Brennan Q&A March 2004

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TOM BRENNAN has more than 35 years of fire service experience having responded to 33,000 fire alarms. His career spans more than 20 years with the Fire Department of New York as well as four years as chief of the Waterbury (Conn.) Fire Department. He has a bachelor of science degree, summa cum laude, John Jay College; Alumnus of the Year Award, John Jay College; chairman of the Connecticut Fire Chiefs Association and a charter member of the National Fire Protection Association, Fire Service Section. He has delivered courses and seminars throughout the United States and has instructed at the National Fire Academy. He was the editor of Fire Engineering Magazine for eight years, is currently a technical editor, and his column “Random Thoughts,” is a regular monthly feature. He is co-editor of The Fire Chief’s Handbook, Fifth Edition. He is the recipient of the 1998 Fire Engineering Lifetime Achievement Award.

MARCH 2004

Question: You always mention that the job of firefighters is to make the building behave. What do you mean by that phrase?

Answer: The workplace of the firefighter is the interior of an enclosed structure in which there is a fire. His or her (last time for that nonsense) workplace is NOT the fire station!

As a workplace, the building on fire needs to be made as safe as possible — as is any other, by law. This workplace witnesses events that would never be tolerated in the civilian world, even in the most dangerous jobs controlled by standards and government agencies. These events include such things as FLASHOVER, SMOKE EXPLOSION, ROLLOVER or flame-over, collapse situations, inadequate lighting, falling objects, tripping and falling hazards, and the list goes on and on. In short, it is an uncontrolled environment in which we work.

Couple that with the facts that today’s fire service spends more time injured that ever before in our history. Sure, the numbers are the same; but the fire occasions are down! You do the interpolative mathematics!

The phrase you attribute to me I use to describe most of the aspects of truck work at fire structures. If it can be accomplished (manning levels and training taken into account), then everyone will come home relatively safe; the mission statement will be accomplished expertly; and the public will be saved — at least those who can be saved on arrival.

We can prevent flashover and the related less-intensive events from ever becoming a reality once we arrive, if we are able to employ or deploy the tactics necessary — synergistically and all at once.

The structure should be made open and hose lines advanced from the best and most effective position — forcible entry. The top of the enclosure should be made open to prevent the build-up of products that cause the smoke explosions, flashovers, and other pressure/heat phenomena — vertical ventilation. Interior search and hose line advance to the main seat of fire should be made more rapidly with coordinated horizontal ventilation at the rear of the fire first, then the flanks, and finally the front if necessary.

With all that in place, the building is behaving, the signs of collapse (or stabilization) are detected, the fire is extinguished more quickly (the best life-saving tool in our arsenal).

In short there are no surprises (or at least considerably fewer). The building does not become an ally with the enemy — the fire.

Today this pipe dream of a firefighting experience is becoming less and less of a reality. The tactics cannot be performed because the worker (the firefighter) is not available! All the decision-makers who have whittled down what used to be an effective and supervised collection of teams are outside the envelope watching what they think is routine and will never understand. Yet they will wring their hands over the injury and death rate of our firefighters in this profession and believe that civilian fire death is expected!

In reality it is because we no longer can make the building behave so we can do our work relatively safely and effectively.

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Write if you agree or don’t agree or on anything. Tbrennan@firenuggets.com

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