Not just what and how, but why!
Smoke Explosion Recognition and Mitigation Smoke explosions (and backdrafts) are an infrequent occurrence on the fireground. Firefighters and fire officers need to develop their situational awareness by recognizing key fire behavior indicators and reading the fire. While having a small number of fires is desirable for the community, firefighters have limited opportunities to gain the … Read more
Ventilation and Ventilation-limited Fires As discussed in the last post (Backdraft and Smoke Explosion: Part 3), with normal ventilation fires in buildings other than large open plan structures will generally become ventilation limited early in their development. In typical residential occupancies and smaller commercial occupancies, fires that have progressed significantly into the growth stage likely … Read more
Errata Thanks to Dr. Stefan Svensson for identifying an issue in Backdraft and Smoke Explosion: Part 2. The term surface combustion was taken from the 14th Edition of the Fire Protection Handbook (NFPA, 1976). I had always thought that the explanation of flaming and “surface” combustion from this text was simple and easy to understand. … Read more
Fire Rescue magazine Editor in Chief Tim Sendelbach recently raised a number of questions related to door control in his recent on-line article, Becoming Better Informed on the Fireground(2014). This article, has generated a fair bit of on-line discussion around the following issue: Which is a better tactic to provide a more tenable environment for … Read more
Milestone! As I was preparing to upload this post, I realized that this is the 200th CFBT-US Blog Post since its inception in August of 2008. Quite a lot has happened since then. In 2008 there were few people in the fire service focused on the importance of fire dynamics to firefighting operations. Today it … Read more
English scientist Michael Faraday initiated The Royal Institution Christmas Lectures in 1825. These lectures which have been held at the Royal Institution in London each year since 1825, with the exception of 1939-1942 are an entertaining and informative presentation of scientific subjects. In 1848, Faraday conducted a series of lectures titles The Chemical History of … Read more
Even as a member of the technical panel on the UL Vertical Ventilation Study, it will take some time to fully digest all of the data presented in the Study of the Effectiveness of Fire Service Vertical Ventilation and Suppression Tactics in Single Family Homes (Kerber, 2013). However, the tactical implications presented in this report … Read more
The last several weeks have brought a number of interesting things in the area of fire dynamics and firefighting operations. Before getting back to the question of Door Control Doctrine, take a few minutes to have a look at the ALIVE on-line interactive training program by the NYU Poly Fire Research Group and the recently … Read more
Door Control Doctrine As discussed in my last post, doctrine is a guide to action rather than a set of rigid rules. Clear and effective doctrine provides a common frame of reference, helps standardize operations, and improves readiness by establishing a common approach to tactics and tasks. Doctrine should link theory, history, experimentation, and practice … Read more
Coming and going as a little kid, I frequently would forget to close the door to the house and my mother would say; close the door! Were you born in a barn? What does this have to do with firefighting operations? As it turns out, it has significant impact! Research conducted by Underwriters Laboratories (UL), … Read more