TWO IN, TWO OUT—FRIEND OR FOE?
Part II
In Part I, we discussed the basic concept of the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) standard for respiratory protection, and specifically CFR Parts 1910 and 1926, which has been commonly referred to as the "two-in / two-out rule." Using CFR Parts 1910 and 1926 as currently written (which may or may not change with time) in concert with part 1 as a guideline, let's focus and expand on several additional considerations.
JUSTIFICATION
In the absence of accepted national staffing standards, it has become increasingly difficult for a chief of a department to justify the need for a minimum staffing level on a simple engine company. The days of "I am the fire chief, I know best, trust me!" are long gone. The persons responsible for managing the purse strings of modern municipalities want facts, figures, and "hardcore data" to justify the need for a minimum number of persons on an engine company. In fact, as company staffing is reduced from four to three, from three to two, and so on, the perception by civic leaders that these reductions are fiscally responsible is supported by the fact that municipalities have failed to burn to the ground, and "business as usual" has not been significantly hampered. However, in support of minimal staffing standards, the "two-in / two-out" rule establishes a minimum number of four personnel required to conduct an interior fire-attack operation at a common structure fire. Interestingly, this same concept could also be used to limit staffing to four personnel. If the required standard states four personnel can safety provide an initial interior fire-attack operation and an exterior backup team, then why should a municipality want to fund more than four personnel on a company? Another interesting thought is: would a municipality want to reduce a staffing of five or six to four? This is the prime reason that large municipalities with staffing levels that exceeded four personnel on apparatus successfully fought the proposed national staffing level minimum of four.
TRAINING
The two-in / two-out standard delineates actions that can be conducted by the initial company in regards to interior fire attack operations, search and rescue operations, and an exterior backup team when less than four firefighters are on scene. Therefore, fire departments that are faced with this dilemma must use training programs that simulate the department’s capabilities at structure fires when less then four personnel are initially on-scene. When fireground rules and considerations change, personnel must thoroughly understand their responsibilities and be able to operate accordingly. If it requires multiple companies to provide adequate staffing to initiate an interior attack with an appropriate exterior backup team, then this fact provides a basic guideline for your training programs and should be an integral part of your SOPS. If you have not looked at the "Roundtable" in the February 2000 issue of Fire Engineering magazine, you should as it contains some excellent operational procedures that different types of departments have adopted for their specific applications.
PUMP OPERATOR
For a moment, lets consider who may potentially be the most important person in the two in/two out scenario; the pump operator. You are probably thinking, "What is the big deal? The major responsibility of a pump operator is to supply the initial attack line, be ready to become an integral part of a rescue team (if necessary), observe the fireground, initiate a little community relations with the local residents, and try to look unimportant (after all, film crews might be filming)." Remember, the two-in / two-out guidelines delineate that with a staffing of four, an initial company can conduct an interior attack operation simultaneously with a exterior backup team that is comprised of the following:
The person who will often qualify for the person involved in an operation that can be abandoned for a necessary search-rescue operation will be the pump operator. However, several considerations immediately surface as follows:
Consideration #1
If a pump operator is considered an integral portion of a potential interior search-rescue team, what is the acceptable level of protective equipment worn by a pump operator while operating the pump panel? Is it boots, turnout pants-coat, helmet, gloves, and an SCBA immediately accessible, or is it boots, turnout pants, T-shirt or sweatshirt, and the rest of the protective equipment equation is somewhere on the apparatus? In fact, this author has always believed that in most cases (and even without the two-in / two-out rule), a pump operator operating a pump panel is inappropriately dressed with a T-shirt or sweatshirt (and without a helmet) during offensive fireground operations based on a simple principle: safety. Question: If a problem arises on the fireground with minimal staffing constraints that requires a person to immediately solve an impending problem, who is the leading candidate that will volunteer to solve the problem? Answer: Pump operator. So, if your pump operator falls into this classification, is your pump operator appropriately and safely dressed for the unexpected?
