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Posts Tagged: Size Up

Anatomy of a Basement Fire

Here is a short video that you can use for a drill or training night. Feel free to use however you like. This is from a recent basement fire and what was looked for and what was done. There are some considerations to think about. This is not everything for all basement fires. Just a simple tutorial. Feel free to add your experience and ideas to this video. Read More »

Training Download: Commercials- Got Fire? Anticipate Collapse

It is mission critical to comprehend and understand your department’s operational capabilities and the necessary deployment demands for fire suppression, fire flow and phased operations at commercial building fires. Training Download Available. Read More »

Commercials- Got Fire; Anticipate Collapse

There are numerous factors to be cognizant of at commerical building fires especially when it comes to identifying precursors and indicators for collapse. Got Fire? Anticipate Collapse! Read More »

Size-Up: Report of the Week (ROTW)

Sizing up a structure for a fire attack is a skill that takes time, practice and experience to fully develop. In some cases, if the size-up is too rapid, critical points can be overlooked.The National Fire Fighter's Near-Miss Reporting System's Report of the Week (ROTW) has some insights. Read More »

Reading the Building: Just a Glimpse

As you may know, I am playing with a different format. It wont be all of the time for every blog, but something a little different. So, here is one based off an article that I did. Please be patient as I work with this. Hopefully, it will enrich your blog reading. Read More »

Three Firefighters Injured in Residential Collapse

Floor and wall collapse at a residential fire sends three firefighters into the basement and results in RIT rescues. Read More »

Tabletop Training for the Weekend “Rubbish Fire”

This special weekend edition of Ten Minutes in the Street TM is being offered on CommandSafety.com and is taking advantage of a training video produced by the LAFD in 2009 that involved a basis initial dispatch to a report of a rubbish fire that escalates into two structure fires and resulted in multiple alarm operations. Challenge your personnel and discuss and tabletop the incident scenario based on your operational and orgnizational profile and resources. Read More »

Ten Minutes in the Street: The First-Due

This edition of Ten Minutes in the Street TM is looking at the considerations for the first-due engine company upon arrival at a well involved single family residential house fire. Arrivals and subsequent deployments during night time periods pose ever increasing challenges to arriving officers in the ability to ascertain and recognize factors that will have a direct or ancillary affect in the developing incident action plan, tactics and task assignments. Read More »

One Aspect of the 360

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. Read More »

Ten Minutes in the Street: Report of Smoke in the Area

        It always starts out this way…..a quiet Saturday afternoon. The shift tour has been fairly quiet or you just happened to stop into the fire station for a cup of coffee and some kitchen table talk in the day room. The bells/tones… Read More »

Ordinary Buildings and Considerations

>Looking at these pictures shows us a building of ordinary construction.  These are usually older buildings and the building we see is typical of many downtown areas.  This particular building has storefronts on the main level with multi-family units above.

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Supervisor cleared on all charges in Deutsche Bank Building Fire that killed 2 FDNY Firefighters

[caption id="attachment_2874" align="aligncenter" width="480" caption="AP Photo"][/caption]   [caption id="attachment_2875" align="aligncenter" width="379" caption="5-5-5-5 August 18, 2007"][/caption] Published reports are being stating that th… Read More »

Basement Considerations

By seeing all four sides of the fire building we can see if the seat of the fire is in the basement and may allow us a more direct attack from the same level as the fire reducing the chances of floor failure. Read More »

Type V Construction-Wood Frame

We just need to remember the hazards and myths of this type of construction. One is that if one truss fails they all fail. I like to ask the classes that I teach if any of them has seen a house constructed with wood truss systems with a part of the roof burnt off and the rest of it still intact? The answer is always yes. Read More »

VES:Flashover, Bailout and Close-call

N.J. Firefighter bailout from Second-Story Window as a result of room fashover An Asbury Park (NJ) firefighter was seriously burned while fighting an apartment fire in the seaside community. 41-year-old firefighter Jason Fazio was in listed in cri… Read More »

Fire Department Officers Liable in Double Firefighter LODD

The state Supreme Court Appellate Division in Rochester – in a 4-1 split decision – concluded the law granting personal immunity to volunteer firefighters does not apply to the fire departments themselves or to department officials. Read More »

Collapse of Bowstring Truss Roof Seriously Injures Fire Fighter

[caption id="attachment_1367" align="alignleft" width="371" caption="Fire suppression operations on Alpha side prior to collapse. Firefighter is seen in the immediate collapse zone"][/caption] The NIOSH Fire fighter Investigation and Prevention Progr… Read More »

Ordinary and Heavy Timber Constructed Occupancies Training Download

[caption id="attachment_1322" align="aligncenter" width="384" caption="Training Program Download Compliments of Chris Naum"][/caption] Operational Safety Considerations at Ordinary and Heavy Timber Constructed Occupancies  Building Type III and IV… Read More »

Size Up Drill

I still believe that a size up is a size up and the information you gather during it, along with experience, training and knowledge, will direct you into the right direction. If the building is tenable or not; if it has burned before; if it is in poor condition; it doesn't change how you size up. What changes is how you use the information. Read More »

Interactive Dynamic Risk Assessment Download

[caption id="attachment_1286" align="aligncenter" width="552" caption="Interactive Risk Assessment Training Download by Christopher Naum"][/caption]  An interactive training program has been provided courtesy of Buildingsonfire.com and Commandsaf… Read More »

Taking it to the Streets: The First-Due Officer

Grab a cup of coffee and sit down for an hour with Taking it to the Streets on Firefighernetcast.com where we’ll discuss the street level issues affecting the First-Due Officer on Wednesday night November 17th at 9:00 pm EST. Read More »

Situational Awareness and The Three Sixty

Both the 2006 and 2007 Firefighter Near-Miss Reporting System Annual Reports identified a lack of situational awareness as the highest contributing factor to near misses reported. Read More »

The Initial On Scene Report

Most in the fire service would agree that our success at any building fire is determined by the actions of the initial arriving units (first alarm assignment). The ability of the first arriving unit to provide a sufficient initial on-scene report will provide other incoming units with the information and direction they need to position and operate in the most efficient manner and, hopefully, take care of the fire safely and quickly. A very useful and effective acronym that I have used is the A-B-C-D Size-up. Read More »

The Predictability of Occupancy Performance and Tactical Patience

When was the last time you were out in the street with the companies? Read More »

Residential Structure Flashover and FF LODD- NIOSH Report

Victim was found wrapped in the 2 ½ inch hoseline that had ruptured. Read More »

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