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Layout

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Sunday Fun - Get MotivatedIn my opinion the most important person on a hoseline is the layout man.

Some departments staff 3 to an engine, meaning there is no layout man unless the Officer goes back down the line to make things right.

Not mine.

We run 4 to an engine and for good reason: You need 4 people to mount an effective primary fire attack.

Driver/Engineer: Operates fire apparatus, engages and monitors pump and water supply.  Good so far, we have a way of getting water into the hoses, that’s a plus.

Officer: In command of the team. Calls for type, length of hose and where it is to be deployed.

Nozzleman: Operates the valve at the end of the hose, points it at the fire.  Really more complicated then that, I know, but than again, so is…

Layout: Ensure the hose is properly deployed from the apparatus and unkinked entering the building.  Follow the attack team around corners, untangling and advancing line as needed.  Block open doors and move furniture so that when the line is charged it isn’t trapped under something.  Stay back from the firefight to pull line back so the nozzle team can redeploy to another location without standing on a load of spaghetti in the hallway.  And, possibly THE most important role of the layout position is to slow additional responding companies if conditions are unsafe ahead of you.

Even though the Officer has a good view of the seat of the fire, and a good officer knows the conditions around them, they can’t see what the layout person sees.  From a safe distance, possibly at a corner, ready to pull hose while the nozzle gets the “glory,” the layout can scout conditions in other rooms and maybe even get some ceiling fall on them when the truck cuts a nice hole.

The layout knows all the trouble spots that line may encounter if it needs to move through that area again.  The first two folks through had their attentions elsewhere.

The layout is also the one who will be assisting the nozzle team should the conditions warrant an evacuation.  From that position you know where the exits are, not just where the line goes out, but also rooms of refuge, should they be needed.

When the fire is out and overhaul continues, the layout man needs to make sure that line is still available to knock down hot spots in the ceiling and walls by looping it into an unburnt room and placing the nozzle, with nozzleman still attached in a position to redeploy if necessary.

We should never leave the engine without a tool of some kind, but as the layout we need full flexibility so a sheathed axe can really get in the way.  A pump can can also get in the way but makes an excellent door chock and point of no return doorway device.  That little can can keep an advancing fire from getting through a doorway if teams are retreating behind you for at least 2-3 minutes when used properly.  So what to bring?

Depends on construction, location of fire and your Department’s SOPs.  A cop out answer I know, but the truth.

So next time someone else “grabs” the nozzle, remember that they have it easy, now you’ve got the most important spot on the hose line.  If the fire goes out you did your job right.

Now get those kinks out and feed line up to the third floor!

Posted by happymedic on February 23, 2010 • Filed under: Command & Leadership, Fire Rescue Topics, Firefighter Safety & Health, Firefighting Operations, training-fire-rescue-topics • Tagged:

Shapes and Colors

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I often joke with folks outside the Profession that things need to be made “Firefighter Proof.”  This denotes the fact that my mother was right, I ended up with a job where they put my name on my shirt.  Another variation is that this job is all about shapes and colors.  Why else are the drugs in different color boxes, catheters as well, and we color code hydrants based on flow in some places?

But buried in all the jokes about how simple things need to be are some basic shapes and colors that are out in plain sight in the community that help us do our jobs better.

We visited a local cell phone company’s transfer station to train on a new system shutdown procedure.  it seems that if there is a fire in the server and transfer room, the system will handle it but there will be a need to shut down sections of the system, not the entire system.

Inside we saw reflective taping on the floor leading us to the breaker panel.  The tape said “FIRE DEPT SHUTOFF – THIS WAY —>” and it continued all the way to the panel.  At the panel, each switch had a colored reflective tape.  Each area served by that breaker was marked on the floor in front of it by the corresponding tape.  no more wondering which breaker to hit, just remember the color.

Loved it.

Shapes and colors really does work.

If you’re not really concerned about the switching station in your response area, let’s start with the simple ones found in elevators.

SOL_elevator Here is a shot I took at a local shopping mall.  Many places I go have these markings and few rescuers know what it means when a Star of Life is in the elevator well.  And why does this one have it but the one next to it does not?

Think you know?  Do you know?  Formulate your answer, then CLICK HERE to find out what makes this elevator so special.

star floor

Now that we’re in the elevator, we need to know how to get out at the ground level.  In the City, many buildings are on hills so they have more than one exit to street level.  In this elevator, which floor is the ground floor? This panel is pretty straight forward, being in a smaller building, CLICK HERE for a neat collection of photos of panels from around the world. Be glad we have a uniform building and elevator code. That star will get you out on the street level of the marked address. If the building is 123 Main street, that star will get you out on Main street.

All right, how about this reflective sticker on the electric meter at the street level?

What about the house next door with this sticker?

