Once upon a time, the conventional way of fighting fire was passing buckets of water by an endless ribbon of untrained civilians. However, this method could not prevent entire cities on various parts of the globe from being razed by fire.
Building codes
In order to prevent this, building codes were invented, drastically reducing the chance of a fire destroying large parts of a city. To this day, continuous adaptation and adjustment of building and fire codes is a necessity in order to make fires more controllable. After all, a key element in fire prevention and safety is making it possible for the public to make a timely exit from a building on fire.
The latest Dutch building codes state that a fire, theoretically, must be contained to one fire compartment. In practice, this goal is not always attainable for a variety of reasons. One reason is economics, when fire preventive measures are kept to a minimum. Another example is human error or a technical failure that allows a fire to expand unhindered and cause casualties.
Modern-day fires
Research of structural fires shows a change in fire behavior partly due to the types of buildings and materials inside. Whereas at the start of my career I was often confronted with flames already breaking out of a building, today when arriving on scene, a building might present itself intact, only showing some seeping smoke. We can safely say that fires have changed. As Steve Kerber, director of the UL Firefighter Safety Research Institute, said, “The fires my grandfather fought were totally different fires than the ones I’m fighting today.”
A fire can be fought more effectively, right into the core, with an interior attack by well-trained firefighters using high-quality equipment, such as modern turnouts, breathing apparatus and thermal imaging cameras. New developments are continuously made, prompting us as firefighters to keep pace along with them.
With these rapid developments, the risks for fire crews have increased. Despite being able to fight fires more effectively, firefighters were—and still are—being lost with unfortunate regularity due to sudden fire expansion, collapse, etc. One underlying cause of these line-of-duty deaths (LODDs) is that diverse building types were (and are) being attacked using the same approach.
The Netherlands doctrine
In the past 15 years in the Netherlands, 16 firefighters died in fire incidents. In hindsight, some of these deaths may have been preventable if the appraisal would have been different before and after the incident. Of course, this is always easy in retrospect, but the fact remains that the knowledge development in general had fallen behind.
In order to help Dutch firefighters increase their risk awareness, a doctrine was developed, with the key goal being LODD prevention. One clear change is switching from rule-based fire operations to knowledge-based fire operations. When using available knowledge, a safe and effective attack can be made.
One tool of this doctrine is providing firefighters with multiple options for making tactical choices. The developed model is linked to fire prevention codes stating the mandates required by law for a specific building. Dynamic factors that must be taken into consideration are changing legislation of which the fire department may or may not be aware, which code applies to which building, and if the preventive measures are sufficient. This raises the question of executing an exterior or interior attack. If the choice is made for an interior attack, can it be performed safely (instead of a “let’s go inside and see how far we can get” attack)? Operational choices are made based on a quadrant model that brings together several factors, helping firefighters make the right choice for the incident at hand, and one that is clear to everyone on the fireground. The different choices in this model are defensive and offensive outside a building and defensive and offensive inside a building. Each part of the model needs its own tactics and techniques.
Reconnaissance factors
To prevent crews from performing their duties by rote (done out of habit, without thinking), a proper size-up or reconnaissance is essential (an attack made on the basis of planning and clear objectives). Reconnaissance is a continuous process that starts from arriving on scene right up until the end of the incident. It is divided into five parts:
- Fire characteristics
- Building characteristics
- Human factor characteristics
- Environment characteristics
- Intervention characteristics
The incident is defined by a combination of these factors. The fire officer will have to appraise the connection among the characteristics as part of their decision-making, including the choice of offensive or defensive operations, and whether to make an interior attack.
Fire characteristics
First, we must take into account the dynamic circumstances that are presented by modern fire behavior. More knowledge of fire dynamics will decrease the chance of being taken by surprise. For instance, knowing if a fire will evolve when entry is made can be of great importance. Modern fires are under-ventilated and, therefore, entry will cause an accelerated evolution into a flashover. In addition, expelled smoke gases can spread out and ignite elsewhere through other means. During reconnaissance, firefighters can “read” the fire using the Building, Smoke, Air Track, Heat and Flame (B-SAHF) model and then recognize the ventilation profile to predict how the fire might behave. With this knowledge, a more defensive posture will sometimes be prudent.
Building characteristics
Building construction varies worldwide; however, building construction shouldn’t be able to surprise a firefighter. Whereas in Europe the main construction method uses are brick and steel, in the United States, wood is a common building material. One important question you might ask yourself is whether you are dealing with a fire in a building or whether the building is on fire. A concrete structure can loosen and will usually collapse outward as opposed to steel construction, which will fail over time and pull the construction inward onto itself. A wood-frame construction will be immediately involved in the fire, weakening the structure and producing fuel in the form of combustion gases, allowing a fire to evolve much faster.
Another factor in building characteristics is the level of fire preventive measures:
- Are physical preventive measures present, such as fire-resistant materials or fire partitions?
- Are technical installations present, such as a sprinkler system?
The above mentioned points can be incorporated in the standard operation procedure (SOP) to directly supply the units with this crucial information.
Human factors characteristics
In the past, rescue has always come before extinguishing the fire, but lately a new trend has emerged: creating time for people to escape a structure before the fire has reached a fatal stage. Providing an early warning using an alarm installation not only buys people time to find their way to safety, but also gives building staff a chance to evacuate an office building or store. Of course in cases where people are less self-reliant, organizations must anticipate this by having plans and staff available in the event of an emergency. Unfortunately there’s always the chance of casualties. The big question is whether to go directly for the rescue or to take a little more time to create a safer environment by tackling the fire.
Environment characteristics
The direct environment should be included in the reconnaissance. A city structure is surrounded by other buildings, exposing adjacent buildings to fire. Another important factor is wind. What are the wind speed and wind direction, and what influence will this have on the fire? A wind-driven fire poses great risk to firefighters.
Intervention characteristics
How can a good plan be executed when lacking sufficient personnel and material? This is why having sufficient equipment and staffing is an essential part of this characteristic. The chosen strategy and tactics can only be made to work when we have a clear picture of what is needed and have these well-trained staff and materials present. These goals can be adjusted when faced with unforeseen or even improved circumstances. When necessary, strategy can be adapted by switching to a different quadrant within the model.
Goals
Every incident has a number of goals:
- Rescue
- Support or facilitate evacuation of the building
- Create survivable conditions
- Enable safe entry
- Prevent expansion of the fire within the building
- Prevent expansion of the fire to adjacent structures
- Extinguish the fire
- Limit environmental and social effects
As illustrated, there are eight goals that may be achieved by the fire department. Compiling these goals will yield a clear strategic choice. But the main goal should always be to operate safely and return to the station in good health after a job well done.
SIEMCO BAAIJ is a veteran firefighter with 25 years of field experience. He works as a crew commander at the professional fire service Utrecht in the Netherlands. He is co-author of two books about fire behavior. Baaij has developed programs for instructors at the Dutch Fire Academy in the Netherlands, where he is a part-time teacher. As board member of the Compartment Fire Behavior Training (CFBT) chapter, a part of the Dutch Fire Academy, Baaij researches firefighting techniques in order to develop programs and training.
