bad box

All good points to be considered '712'. I posted this scenario in an attempt to remind incident commanders (And remember, in the volunteer departments this can sometimes be a responding firefighter who has the most time in the department in the absence of an officer) that the presence of a F.A.S.T. crew at the scene of a working fire is essential for the safety of the firefighters who are committed to interior operations should they become trapped, disoriented, injured, ill, etc. The scenario takes place in the middle of the night prior to a regular workday. This has long been a difficult time to get a 'good turnout' of personnel as many or possibly most of the members of volunteer departments are faced with the decision of, "Do I respond and miss work or do I roll over and catch a few more minutes of sleep before I get up, grab a cup of coffee and head for work?" In light of this type of situation, maybe two departments should be toned out simultaneously and automatically for all working fires ... that way even if neither department gets a full crew, both departments can meet at the scene to form a F.A.S.T.
As I have stated in previous discussions, EVERY Firefighter must be trained in F.A.S.T. operations, it should not be a option. If every volunteer firefighter is 'F.A.S.T. certified' it will be that much easier to form up a F.A.S.T. in an acceptable time frame (The sooner, the better).
Stay safe Brothers and Sisters.

Take a look at some of the anti first responder comments made by FOX NEWS viewers on their website:

My link
It shows that all of the rhetoric put forth by Limbaugh, Beck & Hannity as well as ultra wealthy republican politicans is having its desired effect. These mouth pieces are convincing the middle class that civil servants and unions have destroyed the American economy and that we should lose our pensions and benefits. Of course this comes from the mouths of people who are paid yearly more than I could spend in two lifetimes ...

As a registered republican of 34 years, it saddens me to point out that almost every republican member of congress voted against providing for the health needs for those of us who did the right thing on September 11th, 2001 as well as for the months following the worst ever terrorist attack on American soil. The republican party is showing itself to be the party of the ultra rich. They are concerned only with insuring extreme wealth for an elite group. For the middle class: they want to destroy unions and compensate us all like WalMart employees ... minimum wage and little or no benefits. Should I mention that republican Christie Todd Whitman was the head of the E.P.A. at the time and repeatedly declared the air to be "safe" around Ground Zero?

First, you are behind the eight ball even before you leave quarters to respond because your companies are under staffed.
You will need to hold off on taking action on the fire floor until you have amassed a sufficient number of personnel to do all that needs to be done.
If the fire / heat condition is severe, it's unlikely that an effective search & rescue operation will be practical (due mainly to the fact that you indicate a lack of windows to ventilate).
At least one 2.5" hand line (Volume and reach required)is required to begin the fire attack. A second 2.5" line needs to be staffed and in place to back up the first.
A 'team search' will be needed. The team search requires an officer with a T.I.C. and two firefighters using a main search line in conjunction with tag lines (for firefighters to use as they fan off in order to keep in touch with the main line)as well as a firefighter stationed at the entry point to the search area (The F.F. at the entry point is needed to monitor for worsening conditions and to report such to search officer immediately) as well as to keep team in contact with their means of egress.
A F.A.S.T. or R.I.T. should be in position outside the I.D.L.H. ready to go if needed.

May my Brothers Never Be Forgotten ... May they rest in eternal peace ...
My link

Watching many of the youtube fire videos that appear nowadays, it's apparent that many structure fires that years ago would be extinguished using an 'all hands assignment' (1st alarm)in short order now 'get away' often with disastrous results (Mayday's, Firefighters burned and injured while bailing out windows, etc.). Many of these situations can be avoided by adhering to Bread and Butter basics.
*Do a good size up looking for type of construction, visible people trapped, location of the fire, is there a cellar / basement, etc.
*Stretch the correct sized hose lines commensurate with anticipated fire conditions.
*Know the friction loss characteristics of the brand and style hose your department is using as well as the pressure required by the type of nozzle being used in order to provide its maximum flow.
*Vent ahead of the attacking hose team ... don't vent until they have water, are in position and tell you they are ready to move in.
*Vent - Enter- Search for life hazards.
*Ladder the building in multiple locations to give interior firefighters means of egress other than having to jump.
*Put the wet stuff (at that correct GPM's) on the red stuff ... Not over the roof into the neighbor's yard, against a blank exterior wall onto the roof shingles, etc. the goal is to overwhelm the main body of fire. Knock down the heavy fire and many of your problems go away.
Don't be too proud to admit that maybe you aren't doing the job correctly, open your mind, get out and attend good seminars given by guys who have lot's of experience and know what they're talking about. Strive to be the best at what you do ... Your life, the lives of your Brothers and Sisters as well as the public that you protect are all depending on you to do the right thing ...
Be safe ...

Pictured with the NEW pumpers too.

Due to the city's budge problems, these expensive vehicles will be bringing these older models back:

I have difficulty accepting that in this day and age there are some fire departments that consider FAST to be a specialty. Every certified firefighter should be completely competent in all aspects of FAST duties. FAST is every bit as much a part of firefighting as is advancing a hose line or Vent, Enter and Search functions are. When firefighters arrive at the fire ground, they should be prepared to handle any task and use any equipment. Firefighting frequently requires split second decision making and immediate action. This fact can be no more apparent then it is when a Brother / Sister firefighter is trapped and in immediate danger of death.