Find out from an article on FFN from Christopher J Naum.

Keep your eyes open out there.

HM

Posted by happymedic on January 25, 2010 • Filed under: Command & Leadership, Fire Prevention & Education, Fire Rescue Topics, Firefighter Safety & Health • Tagged:

That’s twice

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blog engineI’m walking through a busy shopping center looking for someone, not sure who, and it’s stressing me out.  Panic, confusion, anticipation.  Then a loud tone strikes me from my sleep, the shopping center nothing but a dream.  The lights are bright in the dorm of the firehouse, the time is just before 2 AM and the tones finish just as I sit up to the corner of the bed awaiting the inevitable magic voice telling me where the sick people are.

“Units standby for the box!” the voice says with a tone of excitement.

A fire.

The dorm springs to life, sleepy firemen now scrambling into their turnouts and heading for the pole hole as the dispatcher rattles off the companies due.  Downstairs we dress, the doors are coming up and the rainy night awaits our response.  The dispatcher finishes reading the first alarm assignment by telling us this is a report of smoke in a building and we take that very seriously.

The engine beats the truck out the door, as we should, but not by much and I can see them following from my rear facing jump seat.  The green light on the front gives away they are a truck company, letting our driver know to let them take the block ahead of us if we’re second due.  The MDT tells me that we are first due and by the address, we’re less than 3 blocks away.  I might just be ready by the time we get there.

Hands still tingling from waking suddenly we are on scene to the large apartment building with nothing showing but an audible alarm sounding and young people milling about in the lobby.

My walk around the engine to my airpack gives me a chance to size up the building.  If we’re going above the ground floor, we’ll need a bundle to extend a pre-connect.  The first door on the first floor (first above the garage level) has a smoke detector alarm sounding and an odor of burnt food.  Deadbolt secured, we’ll need to force the door, damaging it completely, to make entry to investigate.

The truck is laddering the fire escape when they see a haze through the window of the unit in question and the decision is quickly made to enter through the window.

From our position in the hallway outside the door, the haligan tool is just being placed in the door jamb when we hear the truck make entry through the window.  The old thick windows break loudly and we now hear our brother pushing the mini blinds aside.  Boots thunder to the floor and footsteps get louder as the lock on the door clicks and the smoke wafts out as he opens the door.

“I gave at the office,” he says as I grab the pump can and go in search of the source of the smoke.  As we converge in the kitchen we hear shouting from the back room.  Shouting about waking up.  Shouting only from our people.  Being the Paramedic, I peel away from the burning pizza making all the smoke and meet the truck in the back room with a man curled up on the couch, completely passed out asleep.

They’re shaking his feet, being polite as can be in an effort to let him know we’re there and his apartment is filled with smoke.  It’s amazing that the breaking window didn’t wake him.  The tillerman and I exchange a look and the politeness is gone as he shakes the man’s shoulders shouting “Wake up! Fire! Fire! Wake up!”

Nothing.

Down in his face. “WAKE UP!”

“Whoa! What?” He sits up defensive, most of the first alarm compliment standing in his living room.  Escorted to the hallway, he is still confused about what is happening and I make my way back to the kitchen to help remove the source of the smoke.  The pick end of the haligan has a number of uses, one of them being removing small pizzas from ovens, so out it comes onto a baking tray and it is carried outside into the rain.

Back upstairs one of the firemen from another company looked around, saw the man we awoke and cried out,

“Let me guess, pizza in the oven?”  He went to the man and held up two fingers, “That’s twice!”

Posted by happymedic on January 19, 2010 • Filed under: Fire, Fire Prevention & Education, Fire Rescue Topics, Firefighting Operations, Fires • Tagged:

The Lost Art of Poaching?

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There are tales in the Fire Service of old of companies scouring the edge of their districts hoping to jump a run, beating another company to a fire on their own turf.

It was nice to see last night that art is not completely lost.

Dispatched as part of the first alarm assignment in another part of town, the first companies called for a second alarm before we were even out of the station.  Heavy fire was reported from two large homes, both 3 story type 5 ordinary balloon frame construction.

While responding quite a distance to the growing fire (Later we learned our assignment had been a dispatch error)  we heard the sirens of some of the second alarm companies.

As we passed through one district, like I said we were a ways out, we saw one of the busier trucks in the country on the side of the road, just on their border, dressed and ready to work.  They were no doubt monitoring the tactical channel and listening for command to order up a third alarm so they could be on scene before the bells even rang.

YouTube Preview Image

This video was taken from the house behind the fire building and shows the early efforts of the first in companies.  Well, it’s an orange glow and some saws, but it did go to a third alarm when the B exposure started rolling.  And no doubt that Truck we saw was the first in on that third.

The art of poaching is alive and well after all.

