Forcible entry look at the top pic only first.

 

We made a small fire at a dry cleaners in our neighborhood.  After I found this door.

Ask yourself and your crew some simple questions. 

Which door is the majority of travel through?

How would I force either door?

Look for these things in your territory they are out there and are easily handled with some thought and planning.  If you flip the door pic around it will match the inside pics?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Roof Remodel

Engine 26A stopped by a building remodel to check out the roof construction.  This was a great opportunity to see two types of roofs and extended to a discussion of parapets, void spaces, and forcible entry.

The construction crews were removing a "gravel roof" and replacing it with a "TPO" (Thermoplastic Polyolefin) roof.  The gravel roof consists of metal decking, foam (about 2"), tar, and gravel.  This particular roof had two layers from a previous remodel.  The foreman on site said city code only allows for two layers so they had to remove both layers before installing the new roof. The building across the parking lot only has one layer so they will put the new roof directly on top.

The TPO roof consists of metal decking, insulating foam (3.3" in this case), and the TPO membrane. The foam may be thicker in other applications.  The foreman said a 1/2" of foam adds 6 to the R-value.

 Old roof, two layers.

 New foam layer, the TPO membrane is being pulled back.

  Stacks of foam insulation.

So what's your plan to cut?  Will you handle the gravel roof differently from the TPO?  The rotary saw probably will not go deep enough on one pass.  If you use a rotary saw you will likely have to make one cut remove the material and them make a second cut inside the first.  The chain saw will work on many of these materials but you have to be careful about hitting metal beams as they can throw or break the chain.

 10' drop off behind parapet.

 From the inside.

 Void space in the parapet.

Interior of building.

 Forcible entry discussion.  How would you handle this door?  We discussed starting traditional but it probably would not work.  With a good size-up and prior knowledge you might realize this is a panic/drop bar that is most always engaged.  It is not removed everyday like a traditional drop bar.

We discussed cutting the bolts or completely cutting a rectangle around the pair of bolts.  Last resort might be a doggie door (horizontal cut, edge to edge under the panic hardware.

Take a look around out there after your next call and see what you find.

Rapid change in fire conditions

If the video does not play click here http://youtu.be/1u9uCvnsHjw

When you enter a house like this cool the upper atmosphere as you make your push to the main body of fire.  It makes the environment better for possibly trapped victims.

Tailboard Size-Up

Let's size this up from a tailboard's perspective.  Assume your officer is doing a hot lap and you have another firefighter on the back with you.  If you had the choice, what line would you pull?  What actions would you take?  What would you expect to find inside?

Know Your First In

What do you see that's different for the City of Austin?

While on a routine call yesterday Brian Oehler noticed an out of place window opening and door.  After taking a closer look he discovered a small basement/storm shelter.  Basements are not very common in Austin but we all probably have a few in our first in territories.

Knowing this might not make a huge impact on fire ground tactics but it is a good thing to be aware of and to alert oncoming crews.

Art of Reading Smoke

This video is a good refresher and has a lot of good starting points for tactical discussions with your crews

Flashover more reading smoke

I read that this was a training exercise but either way we have to do better than this.  The video is trying to show PPV attack.  When completing proper PPV you must control all openings for it to be successful.  Once they turned the fan in with thier own guys in there it becomes criminally stupid.  The art of ventilation to me comes from being able to make sound decisions, evaluate those decisions and create a survivable environment for the engine company and civilians we are trying to rescue. 

Reading Smoke

This video is a great discussion of the art of reading smoke a lot to see.  I also see them venting the basement windows, venting the roof, and venting windows.  Ventilation is a cause and effect relationship and if you realize that and you will be successful.  The flashover speaks for itself.

Looked like a tough fire, thanks for the hard work Gary, Indiana.