From: FAST- local teams used at own fires?

[FirNaTine 370]

Guys just remember, like BC. John Salka and BC. John Norman from FDNY always state, a quick, properly placed and adequately supplied initial attack handline saves more Lives, including those of Firefighters more often, than any other tool on the fireground, including Ladders. Get the 1'st and appropiate size handline into operation as fast as possible and a majority, if not all your problems are solved, or at least minimized, hopefully, eliminating the need for any FAST TEAM. In my opinion, the FAST TEAM concept should have been introduced and implemented years ago, especially when many of the Departments had adequate manpower. Unforunately, Departments now, are implementing a FAST TEAM POLICY or at least trying too, when they don't even have enough personnel to get this 1'st hoseline into operation or to even carry out the always necessary and essential, initial ventilation! It drives me nuts to constantly hear guys ask one another after a JOB, was a FAST TEAM standing buy, and wanting to hang the IC, only to find almost every window still intact, the roof nut cut, the bulkhead door still closed in M/D's, secondary searches not even begun, let alone completed, skylights still in place and only two lines in operation when there should have been at least three if not four lines in operation. But everything is all well and good folks because we had our FAST TEAM or should I say Smoke Screen standing buy in case of an Emergency, which in my DEPT., usually consists of two men. If your Dept. is lucky enough to have the resources to immediately institute a FAST TEAM and at the same time initiate an effective and aggressive interior attack on a Fire than by all means, I say do it. But if peoples lives are at stake when you pull up, than all available personnel should be put to work, even if this means calling in a neighboring Dept. on Mutual Aid to standby at the scene as your FAST TEAM. Lets worry more about accomplishing the Basics Tasks to achieve our number one goal and that is to SAVE LIFE AND PROPERTY by putting the FIRE OUT instead of always worrying about how many guys are or were standing buy in the front of the building in case the $hit hit the fan! If everyone available initially, does their job, which for the most part is just remembering and carrying out the Basics or as some Instructors put it, the BREAD and BUTTER of Firefighting, I honestly believe more civilian and probably firefighters lives' would be saved regardless of the number of personnel standing buy. Yes, there will be times where the unforseen happens at a Fire and members are going to get seriously injured, if not killed, but if you look at many of the investigations into LOD deaths and injuries, many times they are the result of the members themselves or their comrades not following the proper procedures and their Depts.SOP's. Don't get me wrong, I'm not downplaying the need for an established FAST TEAM POLICY, I just think when your working in a Dept. that's understaffed to begin with, your number one concern should not be how many guys can you assemble to stand fast in front of the Fire Bldg. when you have a GOOD JOB going and a definite or potentially severe LIFE HAZARD present, and barely enough personnel to carry out the BASICS. If you don't extinguish that Fire as quickly as possible, with the minimum number of men at hand, you can almost guarantee yourself a loss of life, including firefighters. In my opinion, by deploying all your available manpower to carrry out all the critical tasks that must be accomplished in the initial stages of a Fire, within a reasonable amount of time, you'll greatly reduce your chances of ever having to utilize a FAST TEAM, and can make use of them in some other area or return them to service as fast as you requested them. Stay Safe and Healthy Brothers!