Posted by happymedic on December 14, 2009 • Filed under: Fire Rescue Topics, Firefighting Operations, Fires, Vehicle Operations & Apparatus, Videos • Tagged:

the Angry Captain’s Close Call

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The Angry Captain is on sceneThis month’s EMS Blog Carnival, the Handover, will be hosted here and the theme is “Close Calls.”  With November in the US including Thanksgiving, I thought what better time to share an experience when we had that thought go through our mind “I/they might not make it.”

Send in your submissions about a time when you, a patient, or someone you know had a close call and I’ll put them together to share.  If just one person can use that information to make their job safer, then we’ll have succeeded.

So with that theme in mind, here is the Angry Captain’s Close Call.

8:30 pm February 1982

The call:  Structure fire, “house across the street has black smoke coming from it.”

It is a cold winter night with temperatures well below freezing; we are in a relief unit that had no inboard seats so I was belted in on the tailboard. On arrival, we found a residence with black smoke pouring from the rear.  Reportedly, no one was home.

The home is typical for the area in that the base of the home started as a house trailer with several additions around it. As the first engine to arrive, we pulled a 200’ preconnect and forced entry on a side door that appeared to be the entry. The captain and I crawled in below the smoke and worked our way through a maze of doorways to what appeared to be a fully involved kitchen area. The ceiling was flashing over as I trained the nozzle at the base of the fire. Suddenly, my air pack warning bell went off.

We could not have been on air much longer than 5-10 minutes. I patted the captain on the back to notify him that we needed to back out. He gestured for me to head out and took the nozzle from me. My training from my previous department was never to leave anyone alone in a fire. As I turned, my air pack quit entirely; no air at all.  The smoke level now was to the floor as I grasped the hose line to find my way out. The urge to rip off my mask was strong but my training had taught me this would be fatal for sure. Holding my breath was all I could do as I struggled to focus on following the line out amid my disorientation from lack of oxygen. As I moved along, I remember hearing a loud mechanical sound further confusing my strange journey through this black maze. The sound grew louder as I slowly followed the hose line hand over hand in the seemingly longest moments of my life.

Suddenly light appeared as the noise grew to a roar, but I crawled out, finally ripping off my face mask, gasping for air, and collapsing in a snow bank. My next memory was lying on the gurney in the back of the ambulance.  At the hospital, they ran blood gas tests and flooded me with plenty of O2. As my color returned to normal (apparently I was quite gray), I was told that they found me outside our entry point where the truck had hung a mechanical fan at the top of the doorway for ventilation. (The loud disorientating mechanical sound.) I am not sure how long it was that I lay there in the snow bank before I was noticed.  But Mrs. AC got the frightening call about 11 pm to pick me up at the hospital….no one likes that call.

Lessons learned:

1.       The air pack I was wearing was found to be working properly back in a warm station house and in fact still had about ½ its air. The speculation at the time was that the moisture in the diaphragm froze causing it to stop the air flow.  Had it been checked at the scene, it could have provided the exact problem.

2.       Never allow a member to leave alone or leave a member alone in a fire. This was long before 2 in 2 out.

3.       Always follow your training; i.e. following the hose line out and keeping your mask on in heavy smoke.

4.       Do not block the egress of the hose line with ventilation. Had I been on all fours coming out feeling ahead with my hands, my fingers may have been lost to the whirling fan.

This was a true wake up call for me and cemented in my mind how important my training had been and how things can go wrong in a matter of seconds.

Posted by happymedic on November 7, 2009 • Filed under: Command & Leadership, Fire, Fire Rescue Topics, Firefighter Safety & Health, Firefighting Operations, Fires, The Handover, Training & Development, the Angry Captain, training-fire-rescue-topics • Tagged: , ,

Hi…Fire Alarm

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blogengineIn the early 20th century most municipalities were encouraged by multiple fatality fires to take note of fire safety in public places.  Some of these ideas included not locking exit doors, marking said doors, building standpipes and installing high tech fire alarms.  But none of this matters if people ignore the bells and flashing lights when the alarms sound.

THE EMERGENCY

Automatic alarm activation at an elementary school

THE ACTION

I’ve only seen half a dozen actual fires in a school during the school day, one of those when I was a student.  Surprisingly, way back then, they didn’t activate the fire alarm evacuation, but instead chose to shelter the students in place.

Back to today.

I am  an imposing figure in full gear.  I have been known to scare small children visiting the firehouse when I am geared up.  When we arrive on the scene of a reported fire we take it seriously since most of our City is made of 100 year old wood and spaced 1/8″ apart.  The alarm bell is ringing and strobe lights flashing when the engine arrives.

