Where firefighters come to talk training

One Aspect of the 360

I understand that all buildings, for various reasons, will not get a 360 performed on it during a fire. But, for those that we do get to job around, we need to understand what we are looking for.

I recently spoke with an acting officer and asked him what he was looking for when performing a 360. His answer was "fire." I asked what else? The answer came, "ways in." We need to make sure we are taking advantage of the information being made available to us while we are circling the building.

This post is going to focus on some basement indicators. The pictures shown below are just examples of things you might see when making the round. Keep in mind that at night you need to take a hand light. For example, the wood behind the basement windows below may not be noticeable with shining a light in the windows on the way around.

We must pay attention to what we are looking for when conduction the 360. As you can see, we may be faced with some very challenging situations. Not only do we need to be aware during the initial arrival, but the RIT will need this information as well.

As always, follow you own operational guidelines and train hard.

Jason

▶ Reply to This

Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by P.J. Norwood on August 24, 2011 at 7:27pm

Kelly, I'm speechless! Thanks for the education.

▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by John Shafer on August 27, 2011 at 2:29pm

Great post Jason as always and I agree a 360 is to gather as many critical factors that you can and not just to look for fire! I would also love to see this expanded out to see what everyone is looking for!

▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Michael Dombroski on August 28, 2011 at 5:14pm

Hi. There is so much information to be gathered from the 360, as you all have alluded. I take a TIC with me now so I can investigate exterior thermal footprints that may give an indication of fire location on the interior. Very useful for heavy smoke conditions without visable flame. It can give the game away prior to entry, and provide us with the best ventilation considerations. The officer's 360 is a really busy time for them. All good decisions are only based on good information. The information required to make good decisions is not automatically beamed into an officer's head upon arrival, it must be gathered by the officer and the 360 is one of the most effective information gathering processes. Firefighters also have a responsibility to be observant and communicate information to the officer to assist in the information gathering process. Operations prior to decisions based on that information should be limited to those required to save life that is in imminent danger. A few seconds delay while information is being gathered and processed gives the officer the opportunity to make the best decisions, allows firefighters to prepare adequately and observe conditions, will ensure the operation goes smoothly and may even safe lives.

▶ Reply

▶ Reply to Discussion

‹ Previous
1
2
Next ›

RSS

Welcome to
Fire Engineering Training Community

Sign Up
or Sign In

Or sign in with:

Policy Page

PLEASE NOTE

The login above DOES NOT provide access to Fire Engineering magazine archives. Please go here for our archives.

CONTRIBUTORS NOTE

Our contributors' posts are not vetted by the Fire Engineering technical board, and reflect the views and opinions of the individual authors. Anyone is welcome to participate.

For vetted content, please go to www.fireengineering.com/issues.

We are excited to have you participate in our discussions and interactive forums. Before you begin posting, please take a moment to read our community policy page.

Be Alert for Spam
We actively monitor the community for spam, however some does slip through. Please use common sense and caution when clicking links. If you suspect you've been hit by spam, e-mail peter.prochilo@clarionevents.com.