Note: Popular opinion differentiates between smoke explosion and backdraft. The difference being flaming or not flaming. An explosive percussion surge (non-flaming) is a smoke explosion). A flaming explosion is a backdraft.

BACKDRAFT
Definition: “The introduction of oxygen to a confined area that is pressurized with heated flammable gases that are deficient in oxygen that results in an explosive force of significant intensity.”

To understand the background of this definition, let’s review some basic theory. Any fire must have heat, fuel, and oxygen in order to sustain combustion. In air, oxygen is normally 21% by volume. When heat, fuel, and oxygen are present in a suitable ratio, a free burning fire will result. If we transfer a free-burning fire to a confined room with no ventilation, the growth of a fire can advance through four phases of progression which are (1) ignition phase, (2) growth phase, (3) fully developed phase, and (4) decay phase.

In the ignition phase of a fire, the oxygen content is about 21%. This beginning phase of a fire will produce some heat, smoke, and fire gases, some of which are flammable. At this stage of a fire, the temperatures in the room are slowly beginning to increase over the ambient temperature of the room.

As this process continues, the growth phase of the fire begins where the level of smoke and fire gases increase in addition to the interior temperature, and a process known as thermal layering begins when the column of smoke and fire gases from a fire rise vertically to a ceiling and begin to bank downward. However, as long as there is sufficient oxygen, the fire will continue to accelerate. If this process is allowed to continue, the temperature within the fire area will have increased to the point that combustibles within the fire area will have ignited. This can also be referred to as a free-burning stage as the fire has sufficient heat, fuel and oxygen to produce large quantities of heat and fire gases. This is the fully developed phase of a fire.

When the supply of oxygen is depleted or minimized, this process will begin to subside, and the decay phase of a fire will begin. This can also be known as the smoldering phase as the oxygen supply has been depleted (13 to 15-percent), and there will still be high temperatures and large amounts of fire gases within the fire area. At this point however, another condition has rapidly become significant. As smoke and fire gases are heated, they will expand. In fact, the volumetric expansion of gases can increase, and are capable of creating a significant pressure (up to three times more than the ambient atmospheric pressure of 14.7 psi) inside the room. This internal pressure will force smoke and fire gases from all available openings. At this stage of this process, the room is pressurized, flammable fire gases are high, and oxygen levels are low. If oxygen is suddenly introduced to this scenario, either by breaking a window or opening a door, the fire triangle (heat, fuel, and oxygen) will be completed and an explosion can be expected to occur, often with destructive force to personnel and a structure and/or room.

Trademarks: A potential backdraft is relatively easy to recognize by four distinct trademarks – - (1) unvented fires that are confined by a structure, (2) smoke that is issuing under pressure from any available openings, or, smoke that is visibly being drawn into a pressurized confined area after openings are made to the involved area, (3) doors and/or windows that are hot to the touch. Additionally, windows may appear dark (which is a result of the heavy concentration of interior smoke), and (4) in some cases where various openings are present, expect heavy, dark, turbulent smoke. The turbulence (or boiling) is normally a result of the pressurized smoke expanding as it escapes and the inability of the structure to absorb the heat.

Elimination: Once a backdraft has been identified, how can it be eliminated? A backdraft can be eliminated by vertical ventilation over the involved area. This will reduce the internal temperature (primarily from the top portion of the room which is the location of the most heat) and vertically exhaust the hot smoke and fire gases to the exterior of the structure without allowing the sudden introduction of oxygen. If horizontal ventilation is the only practical method of ventilation, ventilation personnel should ventilate windows and/or doors from the corner of the structure as this is the safest area for ventilation personnel. The success of this operation is based on the following factors – - recognition of a potential backdraft, communication between initial entry and ventilation personnel, and timing between entry and ventilation personnel that results in ventilation preceding entry into the structure. In this case, firefighters preparing to make entry should not be positioned by openings (i.e., windows, doors, etc).

In our next article, we will look at flashover.

The oral interview is designed to evaluate the personal qualities and qualifications that are essential for the job, together with other intangible traits that cannot be satisfactorily gauged by the other components of the testing process. The end result of the promotional oral interview process is to establish a list indicating the best qualified candidate, as measured against his/her competitors.

There are three basic keys to know in order to be successful in the oral interview process.

• Know yourself.
• Know the job you are seeking.
• Understand the concepts of the oral interview.

These three keys are really described by one word… PREPARATION!

We are often asked the question; “When should I start preparing for the interview process?” Your preparation should actually begin years before you walk into the oral interview room. You need to build your resume through education and experience.

Your experience, education and special qualifications, and how you present them, have a tremendous impact on your interview score. The interview board is especially interested in your involvement with special assignments, department projects and committee work. Just as important is the level of education in terms of college courses and degrees, Fire Officer and Chief Officer certifications and any other certified training that specifically applies to the promotion you’re seeking. The most qualified candidates will usually have all these achievements checked off.