The usual administrator, hand held radio to her ear, is meeting us at the alarm panel as our officer investigates the source of the alarm.  As he does that I hear the truck company arriving and grab another administrator, similar radio and stance and ask what I thought was an important question.

“Has the school been evacuated?”  All I was thinking about was back in 8th grade when they ignored the plan.

“Yes, it’s clear.” She tells me, and you already know where this story is going.

“General alarm, second floor” the officer calls out and I gather my tools and away I go.  I have my usual 40 lbs of turnout gear, helmet, 40 lb airpack, flat head axe and 10 gallon water can in hand.  My eyes are flying around the hallway looking for smoke, flames, a pulled hand alarm station or the tell tale red light on a smoke detector.  As my eyes are moving they come across a human form in the hallway who sees me and quickly turns away.

“Hi…Fire alarm, you need to evacuate the building.”  Maybe she didn’t hear me.

“Hi,” I reach her and look into the classroom directly in front of her. “Fire ala…Hi there, Fire Department, those lights and the alarm mean you need to leave the building,” I said to the half dozen adults and TWO CHILDREN sitting in the classroom.

“Oh, OK, we thought it was a false alarm, so-” she began, but I had no patience for the example they were setting.

“Now.  Down the steps to the front. Now, thank you.” I said with what I perceived as forceful, but kind.  Standing 6′3″, 6′8″ with helmet and all that gear, I hoped to put the fear of those trapped in the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory into them, but I likely only made them uneasy for a few minutes.

Back downstairs a few minutes later without signs of a fire, I inform the officer of the folks upstairs and he spun on a top to the administrators, radios still to their ears.

I didn’t hear the entire conversation, by choice, as I see people squirm enough in the ambulance, but I can only hope it was something out of an episode of Hell’s Kitchen.

Posted by happymedic on October 28, 2009 • Filed under: Fire, Fire Prevention & Education, Firefighting Operations • Tagged: ,

You Make the Call…Garden Apartments…What Happened

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You Make the CallA fire in these kind of apartment buildings can get away from us fast.  It is important to remember the flexibility of some of our more common leads and use them to our advantage.

Approaching the scene we were lucky enough to have a hydrant right out in front, so water supply was not an issue.  Hearing the unit was empty and seeing a large volume of fire from the door and window let us know that rescue will not be a primary concern at this fire.

A 150′ 1 3/4″ line was deployed and charged from the courtyard and trained at the doorway and the balcony directly outside.  If we’re going to get in there, that balcony needs to be protected from outside and cooled quickly to keep it from weakening.  As the firefighter opened that line, the officer and I stretched a 3″ line with a wye to the landing on the B side and stretched an apartment or “highrise” pack and called for water.  As we approached the doorway, the line in the courtyard shut down, but kept a good eye on us incase we needed to back out fast.  By the time we got past the first room, the smoke suddenly lifted and the room was light from above where the truck company had cut a hole.

The 3″ line served almost like a horizontal stand pipe and allowed us to get a large volume of water near the fire and gave us versatility to add another line there if needed.

If you said get a larger line and split it off, you made the right call.

Posted by happymedic on October 26, 2009 • Filed under: Command & Leadership, Fire, Firefighting Operations, You Make the Call • Tagged: ,

Sunday Fun – Bugles

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One of the lasting symbols of the modern American fire service is the use of bugles to signify one’s rank as an officer. But where did it start and why? I always wondered this and luckily my current department has a rich history to draw from.

Bugles, or speaking trumpets, were used on early fire grounds by the foreman of the hand pump teams to keep the large numbers of men working together to keep the pump working.
The foreman would often have to shout louder than other companies arriving, the fire and the crowds.

As hand pumps were replaced by steamers, the foreman became the leader of the fire fight and no longer dragged the bugle with him. The volunteer companies of the late 19th century and early 20th century used the bugles as a sign of their long history of service.

The bugle then became a kind of ornament at the fire halls, to be polished by prospective members and displayed proudly on parade day and in photographs. Similar to the ornate belts and helmet shields worn by the more experienced members.

But that explains why the bugle is used as a sign of rank, but why do we wear them on our collar instead of on our epaulets or our sleeves, as does the military?

The answer is in our professionalism. Note this photo from Hose Company No 1 in Nebraska. Each member is wearing their dress uniform, which was common at the time. Each coat has one row of buttons. The officer, in the center seat, holds the bugle, signifying him as the leader.

Without the bugle, he is difficult to identify as the Officer of the company, yes?

As departments became consolidated and fell under the supervision of the local governments, there became a need to have additional ranks between the bugle of the Officer and the white helmet of the Chief Engineer or Volunteer President. Enter the double breasted coat. This coat had two rows of buttons, making the new Officers easy to spot and gave them more formality than the original company Officers. In most departments a single bugle signifies a lieutenant, or Company Officer. Two bugles signifies a Captain, or multi company Officer. The two bugles noted that he controlled more than one company, usually a hose and ladder team in the same house or hall.

