I was talking with an old friend recently on the 39th anniversary of our appointment to the FDNY. My friend, Deputy Chief Jay Jonas, and I talked about several topics, including a well-known basement fire. During this discussion, Jonas brought up what I thought was an interesting and unique process that we’ll call “parallel operations.”
Cellar fire example
Basement and/or cellar fires present unique challenges and dangers to firefighters. I don’t think I know anyone who really likes fighting cellar fires. So how does that lead us to parallel operations? Well, if we take a look at a pretty basic cellar fire in a one-story commercial building, this topic will fit right in.
You arrive at a one-story commercial building that’s 75 feet wide and 150 feet deep. You have a good smoke condition (moderate for you technical guys). There is an interior stairway that has been located by a truck team, and the smoke and heat condition coming up the stairs is extreme. There is also a sidewalk entrance and it has been opened as well. The heat there is much less intense, and you order a 2½-inch line down to fight the fire. You also ensure that the interior stairway door is held closed and monitored.
Up until this point, there is a single strategy underway. This is when we begin our “parallel operation.” As has already been stated, fighting a cellar or basement fire is both challenging and dangerous—so challenging, in fact, that many of these fires end up being extinguished via a secondary or even third tactical option.
So, instead of waiting and hoping that the first option—in this case, an interior attack with a 2½-inch hoseline—is completely successful, you can almost immediately begin to deploy units to set up and be ready to employ a different method of attack. This is not a simultaneous operation. Whatever secondary tactical operation is being prepared will not be initiated unless and until the primary attack method has failed or stalled. The incident commander (IC) who chooses to deploy units to set up and be ready to initiate a secondary tactical operation on a fire that is already being fought by other units using a different tactical operation must make certain that these two distinct operations are not initiated together or at the same time.
If we look at this specific fire again, we can examine the options. The first tactic is our interior attack hoseline. It may take several minutes for the unit to descend into the basement, get their bearings, locate the fire, advance the hoseline to the fire area, and get water on the fire. At the same time, supporting this primary attack, truck firefighters will be attempting to locate ventilation points and perform both horizontal and vertical ventilation.
Knowing that this operation may be underway for quite some time before it becomes obvious that it is either working or not, the IC can select and deploy units to begin a secondary attack option. At this fire, the chief may assign a truck to enter the first floor, get to a position near the location of the fire below, and start preparing to cut the floor for a cellar pipe operation. The floor can even be cut—but not pulled—until it is decided to back the engine out and use the cellar pipe to extinguish the fire.
Another secondary tactic could be for the chief to have one or more elevated master streams set up and supplied in preparation for a defensive operation. A third option might be to have several handlines and/or master streams positioned and supplied around the structure at windows or other openings ready to extinguish the fire via outside streams.
The specific tactics selected will vary and will be decided upon by the IC based on conditions encountered, staffing, weather, building details and much more. One chief may order an interior attack via a handline that is deployed down the interior stairway as the primary tactic. Another chief may use the sidewalk stairway for a hoseline advance. A third chief may decide to knock down an advancing fire from the exterior using handlines initially and set up master streams as the secondary tactic.
Shift gears
The unique concept here is establishing a secondary tactical operation even before the primary operation has failed. Using a “parallel operation” may be the decision that allows you to quickly shift gears and win a battle that would otherwise be lost.
John J. Salka Jr. | Battalion Chief
JOHN J. SALKA JR., who is a Firehouse contributing editor, retired as a battalion chief with FDNY, serving as commander of the 18th battalion in the Bronx. Salka has instructed at several FDNY training programs, including the department’s Probationary Firefighters School, Captains Management Program and Battalion Chiefs Command Course. He conducts training programs at national and local conferences and has been recognized for his firefighter survival course, “Get Out Alive.” Salka co-authored the FDNY Engine Company Operations manual and wrote the book "First In, Last Out–Leadership Lessons From the New York Fire Department." He also operates Fire Command Training, which is a New York-based fire service training and consulting firm.
