Aggressive Mindset Supports Weapon Development
Every fire involvement will be different. Build size, building construction, fuel load, and many more factors can contribute to fire growth and development of the fire incident. To win in today’s environment, our violence of action must meet and exceed the violence of action of our enemy (fire). This not only means with our aggression but also with our weapon selection and strategy & tactics.
Foremost, we must have a tendency for aggression. We cannot approach fire incidents with hesitation or uncertainty. Decisions need to be made and made with conviction. Inaction is worse than no action. Oftentimes, the word aggressive scares people who are unfamiliar with the difference between aggressive and reckless.
AGGRESSIVE:
Having Situational Awareness
Having Plan of Action
Are Well-Trained
Taking Calculated Risk
Aggressive firefighters are typically the ones who are dedicated to the craft, learning and improving themselves every day. They are the 1%ers of the fire service. These are not the people we need to be worried about. Our biggest liability on the fire ground is those who are unprepared, untrained, or hesitant to take action. Those who are not aggressive towards training or education are not going to flip the switch to be aggressive on the fire ground unless they have a deathwish. Aggressiveness comes with knowledge, training, education, experience, and comfortability in these environments. Non-aggressive firefighters are the people who are going to miss key factors of fire dynamics, lack situational awareness, and place themselves in a bad position. Many times, LODDs occur when someone fails to recognize worsening fire conditions or lacks knowledge or training. Fires usually don’t get better, they get worse. Our job is to attack the fire in an aggressive manner to save lives and protect property. Step one is to develop the mindset in our crews and train them to have the confidence to be aggressive.
Second, we need to have strategies and tactics to support the aggressive mindset. If the crews have developed the mindset to be aggressive and provide exceptional service, we need to support that on the backside with aggressive tactics. Allow firefighters to what needs to be done and trust in their company officer to get the job and recognize when they are in a compromised position. Mo Davis says “Aggressive command leads to successful outcomes on the fire ground…Don’t hold your crew back, let them work. A good Chief lets you go as far as possible until its time to get out”.
When our mindset and tactics are aligned towards an aggressive fire ground, we can then begin to develop our attack weapons. The level of violence encountered by the first arriving apparatus will be telling of the level of violence needed to overcome the situation and win. This will drive our tactics and weapon selection. Understanding the capabilities of our attack weapons is critical and ensuring we know when to deploy them is of the utmost importance. If we fail to recognize the level of involvement, we will be setting the crews up to fail. This can be seen in numerous events across the country but notably in the Charleston Nine, Sofa Super Store Fire.
Our weapon selection should be determined by our hazards within our districts and modified to our staffing level. Those who run 6 on an engine will be vastly different than those who run 3 on an engine. If our hazards require 3 internal 2.5” lines, how easy is that for a large department compared to a suburban fire department?
The primary attack line for every department should be 1.75”. This attack hose can be coupled with numerous nozzles and flows but should be at least 150 GPM. This line is maneuverable by a single firefighter and can overcome the BTUs of any room and content fire and up to a two to a three-room residential fire. This varies depending on the fuel load and size of the rooms as well. This is the industry standard for the American fire service due to its high flow and maneuverability.
Our next option should be the 2.25” or 2.5” hose line capable of flow 265-300 GPM. For this line, I will say, NEEDS TO BE A SMOOTHBORE. As we know, I prefer the 2.25” or Tru Id 2.5” to reduce weight and diameter and increase maneuverability. This line is a must on heavy fire involvement in residential and all commercial structures. The commercial application is not just for the GPMs but also for the reach and velocity of the stream to penetrate deep inside the structure. Fuel loads in commercial fires are difficult to predict, so we want firepower to win.
Finally, when conditions are looking non-optimistic, we need to knock fire with the biggest weapon we have. As I like to say, “Punch it the face with the biggest weapon we have"! We can do this with our deck gun or deck pipe, portable master stream, or aerial device. When faced with these situations, we are not writing off the building. We are trying to gain an advantage and re-take space. This is not only for defensive fires. With high involvement, we need a high level of violence to be successful. We can do this with large water strategically placed so we can begin to take back the building. First is the Blitz. If encountering a large volume of fire accessible by the engine deck gun, hit. This can create time for the crews to deploy lines and enter the building. Famously called the Detroit Blitz, the engine will stop in from of the structure hit the fire with the booster tank, and then pull past and tag the hydrant to deploy lines. Second, we can use the portable master streams for a larger volume of GPM. Again, these don’t just need to be defensive weapons but can be deployed internally for fire suppression, especially in apartment buildings and attic fires. Lastly, the highly maneuverable aerial device is a game-changer if used appropriately. We covered this is Effective Use of Low-Level Master Stream (https://www.roguetrainingconsulting.com/blog/rain-down-the-one-thing-the-fire-service-hasnt-figured-out). The last position we want to get ourselves in is a situation where we are playing catch up. If we fail to meet the level of violence quickly, we will be playing catch up.
Equip the Deck gun with gate valve to allow the operator to switch between the stack tip of 1 3/8, 1 1/2. 1 3/4, and 2”
No matter the weapon selection, we need to ensure our personnel is well-trained and comfortable with the operational deployment of these tactics. We cannot be aggressive if we do not understand our attack capabilities. With an understanding of capabilities, it allows us to deploy quickly and make a bigger impact on the fire quicker. Our violence of action needs to meet and exceed the fire’s current involvement. Proper deployment and recognition of tactics, coupled with an aggressive mindset, will allow us to WIN. AGGRESSIVE MINDSET, AGGRESSIVE TACTICS, and WEAPON DEVELOPMENT.