Often, the collar of the coat would button down to the coat. This became the symbol of the lead Officer. Try as I might, I can’t find a reference to who was the first to inscribe or order buttons with bugles for their coats, but the insignia appears in many photographs beginning in the late 1910s.


This photo from the LA Fire Department shows the two Captains on the right, double breasted coats, two rows of buttons and additional insignia on their collar.

As departments became more relaxed and dress coats were no longer worn, the insignia stayed on the uniform shirt. Right in the same place the original officers found proper to place it 100 years ago.

Now it sometimes appears on the collars of polo shirts. Sometimes I wish we would get back to the formality that existed in those days, but the last vomiting patient I had would have ruined my dress uniform. We change with the times I guess.

a note. This history is gathered from my experiences and photographs from my and other departments. Your department may have it’s own traditions and history, but this is the story I keep hearing.

Posted by happymedic on June 28, 2009 • Filed under: Fire Prevention & Education, Sunday Fun • Tagged: ,

A Christmas Waterfall

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Everytime I seem to be having a bad day or a tough week, the universe steps in to remind me everything is good.  When I’m frustrated my computer is on the fritz I meet a patient who has never had one.  When my kids drive me nuts or keep me awake I usually have a really sick young patient to remind me how nice a healthy family is.

One year, just before Christmas, I was down in the dumps about not doing well on a job exam.  The entire week had been about juggling my schedule to have Christmas with the family, not ever a stress free situation.  This particular employer didn’t allow shift trades outside the pa period so anthign more tha na week off meant working 4-5 days the week before.

I was burnt out and upset when we caught an automatic alarm activation at a local apartment building.  We went here almost once a shift for a faulty alarm and we had fallen into the most dangerous posture possible for a firefighter: comfort.

As the shift supervisor arrived at the alarm panel, my partner and I were stationed at the entrance to the parking lot when we heard the blaring audible alarm finally shut off.  It was then, in the cold night air, we heard the unmistakable sound of a water gong.

A water gong, for you EMS types (As AD would say) is a mechanical alarm activated by water flowing through the sprinkler system.  This alarm only activates when a sprinkler head has been activated.

We exchanged a look of panic, one that is fresh on my mind each time I see people slacking on a building alarm, and make our way with our engine to the sound of the alarm.

On the second floor, near the front of the large garden complex, was a waterfall from a patio unit.  Upstairs, Christmas cookies had been left in the oven while friends went to another house causing a small oven fire.  The sprinkler armed and was discharging a large amount of water as we arrived at the front door.

The unit had 2-3 inches of standing water in the front room, kitchen and hallway, as well as sending an inch of water out the patio and over the edge to the walkway below.

The oven fire was extinguished and we shifted to salvage.  I called for tools to build a water chute to guide the water out a window and away from the front room.  It was when I turned back into the room that I saw the packages under the tree, sitting in water, some getting sprayed by the sprinkler in the room nearby.  We decided to grab the comforter off the nearby bed and built a temporary shower curtain.  He held it while I gathered all the gifts I could and moved them out of the water and up onto the couch.  the boxes were so water logged they fell apart in my hands, held together only by the bright paper and bows.

As the tools to build the water chute arrived, so did our ladder truck which carried a sprinkler kit and we were able to plug it just as the main was shut down in another building.

The final casualty list included the oven, the microwave, carpeting and half the gifts under the tree.

The next morning my problems were nothing.

Posted by happymedic on June 12, 2009 • Filed under: Fire, Fire Rescue Topics, Fires • Tagged:

Heavy smoke showing

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blogengineGet the adrenaline flowing by telling the 911 dispatcher that the 6 story apartment building across the street has “heavy, thick” smoke coming from a window. First engine on the scene reports nothing showing.
“Look harder!” we’re shouting to ourselves and laughing.

Just as we’re pulling up we see the first in truck is already laddering the fire escape and the first in engine is securing a supply.

Maybe they have something.

We’re geared up and see no smoke, smell no smoke, but head to the front door to check in with the chief…

…who is leaving, laughing, waving us off.

It seems a CO2 extinguisher fell off the wall and broke on the floor. The occupant went running to the window and opened it, causing the gas to escape, looking like a cloud of smoke.

All dressed up and nowhere to go.

Posted by happymedic on May 28, 2009 • Filed under: Fire • Tagged:

…for the smoker in the building…

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blogengineWe take a report of smoke in a building seriously here. We don’t send an engine to check things out, we send the cavalry to keep folks safe and keep stuff from burning down. When you call and report a smoker in a hallway, we try to get ahead of the…wait…what? Did you say ’smoker?’

