R.I.C. is Like a Chainsaw… Over the last few years, as determined people have driven the implementation of Rapid Intervention Companies/Teams, many have stated that we are focusing on the rescue of firefighters and not on preventing perilous situations in the first place. Hmmm…this is an interesting perception, but is it reality? Well, other than empirical facts, what you perceive is your reality. What do we hear about during RIC deployment training? We hear about outcomes…actually, the consequences of incidents. We hear about how firefighters get into jeopardy. This happens through case studies used by instructors to motivate the students, provide an orientation to the subject, and to describe what lead to the firefighter entrapment. If there was only one case study presented in the RIC class that you attended, and that was the only firefighter entrapment that ever occurred…ever, it would be tough to develop trends and common factors leading to firefighter injuries and death. If this were the case, those that think we are only training to rescue firefighters would be correct. I have had the opportunity to attend some well-thought-out, valuable, and passionate courses dealing with firefighter rescue, and organizing, deploying, and commanding RIC’s. Each of the courses I’ve attended has started with case studies of how firefighters came to be lost or trapped in the first place. Each of these classes has contained multiple incident overviews…each incident sharing common denominators with the others. “If it’s predictable, it’s preventable,” Gordon Graham stated in probably every presentation he has ever delivered. (Fire Service Operations; Why Things Go Right, Why Things Go Wrong is one of Gordon Graham’s videos available on the FireNuggets home page). Our industry repeats mistakes, which is why the failure points are predictable. The connection between understanding the common factors involved with firefighter entrapment situations and a chainsaw occurred in my twisted mind while viewing The Rescue of Gary Morgan (LACoFD, 2001). Captain Morgan was trapped in a basement during a structure fire after the floor of the fire building burned through (greatly simplified representation of what happened). The RIC was deployed to rescue Captain Morgan and during the extraordinary rescue, the saw that the RIC was using kept cutting out and dying due to the deterioration of the environment that the crew and the saw were working in. During the video, a member of the RIC, Firefighter Frye, stated that the saw was running intermittently because the fire conditions kept clogging the air filter and depleting the oxygen. How did he diagnose that? Other more educated folks could launch into a discussion about Recognition Primed Decision Making (RPDM, or “slides in the slide tray”…err…”data on the hard drive” if you are under 40…), or they could blab about Cause and Effect relationships, but however it was that he got to the recognition of what was happening, one thing is clear; he knows what it takes to keep the saw running correctly. As you study incident consequences, you will hear about common denominators of firefighter entrapment. Preventing the entrapment starts with recognizing the factors that assemble a chain of negative events, or failed components, during the deployment of firefighting “resources” (translation: people with faces, names, and families). Being able to diagnose why a chainsaw quits running is only possible if you know what it takes to keep it healthy and running in the first place ... kind of like an incident. A chainsaw needs clean air and an unobstructed filter to function properly. Do all of your deployed people use SCBA’s? The saw engine needs the proper type and quantity of fuel. How fit are you in comparison to the tasks that you may face on a call? A chainsaw requires a partner to guide it through a proper cut in order to be effective. Do you freelance? Do you allow freelancing on incidents you manage? Heck, we even tighten the chain so it doesn’t jump off the bar while it is in motion. Do you actively enforce, and reinforce, department policy requiring the use of seatbelts? The point is, we know what happens when failure occurs, and we know how to prevent failure because we have been educated and we have learned from our experiences. Firefighter Kevin Frye must have learned over the course of his life what it takes to keep a chainsaw running safely and effectively. There are a ton of case studies and presentations out there regarding firefighter entrapments and LODD’s. Without reviewing all of them, with great confidence I can speculate that each of the incidents will have suffered failures in Command, Control, and Communications. During a presentation by Deputy Chief Michael Bryant and Captain Gary Morgan (both LACoFD) in San Jose, California (May 19, 2005), Chief Bryant presented a list of common denominators in firefighter injuries and deaths associated with firefighter entrapment that were assembled after reviewing multiple NIOSH investigations of firefighter injuries and fatalities. Take a look:
So, while studying why firefighters get trapped, we are learning what failed on the trip to disaster. We now know how to break the failure chain by reverse engineering the solution. Recognize the contributing factors and don’t let the stuff happen that can injure our people, which is certainly an overly simplified way of looking at it…especially when it could happen to any one of us tonight or tomorrow. Back to the chainsaw for a minute. Each morning we check the individual items that are needed for the saw to perform. Now that you have seen the list of items that can lead to firefighter entrapment, will you check these items everyday and prepare yourself for the shift? To take this corny analogy a little farther, why do we resist medical rehab at working incidents? It appears that once again, heart-related issues are the No. 1 killer of firefighters. Help reduce the risk of firefighters dying following a strenuous incident or training exercise…use medical rehab as a routine part of your Incident Action Plan. We inspect, clean, adjust, refuel and even sharpen the chainsaw before it goes back into the cabinet. Do we do the same for us? Are we out there helping the public stay safe through fire prevention inspections…and at the same time getting to know the properties in our response area? Are we finding the illegally installed mezzanine that has engine blocks and bowling balls stored on it that is just inside the front door of a business? There are many folks out there dedicating their time to share with us those preventable factors that if allowed to progress unchecked, will lead to catastrophe. Chief Brunacini and the Phoenix crew have caused a cultural change that makes it okay to share lessons learned. Gordon Graham is stressing the use of Non-Punitive Close Call Reporting to share near-misses, in our own words, so we can learn from others. Billy Goldfeder is using WMD (weapon of mass distribution) at www.firefighterclosecalls.com to get the NPCCR word out. Rick Kolomay and Bob Hoff (they did “write the book on it”…check out the Fire Nuggets online store) have been tireless in getting their message out. Michael Bryant and Gary Morgan are spreading the word and sharing their experiences. The Nobody Gets Left Behind crew continues to share Gary Ells with us during the week long training in Monterey. Paul Schuller and Ted Corporandy have provided us with FireNuggets.com…and there are many more folks out there helping us recognize how to avoid entrapment. Thanks to all of you. Remember the mission; take care of each other; take care of the public, and the needs of the community will be met. And by the way, don’t treat the chainsaw better than you treat yourself. © Copyright Firenuggets.com 2005 • Click here for Terms and Conditions of Use
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