Page 21 - UFRA Straight Tip Spring 2024 - Volume 25 Issue 2

is, today some don’t get the same amount of actual experience to “put the slides in the carousel” (OG here) or “add to their brain hard drive.” This can lead to inadequate risk assessment, poor strategic decisions, and questionable tactics—think Gordon Graham’s “low-frequency, high- risk events.” There is good news though. Through realistic, verifiable, outcome-based fireground training in manipulative skills, tactics, and incident command, we can bridge that gap of knowledge.
Increasing Our Skill Sets
So how does this tie in to the “search culture versus safety culture” theme? By increasing our skill sets in these areas, we can become capable of making those difficult fireground decisions. “Risk a lot to save a lot” means more if you truly understand what the risks AND the benefits
are. Incorporating an aggressive tactic such as vent-enter-isolate-search (VEIS) takes a strong risk-benefit analysis background. To comprehend “survivability/searchability” in a residential structure, one has to under- stand some of the latest work done by the Fire Safety Research Institute (FSRI) and the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST).2
Proper risk versus benefit analysis through an understanding of building construction, fire behavior, and “smart” aggressive tactics can help us find the balance between our safety and our highest calling: to save lives.
Utilizing information from the latest studies on flow path and exte- rior water application prior to entry can aid us in proper risk analysis. Although the time to flashover is substantially shorter now due to the modern-day fuel in homes (compared to legacy furnishings), increased awareness due to FSRI’s “Close Before You Doze”3 campaign has helped to increase the number of survivable spaces in relatively well-involved residential structures. Coupled with fast water application in the proper area, a more tenable environment for victim survivability and offensive fire operations can be created. Data from the Firefighter Rescue Survey4 shows us that we should be targeting search areas of bedrooms, bath- rooms, and hallways for the highest probability of success.
Proper risk versus benefit analysis through an understanding of building construction, fire behavior, and “smart” aggressive tactics can help us find the balance between our safety and our highest calling: to save lives.
1. See Shelby Hall, “Home Structure Fires,” March 31, 2023,
https://www.nfpa.org/education-and-research/research/nfpa-
research/fire-statistical-reports/home-structure-fires.
2. See FSRI, “Study of the Impact of Fire Attack Utilizing Interior
and Exterior Streams on Firefighter Safety and Occupant Survival,” https://fsri.org/research/study-impact-fire-attack- utilizing-interior-and-exterior-streams-firefighter-safety-and.
3. See FSRI, “Close Before You Doze,” https://fsri.org/programs/ close-before-you-doze.
4. See “Firefighter Rescue Survey,” https://www.firefighterres- cuesurvey.com/.
Kevin Ward has been in the fire service since 1977 and has served as the fire chief of Layton City since 2004. Prior to this appointment, he progressed through
the ranks from firefighter/paramedic to
battalion chief with the Chandler Fire Department in Arizona. He holds several NWCG qualifica-
tions, including ICT3 and structure protection specialist. He has been an instructor for UFRA’s Command Training Center since its inception. Chief Ward serves as the Utah director of the Western Fire Chiefs Association.
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