Most promotional candidates spend 90% of their study effort on the written examination and 10% of their preparation on the oral interview. This really doesn’t make sense, when both portions of the exam process may have equal weight. As you study supervision concepts, leadership principles and your Department’s S.O.P.’s, imagine yourself as the interviewer and create your own interview questions. The act of going through this process will instill these principles and concepts much better than rote memorization. You can practice the answers by audio taping yourself or by outlining your answers on 3 x 5 cards. You can play the tape back while driving, or review the cards in your spare time, even while standing in line at the post office. Everyone will just think you’re talking on your cell phone anyway!

Taking practice orals is extremely helpful. Video taping your practice interview and honestly reviewing your performance will enhance the learning process and allow you to sharpen up your presentation to be as effective as possible.

The oral interview process contains four components. They are:

• Opening statement.
• Background assessment.
• Job knowledge.
• Closing.

Along with the application, resume and cover letter, the opening statement is the first impression the oral board is going to have of you. It is obvious the opening statement is important. The following are typical introduction questions.

• Tell us about yourself.
• Why are you seeking this position?

Did you notice that these are pretty easy questions, and that the only person in the room who knows the “answer” is you? These questions usually come first simply to allow you to get into the flow of the interview process and to hopefully set you at ease. Take advantage of this opportunity. You know these answers!

So now you’re “relaxed”, right?

In next month’s article, we’ll focus on the two remaining steps of the oral interview process – job knowledge and closing.

•  Every structural fire presents a different set of conditions and challenges
• Building construction is constantly changing, and so is the amount of available fireground time as the size of structural members is systematically being reduced
• The contents of residential and commercial buildings burn significantly different than a few years  ago due to the predominance of synthetic materials
• Every building that is subjected to fire is under demolition until the fire is extinguished
• Modern personal protective equipment (PPE) is far superior to the PPE of yesterday, yet has the ability to mask the interior conditions of a fireground environment

 Unfortunately, the preceding factors collectively combine to hamper the American fire service with 20,000 injuries and over 100 deaths per year. These figures are more than significant when statistics indicate fireground injuries and deaths are increasing – not decreasing! Consider the following: if the number of structure fires is slowly decreasing (and they are), but the number of fireground deaths and injuries remain about the same each year, then in reality, fireground deaths and injuries are increasing. How could this be when modern firefighters are subjected to superior training programs, and high tech equipment? Additionally, NFPA statistics indicate that 70% of structure fires occur in single family dwellings (SFD’s), and 70% of those fires are confined to one or two rooms. From a simplistic perspective, the answer is the routine SFD fire, as well as other types of structure fires, have dramatically changed.

As delineated in the Reading a Building chapter, building construction now repetitively uses lightweight materials due to the increasing scarcity of wood. This has directly contributed to rapid collapse of lightweight structural members when they are exposed to fire. However, there is an additional factor that has also contributed to the increasing number of firefighter deaths and injuries – smoke! As smoke has also dramatically changed over the past several decades, let’s begin this chapter by considering the various characteristics of smoke and the importance of why it should be evaluated at every structure fire.

SMOKE CHARACTERISTICS
One of the more popular and relevant national training programs is titled “The Art of Reading Smoke,” and for good reason. In the past 40 years, smoke has dramatically changed from two basic viewpoints.

First, and from a simplistic perspective, smoke is nothing more than by-products from a fire. Therefore, as the what is burning has changed, the composition of smoke is also changed, and as a result, we also change how smoke burns from two basic viewpoints – the degree of heat and combustibility of smoke. This is best illustrated by considering the basic elements of smoke. Fundamentally, smoke is a mixture of two basic elements: unburned solid particulates and fire gases.

Unburned particulates will primarily be comprised of the material or materials that are burning, and carbon. These particulates are capable of burning if their ignition temperature is sufficient.

Fire gases are a combination of a multitude of various gases that are released by the material or materials that are burning, and are also capable of burning if their ignition temperature is sufficient. However, fire gases can be much more complicated than particulates as burning materials are capable of yielding a wide range of fire gases.

Common examples of some of the fire gases that are released during the combustion process are:

• Carbon monoxide
• Sulfur dioxide
• Hydrogen fluoride
• Hydrogen chloride
• Hydrogen cyanide
• Aldehydes
• Benzene
• Acrolein
• Sulfur dioxide
• And the list goes on…………

All firefighters should be aware that all of the aforementioned fire gases can be detrimental or fatal to any human. However, if the average firefighter was asked to choose the most common and deadly fire gas, carbon monoxide would likely be chosen most often. Although carbon monoxide is well known for its ability to be present in smoke and cause death by asphyxiation if inhaled in sufficient quantities, it is becoming apparent that hydrogen cyanide may be the most dangerous fire gas encountered by fireground personnel. It is estimated that hydrogen cyanide is over 30 times more toxic than carbon monoxide!

This fact was recently underscored in Rhode Island in 2006 when a firefighter involved at a “routine” fire in a fast-food restaurant was sent to a hospital and diagnosed with toxic levels of cyanide. Interestingly, over the next 14 hours, two additional fires in the same area were responsible for four more firefighters being hospitalized and also diagnosed with toxic levels of cyanide, in addition to one of the firefighters suffering a heart attack. These incidents have been responsible for a new look at this common product of combustion which may be present in high quantities at structure fires. Let’s take a brief look at hydrogen cyanide and its inherent risk to fireground personnel.

