Westerville Fire Department

INTERVIEW QUESTIONS: Fire Chief and Engine 111

  • Most dangerous situations a firefighters could face?

Some of the most dangerous situations can occur when there is a fire in the basement of a house or other structure. This could cause the floor to weaken and collapse once firefighters get through the door and begin to search. This situation has killed multiple firefighters, most recently in the state of Delaware a few months ago.

Additionally, when responding to vehicle accidents on the highway the FD is often the first to arrive. They use their trucks to block traffic and attempt to create a safe area to work. However, drivers who are trying to get a view of what happened can end up driving straight into the scene, causing injury or death. Because of this, firefighters try to never turn their backs to oncoming traffic.

  • Which areas in residential and commercial structures cause the most problems? (stairwells, etc.)

Stairways can cause issues when visibility is low. Furniture also presents a tripping hazard, as well as risk of hoses etc. getting caught.

  • Going in, search and rescue, operating hoses or other equipment, driving to the scene, etc. – which aspects of firefighting are especially dangerous?

Search and rescue can be very dangerous. It is easy for a firefighter to lose their orientation in a low-visibility room, as well as weakened structures causing risk. Moving hoses up and down stairs can cause severe fatigue.

Additionally, firefighters must be aware of flashover. This occurs when intense heat causes everything in a room to “flash”, or catch fire simultaneously. When this occurs, any occupants in the room have 5 to 10 seconds to get out before serious injury or death due to the incredibly high temperatures. A burning room typically reaches flashpoint after about 3.5 minutes.

  • Which calls are you responding to most?  (vehicle accidents, kittens in trees, house fires, etc.)

The most frequent calls are for EMS, and for vehicle accidents. However, car accidents are becoming more rare compared to 10-20 years ago.

  • Most useful, least useful, and most dangerous tools? Which tools do you wish you had?

The environment that tools are used in is what can make them dangerous. If using a large, unwieldy tool in a confined area, there is an increased risk for injury. This is a situation that can typically be avoided with proper training.

Additionally, how the tools react with the materials can cause problems. For example, if using the jaws of life or shear cutters, improper use or inattentiveness to the materials being cut can send shards of sharp metal or glass flying out at the user or the surrounding areas.

  • Is there something that people could have in their homes that would help you do your job more safely and efficiently?

There is plenty of opportunity for civilians to have more fire safety training. An escape route for the house, batteries in the smoke and CO2 detectors, fire extinguisher in the kitchen. Less hoarding would help provide a clear path for access points.

Risks (especially now with the holidays coming up) like candle fires are starting to be more of an issue, but typically only occur around the holidays. Overheating bathroom fans cause multiple fires every year. Trailers are always bad for fires due to small size and flammability. College campuses constantly make calls for burnt popcorn and ramen noodles.

Technology like residential sprinklers or FIT-five is helping firefighters do their jobs. FIT calls for Fire Interruption Technology, and acts similar to a grenade where a pin is pulled and the unit is thrown into a burning room. It releases a cloud of fire interrupting chemicals and helps quench flames and lower the temperature of the room, allowing the FD to do their jobs more effectively, efficiently and safely.     

FIT Video (4.5 min)

Another issue (which is just from human nature) is that in an emergency where a rapid exit is necessary, people are going to tend to want to go out the door they came in since that is the exit that is freshest in their mind. In building fires, it is best to think of alternate exits (i.e. climb out the window instead of leaving through door), especially if the way they came in is risky to exit through.

  • Do intergenerational homes (grandparents, small children) cause greater issue for S&R?

Issues can arise with grandparents/elderly in hospital beds with lifting or removal from the house. Small kids have a tendency to hide under beds or in closets when they get scared which can cause a major issue for search and rescue. In this case, thermal imaging cameras are put to use to assist in finding victims in the house, however the cameras do present risks. One risk of using the camera is if a firefighter uses the camera to search his way through a building in low visibility and the battery dies, they may lose their bearing which can be incredibly dangerous.

  • What is currently available for fire safety for pets? (Ex. Professor’s dog burrows into back of the closet if fire alarm sounds, is there any method for searching for pets?)

Large pets like dogs and cats are usually able to sense the danger of a fire and get themselves out or are found waiting right by a door to get out. Smoke inhalation can be an issue after long exposure and pet oxygen masks are available. Caged pets can sometimes cause problems but if it is safe, firefighters will just carry the whole cage out. If a pet can’t be found, the department assesses the risks of searching and does what is best for those involved.

