This month’s featured report from the National Fire Fighter Near-Miss Reporting System (www.firefighternearmiss.com) initiates FireRescue magazine’s commitment to a cultural shift that capitalizes on the less painful and less tragic practice of learning lessons from the living, not the dead.
This month’s near miss describes an incident that befell a crew during a basic firefighting function: search. The crew was conducting a vision-obscured search that placed them in danger in an immediately dangerous to life or health (IDLH) atmosphere because they did not follow best practices. Fortunately, because of near-miss reporting, we all benefit from the lessons they learned without having to suffer an injury or fatality.
Event Description
After attempted rescues, an engine crew was sent to the basement for a primary search. Ordered by command to enter the basement, the two-member crew started a left-handed search. The basement was heavily charged with heat and smoke, and the crew encountered a lot of clutter in the basement while searching. While continuing their search, the crew realized they were disoriented and lost. They tried to do a reverse search and realized one member had 580 lbs. of air remaining; the other had 490 lbs. of air remaining. The crew decided to use 80 lbs. of air to find an exit before calling a Mayday. They then realized that a left-handed search led them to underneath the stairs. They followed the cut out of the stairs to the exit. The crew returned for a secondary search and left a firefighter at the stairs with a flashlight. Primary and secondary searches were negative. Note: A mother and two children died at this incident.
Lessons Learned
After the incident, the crew critiqued the basement search and discussed the problems they encountered. They decided they would share their experience with the other members so others can learn from the problems that occurred. The crew learned they should have used a full SCBA bottle to start the search. They also decided that a rope bag and flashlight would have helped them not get lost.
Comments
The chaos and urgency of the incident is evident in the event description’s final sentence: “A mother and two children died at this incident.” Searches conducted when there are definitely victims in the structure elevate the scene to a greater level of intensity and immediacy, which often leads to firefighter injuries and sadly, fatalities. How do we perform an objective risk assessment, control the tsunami of adrenaline that floods our bodies and stay focused on the mission? Address these three key lessons within your work group or department.
1) Know Your Job-Finely honed knowledge, skills and abilities can minimize the severity of Mayday situations, like the one this crew encountered. The reporter acknowledges the crew could have prevented the Mayday by following basic search tenets: full SCBA, search rope and handlights. Frequent drills on SCBA air management with obscured facepieces, greater emphasis on equipment checks, maintaining a fit body and constant review of incident reports all contribute to better performance.
Training Tip: When did you last conduct a hands-on SCBA drill? Did the drill incorporate some activity to stimulate exertion in addition to strategies for air conservation? Did you record air usage?
2) Use Best Practices-Members searched as a two-person crew-a very good thing. The extra experience, eyes and ears pay huge dividends when situations destabilize and increase crew efficiency. The thought of calling for help makes many firefighters cringe. As a service, we need to get past the point of embarrassment. Better to be rescued than buried. Call for the Mayday as soon as you realize you are lost, not when you are running low on air.
Training Tip: When did you last practice Mayday procedures? How long will it take your department to assemble a rapid intervention team (RIT)? How long will it take your RIT to locate and extricate a downed firefighter? Are these times documented so incident commanders know the time needed to accomplish a rescue?
3) Meld “Back in the Day” with “Today”-Challenges of conducting searches in cluttered occupancies call for modified tactics. “Staying on a wall” may be virtually impossible. Search ropes can entangle in the clutter and become traps for firefighters. Early, aggressive, effective ventilation remains the key to victim and firefighter survival in structure fires. Many technological advances have come on line in the last decade, but the basics remain as big a lifesaver as the latest technology. That said, a thermal-imaging camera is an invaluable tool when crews are committed to search in zero visibility environments. Remember to drill with the thermal imager to ensure proficiency.
Training Tip: Find occupancies in your response area where your personnel can practice techniques in unfamiliar buildings. New, unfinished construction where interior walls are framed but not covered make great training props for reduced-profile drills, large-area searches and cluttered floors.
