Do you practice the "oriented search"? If so, do you stay in the hallway or go into the room? Shut the door or leave it open? How do you communicate with the searching fireman? Tapping a tool? Constant verbal cues? A single verbal cue every 10 seconds or so?
Here are some things to ponder... If you are tapping a tool and constantly talking and asking questions or shouting out "door", are you going to miss radio traffic or miss something that another fireman is shouting out from elsewhere on the floor? Communication is great, but sometimes too much is just downright confusing.
Closing the door seems like a no brainer to most guys, right? But do we understand the science behind it? Are you familiar with the term "flowpath" and "ventilation induced flashover"?
Is there a thermal imager in the mix? If so, who has it?... the oriented guy at the door, or the one doing the search?
Just some food for thought after finishing up a week of drilling in a vacant at the university... Stay safe everyone!
2 comments:
I've never heard of an Oriental Search...Isn't that a little racist to exclude all others?
Ha! Good one! You know, in certain neighborhoods that might actually be the correct terminology! Or maybe just the "Honors College" section of our University... Anyway, I probably wont notice because I'll be blindly staring at the floor, tightly holding onto my partners boot while it takes us 4 minutes to search a 10x10 room with a set of irons, a 6ft. hook, a TIC, a charged 2 1/2", and counting knots on a 200' of search rope! Not to mention I will hyperventilate my air down while trying to figure out how to "skip breathe" and give constant radio reports of changing conditions to an officer that's doing a circle jerk with a bunch of dudes in safety vests screaming that we could "get hurt in there"! ...and speaking of circle jerks, dont get me started on the cops!
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