I believe that the lime colored Macks were assigned to: E-10,E-41*,E-42,E-45,E-46,E-58,E-85,E-94,E-236,E-277.
*Note that when Squad 41 was formed, they were assigned the former apparatus of E-41. The members of the Squad added a front platform to hold the 35' hydrant connection, some additional emergency lighting and a mechanical siren.

I didn't question what you stated at all ... (you stated, " He reported finding the fire, gave a scene size up and went in to make sure people got out safely.") I applaud him for taking those actions. He did a good thing. The point that I made was that from what's reported in the story, it appears that nobody was 'trapped' and nobody was exposed to any severe smoke or high heat conditions.
But ... you do question how educated I am in this field (you said, "I would hope you are educated to know that our media cannot include every single detail.".) Generally, a major portion of the article is devoted to victims and rescuers who are injured or killed at a fire. This story states that none of the civilians who were escorted from the building required any medical assistance (Thank God!).
During my fire service career my experiences educated me to the point where I knew that when a person was cited for making 'rescues' at a structural fire, a lot of information regarding fire and smoke conditions that existed in the area where the 'rescue' took place could be gleaned from the condition of the victim(s) as well as that of the rescuer(s) based upon their need or lack there of for medical assistance. Generally, if the victims (who in theory were in the 'hazardous environment' completely unprotected for a much longer period of time than was the rescuer(s)) and 'rescuers' are unscathed, then conditions in the area of the 'rescue' were not severe during the period of time that the victims and rescuer(s) were in that area. That being said, the medic did the right thing. He used his firefighting background to size up the situation, he knew that at the time he entered the structure, the scene was safe for him to proceed without protective clothing and with no hose line operating on the fire. Remember that this website is visited by many law enforcement, fire service and emergency medical service 'professionals'. Many of the less experienced among us read these posts and put the information into their memory banks for use at a later date where their life may be on the line based upon a decision that they must make. We don't want to make the readers believe that they can walk through fire or that it's a good idea to go above an active fire while unprotected and without a hoseline in position. That is why it's necessary to let the readers realize that the medic in this story did not place himself into an extremely hazardous situation. He sized up the scene and entered a safe area to notify civilians that there was a fire and they needed to leave before it became dangerous.
Stay safe.

Actually, that is what makes a Rescue Pumper such an attractive piece of apparatus for a volunteer department to use for vehicle extrication runs. Many V.F.D.'s frequently find themselves very short
of personnel during 'normal business hours' and end up having to choose between responding with a rescue truck and calling mutual aid for a pumper or vice versa. If a V.F.D. happens to be fortunate enough to have a significant number of personnel who are trained and certified in all aspects of technical rescue (high angle, confined space, trench, scuba, swift water, ice, structural collapse, etc.)and have a high frequency of such responses, then a full sized heavy rescue rig may be the only option. Departments that purchase large dedicated heavy rescue rigs but really are only trained for auto extrication and 'light rescue' work generally end up with a big rig with the standard compliment of auto extrication tools, some cribbing, speedy dry and possibly some struts. The rest is filled with basic engine and truck company equipment. Often an air cascade and command center is incorporated into the unit also. In many cases, it's far more economical for a county to train and equip a technical rescue team (much as they do a Haz Mat Team, fire investigation team, etc.) A suitable rescue rig along with a large box truck to carry additional shoring and tools, can be centrally located and brought to any scene when needed. A mobile cascade unit and command post is another vehicle that is best operated from a central location by the county.This concept can save individual departments a tremendous amount of money and does away with the huge amount of duplication of equipment that exists within the volunteer service today.

Terrible incidents such as this (as the post mentions) spurred the growth of unions. Nowadays, the well paid commentators on talk radio as well as certain cable news shows bash unions and blame them for many of our Nation's financial woes. It's true that some unions got out of control over the years and have some very costly clauses in their contracts, but there are many unions whose main function is to insure a safe work place along with fair wages and benefits. It's very apparent how these 'media experts' blame the unions but never mention why unions were formed nor do they bash greedy corporate types who stuff their own pockets while underpaying and laying off hard working people.
God bless all of the victims of both of these tragedies and remember all of the Firefighters who had to deal with the victim recovery. If you've never had to perform that function, I can assure you that it is very sad and it stays with you.

Terrible incidents such as this (as the post mentions) spurred the growth of unions. Nowadays, the well paid commentators on talk radio as well as certain cable news shows bash unions and blame them for many of our Nation's financial woes. It's true that some unions got out of control over the years and have some very costly clauses in their contracts, but there are many unions whose main function is to insure a safe work place along with fair wages and benefits. It's very apparent how these 'media experts' blame the unions but never mention why unions were formed nor do they bash greedy corporate types who stuff their own pockets while underpaying and laying off hard working people.
God bless all of the victims of both of these tragedies and remember all of the Firefighters who had to deal with the victim recovery. If you've never had to perform that function, I can assure you that it is very sad and it stays with you.

I agree 66FFMJK. However this is not at all limited to the fire service ... I have encountered 'unprofessional' police officers, sanitation workers, EMT's, postal carriers, etc.. In other words there are some bad apples in every walk of life. Overall, throughout my fire service career I encountered very few unprofessional firefighters and those who showed such attributes were shunned by their peers and such behaviour was not tolerated by the department.