THE EMERGENCY

Campus Police report smoke in a hallway of the sciences building.

THE ACTION

Oh the possibilities that are racing through my mind as to what could be causing smoke in the sciences building. Just trying to remember the chemicals I used in my pre-med classes, let alone what else was in there had me thinking ICS and Haz-Mat.

I was geared up quickly and turned in my seat to take a look at the screen in the Engine and get an idea of where we were in the response pattern and what our likely goals will be when we arrive.

I’m reading through the text of the 911 call as we’re racing through heavy traffic on a rainy afternoon, a dangerous time to be on the road.

It’s then that I see the entry, “Caller states a smoker was caught in the hallway.”

I can only assume that the sirens are playing with my eyes somehow and we arrive second.
The first engine is at the alarm panel and sends us to the third floor to investigate. All the way in and up the stairs there is no alarm and students are everywhere.
On the third floor is campus security with a young woman crying.
“She was smoking and there’s no smoking here. I told her it was dangerous and she told me to just call you, so I did.”

I can only imagine the conversation as we turned around and went back downstairs.
“You can’t smoke here.”
“Why don’t you just call the fire department then!”
“Fine, I will.”
“Fine.”
“Here I go, calling them.”
“I don’t care, go ahead.”
“I’m calling…”

In these situations I find it best to let the white helmets do all the talking. The Chief looked like a baseball manager arguing at home plate, in her face and voice raised. As we were pulling away he was laying in to the security supervisor as well pointing at us and then at her, then at the building.

If you’re going to bluff and get called on it, don’t put my life on the line to make a point.

Posted by happymedic on May 7, 2009 • Filed under: Fire • Tagged:

…for the gas leak…

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blogengineThe elderly can be fun. Other times they can be confusing. Sometimes they get lazy, just like the rest of us.

THE EMERGENCY

1 AM and an elderly woman is reporting a gas leak in her basement.

THE ACTION

We arrive lights and sirens and she’s not waving us down so much as waving us DOWN, as in “Stop all the ruckus!”
We step down and to her address in full PPE, when she tells us we won’t be needing our slickers for this job. Into the basement, which is clean compared to other almost nona-genarians, to not a hint of a smell of gas.

The 50 year old furnace, duct work covered in asbestos, is sitting next to a brand new water heater in the middle of the interior wall.
“I turned on the thermostat and nothing happened. The utility company put me on hold for 20 minutes and said it would take at least an hour for them to send someone. Can you imagine?”
Before I had time to think of something with a double meaning, the near retirement officer reaches over, turns the shutoff for the gas to the ‘off’ position and tells her, “Not a problem anymore.”

“Can’t you fix it for me?” She asks as he’s walking back out into the cold night.
“No ma’am, you called us to mitigate a hazard and we’ve done just that. You’ll have to wait another 55 minutes for the utility company to come by and fix the problem.”

She just looked at us walking away. I kind of felt bad for her having to wait a whole hour to see if her furnace still works or, worse, needs to be replaced. Tearing out all that asbestos insulation is going to be a big expense.

Back at the house the boss made sure we understood his actions. “If we tell her it looks fine and it isn’t we go down. $100 bucks says she’s got a sue happy kid that would just love to jump on us for something like that. I did the only thing that is solid for us, remove the gas, no emergency.”

I hadn’t thought that far into the future and like to think people are better than that but, no…no we’re not.

Posted by happymedic on April 4, 2009 • Filed under: Fire • Tagged:

…for the medical alert/smoke detector…

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blogengineWell which one is it? With ambulances closing, I’m getting more engine time and these building alarms are just as monotonous as the drunks. This dispatch is confusing, not sure which hat to wear, Medic or Fireman. Turns out all I needed was my common sense hat. I carry it with me.

THE EMERGENCY

Life Alert Home Ambulance summoning company has called stating a resident’s smoke detectors are alerting.

THE ACTION

Great, now they monitor smoke detectors. At least now we know what hat to wear.
Nothing showing on arrival at the 2 story type 5, just a man holding a smoke detector, wires and all, in the front yard.
“Sorry, guys. These things are all screwed up.”
The house is familiar and so is the frail old woman at the front door, but this guy is new.

“What happened? Is there a fire?” Our boss asks as we gear up just in case.
“The life alert people called and told me to change the batteries in the smoke detectors (Go Life Alert! Imagine that.) but they won’t shut off.” He hands me the detector and I take a cursory look, pretending to know more than I do.

That’s when the smell on his clothes made me wonder…
“Sir, you smell like smoke, and not like cigarette smoke, was something burning in here?”
We’re making our way towards the house and the little old woman sees us coming and has ducked back inside like a shy child.

