J O B S @ 120 N. 26th St. 1.9.12 12:53hrs

We went to a fire. It went to a second alarm. There was a decent hoarding condition in two rooms. You can read my thoughts on that here if you feel so inclined. I will also post some better, more appropriate pictures since the ones I had posted at the time were apparently not intriguing enough. Digressing is a strong suit... extensive overhaul was per-formed and our members all did an out-standing job and property was saved. Precarious issues abound. Watch your self around the burned out hallway banister when the ceiling is laying on the floor. Slipping here could cause you to go for an unexpected ride. When I see a sink or tub with running water emanating from the source in a building on fire, one of two things comes to mind. 1: the homeowner was about to use the appliance, was alerted to a serious fire condition and took up rather quickly or 2: they tried to put the fire out themselves. This is a common occurrence and I tend to think that in the early hours of the afternoon, regardless of it being a weekday, it would be the latter. Im sure that I had seen any number of syringes all over occupied and vacant homes in camden city but I had never seen one come flying out of a wall we were overhauling. My guess is that it was a stash spot for a user trying to hide using. Either way, thats interesting. When you see a picture of the top of a door and your tool, and the pictures angle is not so angled, its because your standing on a huge heaping pile of hoard. Needles to say it makes hooking ceilings easier but the chance of entanglement is high one would imagine, depending of course on what the hoard consisted of. Mindfulness while operating on a condition like that towards rolling ankles and spraining knees obviously, just do what you do on a perfectly clean floor but stand on the crap instead. Its not something to shy away from unless your one of the mindless who thinks its too insane to operate near or around something other than what you have deemed normal or inside of your comfort zone. A plastic hanger as a passenger into the hallway, NBD. The first due trucks VES was more or less stifled by the condition found in the delta side second floor front of the twin we were operating in. At the time a very sound, heads-up move predicated upon nature and extent in relation to advancing hose lines and lack of a knock on the fire. This is what I mean by operating safely once a particular condition is encountered. Operating smart is safety in action. If all the services safety nazis let guys work smart there million dollar safety campaigns would be moot. Perhaps they all see a shortage of smart firemen who need to be saved from themselves? Anyway... just as the case with the likes of forcible entry we check down to the next viable option! Don't go crying to the boss or chief with some nonsense about you cant perform your assigned tasks and functions, just cope with it and find another way. From the hallway, only the uppermost part of the window could be seen over the hoarding condition and of course the door only wanted to open about 6 inches, which is typical. The collyers mansion condition could be pervasive in nature in a dwelling or confined to certain areas of the house. Again, I have more pictures to add to the other blog. A Double Hop was performed from the Bravo side and a vertical vent helped the interior operations perform the other end of the coordinated fire attack. Fire goes out. For more info click the post header.

J O B S @ 3rd & Royden 1.5.12 16:18hrs

All hands operated at a vacant twin with a heavy fire condition to the C side of the fire building. Once opened up from HUD security board ups companies searched the Delta exposure and advanced interior lines while exterior hose streams to the rear knocked the bulk of fire. A partial collapse to the rear occurred prior to fire department arrival. Companies worked overhaul extensively to ensure there was no extension found in the exposure building. This was the first of two JOBS we worked on 4th platoon this shift. At the second, at around 6am the following morning, I didn't not have a camera with me.

masters of the obvious.

