What Do You See?

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Permalink Reply by Michael Bricault (ret) on August 6, 2010 at 12:35pm

-I did make the assumption of a four man engine company and I tried to limit my thinking of the incident to the first arriving.
-Obviously there are many duties to attend to such as venting, RIT, etc... However these evolutions require manpower and time. On the other hand, rescues typically happen within the first 8-10 minutes of the operation, the critical phase when several of the companies are usually still arriving thus leaving the first or second arriving on scene to set the ground work.
-I do understand that many departments are not as fortunate in the staffing arena and that is why I tried to view the problem from the first arriving engine only; the critical point. This is the time when the first due engine will have to decide what can be accomplished given the time and manpower constraints.
-They will not be able to accomplish the stretch, forcible entry, second line stretch; RIT and ventilation. So what is definitive? The first line or initiating the search?
-If the scenario has a High or Urgent Rescue Profile then as Chief Norman says, "When there aren't enough firefighters available to accomplish suppression and rescue, RESCUE is given priority." In the absence of a known rescue situation, a Low Rescue Profile, I would make the initial stretch keeping in mind that a limited aggressive search of the fire apartment must happen.
-One of the other objectives is to point out that in today's fire service with limited manpower, there is an over reliance on stretching the pre-connected 1.75 hand line because this is seen as definitive; and it may in fact be. However, firefighters must remember the initial Rescue Profile during the size up. Three firefighters can mount an aggressive rescue operation in a High or Urgent Rescue Profile situation specifically, seemingly in violation of the Two In/Two Out directive. The directive is clear that the one and only exception to the Two In/Two Out rule is a situation in which there is a known victim, in danger of loosing there life without the immediate intervention of the firefighters on scene.
-I agree that manpower, and their experience level is everything when evaluating a given scenario. There will be times when hard choices must be made. I'm not advocating ignoring stretching lines every time in favor of performing a primary search. What I am advocating is stopping the knee jerk reaction and over reliance on stretching the pre-connected handlines and starting to include the Rescue Profile back into the initial size up.
-Regardless of the manpower on scene, rescue will always take priority. In the photos a serious rescue consideration is placing portable ladders. To quote another fire service icon, Tom Brennen, "We never seem to throw enough portable ladders".

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