Hydrogen cyanide can be found in either a liquid or gas form and is a powerful poison that reduces the capacity of blood to carry oxygen. Bodily organs that are vulnerable to cyanide poisoning are the brain, heart, and central nervous system. The toxicity of hydrogen cyanide is emphasized by its use in gas chambers and as a chemical warfare agent! Unfortunately, hydrogen cyanide is found in common materials such as wool, paper, wood, and cotton. However, it is also found in elevated levels in synthetic materials such as foam, pesticides, plastics, synthetic fibers, polyurethane, fiberglass insulation, and other similar modern materials.

These materials are common in the typical residential structure fire as well as other types of structure fires, resulting in hydrogen cyanide likely being present in readily detectable amounts in smoke from smoldering fires, free-burning fires, and overhaul operations. Stated from another perspective, hydrogen cyanide is an extremely toxic gas that is released during the combustion process from any material that contains nitrogen, which is commonly found in structural occupancies! Although there are numerous other toxic gases released during the combustion process, hydrogen cyanide is a prime example why ventilation should be an initial consideration at structure fires, and a primary reason why fireground personnel should not breathe smoke. That statement applies to structure fires, automobile fires, dumpster fires, and other similar incidents. Toxic gases that are inhaled by fireground personnel give credibility to the phrase “when firefighters breathe smoke, they can die.”

Secondly, smoke that is routinely found on the modern fireground can be a willing candidate to suddenly flashover. Intriguingly, the term flashover was relatively unknown prior to the 1970’s as the term backdraft was well known and understood by most fireground personnel. However, in the 1980’s, flashover began to replace backdraft, and today, few firefighters are familiar with backdraft while most firefighters are familiar with flashover. Why? If we carefully look at the history of building construction from a simplistic viewpoint, it is easy to see why smoke has dramatically changed over the past years:

PRE-1970
Prior to the 1970’s, conventional building methods and materials were commonly employed. Additionally, the interior contents of residential and commercial buildings also primarily consisted of conventional materials such as wood, paper, wool, cotton, and so on. These materials normally burned with a gray-brown smoke (cellulose based materials) and the smoke would commonly burn around 1,500 to 1,600-degrees F. Because of the high ignition temperature of smoke from conventional materials, suppression personnel would routinely arrive at a structure fire to find pressurized levels of smoke and an environment that was oxygen deficient. These conditions often presented initial personnel with the potential of a backdraft from the sudden introduction of oxygen when entering a structure.

During this time frame, PPE was marginal, but was beginning to improve as a combined result of an aggressive focus to improve the protection of fireground personnel with the advantages of new technology. To summarize this general time frame, fires burned slower than the fires of today, and the term backdraft was familiar to most fire suppression personnel.

POST-1970
After the 1970’s and up to modern times, building construction and smoke from fires in residential and commercial buildings noticeably changed. Conventional materials have been steadily replaced by innovative products (defined as synthetic materials) that burn two to three times hotter and faster than conventional materials. Although building codes have significantly improved as compared to the pre 1970 building codes, they do not address the way modern materials burn and the resultant smoke that is released during a fire. Since the 1970’s, PPE has dramatically improved as a combined result of an aggressive focus to improve the protection of fireground personnel with the advantages of new technology. To summarize this general time frame, fires now characteristically burn faster and hotter than the fires of yesterday, and the term flashover is familiar to most fire suppression personnel.

In our next article, we will take a closer look at backdraft and flashover.

OK – you have had an entire paragraph of nothing important – so what is my point.  Here it is early on in this “Risky Rambling.”  Have you given any thought to what your life would be like if you were to lose your eyesight?  If you are like me, it is one of those things that we take for granted – of course I will always have my vision – but have you thought about the “risk” involved with your eyes and your vision and how this “vision” is so important to your life and your livelihood?

Frankly, I never worried about this issue too much and my guess is that most of you who are “reading” this piece don’t spend a lot of time worrying about your “vision” – but I had a recent “wake up” call from my eye doctor (who oddly enough was born on the exact same month, day and year as me – and oddly enough when we started talking about the exact time of birth – we were not that far apart) and she and I were talking about the “risks” involved with your eyes as you get older (and we all are) and more importantly what “control measures” we can implement to address those risks.

From an actuarial standpoint, I am in the “last third” of my life.  And if you look at these “thirds,” you spend the first third of your life growing up and getting your education and skills in place so you can work hard during the second third at whatever occupation or profession you choose so that you can spend your last third enjoying the fruits or all your hard work – and since this is a firefighter related website – so that you can enjoy your pension that you have paid into for all the years in the second third of your life.

Personally, I look forward to doing all the things I talked about in paragraph one – and a bunch more with the lovely and talented Mrs. Graham.  We have been having a lot of “talks” of late regarding this “last third” and how we will enjoy our time together.  I am also acutely aware that my calculations could be off – and that I might be in the last “tenth” or possibly on the last day as I prepare this piece – but I am talking about “averages” here and hoping that I fall into that range. 

I am preparing this piece on a plane having just finished some work in Nova Scotia – and the fellow who initially invited me to make the presentation to his department had a massive heart attack just days before my arrival here.  I have met him before, and if he was about fifty years of age and appeared to be in great physical shape – and boom – just like that, a massive heart attack.  I am sure that changed all his plans for the rest of his life.

