BFD1054

Interesting, thanks for sharing.
 
Ironically, I recently had a similar discussion with one of my Lieutenants. I suggested writing up an explanation of the RIT/FAST and posting it on our FB page. This way, members of the public would have an idea of why we "just stand around."

This the second fire on this site with a massive house fire seemingly starting in the garage( Fairview NJ). A car going on fire possibly extending to a second vehicle and most definitely the storage which usually includes combustibles and often flammable liquids, pesticides and God forbid winter propane storage, will generate a tremendous fire condition and volume of smoke unlike any place else in a dwelling. Additionally there will be a delayed discovery as smoke detectors are not normally in a garage,

A bunch of us from the airport went up to Boston for our annual FAA certifications.  Here's a few pics for you guys!
 
 

Interesting, thanks for sharing.
 
Ironically, I recently had a similar discussion with one of my Lieutenants. I suggested writing up an explanation of the RIT/FAST and posting it on our FB page. This way, members of the public would have an idea of why we "just stand around."

The Lime Yellow rigs which started in the 1970's and was championed by a eye Doctor by the name of Solomon seems not to have gained extensive popularity, .perhaps due to tradition or what difference does it make with all the warning lights. The good Doctor thru extensive testing found that the Lime color was more visible to the eye and there was no such color in nature except in a baby's diaper.

 
ARTICLE: https://medium.com/homeland-security/just-hangin-out-why-do-firefighters-just-stand-around-at-fires-1ebbf31eba6b

A few others that were getting ready on the blue floor or in production (not sure if they will be at the show).
 
Jersey City Enforcer:

Miami City FD (Assigned to Dive Team, has additional storage in cab for dive equipment):

West Metro Fire District in Minnesota (interesting paint and line-x coverings):

I worked the midnight shift for much of my time volunteering. I actually found it made taking some classes easier. Granted there was a big commitment involved, but I am not sure my working 11-7 then going to class at 8 is any better or worse than a guy who works 9-5 and goes to class at 6. I am also lucky enough to have a very good vacation policy at work where I could take a day at a time or even a half day, as opposed to taking two weeks at a time. This allowed me to attend a lot of good training classes. However it was rough doing a night drill then going into work at 11 tired from drill.

This has been a fascinating thread. I've watched the video 4 or 5 times. Many different good points were made. It proves that there is no one perfect way to attack a fire. Here's my idea, which I thought of the first time I saw the video.
 
I would order an 1 3/4 inch stretched to the garage door. I would then order one of the upper panels on the garage door pulled down, probably a halligan & a pike pole would do the trick. I would then direct the hoseline into that opening for 30 seconds to a minute. In the confined space of the garage the fire should get knocked down quickly with the steam generated. I am a firm believer that you need to knock down the main body of fire which is generating the most heat and the most BTU's. The other advantage to this tactic is that the steam will follow the flow pattern of the smoke and hopefully will help stop the hidden fire spread. I wouldn't be too worried about steam generated affecting any victims, because either they got out of the house or are unconscious on a bed or the floor. Any steam that settles to the floor level will be somewhat cooled.
 
After the quick application of water into the garage, I'd wait a minute or two to see what was happening with the fire and smoke. I wouldn't commit anyone yet, but I'd order the hose stretched to the front door and prepare for entry, I would order 2 ladders set up for secondary means of egress, and I'd assign someone to the back of the house to give me a report on what they see.
 
Assuming the heavy fire in the garage was darkened down and the smoke emitting from the house began turning lighter in color, I would then order the line into the front door for fire control & extinguishment while searches and ventilation went on. If things seemed to be going well, I'd then order the garage doors removed to complete fire extinguishment in the garage. 
 
 

I disagree with the conclusion that "the whole lower level is well involved" based on the fire showing from the garage and that the handline should have gone thru the garage first.  If you look at the beginning of the first video, just before and after that engine arrives, there is fire burning around the garage doors, but there is no fire at the front door and no visible fire and limited smoke from the downstairs window to the right.  The whole lower level is clearly not what I'd consider to be "well involved".
 
