made in a long time. Things really do change when you are promoted but you have to accept that and do the job. Your number one job is to take care of your men. Sometimes that's easy and sometimes it's not. Many officers are maybe too timid about making waves and want to be friends. I think your being their friend by making them wear all their gear and their SCBA. Maybe the relationship is more fatherly even if the boss like me is not that old. M Ave. I'm with you 100% hands on senior guys are priceless you learn that quick when you cover. Good senior men bring the probies and junior guys up right and handle things right away. Good senior men keep things from getting to the office.

Anybody using the CMI Guillotine (bad name for something used with rope)? Looks real simple to me. http://www.rocknrescue.com/acatalog/CMI-Guillotine.html

The Commisioner's opening comments in WNYF(the official publication of the FDNY) Issue 1/2010 states that the FDNY will begin implementing this in the spring.

I understand the concept to lessen the wear and tear on the large apparatus but the idea that leaving 2 guys back is leaving the engine in service dosen't make sense to me. I think Rochester does something similar but different the company has 6 assigned and when the midi responds with 2 to an EMS run 4 are left back for the quint.

Rural Metro is the transport provider which they took over from Eastern Paramedics when they aquired that company in the 1990s. I think the cuse finally came to their senses and went red.

A city of 100,000 people is now going to be protected by 65 firefighters from 3 stations. So yes it's really bad and unthinkable. The youngest most fit have been layed off. Grossly understaffed members left will face an unthinkable workload. My thoughts are with the members of the Flint Fire Department may they stay safe during these trying times.

Yeah and ours are stored in quarters. So the scenario is get the run put the thing on the rig. Drive to the scene. Walk down the 120' circular staircase emergency exit with the cart. Put it together. Roll it to the scene. I like their method of storing the thing along the system so it's already down there for us.

In the FDNY an added element is that in a ladder company half my firefighters are not under my direct supervision since the roof, OV, and chauffeur may have assignments depending on the building that cause them to operate remote from me and even alone at times. This is where disipline and training really kick in members must know to contact the boss by radio when teaming up, leaving their normal position, and other improtant events. If firefighters keep it in mind that their officer must know where they are and might I add what they are doing and officers keep track of their firefighters that is what acomplishes accountability. All the tags in the world and guys outside with boards and rings don't help if the members don't have the accountability mindset. If you don't use seating positions and standard assignments and wing it for every fire accountability will be next to impossible. When you get down to it accountability is a puzzle piece that fits in with the other pieces ICS, SOPs, Safety. Without all the pieces meshing together all of them individually will suffer. FYI the Resource Unit Leader is relieved by the officer on the Field Comm Unit and usually gets assigned a sector.

Well this is a topic that can't be adequetely covered in a couple hundred words on here. Here are some things that come off the top of my head. 1. Risk Management-The whole thing will depend on if the place is opened or closed. If it's open some sort of interior attack will probably be necessary to attempt a primary search. After the joint has closed the only life hazard becomes us and any advanced fire the risk may very well outweight the benifit of interior attack. 2. Water supply- Lay in (don't count on somebody else to do it for you). 2 1/2 with a smooth bore is an excellent choice in commercial for a number of reasons. Great reach, absorbs lots of btu's, and is powerful so that is blows those ceiling tiles apart and penetrates to the fire. 3. Thermal Imaging Camera- The TIC is always important but at a commercial building where you have high ceilings it may be your first warning of heat build up above your head. A good tactic is to lift up a ceiling tile on entry and check the plenum for fire before you venture in too far below it. The TIC will help you stay orientated, find victims, keep track of your crew, and locating the fire). 4. In many cases we will be dealing with truss roofs so roof ops is out. 5. Consider using the search rope if you are entering without a handline. 6. A middle of the night fire in one of these buildings is a good canidate for a backdraft. Most of the fires you will encounter in these buildings are duct fires which have different tactics. Lastly here is the link to a LODD report about a fire in a McDonald's in Houston Texas that occured in 2000. This tragic fire took the lives of two firefighters. http://www.cdc.gov/niosh/fire/reports/face200013.html

While this was the case with the rigs of the 90s the new rigs seem to be very tempermental without pads down. Without the pads we can't get the aerial out of the bed with any incline involved. While the rig can have both outrigers (we call them tormentors) and all 4 jacks placed simultaneously the controls are on the drivers side even with the pedestal so the officers side tormentor is blind to the operator and requires a second member to visualize placement. As for the baker and now seagrave they make a very stable platform with room to rescue families at a time. The working load is excellent. The TL also make a great high point for tech rescue ops. In confined space incidents in particular it eliminates the legs of the tripod that are always in the way.

How do YFD engines operate for jobs like this? When you break down the numbers 1 officer 1 ECC you have 2 back step firefighters. How many engine companies does it take to get the first line in position and how long? I know how inefficent 3 firefighters from an FDNY engine company are in this situation. Actually now to think of it you need one firefighter to control the stretch in this type of building so initially you have one firefighter making a 8+ length stretch alone initially. Top floor fires in these large NFP buildings are extremely difficult to get ahead of with FDNY staffing levels.

They already have new level A suits that have a bunker gear like material on the outside and seal around the facepiece (AV-3000) instead of encapsulating the user over the SCBA. They appear much more user friendly.

You should feel the pressue to do it right on all responses no matter who is watching. As an officer your thoughts on every response should be for the safety of your crew. If you try to act differently or rush because of the crowd you will undoubtedly trip up. Good companies handle car fires and water leaks with the same professionalism as they do a first due job with people trapped.

Just one for firemen and cops. Oh wait it's not a tax it's a condition of employment.

Very informative. So some companies have 4 and others 3. Ladder 13 runs without an officer? Some FD websites are geared towards fire service members/buffs and some for the public. What I like about New Rochelle's is it is a good website for the public and written in lay terms but also is informative to other fire departments.

That is correct. Something about they rented the place for the whole week?

While there are plenty of times I am happy I was not being taped it is the world we live in. So lets learn frome others mistakes. At car fires like this there is very little to gain but much to lose. The dangers at car fires are extensive and the byproducts of a burning car are probably the worst thing we come in contact on a regular basis. Don't rush, wear everything, use the reach of the stream, and approach at an angle. There was a recent article in Fire Engineering by a member of the YFD which hit the important stuff in depth. I did say very little to gain because they are good for training new members. Your nozzle team gets to work as a team on air to put out a fire. Have the forcible entry team work as a team and get the hood (after the fire is knocked down and bumpers and struts cooled) with the irons (it builds team work with the irons).