Along the same lines, I am a huge fan of the “James Bond” movies and I love the role of “M” played by Ms. Judi Dench.  Recently, she learned that she is going blind – and I am sure that will change all of her plans for the remainder of her life.  If you Google “Judi Dench blindness,” you can read a pretty detailed story about her condition.

I am not a doctor (and I have not played one on TV) – and none of what I am telling you in this piece should be viewed as “medical advice,” but you need to make yourself aware of these “eye issues” to prevent problems prior to occurrence.  So at the risk of boring you – here are some of the “consequences” that are lying in wait for all of us as we get older. 

Glaucoma:  Elevated pressure inside the eyes can damage the optic nerve/s leading to permanent blindness.

Cataracts:  The clouding of the natural lens located behind the pupil resulting in blurry vision, increased glare, diminished colors and/or increased difficulty driving, especially at night.

Retinal Detachment:  The lining of your inner eye works like camera film.  When detached, it can no longer pick up images.

Diabetes Mellitus:  Elevated blood sugar levels, which if uncontrolled can lead to burst, leaky or abnormal blood vessels inside the eye, swelling of inner eye structures, vision fluctuations and ultimately blindness.

Macular Degeneration:  Leads to sight loss required for reading, driving and seeing colors.  It is the leading cause of legal blindness in people 55 or older in the United States.

So, what can be done to address these risks?  First, you need to make sure that you are making regular visits to your eye doctor – and I hope you have a good one.  The good doctors can spot so many “problems lying in wait” and not just eye problems, but general health problems that you need to be aware of by a comprehensive eye examination.

Next, remember that “you are, what you eat” – and there are some simple dietary things that you can do to prevent these problems from occurring.  Researchers now believe that nutrient deficiencies caused by diets heavy with devitalized, processed foods hasten the onset of age related eye diseases.  Certain whole foods provide invaluable nutritional support to the eyes by helping to prevent and or slow down macular degeneration, cataracts, glaucoma and diabetic retinopathy. 

If circumstances prevent you from eating a health, balanced diet, consider talking a multi vitamin with lutein such as Centrum or Centrum Silver if you are over fifty.  Again, remember that I am not a doctor.  So, if you have any medical issues going on in your life – run this by your doctor first.

Regarding your diet, you can get a lot of necessary vitamins through regular foods, and Mrs. G and I are doing this and it is much easier than I thought.  Here are some ones to think about.

Vitamin A:  Your mom was right.  Eat your carrots!  If you don’t like them, try some sweet potatoes, kale, papayas, mangoes, cantaloupes, or apricots.

Vitamin C:  Kale, sweet red peppers, strawberries, oranges, and raspberries will each fill the bill.  “C” is helpful in reducing cataracts.  My doctor also reminded me that light destroys this vitamin, so purchase orange juice in opaque cartons instead of clear bottles.

Vitamin E:  Sunflower seeds, almonds, hazelnuts, peanuts and mangos are all rich with this.  According to my doctor, nuts are your best source of “E” but you can also get this in grains, dairy, fish, meats, and vegetables.

Lutein and Zeaxanthin are both important.  Spinach, kale, broccoli, collard greens, mustard greens, pumpkin, and corn all contain both of these.   My doctor is a huge fan of berries, particularly goji, acai, and blueberries.  I thought these would be difficult to find – they are not.

Omega 3 – Fatty Acids are also important.   Flaxseed, salmon, sardines, mackerel, trout, canned tuna, and walnuts provide this important element.  Two servings per week aids blood circulation to the eyes, and may help lower eye pressures by increasing fluid drainage in the eye.

You can get your required Zinc from eggs, meat, oysters, whole grain wheat, and nuts and you can get your required Selenium from Brazil nuts, oysters, yeast and dairy products.

My doctor recommended “the eye breakfast” consisting of one half cup of oatmeal missed with one heaping tablespoon of flaxseed and some berries, cinnamon and honey.  Warm it up and enjoy it – and I have.

Perhaps you have heard me say “Predictable is Preventable” over the years – and I am happy to report that my great eye doctor is using this line with all of her patients.  Thanks for your patience in reading this, and I hope that there is something in here that will give you the “wake up” call that I had recently.

Gordon Graham
President, Lexipol

Last month (February) I attended the Firehouse World Conference and Exhibition in San Diego. This conference has been in San Diego for ten years. Presented at the conference were the most state-of-the-art, current up-to-date, interesting topics on emerging fire and emergency topics. Nationally recognized speakers from California and from around the country have showcased the latest in strategy and tactics, leadership, command and training issues. This year the tradition was continued with new topics and speakers and the addition of several EMS classes.

The keynote presentation was presented by Chief Michael Hernandez from the Reno, Nevada Fire Department. Chief Hernandez discussed the lessons learned and reinforced from the Reno Air Show crash.

There were 11 people killed at the Reno Air Show and many injuries that were serious and critical in nature when a plane crashed into the stands. Chief Hernandez mentioned that, unlike other years in their pre-planning meeting, a suggestion was made that there should be police road blocks in place in case of an emergency incident because there is only one way in and out of the airport. Because of this pre-planning, they were able to transport 54 critically injured patients to the local hospitals in 62 minutes. This fact indicated how important it was to have an incident-pre-plan in place. This quick response and transport was a critical component in saving several lives.