“I used a paper to test the detectors. It smells in there.”
We enter the house to the odor of burnt paper and can see small pieces of black paper scattered down the hallway.

“Sir, did you use the paper to test both detectors or did you use the ‘test’ button?”
I hold it up to his face, finger on the button.

His face turned the shade of the engine.

We went through every area he had walked with the burning papers and checked to make sure everything was OK. I quick lesson on how to test smoke detectors and we were back in service.

Posted by happymedic on March 26, 2009 • Filed under: Fire • Tagged:

…building alarm box…

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blogengineThe alarm machine called us, so this isn’t a funny call story, but a notice to other firefighters to think about WHY alarms go off.

And to let you know that one person actually evacuated when the alarm went off a the 10 story apartment building. A clear sign people are learning what that loud buzzing means.

THE EMERGENCY

Automatic alarm activation in 10 story multi-residential type 1. Alarm panel indicates single smoke detector on the third floor.

THE ACTION

We’re the first engine in and up to the third floor we go. There is only one person standing out in the cold, wrapped in a blanket, asking if she can go back in yet. Clearly she’s from out of town, likely a new student at the nearby college.

Roaming the hallways we see no signs of smoke or fire, only the flashing strobes and blaring buzzer. We can barely communicate it is so loud.
Looking from detector to detector for the indicator light showing it is the one tripped, we see nothing. The ladder company finally silences the alarm but the system will not reset.
Assuming the alarm is confused, we search the floor above and below finding nothing. There has been some wall refinishing in one area of the third floor, but the areas smell of paint instead of dust.

Downstairs, the alarm will not reset and the Chief wants us back up to take another look around just to be sure. No one will answer their door, but all the doors on the floor are cool to touch and have no odor coming from them.

I decided to slowly walk looking for anything out of the ordinary, not just signs of fire.

It was on this walk I noticed a faint over spray near one of the detectors. Looking closer and reaching up I felt the reason…wet paint. Someone spray painted only the sensor part of the detector, including the light that indicates it is faulty. We called up the building engineer who said he’d get to it whenever.

After picking our jaws back up off the floor we explained that the giant building’s alarm system was not working and he doesn’t want to wait on this repair, but get to it immediately.

On the ride down (elevator down of course) we could only think of 2 reasons to spray paint a smoke detector:

  1. You like to smoke in the hallway.
  2. You plan on burning the building down and are testing response times.

We’re hoping for the former.
Although when it really is a fire, more folks might leave the building when the alarm sounds.

Posted by happymedic on March 25, 2009 • Filed under: Fire, Fire Rescue Topics, Firefighter Safety & Health, Firefighting Operations • Tagged:

…for the reported fire in a building…

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blogengineWe take this kind of thing very seriously. Fire, that is. I remember a visit to New Orleans a few years back and seeing all the old gas lamps still flickering in some of the older parts of town, yet I never called 911.

THE EMERGENCY

A cell phone caller states she can see flames in the apartment building across the street.

THE ACTION

We are first due and first on scene to a multi-story type 3 (Masonry over heavy timber) high rise apartment building. Nothing showing from 3 sides, no alarm ringing, no one has exited the building on fire, or panicked, heck there’s no one outside.

We check the lobby, sure enough, no trouble and no alarm. Wandering around as other units arrive we can’t see anything remotely resembling a fire. The truckmen recently onto the roof have no findings on their secondary search upstairs and have walked down the central stairs, finding nothing on the way down.

Our caller comes out from the hotel across the street and points to the 100 year old gas lamps, which still burn on either side of the front entrance. They are great old lamps, heavy iron and original glass, a small flame still flickering. A great reminder of the history of our old city.

“That can’t be safe, will you put it out?” She asked wrapping her sweater around herself in the chilly air.
“No ma’am that’s supposed to do that.” And we cleaned up and left. Driving back to the firehouse I noted at least a dozen other buildings with working gas lamps and wondered why this call has never come in before.

I’m glad it hasn’t come in since.

Posted by happymedic on March 17, 2009 • Filed under: Fire • Tagged:

…to investigate the smoke alarm…

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blogengineThe following tale is told not because we are reminded to always leave the engine with a tool; Not because we were the only ones to bring water to the fire; Not because you need to be careful when extinguishing burning wax, but because of how determined the owner was to “let us in.”

THE EMERGENCY
A caller states, “Smoke alarm downstairs is beeping and the unit feels like smoke.” Not smells, but “feels.”

