Of course the most basic piece of equipment for any firefighter is their turnout gear. Our department uses gear from various manufacturers, but most recently we have purchased gear from Globe. Most everyone's gear is actually a little bit dirtier than the one you see pictured here, but that is to be expected! Firefighting is a messy, dirty job. In addition to the coat and pants, full turnout gear consists of a helmet, nomex hood, gloves, suspenders, and boots. One common misconception some folks have about turnout gear is that it allows a firefighter to go through flames. That is NOT the case. The gear is designed to be heat resistant, but protection from direct flame contact is limited. Some protection is there, but not for very long.

In addition to the turnout gear, in most instances we also must wear SCBA or Self-Contained Breathing Apparatus (not to be confused with SCUBA gear, which is for use under water). The SCBA we use in our department are manufactured by Scott. SCBA are the air tanks that you see on the back of a firefighter along with the mask on her/his face. We use them whenever there is a fire or the potential threat of a hazardous condition or environment. What that boils down to is we wear them on almost all incidents. Inside the air tanks is normal breathing air (about 21% oxygen) that gets fed into the mask through a pressure regulator. The air bottles that we use on our airpaks are filled to about 4500 psi when full, which gives you about a 15-20 minute air supply under heavy working conditions. When air in the bottle gets low an alarm sounds indicating the need to replace your bottle.

Before the Fire

Ok, ok, so what about a fire you ask..... What happens? What do you do? Here is what happens from the moment an alarm sounds. Oops. Before the alarm sounds someone must dial 911. Once an emergency phone call is received, the Communicators will dispatch the call by setting off tones in the station, on our radios, and on our pagers. Prior to getting on the truck we put on our turnout gear. While responding to the call we don our SCBA in the truck, which are conveniently mounted behind each seat. We also may receive further information about the call from the 911 communications center if they have it available.

At the Fire

If the call that was dispatched was similar to the one pictured here. The first thing we would do is give a size-up over the radio so that communications and all other incoming units would know what type of situation was at hand. A size-up for a situation like this might sound as follows: "We have a single-story wood frame structure with smoke and flames visible from the left side of the building."

The first priority in a residential structure fire such as this is rescue, so that would be our first thought coming off the apparatus. Some of the equipment we would put to immediate use would be an 1¾ handline, forcible entry tools, thermal imaging camera, handlights, ladders, and rope. If the building was larger we might also employ our ladder truck, Truck 971, to effect any rescues from upper stories or from windows.

Let's assume that with our example here there is no one inside in need of rescue. Four different operations would need to be put into place immediately by four different crews in order to begin containing this fire. First, one crew would need to advance the handline into the structure in order to get water on the fire. Two, a second crew would need to establish a water supply, third, a crew would need to go to the roof in order to ventilate the fire, and finally, a fourth group would be assigned as the RIT (Rapid Intervention Team) crew.

• The interior attack crew would advance an 1¾" Firequip 800 hose. There would be about 100 psi at an automatic nozzle that would deliver about 125 gallons of water per minute onto the fire assuming a 200' length of hose. Given a fire of the size shown here they would most likely encounter conditions that are totally black due to the smoke and temperatures in excess of the 1000° mark.
• The second crew would locate the nearest fire hydrant and attach large diameter hose to it and to the pumper located at the fire. In our department we use 5" rubber hose manufactured by Angus for hydrant connections. Just a quick note here to clear up a common misconception. Unless it were a very unusual situation, fire hose that a crew is using to attack a fire is never attached directly to a hydrant. Normal procedure is to attach the hose from the hydrant to the fire truck, which then may control the water pressure to the hose that the attack crew is using to extinguish the fire. The truck we most often use as the attack pumper is controling the pressure to the handlines is Engine 931.
• The third crew would be responsible for roof ventilation. This is done for a number of reasons. First, it allows the hot gases and smoke inside to escape, which cools the interior for the attack crew. It also improves visibility for them. Furthermore, it can also slow the spread of the fire by drawing the hot gases and flames up and out rather than further into the structure itself. Roof ventilation is completed by cutting a hole in the roof above the fire with a chain saw and then using a pick head axe and/or pike pole to punch down and through the ceiling of the structure in order to provide a path for the heat and smoke to escape. This would be done at the same time that the interior attack crew is putting water on the fire inside the structure. It calls for careful coordination between the two crews.
• The fourth crew is there for safety. RIT is a way to have at least two firefighters ready to quickly respond should an emergency situation arise, primarily in the form of a trapped or injured firefighter or civilian. This is a relatively new concept in the fire service, but in our opinion it is a good one. Anything we can do to make the job safer is better.

After the Fire

Once the fire has been put under control. Overhaul operations would commence. This involves making sure the fire is completely out and that the situation is mitigated completely. This is also the point at which the investigation into the cause of the fire becomes more intense and focused. Overhaul is a long, tiring and dirty part of being a firefighter. It is at this point that much of the excitement has died down and everyone must get down to the nitty gritty part of putting out a fire for good. It is not always fun work, but it is rewarding.

Experiencing a fire yourself can be a devastating thing. I would urge you to take a look at the information we have available to help you should you ever have a fire. Having awareness of this information before an incident strikes could be of great assistance and some comfort to you and your family. Knowing what to do and preparing ahead of time can ease the stress and strain that naturally results when you face a loss due to fire. To view this information click HERE.