This month, I decided it would be a good idea to review basic incident-pre-planning techniques. Pre-incident-planning must be a collaborative effort between all divisions of a fire department and as in the case of the Reno air crash, involve other agencies when appropriate.

In a perfect world, all structures in a given jurisdiction would be pre-planned with the information stored in a massive database.  That information would be available to emergency responders via mobile data terminals located on all apparatus.  While such systems currently exist, they are often out of the financial reach of many fire agencies – at least for the immediate future.  Therefore, most data gathered during the pre-incident management process is stored in “hardcopy” form.  For practical reasons – storage, staffing, and time constraints – fire agencies must prioritize occupancies to be pre-planned.  In so doing, consideration should be given to the following:

• Type of occupancy
• Type of incident expected
• Life hazards – civilian and firefighter
• Nature of activities conducted at the occupancy
• Exposure to surrounding areas
• Complexity of firefighting operations
• Resources required

Structures such as high-rise buildings, hotels, malls, large industrial buildings, and multistory and multi -building apartment complexes should be given high priority.  Such occupancies are often referred to as target hazards indicating that a greater than average life hazard or complexity of firefighting operations can be expected.

Stay Safe

VIVI BENE–LIVE WELL
RIDI SPESSO–LAUGH OFTEN
E AMA MOLTO–LOVE MUCH

Through listening and talking to speakers and attendees, it became clear to me that this is a time of many challenges for not only cities and states, but also for our country. As we face economic instability along with more and more natural disasters and extreme weather conditions, we find ourselves with many new challenges that require strong leadership in the emergency service field. Additionally, we are beginning to see the impact of the “baby-boom” generation hitting retirement age and how it is leaving gaps in areas where we need experienced leaders. What will this mean to the fire and EMS service? How will we maintain our high expectations and continue to grow, improve and move forward?

There are many possible answers to these questions, but one thing we know for certain is that big decisions are going to be required. Big risks may have to be taken. Leaders will have to think outside the box. Most of all, leaders will have to be accountable for how they respond and how they lead.

During the conference, the participants had many opportunities to listen to outstanding presentations offering a variety of points of view and from several areas of expertise. I found the lectures I listened to were thought provoking and value-added.

One of the speakers I listened to was Andrew Card. Mr. Card was Chief-of-Staff to President George W. Bush during the 9/11 World Trade Center terrorism attack. On that dreadful day, President Bush was in Florida at an elementary school function. When the first plane hit the South Tower, Mr. Card was the one who walked into the classroom to inform the President of the incident. After the second plane hit the North Tower Mr. Card again had to be the one to update the President. This time he told the President, “A second plane hit the North tower and America is under attack.” If you recall the President just nodded his head and stayed in the room for another 20 minutes. Some wondered why the President didn’t immediately leave the room and take command. Mr. Card explained that staying in the room was the right thing to do for several reasons. First, the President didn’t want to scare the children who were present. And, secondly, the President knew that the necessary notifications were being made. By the time the President left the classroom the FBI, CIA, Defense Department, FAA, DOT, and all the other alphabet soup departments were notified and were taking action.

There were approximately 700 people listening to Mr. Card and during this phase of his presentation you could hear a pin drop.

In summary, the TEEX Symposium provided the participants with opportunities to gain new insights, hear important and relevant information, reacquaint with old friends, make new ones, and refill your leadership engine. If you have the opportunity to attend next year you should.

Paul Stein

LADDER AND APPROACH THE INVOLVED AREA FROM THE UNINVOLVED AREA
A minimum of two ladders should be raised away or opposite the location of a fire. This allows personnel to start and return to the strongest portion of the building and their means of egress.

LADDER THE STRONG AREAS OF THE BUILDING-ROOF
Normally, the corners of a building offer personnel the ability to ladder the strongest portion of a building, and not place ladders over horizontal openings (i.e., windows, doors, etc). Other areas that offer strength are hips, valleys, ridges, etc.

RAISE THE FLY OF AN EXTENSION LADDER-AERIAL DEVICE ABOVE A PARAPET OR ROOF TO BE EASILY SEEN
If a ladder is a primary means of egress from a roof, make it easy to locate. Therefore, do not limit the extension of a ladder above a roof-parapet to 3 or 4 feet.

PERSONNEL-EQUIPMENT
Roof ventilation operations are simplified and safety is increased (accountability) when a minimum of two firefighters are utilized. The following equipment should be considered as the basic minimum necessary to accomplish roof ventilation operations:

• SCBA
• Communication capability
• Pick-head axe (used for prying, and as a back-up for power saws)
• Pike pole, trash hook, or other suitable tools for removing cut sections of roof decking
• Power saw. Historically, the rotary saw has been widely utilized as a viable roof ventilation tool, although size, weight, and the “gyroscopic” effect of the blade often detract from its effectiveness. In applications other than metal-deck roofs, the modern chain saw has proven to be a superior roof ventilation tool due to its effectiveness and ease of use-which often translates into firefighter safety.