  • Would a survey for the department be useful? What’s the best way to distribute?

Survey monkey for fire department is appropriate. Chief estimates about 60% returns on group of 120 people. Make it short and simple. Fire fighters like to solve everything within 30 minutes, which is what happens in the field. They receive the call, plan the attack, execute the plan and mitigate the situation, then clean up and go home.

Firefighters have been studied by the military for their ability to command, execute actions while simultaneously assessing their situation. Their ability to multitask is unmatched by those of any other profession.

  • Can you work with us all year?

Yes, open to giving us tours, ride alongs, and even opportunities to head down to Columbus State fire academy to get in full gear and fight some real fire for practice and study. Fridays are the best days.

Shadowing

The following pictures/videos were taken while observing fire fighters practice setting up a hoist system, doing agility testing, and talking with them afterwards about the equipment they use while out on runs.

There were several potential areas of improvement that we identified  through these experiences. One problem area was moving equipment through a house, most notably a hose can easily get stuck/clamped on something (especially a door frame). This can cause the hose to not be charged (water flowing through) properly which has serious consequences. The second area we identified was the ability to easily remove equipment (generally large equipment) from the truck in a timely manner or one that doesn’t cause injury to the fire fighter. The third main area we recognized was the process of removing a person from a burning building. There are many factors that fire fighters have to overcome from the size of the person to limited visibility while escaping the fire. It is quite common for fire fighters to have serious back injuries due to this problem. The last main area we identified was using tools while on a ladder. In the house fire training video you can see the technique firefighters use to secure themselves to the ladder while they use a tool. While this allows them to be more anchored to the ladder their mobility to properly use a tool is inhibited. Also a common occurrence is for the firefighters to have to use a chainsaw to cut a whole in the roof (for ventilation) while hanging off a ladder (most commonly an engine ladder) which creates another dangerous situation for the firefighters.

Tool Tying Training Video (1 min)

House Fire Training Video (10 min)

Engine Ladder Test Video (2.5 min)

 

Update

Date: 2/2/17

Location: Westerville Station 111

Attendees: Kevin & Justin

Ideas presented: Basically gave presentation from class on monday (1/30) to about 10 firefighters (including a lieutenant and a battalion chief) – discussed door stop and barriers/cones in greater detail since those pertain more to firefighters

Take-aways: Battalion chief and others seemed to like the idea of the door stop initially, with a good majority finding the idea of the traffic barriers interesting as well.

After our presentation though, one of the lieutenants and a firefighter stayed and talked to us for awhile longer. They said that while the door stop is a good idea, the “ping” feature may not be beneficial since typically it is very loud in a structure fire. A feature that would be more helpful to them would be flashing indicator lights, or having the doorstop produce a heat signal so that it can be more easily detected with the thermal imaging camera. Additionally, they said that if the doorstops could be used as a radio transmitter (bouncing the signal through the building) that would be incredibly helpful since their radios don’t always work in commercial buildings due to the thickness of the walls, etc. This would obviously be too challenging to develop in just 2-3 months with a very limited budget. [Edit: Or would it? I know next to nothing about radio transmitter/boosters] Also, they already have “dumb” door wedges that they can either jam under the door OR put on the hinges to keep the door open.

That being said, they both were very enthusiastic about the pull-out, retractable barrier system. Both men stated without hesitation that the highway is scary as hell and they would much rather run into a burning building than be on I-270 helping with an accident. One of the main issues they have is keeping cars away from the scene/working area. Typically what will happen is that drivers will try to move back into the blocked lanes as soon as they pass the fire truck, which is right where the firefighters are trying to work.

They would love to have a quick-deploying barrier that can make vehicles aware of the fact that the scene extends beyond the truck that is more effective than cones. Even if the barrier is just a foot high or so, adding lights would make a drastic impact, especially since right now standard procedure is to just put cones down. And that’s only if there’s time. The current method also puts the cone-setter at risk since they need to be in an area where cars are moving 40-60mph with nothing to protect themselves.

Conclusion: If we are going to develop a product that firefighters (and hopefully the police) would love to have, the quick-deploying barrier system is just that. Personally, I (Kevin) think that it would be a fun, interesting challenge to develop it. The barrier would be easier to test in a real environment than the doorstop, and easier to prove it’s worth than a new traffic cone.