Barry Franchi - Glen McGuire

Planning for Survival

By Barry Franchi and Glen McGuire

Most of today's buildings are constructed and filled with materials that should be of great concern to all firefighters. Trusses, wooden I-beams, thermal pane windows, rolled and/or blown-in insulation and "chipboard" are the construction materials of choice in today's structures. Combine these with the furnishings and finishes inside these structures and you have a catastrophe in the making. Flashover in these buildings is occurring in 2-3 minutes. Collapses are becoming all too common and firefighters are still losing their lives at a rate that is simply not acceptable.

What are some of the things you can you do to increase firefighter survival in today's buildings? Preplan! Go out and look at the new construction being built all around you. You will notice that trusses and I-beams are not only used for roof construction. The structural members supporting the upper floors are almost always trusses or wooden I-beams. Not only is this a weaker structure under fire conditions, it also hides a large void between floors where hidden fire can burn freely.

Most of us have heard this before, but think about it. Standard construction with 2"x 8" or 2"x10" solid floor joists has openings that are 16 inches to 24 inches wide between joists, 7 inches to 10 inches high and, most of the time, not much longer than about 16 feet. There's not much room for a large-free burning fire. Lightweight truss construction, on the other hand, has an opening between floors that can be 18 inches to 3 feet high; and it is almost completely open side to side and the full length of the room. And, because trusses allow for longer spans, the length of the opening can be far greater than we find with standard construction. There’s plenty of room in this void for hidden fire to burn for long lengths of time.

How many times do we respond to a reported structure fire and find "light smoke showing"? "Light smoke showing" should be a warning. Is it something as simple as a smoldering rag, or is there a large fire burning in the truss void above or below you?

While you're looking for the smoke source, the trusses can suddenly fail (because that's what they do); and suddenly a simple "smoke smell" becomes your worst nightmare. Firefighters are being killed or seriously injured when they open the ceiling to look for the smoke source and the new supply of oxygen accelerates the fire in the truss void, causing a “backdraft” and/or immediate truss failure.

If you're a California firefighter, go out to the nearest subdivision being built in your first due. You'll find interior walls sheeted with plywood and nailed every few inches. They’re called shear walls; they're in all new construction; they're built for earthquake safety; and they're not something you're going to be able to breach easily. The old plan of breaching an interior wall to escape a bad situation may not work anymore. The preplan that you do today may save your life tomorrow, or even tonight.

And while you're out there, don't forget to preplan the old buildings that will also collapse and kill you. Train constantly and consistently. At a time when new firefighters are gaining less fireground experience than their predecessors, this is extremely critical. Today's firefighters and officers are not reaping the benefits of OJT (on-the-job training) that they were getting years ago. Naturally, this OJT must be supplemented with daily drills, etc.; however, the experience gained was extraordinary. A good training division recognizes this and will be creative and resourceful in its attempts to keep its people trained and safe.

Training in building construction, use of fire simulators, slides and videos, repeatedly dropping lines, throwing ladders, SCBA confidence drills, blackboard tactics, etc., are just a few tools that are part of the training arsenal still available to us all. lnsure that firefighters know what to look for and how to react to lightweight construction during fire conditions. When making entry into the first floor of a two-or-more-story building, pay close attention to what is going on all around you. Is the fire a contents-only fire or has it burned through the sheet rock and now involves the structure? If it's a structure fire and entry must be made, think about staying close to the walls. If the trusses fail and the second floor and all its furnishings come down, maybe the walls will afford you some protection.

Some of these lessons can still be taught on the drill ground and in the classroom. The fact is that fireground experience is going to become more and more limited, making the fire scene a more dangerous place to be. Take a close look at present policies and procedures. Will they keep firefighters alive or are they outdated and need revision?

Roof ventilation: it's an important part of fireground tactics. Get the heat and gases out and the engine guys in. Firefighters have always been taught to "ventilate over the fire, minimum 4 feet by 4 feet, at the highest point, wind at your back, etc., etc." Today, the buildings being built all around us should cause us to reconsider. Putting firefighters directly over (or under) burning truss construction is asking for trouble. Trusses don't sound an alarm before failure. They don't creak, they don't sag, they don't warn us — they just fail, immediately.

Policies that prioritize firefighter safety over property conservation should put us over unaffected and unburned trusses. If we ventilate the roof a short distance from the fire, what will we lose? If it's roof framing and not firefighters, it's a good policy. The fine line here, however, is that we don't mistake lack of aggressive firefighting based on intelligent decisions for firefighter safety. Once the fire is out and we're back at the station loading hose and cleaning equipment, we're not going to lose firefighters at that incident. The more time we spend at the incident the more chance we have of people getting hurt. As the incident time increases the fire intensity increases. As the fire intensity increases the building gets weaker and our people get tired. Get the job done safely and aggressively and get out of there!

Insure, on a company level, that your crew has a plan. Too many times we hear, “We'll play it by ear.” We all know that the fireground is dynamic and situations constantly change, but to not have a plan can mean disaster. There are always certain tasks that must be accomplished and all crew members must be “on the same page.” Make sure that company members know what their duties are and that every member knows what the others are doing. If you're prepared, being able to adapt to changing conditions will merely be a part of the plan.

Another part of the plan for survival must include a regular, ongoing workout program for all personnel. The number one cause of death for firefighters is heart attack due to exhaustion or heat stress. The effort to make us “safe” has so completely encapsulated us in our turnouts that our bodies are unable to release the heat. A good, solid workout program, combined with proper diet, will lower the heart rate and blood pressure and increase muscle while losing fat. It will also allow the body to better utilize the available oxygen and increase your endurance and stamina. Like the preplan, the workout program you start today may save your life (or someone else’s) tomorrow. And although staying in shape cannot insure your survival, it’s certainly going to give you a much better chance.

Even after preplanning and training, however, burning buildings don't always act the way we want them to. Increase the chances of firefighter survival by training firefighters for rapid intervention, and have policies in place to insure that a Rapid Intervention Company is part of every incident. Rapid Intervention Companies that are proactive, dedicated and focused will mean the difference between life and death.

Finally, insure that all firefighters are trained to get themselves and others out of bad situations. Firefighter survival training should be taught to recruits from Day 1, and ongoing survival training must be a high priority. On today’s fireground, the old adage of breaking a (thermal pane) window and throwing your helmet out for someone to find just won't do much to insure your survival.

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