General features that adapt a chain saw into an effective roof ventilation tool are as follows:

– Minimum engine size of 4 cubic inches (adequate power for multiple layers of roofing material
– Sprocket tip guide bar between 16 and 20 inches in length (cooler running chain and reach)
– Large air cleaner (increased time in smokey conditions)
– Muffler guard (normally a piece of aluminum on front of the muffler which minimizes maintenance and clean-up operations)
– Carbide-tipped chain (superior to standard chains)

READ THE ROOF

• Before leaving a ladder and walking across a roof, personnel must take the time to observe the roof and any visual conditions. A few considerations are:

– What is the location of fire and is fire showing through the roof?
– Is a portion of the roof sagging, are there heat blisters?
– Does the roof have ventilators, vent pipes, skylights, and are they issuing smoke?
– Communicate with interior fire attack crews on interior-attic conditions, and/or the location of fire.

DETERMINE THE TYPE OF ROOF
This can be easily accomplished by pre-fire planning (a prior knowledge of a building-roof) or quickly removing a small piece of composition (or other material) from the roof covering only. This is easily accomplished with an axe or power saw and will reveal the type of roof decking below the roof covering. As an example:

• Corrugated metal indicates a metal-deck built-up roof with open web bar joists
• 1X6-inch sheathing indicates a conventionally constructed roof
• Plywood, particle board, OSB, etc. on a newer building is an excellent indicator of lightweight construction

DETERMINE THE LOCATION AND EXTENSION OF FIRE
Prior to any roof ventilation, the location and/or extension of fire must be determined. In conjunction with knowledge of the type of roof, the feasibility of a strip ventilation operation can be quickly determined before leaving the route of egress (ladder). The location-extension of fire can be determined by:

• Visual size-up. What areas of the roof are issuing fire or smoke?
• Small inspection-indicator openings (kerf cut, etc) can be cut with an axe or power saw in the roof decking and utilized to determine the location-extension of fire. Consider the following four conditions showing from an inspection opening:

– Fire
– Black, hot, pressurized smoke
– White, lazy smoke
– Nothing

Additionally, always remember to consider pressure, color, and temperature of smoke.

DETERMINE VENTILATION FEASIBILITY
If you have a basic idea of the type of roof you are standing on (fireground time) and know where you are in relation to the fire (area of strength or weakness), there should be no reason for you to be standing over a fire area (particularly lightweight construction) attempting to cut a ventilation opening in a roof!

SOUND THE PATH OF TRAVEL
Sounding with an axe, pike pole, trash hook, or other suitable tool in front of the intended path of travel will verify a roof’s safety. Remember, if you sound with your feet, they are connected to your body.

WORK FROM THE STRONG AREA AND/OR TOWARD THE LADDER-MEANS OF EGRESS
Ventilation cuts should be designed to start in the weakest portion of a roof (toward the fire) and finish in the strongest portion of a roof (away from the fire).

KEEP THE WIND AT YOUR BACK
When possible, ventilation cuts should be planned to keep the wind at the back of personnel.

IMPLEMENT THE CONCEPT OF “TIMING” TO STRIP VENTILATION OPERATIONS
As strip ventilation operations can be a time and resource intensive operation and an opening can accelerate the travel of fire to its location, conduct strip operations as two distinct operations. The first operation is to cut the strip. The second operation is to open the strip opening.

In past pieces with this (and other) sites that I write for, I have talked about the issue of “bias.” When someone says the “B” word, many instantly default to issues surround “race” or other “protected class “ issues. That “instant default” is a form of bias in itself, but that is not my point here.

Sometimes we make up our minds too quickly based on partial information – and the bad news about your brain is that once it makes up its mind, it hates to change direction. And sometimes this “cognitive lock” can cause you a tremendous amount of grief.

If you want to read all about this in some books by some “smart” people, check out Malcolm Gladwell’s great work “Blink” or the fantastic book by James Chiles, “Inviting Disaster”.

So with the above in mind, let me give you a “cop” story that was in the news this week. Please be patient with me. I know most of you are not on the “cop” side of things but there is a lesson to be learned here for everyone in the fire community.

Here is a story out of South Dakota that caught my eye, and I am glad I read the entire piece. I have redacted the article so that it fits within this piece.

A state trooper seized 980 pounds of marijuana on Friday making what is believed to be the biggest pot bust from a traffic stop in the state’s history.”

With the help of a service dog, drugs with an estimated street value of $3.9 million were found in the bed of a pickup a 40-year-old man was driving on Interstate 90 about 11 miles east of Rapid City.”

“As far as we know, this is the largest marijuana seizure from a traffic stop,” Capt. Kevin Karley, head of the Rapid City division of the South Dakota Highway Patrol, said Monday.

Donald McCormick, who is from Ipswich, Mass., faces two felony drug charges – possession of marijuana and possession of marijuana with intent to distribute, according to court documents. He also is accused of possession of drug paraphernalia, a misdemeanor, according to court documents.

On Friday afternoon, the trooper logged McCormick’s truck traveling 70 miles per hour in a 65-mph zone in the eastbound lane of I90 near mile marker 71, according to court documents.