To me, based on that assessment, the area of origin is more than likely the garage and actual fire does not appear to spread much yet.  Smoke yes, fire not so much.  Conditions on the upper floor seem like they could still be survivable for any occupants (not sure what the occupancy information they had was).  Looking at the videos a few times, it kind of looked like the fire spread to the front door area may have been an exterior spread from the garage rather than the interior burning thru.  While the garage certainly needs addressed, getting thru the garage doors is likely going to take a few minutes to do anything other than flow water from the driveway.
 
As such, my first line would be hitting the visible fire from the garage and then attempting to make entry thru the front door in attempt to cut off the fire spread and protect the stairs for a quick search of the bedrooms over the garage.  As manpower would allow, other personnel would simultaneously get to work on removal of the garage doors while the 2nd line supports that work (Ideally, you create an opening large enough to flow water thru in the one door to hold the fire in check some while working on removal of the other door.).
 
Given how choppy the video editing is, it's hard to get a good sense of the timing of the obvious fire spread that occurs.  So, it's hard to tell for sure if conditions would allow for sustained interior operations, but it might be long enough to at least make a quick search.
 
 

The SFFD has what seems miles of LDH hose stored at the waterfront where the Fireboat is quartered, the play is to have that hose stretched into the city and have the fireboat pump it. Now in 1989 (I think) when the earthquake struck during the World Series, television showed gangs of civilians stretching the LDH hose into the burning areas. The cisterns are a great idea as underground water mains and pump stations become problematic. A company just had to pull the man hole cover and drop in their hard suction and they have access to thousands and thousands of gallons of water.
With hills and  thousands of closely built frame dwellings it would be some battle to save the city in the event of a major earthquake.
 I am sure they have extensive plans to react, legend has it back in 1906 the first fatality of the earthquake was the Chief of Department, when his chimney fell thru his ceiling and killed him in his bed, along with him went his elaborate earthquake plans.

They got him because of some awesome detective work. Glad his family will have justice, although never closure.
 
 
FULL STORY: http://www.lohud.com/story/news/crime/2017/05/04/i-95-tow-driver-death-arrest/101287164/
 
ANOTHER FULL STORY:   http://harrison.dailyvoice.com/police-fire/police-nab-suspect-in-hit-run-harrison-crash-that-killed-tow-truck-operator/709606/

Seth, my FD rotates drills and truck checks every Sunday (morning) and Monday (evening).
Like many VFD's, we have many members who work shift work. We try to accommodate this by adding weekday drills and truck checks (usually Tuesday or Thursday). It works well for us. Gives everyone a fair chance at keeping fresh on their training and our equipment. 

Anytime is a good time to train. 

We never had much in the way of formal daytime drills, but in my old station if there were a bunch of members around during the day it was not unusual to hold a drill. We got a lot of pushback on that from members who worked during the day and felt that they were being denied the "right" to drill so those of us around in the day should not do drill reports or get any kind of credit for doing that drill. This was also briefly a problem when we were a combination department and there were occasional drills during the day for the career staff and any available volunteers. There was a certain volunteer element that felt these were somehow being used to avoid our weekly nighttime drills.
 
I am a fan of drilling in any way possible and favor a combination of day and night drills, whenever possible. I applaud that department for figuring out a way around the problems their membership was having.

I came across something pretty interesting at a FD I was at recently.
 
They have a lot of members who work nights and weekends, or have childcare issues that prevent from attending, So each Wednesday, at 9AM, they drill.
 
Pretty cool solution to make sure training is accessible to everybody. Do any other departments do this?

Seth, my FD rotates drills and truck checks every Sunday (morning) and Monday (evening).
Like many VFD's, we have many members who work shift work. We try to accommodate this by adding weekday drills and truck checks (usually Tuesday or Thursday). It works well for us. Gives everyone a fair chance at keeping fresh on their training and our equipment. 

Seth, my FD rotates drills and truck checks every Sunday (morning) and Monday (evening).
Like many VFD's, we have many members who work shift work. We try to accommodate this by adding weekday drills and truck checks (usually Tuesday or Thursday). It works well for us. Gives everyone a fair chance at keeping fresh on their training and our equipment. 

Seth, my FD rotates drills and truck checks every Sunday (morning) and Monday (evening).
Like many VFD's, we have many members who work shift work. We try to accommodate this by adding weekday drills and truck checks (usually Tuesday or Thursday). It works well for us. Gives everyone a fair chance at keeping fresh on their training and our equipment. 

