Not just what and how, but why!
As discussed in previous posts, fuel and ventilation are the major controlling factors in compartment fire development. Compartment fires begin with the ignition of a single item. If energy is released at a sufficient rate, the fire will extend to other fuel and begin to influence the compartment environment. A single burning item or object … Read more
Water and Other Extinguishing Agents by Stefan Särdqvist was originally published (in Swedish) in 2001 by the Swedish Rescue Services Agency (now the Swedish Civil Contingencies Agency) and is used for training in practical firefighting operations. The English translation released in 2002 is an excellent resource for any firefighter or fire officer. Särdqvist has a PhD in … Read more
When fire is showing from one or more windows or other opening on arrival, firefighters and fire officers often observe that the fire is self-vented. While this is true, this unplanned ventilation often increases heat release rate and does not have the desirable effects resulting from effective tactical ventilation. Effects of Horizontal Ventilation Effect of … Read more
Broken Links Thanks to Lieutenant Matt Leech of Tualatin Valley Fire and Rescue for letting me know that there are a number of broken links in my earlier blog posts. A fix is in the works and hopefully all links will be functional by next Monday. Historical Perspective While researching the Iowa Fire Flow Formula, … Read more
Warning! Science Ahead This post attempts to bring some clarity to a few scientific concepts that are often overlooked or oversimplified in fire behavior training for firefighters and fire officers. I have made an effort to make this information accessible, but not to reduce it to the point where it no longer makes sense from … Read more
The Incident Kernersville Fire Rescue and responded to a residential in the 1300 block of Union Cross Road shortly after 0200 hours on January 14, 2009. Occupants had been evacuated by two civilians returning home from work at a nearby Dell computer plant. First arriving units initiated offensive operations and began primary search to ensure … Read more
Deliberate Practice As discussed in my posts on Outstanding Performance and Reading the Fire improving proficiency requires sustained deliberate practice! Application of the B-SAHF (Building, Smoke, Air Track, Heat, & Flame) organizing scheme for critical fire behavior indicators to photographs or video of structure fires provides an excellent opportunity to develop your knowledge of fire … Read more
As discussed in Estimating Required Fire Flow: The National Fire Academy Formula, there are a number of ways to estimate required (total) fire flow or tactical rate of flow (required for fire attack). This post examines the groundbreaking work of Keith Royer’s and Floyd W. (Bill) Nelson’s work in development of a method to identify … Read more
Application of the appropriate flow rate is critical to fire control. However, how can we estimate the flow rate that is necessary? There are a number of methods that can be used to estimate or calculate required flow rate for fire control. One method is to simply use your experience (which may work quite well … Read more
LODD in 2008 In 2008, six firefighters in the United States lost their lives in extreme fire behavior events occurring while they were engaged in interior firefighting operations. In 2008 there was only one multiple fatality line of duty death as the result of extreme fire behavior. Of this six, three were career, two were … Read more