When the trooper walked his service dog around the pickup, the dog indicated the presence of illegal drugs in the vehicle. The trooper found numerous bales of marijuana under a large wooden shelf in the bed of the truck that was covered by a topper, court documents stated.

The trooper detailed the traffic stop in the probable cause affidavit filed with the Seventh Circuit Court:

He reported several religious and patriotic decals like “Support Our Troops” magnets and a “Jesus is The Answer” bumper sticker on the 2006 Chevrolet 2500HD pickup. A mountain bike was secured to the back of the truck’s camper shell.

Once pulled over, McCormick told the trooper he was checking out Sturgis while on his way to Wisconsin from Vale, Colo. A Bible lay on the front passenger seat and a church ID badge hung from the rear view mirror.

Dressed in a long-sleeved dress shirt, McCormick appeared nervous, his hands trembling and his breath labored, police said.

The court document stated that the trooper found McCormick’s story of travel confusing and his casual conversation unusual with the driver saying he found God and that the trooper was “really a good guy and appreciated the way I treated him.”

When the trooper walked his service dog around the pickup, the dog indicated the presence of illegal drugs in the vehicle. The trooper searched the truck and found spare decals, air fresheners and a rubber-banded bundle of cash adding up to about $1,000.

The trooper searched the bed of the truck covered by a topper and found numerous bales of marijuana under a large wooden shelf, court documents stated.

Before I continue on, I have to tell you that when I was a brand new CHP officer in 1973, my “break-in” officer (now they call them FTO’s) told me to be wary of people with “Support Your Local Police” bumper stickers on their car. He explained that some bad people will put that on their car to “fool” an officer into thinking that the people in the car are “pro police” and not participating in criminal activity.

Throughout my career, I used my FTO’s line of thinking often – never using a “bumper sticker” as cause to stop someone – but rather to be cognizant that “things may not be what they seem to be” and to not let my guard down because of this bumper sticker.

So what does all of this have to do with you? As you know, I am not in your business, but I have a lot of friends and contacts in the fire service and we communicate regularly. As I listened to a “war story” recently from a Fire Chief, I got to thinking about the dangers of “cognitive lock.”

He was talking about the importance of the “size up” prior to going into a structure that is on fire and his point was that you have to use all of your senses, coupled with all of your past experiences to make the “right call” on a give incident. Again, I don’t know anything about “reading smoke” and other issues regarding “fire behavior” – but sometimes there are “external indicators” that may indicate something to you at first glance that in reality is not the full story.

Early on in my career I ran into an obvious “drunk driver” who ended up being a “very sick diabetic.” I made up my mind based on a lot of indicators that told me he was drunk, and once I made up my mind, that was the way it was going to be. I missed killing that guy by just a couple of minutes and thanks to the work of an alert Doctor, he is still alive.

My guess is you have similar experiences in fire service operations, so take the time to recall those adventures and share your “close call” with your peers, particularly the newer personnel who might not have the benefit of that experience.

Sometimes things are not what they seem to be and the smart people gather all the facts prior to making a decision. Anyhow, that is all for this piece. Again, I wish you and all close to you a wonderful New Year.

Gordon Graham
President, Lexipol

I followed Chief Castro’s presentation identifying some of the many challenges facing today’s fire officer/supervisor. My presentation was totally interactive. No PowerPoint just me and the participants having a discussion.

You can probably guess that the first topic of discussion was the budget difficulties all fire departments are presently dealing with. We all agreed that these are difficult times and many difficult and unpopular decisions have to be made to deal with the current budget crisis. Hopefully, before all these budget cutting decisions are made the department administration consults with all the major players in the organization, including the union leadership.  The decisions that are made should be based on “what is best for the department” not “politically based.”   These decisions are then sent down through channels and should be thoroughly explained. There are those that might disagree with some of the budget cuts proposed, however, it is my opinion that we as team members should do everything to support those decisions.  I will discuss this budget issue in more detail next month.

Another topic of discussion was department morale. Most agreed that due to the budget cuts morale has been impacted organizationally. However, it appears that the morale among the individual companies remains high. That’s good news.

What is morale? To paraphrase the Miriam Webster dictionary, morale is “enthusiasm, confidence and loyalty of an individual or a group, a sense of common purpose.”  Morale can also be described as a feeling of well being based on the group’s accomplishments and a “strong regard for the honor of the group.”

To me, the phrase “strong regard for the honor of the group” is where I would like to begin.  We all worked hard to get a job in this profession.  For most of us it was a dream that finally came true after years of repeated testing.  When we received word we were hired, when we graduated from the training academy, when we got our badge, our “morale” was about as high as it could ever get.  We had become part of a noble profession, and the honor of wearing that badge was not lost on us.  We also realized that at this point in our new career, we had done nothing to deserve the honor the Firefighters badge implied.  That respect and admiration had been gained by those Firefighters that came before us.

So what happens to some of us?  Do we keep in mind how hard we worked to get this career so that we can maintain that initial high personal morale, or do we become complacent?  Do we listen to the negative opinions that are often based on individual feelings or gossip and agree with them, or worse yet, say nothing?  Do we let these factors affect our morale?

Here are some of the factors that can improve or reduce morale.