Don't ignore the obvious. The reason your out during the day and making yourself aware of what you may be dealing with later, while half asleep and ice cold at 3am is pictured here. You see "x" amount of locks. Walking up with your tools, you think there's allot of fun to be had cutting locks or guide rails to the roll up gates in your way. The efficient fire company knows what to not waste time on. How are these locks holding it down? Take a closer look, it behooves you. We find more and more, and surely in other rustbelt cities, landlords are tired of opening ten locks to pop in and out of their buildings for 5 minutes. If it appears secure to would be thieves, and the owner can get in by unlocking less, he thinks he has the quint-essential win/win on his hands. For our people, its all about speed and efficiency. Some times the goat gets you they say but why get gotten for no reason, busting our asses unnecessarily. Take a good look at whats in your way and remember that things are not always as they seem... Another forcible entry rule can be applied here too, use the path the occupants use. That particular door may have just one cut as opposed to two or three. Why your working at opening-up in the first place obviously dictates your entry priorities. Are these locks pinning the gate are aren't they. Do not be bamboozled, the difference is clear. looking behind the padlocks built into the guides, do you see a pin stopping the gate from rolling up? If all these locks are actually locking, is it faster to attack the gate itself? Perhaps. Location, Nature & Extent of fire will help you decide, and thats where another rule comes into play slightly, maintaining the integrity of the door. In some cases its more likely a favor for the property owner than anything else. Some of these locks are not even locked onto a pin holder in the padlocks shroud, which can at least help the funk faking appearance. Other locks are just sitting in place with the shackle not on or around anything of substance. While we couldn't determine what was actually holding those in place, it was very clear that they were just for show and doing absolutely nothing. We were able to roll a gates curtain up that had four "locks" on the guides, before rust and lack of maintenance stopped its upward progression. If we wanted in for real and were jamming with adrenaline, that gate was going right up with no cutting. The door behind it yet to be dealt with, but were through the first stage of this exercise with little physical expenditure. A little try before you pry, no? Looking behind the guide where the padlock is housed, some of the curtains had the cut out for pin placement but the alignment was off. Another sign of time and little maintenance. Even padlocks holding pins in place had the coupling slot cut into the curtain off a bit north or south. If the pin is off to the side of the curtain, will it still go up? Try and find out. In nicer, viable areas perhaps this is a deterrent backed up by an electrical locking mecha-nism but on these blocks, in these towns, surely thats not the case. Post intention is for size up and efficient work expenditure, not techniques on cutting padlocks or roll-up steel gates.

Things Get In The Way.

