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October- November 2000 |
Advancing the First Handline
Part 1 — Preparation
In the firefighting business, preparation is everything. Preparation includes both regular drills and training to maintain basic skills; pre-fire planning to reduce the number of curve balls thrown at you during firefighting operations; and preparations that take place on the fireground as each important step in the fire attack process is executed. This article will concern itself with the latter — specifically the preparations necessary at the entrance to the fire area in order to ensure a safe, aggressive, and unhindered advance to the seat of the fire.
The first important consideration for the nozzle team is to ensure that at least one full length of hose is available at the entrance to the fire area. More than one length may be needed, depending on size-up or pre-fire planning information, so one length represents a minimum.
The next consideration is how this working length should be "flaked out" for an efficient advance. This depends largely on where the line is to be flaked out (the front lawn of a private house or a small stair landing in an apartment building), the layout of the fire area, and the location and direction of swing (to the left or right) of the entrance door. If sufficient room is available, the line should be neatly flaked out in a series of "S" shaped curves. Sharp bends, which will inevitably lead to kinks, should be avoided. For fires in private dwellings, the line can be flaked out on the lawn, in the driveway, on the sidewalk, or even in the street. Commercial building fires also often permit the line to be arranged neatly outside. Multiple-dwelling buildings, on the other hand, often pose difficulties due to the narrow hallways and small stair landings found in many of these buildings.
The next factor that affects how the line should be flaked out is the layout of the fire area. Will the line be turning left or right after entry? Does a long hallway lie ahead? Does the line have to advance down a set of stairs for a cellar or basement fire? Does the line have to advance up a set of stairs, as might be required for a fire in a split-level house or duplex apartment? If a hard right turn is anticipated, arrange at least part of the first length on the left side of the entrance door. Conversely, a hard left turn would warrant arranging the line to the right of the entrance door. While this is not always possible, the goal is to facilitate the advance and the smooth movement of the handline.
The swing of the entrance door may also be a factor, particularly when the door seals off a hallway leading to another part of the occupancy when it is opened. This is a common arrangement in "railroad flat" style apartments but is certainly not limited to them. If the fire is located in the area "sealed off" by the open door, the line will have to be advanced around the door — a difficult task at best. The nozzle team may have to feed part of the handline into the occupancy in a direction opposite the fire area prior to entry. This will ensure sufficient hose is available for the advance and avoid at least some of the problems involved in trying to maneuver the line around the entrance door (possibly a 180-degree turn).
Once sufficient hose is in place, the door to the occupancy can be partially closed and the line advanced to the fire. When space is at a premium, where to put the uncharged handline can be a problem. Apartment buildings with small floor landings may require the line to be flaked out on the floor below or on the stairs leading to the floor above. When flaking the line out on a staircase, make wide turns around the newel posts, but avoid pushing the line into the corners where kinks can form. Flaking out the line on the floor below, while sometimes unavoidable, increases the difficulty of the advance because many times staffing is short and there may not be a firefighter available to feed hose up the stairs to the advancing nozzle team.
Often the best option is to flake the line out in an apartment adjacent to the fire apartment or, better still, in one across the hall. Never drape a loop of hose out of a window in order to avoid congestion on the landing. Not only does each 50-foot length of 1¾-inch hose weigh some 80 pounds when charged, a severe kink will form at the bottom of the loop.
Another effective action prior to advancing into the fire area is to take full advantage of whatever visibility exists below the smoke layer. Once the nozzle begins operating, most, if not all, visibility will be lost, so this opportunity must be seized early. In some cases, it may mean lying on the floor and directing a handlight beam into the fire area. The floor layout will be at least partially revealed, and sometimes the exact location of the fire discovered. The glow of the fire may be visible or just the shimmering reflection of the flames on a tile or hardwood floor. Either way, the advance will be much more efficient.
Another reason to look below the smoke is to increase safety. Hazards such as extension cords, sharp objects, and holes in the floor will be discovered and injuries avoided. Utilizing the visibility available at floor level is also very effective during primary search operations. At one fire, a firefighter scanning with his handlight prior to entering the fire apartment noticed a hand dangling below the smoke layer. He told his officer he was going to make a beeline for the hand and quickly discovered two children overcome on the living room couch. His officer found their mother, and the three victims were all successfully removed to the outside just as the fire entered the living room. If a few moments hadn't been taken to look below the smoke with the light, the search would have taken longer and perhaps the end results would have been different.
For fires in multiple-dwelling buildings, taking a quick look at another apartment can provide a wealth of valuable information. This might be an apartment on the floor below the fire (apartments in the same vertical line generally have the same layout from floor to floor) or an apartment adjacent to the fire apartment. Apartment units that are located side by side, particularly in older apartment buildings and garden apartment complexes, often have floor layouts that mirror one another.
More next time.
Andrew Fredericks is the author of three "Bread and Butter" Operations videos titled Methods of Structure Fire Attack, Stretching the Initial Attack Handline and Advancing the Initial Attack Handline. To purchase, click here.
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