• Management style of the organizations leadership
• Personnel believe their contribution is valued by their employer
• Individual & group empowerment
• The perceived value of the work being done by the organization as a whole
• Team composition
• The work culture

When morale is high, there is positive cooperation between divisions and shifts.  Our citizens receive better service, accidents and injuries are reduced, and grievances, discipline, and absenteeism are minimized.  And hopefully, this high productivity and cooperation is appreciated and noted by all management levels.

When morale is low, you will see signs of a reduced work ethic, pettiness, and an increase in absenteeism, which ultimately leads to a decrease in customer service and an increase in complaints.  Eventually, like a disease, low morale can spread rapidly, especially if no one tries to correct this trend.  At some point, it can negatively impact the positive relationships Firefighters have always had with their citizens.

As a leader, morale starts with you.  If your dedication to the Fire Department and its goals has fallen off, how can you expect your team members to be excited about their responsibilities?  If you aren’t excited about coming to work and doing a quality job, it is human nature that your team will follow your lead.  That’s why it’s called “leadership!”

“Morale is a state of mind.  It is steadfastness and courage and hope.  It is confidence, and zeal and loyalty.  It is élan, espirit de corps and determination.  With morale, all things are possible.  Without it, everything else, planning, preparations and production, count for naught.”

Paul Stein

Upon arrival, you observe a 60X200-foot one-story mini-mall (do you have any of these in your district?) with heavy smoke showing from a unit at one end of the structure, and you also can see dark smoke pushing from roof vents over two units that are adjacent to the involved unit. You quickly conclude the fire in the end unit has extended into the common attic and will quickly expose the entire structure.

Considering your options are limited, you direct one of your firefighters to force entry into several units ahead of the extending attic fire as you, your driver, and other firefighter ladder the roof in preparation to initiate strip (trench) ventilation to stop the advancing attic fire.

In this scenario, the truck officer has correctly identified a potential problem. The fire in the end unit has extended into the common attic, and will extend horizontally to the other end of the building, unless it is stopped. However, when the officer and driver reach the roof, strategic objectives will be as important as tactical operations if the truck officer is to be effective within minimal time and staffing constraints.

DEFINITION
Before we analyze the strategy and tactics of strip (trench) ventilation, let’s review the terms “strip-trench” ventilation, and the basic concept of “ventilation.”

Webster’s New Word Dictionary defines a trench as “a deep furrow, a long narrow ditch.” Conversely, a strip is defined as “to peel or take off (a covering) from something, to make bare by removing removable parts, a long narrow piece.”

When these two definitions are applied to roof ventilation operations, the definition of strip ventilation is more applicable than trench ventilation due to its focus on removing a covering from something (i.e., roof decking only) as opposed to creating a deep furrow which may result in cutting through the roof decking and supporting structural members.

The basic definition of ventilation is: “procedures necessary to effect the planned and systematic removal of smoke, heat, and fire gases from a structure.” However, this definition is too simplistic when we consider that improper ventilation operations can also enhance the extension of fire, heat, and smoke. Therefore, we can expand our initial definition of ventilation to: “specific openings that can be utilized to reduce-remove concentrations of heat, smoke, and fire gases from a structure, and/or to channel and redirect the travel of fire.”

Within this definition are the following two specific concepts:

•  Ventilation operations can be used to reduce-remove heat, smoke, and fire gases.
• Ventilation operations can also be used to strategically channel or redirect the travel of fire when properly implemented.

 To summarize our previous focus of the terms “strip ventilation” and “ventilation,” strip ventilation should be defined as “roof ventilation operations designed to strategically channel-redirect the travel of fire, heat, smoke, and fire gases by creating a long, narrow opening in the roof decking ahead of a horizontally extending fire (i.e., in the attic of a structure).” With this concept in mind, let’s examine the strategy and tactics of strip ventilation.

STRATEGY
When roof ventilation operations are necessary, strategic considerations are often comprised of offensive and defensive ventilation operations. The primary focus of offensive roof ventilation is to create a ventilation opening over or as close to a fire as possible (heat opening), and as safety permits. This type of ventilation is designed to:

•     Vertically channel a fire and its by-products
•      Limit horizontal extension in a structure
•      Raise the level of heat and smoke within a structure
•      Minimize the potential of flashover and backdraft
•      Increase the safety of fireground operations

If possible, offensive ventilation should be conducted before defensive ventilation and can be accomplished by:

• Utilizing natural construction openings (i.e., skylights, scuttle covers, etc). However, it is important to ensure the proper location of these openings in relation to the area to be vented as openings can quickly pull heat, smoke, and fire to an opening.
• Cutting an opening (in the roof decking only) with power saws and/or an axe

Once offensive roof ventilation operations have been completed, (may not be completed due to fire that has vented through a roof, and/or safety constraints) defensive roof ventilation operations should be completed if necessary.

The primary focus of defensive roof ventilation is to create an opening ahead of a horizontally extending fire (directional opening) that is designed to change the horizontal direction-extension of fire, heat, and smoke to a vertical direction, and reduce or eliminate the horizontal spread of these elements. Defensive roof ventilation openings should be considered after offensive roof ventilation openings have been completed, or have not been able to be completed.