Seth, my FD rotates drills and truck checks every Sunday (morning) and Monday (evening).
Like many VFD's, we have many members who work shift work. We try to accommodate this by adding weekday drills and truck checks (usually Tuesday or Thursday). It works well for us. Gives everyone a fair chance at keeping fresh on their training and our equipment. 

Cool story.
 
 
http://www.news5cleveland.com/news/local-news/cleveland-metro/cleveland-firefighters-rescue-stranded-photographer

 
I know the masses here on EMTBravo love to talk about consolidation, and since I stumbled upon this while reading the news, I figured it could be a fun discussion where consolidation IS moving forward.  So, I'll start us off with some facts and information about the districts.
 
The Village and Town of Victor are located in Ontario County, in the Finger Lakes Region of New York, about a 20 minute drive southeast from downtown Rochester.
 
This article states that on March 20, the joint session of the Village and Town Boards of Victor voted to bring the issue of consolidating the two fire districts, Victor and Fishers, into a single fire district.  Since the two districts are already relying on each other for manpower and equipment, to the point where they purchase equipment together (such as their ATV's), the joint boards have put though the idea to consolidate the districts.  The other reason, in which the article points to, is that a single district would also level out the taxes that property owners are paying (where taxpayers in the Fishers district would see a slight decrease, and Victor would see a slight increase).  Leveling out the tax levy, according to Victor Fire Chief Sean McAdoo, puts more tax burden back onto the taxpayers of the Victor district, as they are currently receiving more services under the current mutual aid and equipment purchasing plans.
 
The Victor Fire Department is based in the heart of the Village of Victor.  The village is tight on space, houses the Victor Central School District, and is heavily congested with traffic along Main Street.  VFD also covers the Victor Fire Protection District, which surrounds the village in the south and west sides of the town.  These areas are generally residential, with multiple subdivisions in the west and some agriculture in the south.  VFD operates with a quint, engine, heavy rescue, brush truck, and two utilities.  The VFD is 100% volunteer staffing.  [http://victorfire.com]
 
The Fishers Fire Department operates out of two stations, covering the north and west sections of the Town of Victor.  Station 1 is in the west side, comprised of mostly residential, some industrial, and agriculture towards the southern end of the district.  Station 1 is also their headquarters, which houses a quint, engine, and heavy rescue.  Station 2 is at the north end, which is a heavy commercial/retail district, including Eastview Mall, the largest shopping center in the Rochester area.  Station 2 houses an engine, brush truck, and two utilities.  The FFD is a combination department with four career firefighters per platoon (four platoons), but relies heavily on volunteers.  I don't know off hand which apparatus they staff, but I believe it is the engine out of Station 1.  I have not talked to anyone within that organization in years, so my knowledge of the career staffing is a little lacking.  The FFD also covers a large section of the NYS Thruway.  [http://www.fishersfd.org]
 
In my honest opinion, the fact that these two districts have already been working together as a single unit through training, response, and equipment purchasing, it makes sense for them to consolidate into a single district.  Although only one of the district's taxpayers would benefit financially, it's better for these two districts to completely join forces to increase the benefit of emergency services to the people they protect.  This has been foreseen by many in the area, and the fact that it may actually become a reality is enlightening.
 
Maybe a trend will start out of this?

Instead of questioning an exterior attack vs an aggressive interior attack.  They should be getting back to basics and work on that.   Like someone mentioned above not really an "A" effort.  The way the video was edited you can't really create a true time line of how long it took to get things going.  In the video it shows an engine pulling up and to me it looks like it took a long time to get the line in place and water in it.  They had a chance to make a good push on this but their lack of assertiveness and aggressiveness they let this get away from them. I'd be embarrassed if I was the chief after seeing this.  

I think Mr. Suarino's letter is excellent, and sheds light on the types of crap that has been going on for years in volunteer departments. Every department I've ever been a part of has had a select group of obstructionist old guys who haven't rode the rigs in 15 years that just love to make life difficult for officers and firefighters that are trying to get things done and move the agency forward.

 
http://www.myrye.com/my_weblog/2017/04/letter.html