THE ACTION

We are second due in the first alarm compliment. It is early evening on a calm winter night, no wind. First engine reports smoke showing from a garage, no fire noted. We kick it up a gear. Our assignment as second in is to supply the first in engine so we pull past them and to the hydrant, it’s a short pull.
The first in engine is at the garage door, peering in, we see no smoke. I grab my airpack, buckle the hip belt (like so many forget) and BAM! axe holster. Noting a heavy fuel load and no pre-connected line stretched yet, I reach for the pump can and away we go. Since our job is to back up the first line, and there is no first line, we’re searching for the seat of the fire.
In this shotgun style house, the garage and attached area reaches back maybe 60 feet, on average, and can be dotted with small closets and in most cases small illegal apartments. As we pass the halfway point the smoke has forced us to our knees and we have yet to find the fire. Smoke is mostly light, grey, but no heat.

We have good communications, no one is panicing, a plan has been made and is clear. As I’m reaching past some debris to see how deep the closet is I feel a touch on my shoulder from behind.

It’s a civilian. “I need to get to my unit and let you in” he mumbles as he begins to push past me into the closet. This guy is clearly altered and where on earth did he come from? He’s got keys in his leading hand and before I can react he suddenly disappears into the closet, gone. My officer and I decide to give chase in the most unusual search and rescue I’ve been involved in in some time. Turns out what we thought was a closet was simply a jog in the hallway with heavy painter’s canvas leaning in all directions. As I pass through, axe and pump can in tow, I see the occupant near another door near what must now be the back of the garage. Smoke is thicker and warmer here.
The man is trying to unlock the door when the officer reaches him first and pushes him forcefully out the back door, immediately ventilating the small, cramped hallway.
It also introduced fresh air to the fire area because the heat intensified behind the slightly open basement apartment door.

We found the fire.

The team now behind me started calling back for a line to be charged.
“We got it! Hand in a nozzle! We need a line in here.”
My officer sticks his head in from outside and screams, “Did no one think to bring water to the fire?”
“I got this Cap’n” already footing the door open and peaking in I see what used to be a candle on what is still mostly a dresser, all standing beneath what might have been a curtain.
Not 30 seconds of quick bursts and the fire was out. Well before the line made it in.
When I hit the dresser the first time, I knew the wax would scatter, but I had no idea how neat it would look. It was similar to throwing water on a grease fire, only the wax cooled as it flew.

I tried to help overhaul but the man in the back yard needed my particular attentions at that time.
Turns out he ws fine, mentally sound, simply wanted to make sure we opened the door instead of breaking down the door. Not sure why, exactly, since the landlord now will have to explain why this guy was paying rent on a tiny little illegal bedroom in the back of a garage.
At the end of it all I didn’t have a single drop of candle wax or water on my gear. The folks cleaning up were covered in it as it was still dripping from everywhere I had spread it.

Before you all start commenting about “You weren’t on air?” and “No charged line?” We were on our knees to maintain clear visibility due to all the junk in this garage. On a similar note, dragging a charged attack line around a crowded area can prove dangerous. There should have been someone assigned to bring it in, and there may have been, but I never heard if there was.

I mention this incident here because it was hilarious to hear the Captain the next night tell the story of a man just wandering into a closet and disappearing, “And me and my medic say, let’s see where it goes! Sure as hell it goes to the fire!”

Posted by happymedic on February 13, 2009 • Filed under: Fire, Fire Prevention & Education, Fire Rescue Topics, Firefighter Safety & Health, Firefighting Operations • Tagged:

…for the vehicle fire…

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blog engine

So many dangers these days with flammable bumpers, exploding pistons and a full load of cardboard…wait…say that again?

THE EMERGENCY
A passerby has noticed a pickup truck on fire on a residential street

THE ACTION
It’s late at night and we arrive to find a large pick up truck built up in the back to transport large amounts of cardboard for recycling, rolling pretty good. As the officer calls for the bumper line I look over to the firefighter on the other side of the engine and see an empty seat and an open door as the engine rolls to a slow stop. As usual, I don’t move until I hear the brake. It’s a habit.

He’s out in front struggling to free the bumper line so I decide to check the cab of the truck, more out of curiosity than anything else when I see a head, connected to a body, resting on the open window edge of the door.
“Hey!” I call to him with no response. I realized later that if the siren didn’t wake him, my voice won’t.
I open the door and pull him out into the quiet street where the boss watches over him.
The other firefighter is just beginning to stretch the line as I return to help with the layout. Looking over the driver is fine, rubbing his eyes, clearly tired, but uninjured.

It took almost an hour to pull all the cardboard out and soak it down. The fire was intense and burned a lot of cardboard but, amazingly, the truck was rather unscathed, aside from a little discoloration.
“Why so fast out of the engine?” I asked later as we were loading up.
“Wanted to beat you to the nozzle.” Was his smiling response.
“You can have it if you promise to wait until the engine stops to get out.”

He never replied and I’m sure still jumps out first chance.

Posted by happymedic on January 25, 2009 • Filed under: Fire, Firefighting Operations, Fires • Tagged: