Fire officer handbook of tactics chapter 7. Truck Duties in Fire Attack

• Truck duties are essential functions that support fire attack, regardless of whether a ladder truck is present.
• These duties should be assigned to specific personnel, even if a fire department lacks a ladder truck, to ensure they are not overlooked.
• Truck duties are critical for successful fire attack because they provide the necessary foundation, similar to how a house needs a foundation to stand.
• Ladder company tasks include laddering, overhaul, ventilation, forcible entry, rescue and search, salvage, and control of utilities (LOVERS U).
• A balance between the attack team (nozzle team) and the support team (ladder personnel) is crucial for an aggressive interior fire attack.
• Ladder company tools and responsibilities must be prioritized to ensure victims are rescued, hidden fires are exposed, ventilation is timely, and salvage is performed effectively.
• A plan of action is necessary to specify what areas should be covered, by whom, with what tools, and when and why actions must occur, so that the whole team is coordinated and understands the the goals.

Ladder Company Assignments Plan

• Should formalize thinking and prioritize tasks and assign roles
• Should be in writing and distributed to team
• Establishes accountability for actions

Key Operational Plan Specifics:

• Number of people assigned to major areas

• Tools provided in each area

• General scope of duties

• A plan should reflect insights gained from past experiences, such as high life hazards in bedrooms requiring immediate search efforts.

• If short-handed assign most experienced firefighters to interior teams

Essential Tools

• Forcible-entry bar (Halligan tool)

• Flathead axe

• Hook or pole

• The buddy system, with at least two members operating together, is recommended, especially for interior teams where the minimum tools include forcible entry tools, an axe, and a pike pole.

• A portable radio is essential for any member who may be operating alone, enabling communication and calls for assistance.

• Assigning people to ladder companies after spending time in an engine company fosters a better understanding of working conditions for all firefighters.

• Members of truck crews often operate without direct supervision. They therefore need to be experienced firefighters capable of making independent decisions and operating safely without a hoseline.

• Find the fire before committing resources

Ladder Company Functions at Structural Fires

• Finding the fire’s location is a truck duty. It should be performed before committing to a hoseline, especially in large buildings where premature commitment can be disastrous.
• In smaller buildings or when truck personnel are delayed, engine crews should send a member with tools to locate the fire.
• The number of truck personnel in a plan should match the available resources, outlining responsibilities for common structural fires while remaining flexible.
• An interior team is essential, equipped to force entry, expose hidden fire, vent, and report progress, supported by forcible-entry iron, a flat-head axe, and a hook.
• Portable radios and powerful flashlights are necessities for the interior team, with the officer leading the team and using a thermal imaging camera.
• Other team members are divided, with some at the rear of the structure using a portable ladder for search and ventilation, and one member at the front performing VEIS (vent, enter, isolate, and search) on second-floor bedrooms.
• FDNY uses Ladders 4 which is an operational plan based on many fires, capturing member's experience to develop plans that work for common structures

VEIS Priorities:

• Greatest danger is to firefighters on the inside

• High priority is search of the means of egress and the bedrooms

• By working from a ladder, roof, or fire escape, making their way into a window, the members aren’t exposed to the severe interior conditions for as long

• The interior team, led by the officer, is the largest due to the high dangers of interior operations, focusing on search and rescue in bedrooms, where the life hazard is highest.

• VEIS provides immediate access to critical bedrooms, especially when stairs are compromised, with members working from ladders or fire escapes to minimize exposure.

• Tool assignments are based on tasks and responsibilities, ensuring the outside team has tools for forcing rear doors and venting windows.

• Roof ventilation is a lower priority compared to life search, with roof cutting assigned to additional personnel if needed.

• Even with limited personnel, using different approaches multiplies chances of success and reduces delays in reaching victims.

• Positions should cover the most vital areas first, with tools assigned accordingly, and plans modified based on local conditions, especially for different occupancies.

• Regardless of personnel availability, essential ladder company tasks include search and rescue, laddering, overhaul, ventilation, forcible entry, salvage, and utility control.

Laddering (Use of Portable Ladders)

• Ladders should be placed with purpose and not simply placing ladders against a building.
• Portable ladders provide access, rescue routes, escape routes, ventilation points, and may replace aerial devices.
• Selection and placement of a portable ladder depend on reach, weight, nested length, material of construction, and personnel required.
• Ladders should be properly selected for their intended function.
• SOPs and equipment affect today's operations.

Ladder Selection Considerations:

• Length is single most important item

• Consider the absence of long range portables and whether that would be an issue in the response area

• A 35 ft extension can replace a 28, 24, and 20 ft ladder since they can be adjusted to the required working length

• Adjust ladders for required amount of working space

• Estimate residential building floor-to-floor height as 9 ft and commercial as 12 ft, adding 3 ft for windowsill height and 4 ft for window height.

Proper Climbing Angle of Ladders

• Proper climbing angle for a portable ladder is about 70°, allowing the climber to hold onto the rungs or beams.
• Estimate the position for the butt of the ladder away from the building by dividing the working height by 4.
• Check the climbing angle by standing on the bottom rung and reaching out for the rungs at chest height; adjust until comfortable and stable.

Proper Tip Placement

• Should be even with the top of the window frame to ventilate a window and just off to the upwind side of the objective to break the glass without being in its path as it falls.
• Proper tip placement on ladders should be just at or slightly below the windowsill for most other uses.
• Clearing the window of glass and sash signals that this is the escape window as well as helps achieve superior ventilation, easing conditions.

Materials of Ladder Contruction

• Aluminum construction is light weight and low maintenance
• Can be electrical conductor
• Composite ladders are made of fiberglass and aluminum so they are better used near electrical hazards
• All material ladders conduct electricity when wet, and therefore must be handled with care

Ladders and Temperature

• Fiberglass and aluminum lack resistance to heat

• High heat can weaken a ladder's strength

• NFPA 1932 requires a heat-indicating label that will change color when exposed to dangerous temperatures.

• NFPA 1932 deals with load-carrying capacities and testing and record keeping.

• Design load is 750 lb for most ladders.

Safe Use of Ladders Guidelines:

• Use the proper length and type

• Proper angle

• Positioned with the objective in mind

• Ladders must be kept away from electrical lines

• All ladders in the vertical position kept under constant watch

• Ladders should not block entry or egress routes

• Not overloaded

• Climbers must keep one hand on the ladder

• Secure yourself

• Secure base of ladder to building if possible

• Make sure ground is stable before dismounting

• The firefighter must know how to use ladders properly.

• Aerial devices increase a unit’s capabilities but do not a replace portable ladders.

• Aerial devices are commonly used for search, rescue, ventilation, roof access, applying heavy streams, and overhauling.

• Ventilating windows is rapidly accomplished using an aerial ladder, while removing an unconscious victim is easier with an elevating platform.

• For serious fires in larger buildings, an aerial ladder or ladder tower is superior for supplying reinforcements and evacuating personnel from the roof, while continuous ladders are better for self-evacuation.

• A tower ladder includes a platform attached to a boom with a built-in waterway and a sideless escape ladder, whereas a ladder tower features a platform attached to the end of an aerial ladder with a built-in waterway.

• The ladder tower, built around an aerial ladder, allows ready climbing, making it a good choice for areas with larger structures.

• Two aerial devices, an aerial ladder and a platform, is the best situation to use for fires in larger structures.

• Follow the manufacturer’s specifications for master stream operation to avoid severe damage, injury, or death

• Tower ladders offer unrestricted master stream use at any angle, extension, or platform capacity of 1,000 lb or more, making them versatile.

• Aerial ladders and telescoping platforms require a clear line of sight from the turntable to the objective, while articulating boom platforms may reach over obstacles but pose a hazard due to the projecting boom elbow.

Safe Aerial Ladder Use:

• Raise ladders so that at least five rungs project above the level of the roof
• Keep ladders an inch or two out of the building

Aerial Platform Use:

• Platforms can be placed over structures

• The basket should be raised before retracting the boom

• Aerial devices allow access to upper floors, enabling firefighters to get above the fire, control vertical extension, and rescue victims.

• Vent, Enter, Isolate, Search (VEIS) involves gaining access via the exterior, forcing entry, closing the room door, and searching for occupants and fire.

• The elevating platform is the better choice for upper-floor entry due to the basket being a safer work area and a better refuge in worsening conditions, though the platform master-stream in the center of the basket can impede access.

Best Platform Placement Techniques:

• The best position is as close to the building as possible for maximum scrub area, with the basket in line with the window

• Place the basket so that the top rail is level with the windowsill to keep those in the basket away from the smoke and heat.

• Forget about the gates in the basket unless the lineup is letter-perfect, saving time

• Place the apparatus with the turntable in line with the window or objective and the ladder perpendicular to the building for stability and to prevent sliding.

• The tip of the aerial should be just below the windowsill, if possible, leaving most of the window free for access.

• Scrub area is the amount of surface area reachable by an aerial device.

• Aerial ladders make good ventilation tools

• The operator can do initial venting of almost all of the windows within reach of the ladder from the turntable.

Scrub Area

• Aerial ladders and telescoping booms have greater scrub areas than articulating booms.

• The greater the working height of a device, the more scrub area it can cover.

• Position determines scrub area

• Further away the apparatus is positioned results in less scrub area that the end of the stick can cover

• Chauffeurs must understand spotting distances for maximizing the apparatus' capabilities.

• The driver must consider vehicle profile and how it affects movement

• Generally slow down and observe the conditions before the fire.

Aerial Device Best Operating Techniques:

• Position for maximum benefit

• Position for fire's anticipated progress

• Should be positioned upwind of the fire so that the heat, smoke, and flame will be carried away from anyone operating above

• Keep aerial devices at least 10 ft away from overhead power lines

• Never extend or retract any device while a person is climbing on the ladder.

• Efficient overhaul saves hard work, prevents embarrassment, and enhances the fire department’s image, guarding against rekindling after the department leaves.

• Overhaul is any action taken to expose hidden fire and ensure its extinguishment.

• Renkindles are often more serious than the original fire

• Firefighters must know where to open up the structure, with precontrol overhauling done under difficult conditions to cut off fire extension and postcontrol overhauling involving a more detailed examination with less urgency.

• Knowledge of construction assists firefighters in finding likely points to open up.

• It is essential when overhauling to examine the floor above a kitchen or bathroom fire because of the presence of pipe shafts accommodating water, sewer, and vent pipes.

Post Control Overhauling

• Examine areas in a slower, thorough manner
• Focus should be on reducing unnecessary damage than to speed
• Made in a more thorough manner, paying more attention to reducing unnecessary damage than to speed
• Made to reduce unnecessary damage
• Should be justifiable both to firefighters and property owners

Using Senses to Detect Fires

• Sight (look for fire, smoke, blistering)

• Thermal imaging cameras (TICs) are valuable for finding heat sources and limiting damage during overhauling.

• Hearing

• Touch (15 second, 2-minute rule)

• Smell

• Common Sense.

• Opening confines overhauling to the immediate vicinity of a fire object

• Charred objects must be doused with water and then opened up.

• Mattresses and stuffed furniture should be removed outdoors to eliminate smoke and safeguard against reignition.

• Do not remove items in elevators

• Soak all charred debris to ensure extinguishment

Opening up Techniques:

• Open up near preexisting openings

• Keep an eye out for light fixtures, pipes, electric outlets and switch plates

• Inspect each bay for clean wood

• Watch for intersecting vertical openings

• Safe practices while pulling ceilings is to wear full protective clothing and SCBA, clear the area below fellow firefighters, and position yourself properly to do the work and have an egress plan in mind

• Do not hydraulically overhaul without considering the damage that accompanies it.