Quadraplex with a twist

by Skip Coleman

Oct 31, 2013

OK,  Before I move on,  as a curiosity, if you pulled up and were assigned search - nothing else was said over the radio or face to face because Command was busy, would you first move towards the victim in the window in apartment C or, because of conditions showing, would you do something else?  Is this the time to split the Crew?  (Can you split your crew because of the staffing on your rig?) 

Lastly,when you deciden to go to the victim,  would your first reaction be to get to the victim via ground ladder or stairs and once you contacted him, what do you do next?  

Here is the video:   http://youtu.be/QBxPZdZZRYs

Questions to answer are in Bold and underlined.  Add anything else that you deem important. 

First photo below labels apartments.  Second larger is snap from video. 




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  • Kevin Dippolito

    Grant, if the interior stairs are not an option, we'd try to bring them down a ground ladder. If the victim were obese, or unable to be brought down a ground ladder for some reason, we may have to use a tower ladder. As for the roof ventilation, I had mentioned putting the aerial to the roof. And yes, we would open it up. The pic & video show smoke from some sort of attic vent, and also the front door, so at a minimum we'd be opening that attic vent and putting a h*** directly above the stairwell.  Kevin

    Nov 13, 2013

  • Grant Schwalbe

    Thanks Kevin…it seems like departments with dedicated trucks do more with the vertical vent.  We have a ton of one stories, new construction, light weight trusses, barrel tile and metal roofs…it's the exception rather than the rule for us.

    Nov 13, 2013

  • Justin Renner

    We too have a dedicated truck which we try to run with 4 guys. Our guys like to hit the roof cutting even when it may not really be the best choice. We have an older city with alot of legacy construction in the old town and light wieght in the new developed area. The main body of fire is on the main floor, there is smoke on the second floor and from the roof vents, but that doesnt mean that there has to be fire there. I would say horizontal vent and get a good knock on the fire. I like to see a guy go to the attic on every fire it is just a practice that my previous dept. practiced and I became used to it. If you get a knock on it and still have smoke pushing then you may be looking at hidden fire and in which case further venting may be needed. When availible and pending conditions a second line to the 2nd floor may be warrented. As for victim removal with this victim I would say just normal ground ladders. He is semi-alert and hopefully able to help out a bit. Our first in Ladder most likely is going to be a ladder tower but if it is going to be set up for victim removal then not much in the line of venting will be done as far as the truck guys go. ladder high points are a good tool to have but as for a first arriving engine a throw and go is going to be our starting tactic and save the other methods for plan "B and C"

    Nov 13, 2013