Consideration #2
Again, if the pump operator is considered an integral portion of a potential interior search-rescue team, and is responsible to supply the initial interior attack line (stated from another perspective, the only interior line), are you comfortable with the pump operator leaving the pump panel to become part of an interior search-rescue team? To answer this question, consider the following two alternatives:
Although the luxury of laying a supply line does not apply to everyone, fire departments that can take advantage of laying a supply line into a structure fire should remember the old fire department axiom: "The easy way always lacks a water supply." It is for this reason that a supply line can maximize your fireground operations, particularly the implementation of the two-in / two-out rule. Also, remember our previous thoughts on training. None of these considerations should surprise your personnel it your previous training programs prepared them for the expected and unexpected.
CUSTOMER SERVICE
Several years ago, Alan Brunacini, chief of the Phoenix Fire Department, focused attention on the concept of enhancing citizen’s perception of the fire service expending its maximum effort to meet their needs in emergency and non-emergency incidents. Without a doubt, the concept of customer service can maximize public support of the fire service. With that thought in mind, how does the initial company at a structure fire with a staffing of less than four explain customer service to the homeowner(s) who watch their house burn while the initial company protects exposures while waiting for the arrival of another company?
PRACTICALITY
Notwithstanding the inherent dangers of firefighting, the basic principle of structural fire suppression is relatively straightforward; rescue any trapped occupants, protect exposures, and put the fire out (remember the acronym RECEO?). However, while a firefighter on an initial apparatus with a staffing level of less than four to a structure fire evaluates the need for a search and rescue operation, an additional factor that will be present is the OSHA deviation policy (and no doubt considered by some, firefighters). The deviation policy enables less than four on-scene personnel to conduct appropriate operations to save a life where immediate action is necessary. However, such deviation may result in the issuance of a "de minimus" citation and will result in an investigation by the Fire Department in concert with a written report to the fire chief. Therefore, will the firefighter that is contemplating the need for a search-and-rescue operation also simultaneously consider the potential result of an operation that OSHA would consider a deviation?
FIREGROUND SAFETY
If the previous considerations are debatable, the potential impact of the two-in / two-out rule on firefighter safety should not be debatable. Sadly, it may be debatable. To evaluate this subject, let's look at two fireground factors: structural stability and flashover. First, gravity and fire simultaneously work together to reduce the structural stability of any structure. The longer a fire is allowed to burn, the weaker a structure becomes (remember, failing debris always have the "right of way"). Secondly, what is a more common fireground problem — backdraft or flashover? Answer: Few modern firefighters have seen a backdraft, but most modern fireground firefighters have witnessed a flashover. The modern fireground has dramatically changed from buildings that use conventional materials (i.e., wood, wool, paper, cotton, etc.) to synthetic-type materials (i.e., plastics). It is a fact that the modern fireground environment flashes over 2-3 times hotter and faster then the fireground environment of yesterday. It is also a fact that firefighters' deaths and injuries due to flashover conditions have significantly increased. Interestingly, and as a side note, one of the most popular new training programs on the East Coast is titled "Get Out Alive." So, let's apply the preceding two considerations to the implementation of the two-in / two-out rule. If the initial arriving company to a structure fire is staffed with three personnel, and they are forced to wait 2, 3, or 4 minutes for the arrival of the next company before an interior attack is initiated, what is happening to structural integrity and the ability of an interior environment to suddenly flashover during interior attack operations? While you are evaluating the aforementioned consideration, allow me to quickly overview one last consideration When a department with a staffing of less than four responds to the typical "bread-and-butter," single-room-and-contents structure fire that can be easily knocked down with a quick attack operating, what does the fire do while the initial company waits for a backup?
In summary, as most fire departments do not and will not initially place a minimum of four personnel to a structure fire, does the OSHA two-in / two-out regulation "go a long way in making one of the most dangerous professions safer," and/or "the most important advance in firefighter safety in decades"?
As you will be impacted by this new regulation, you make the call, because you are being forced to. The administrators responsible for the implementation of the two-in / two-out rule don't have to.
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