Things are in our way, do not be intimidated by them.Security is a luxury most folks try to enjoy, in the urban environ, people probably do not enjoy living in cages but have become quite accustomed to it. In an emergency situation that security from the exterior becomes a prison from the interior. Firemen can use a multitude of tools to defeat bars but may overlook some of the most familiar. A conventional attack on window bars is based on leverage, recognizing weakness, the construction of the bars themselves and their anchoring points. Knowing when to step up to power tools if it is a wiser more efficient means to an end is a size-up decision that should be made quickly. Just like forcing doors, it can at times be easier to use hand tools. A set of irons and a 6 foot steel roof hook can work wonders in older urban American cities with regards to window security bars.There are many varieties of anchoring ones security to a building. How is the thing in your way secured to the structure? Often times with window bars, you will see the horizontal members of the bar attached by lead or plastic anchor and lag bolt into masonry, lag bolt directly into wooden structural members or the bar attached to a mounting bracket that was set into the brick/block or mortar itself. Many variations of all these options exist, usually secured at 4 or 6 points.In terms of leverage, especially in older buildings at the end of their life span, the adhesion quality of the mortar is non existent and will yield to pressure easily... as seen in these pictures (apologies for grouping them like this) leverage can be applied using your tools as a fulcrum point. By inserting your hook in a fashion where you can pry outward on bars anchored into masonry, mortar or brick, the anchors will come out when force is applied. It may bend your hook substantially and a steel hook is preferred as a fiberglass shaft might lose this battle. Attack one side completely and always attack the weakest point, working with what is best presented to you.Looking at the first window practiced upon, a few options were applied, and different outcomes resulted. In a few leveraging attempts the horizontal member broke free from the anchor at the weld, others had the lag bolt and anchor ripped out. A saw was applied to an anchor point on the right side too. The higher you go the more precarious saws become, working from ground ladders only exacerbates the situation. On many first floor windows the 6 foot steel hook rules for reaching the uppermost anchors. I understand that the occurrence of window bars to train on might not be omnipresent everywhere but be on the look out for buildings set for demolition and get your company busy. If a fire is encountered in a building with lots of security bars, everyone should be removed (even long after the fire is out) to afford the members an opportunity to try different tools and tool placement.This window is fairly high but its very reachable with one of the best tools on our rig.Get yourself a purchase point from which to start your attack. Depending on how the bars sit over the window, you may need to start at a spot further from the anchor than you would have liked to. However, it will not take much longer and with patience one may get the space needed to apply the real leverage closer to a horizontal anchor point after first starting with a vertical member of the bars. Manipulation of the bars to your favor is possible and if thats what needs to be done than so be it. Once one side is freed, use the hook to push the bars away from the breached side like you were opening a door.Having been bent back on itself, the bars will usually succumb to the pressure and come crashing down. Be mindful of the bars release and your position relating to its course of travel. If working in tandem, make sure yous are aware of each others game plan and not inadvertently getting one or the other hurt. Security bars can be fairly substantial in the weight department so if you can guide it down the wall or away from you with a tool try to do so. Sprained wrists and dislocated thumbs are the order of the day otherwise. Eventually, your leverage should change from prying to pulling... once the anchor begins its path of departure, It is time to use the hook for pulling out, not prying out. once the anchor is free move upwards to the next one. Always work from the bottom up. If the height/reach of the top most anchor dictates, you may be able to free both lower anchors and try to lift the bars upwards in the same "door opening" motion, albeit vertically. Be forewarned, the bars are coming down toward you violently when they snap under this pressure. Resist the urge to use your hands for this option but look, you do what you have to do, this is not Firefighter 1.Success ensues. No ladder, no saw, not much time, little effort, big gain.Your size up is crucial for speed and efficiency. Recognize the fastest way to attack and have at it.This gate is large, covering three windows and will surely take allot of work you may think as you arrive under darkness...Its hinged side is barely held in place, and the right side is only secured by an extremely weathered lock. Bolt cutters will easily cut this shackle and this thing is no longer in your way. Proper size up and tool selection is everything.Look at window bars in your area. Think of them tactically like you would anything else and begin noticing the weak points. Hand tools or steel hook? Saws or rabbit tool/hydro-ram? Prying out or breaking away the masonry? Will a ground ladder be necessary? Is the screen attached to the bars, or is it two separate things to be dealt with one after the other? Is there a way to get them all at once if they are separate?Many times the age and condition of your objective lends itself to your favor. Just like you would sound a door or floor, give a nice firm swing to see if something gives quickly, you may get lucky. Are the welds compromised, is the brick crumbling, has there been a shitty repair made? Rust is a sign of weakness, you may be surprised at how quickly these will come out, contrary to how stout they appear.Basement windows are sometimes read incorrectly. Not that all security bars are not... Look at how far into the structure these anchors go. While manually breaking the brick or block from around these bars is obviously possible, in this case it was gong to be faster using the saw. Is there a way to know? You can attempt to break out lag bolts with a sledge or flat head by striking the horizontal anchor points on many bars you encounter. After all, its compression at play. A few strong, well placed strikes will give you taste enough to know you are making good progress or its time to check down to your plan B.Cutting the basement bars with a saw may be beneficial for a few reasons. The nature of their design behooves us in that the saw will not be run overhead or out in front of you so much. Down low near the ground with greater control over your work leads to less fear of accidents. Always watch your saw for kickback and be careful of the other members, Operate your saw carefully. Checking down to a saw first should also be considered if there is a utility box, saddle tank fill pipe or other obstruction close by the anchor point. Will these things affect your manual labor as you work to dislodge anchors from behind their protective homes? Is the brick cracked or is it solid... are the grounds around the building maintained? The same technique of cutting one side may apply still depending on the bars themselves but it might be better to cut all anchor points as trying to bend out very thick material by force could waste allot of time. Look at how much of the bars were anchored into the structure in the below photograph.An example of a straight to the K-12 saw with all purpose or metal cutting blade. Manually, this will be labor intensive but not impossible. Consider striking the welds holding the bars to the anchors and see if thats a weak link. If you do cut, try to get the anchors cut as close to the wall as possible as you never know what might be going in or out of the opening.Breach all bars before you vent the windows behind them. Heavy smoke or flames issuing out of a barred window will only make your objectives take longer to achieve, if possible at all. Window bars can be as diverse in nature as the firemen showing up to contend with them. Whether set into the window opening or placed over the whole window itself, you are going to have several ways to apply your trade attempting this task. Choosing the best way is sometimes harder than the actual work itself. Think about it before you go to do it for real. In a much broader sense, there are literally hundreds of things getting in your way when considering windows. A much more in depth piece entitled "Window Obstructions" is in the works.... Thanks to FF. Ed Frontado for helping me with the pictures. If the accompanying videos turn up ill post them as well.

Things Get Broken.

The double hung window is one of the most encountered ventilation points available for urban fire departments. Not that it is the only one... but the horizontal ventilator has a fairly easy task to contend with be it vinyl or wood. Attacking from either the exterior or interior, many firefighters may just be mindlessly going through the motions because they know it has to be done. The lackluster work they do is noticeable on the fireground. Others however, are doing it because they understand the theory behind coordinated fire attack and furthermore have the foresight to make their brothers jobs that much safer in an emergent situation. This work is also very noticeable. We do not break windows to just break them. Members pushing in on operating lines are dependent on these openings so there is a place for fire, heat, smoke, and steam to go... thus making their lives much less miserable. Beyond that, just breaking the glass is not good enough. In the event the window needs to be used for egress, consider adding firefighters and/or occupants to the list of things using the window to escape. If you are in position to vent windows for horizontal openings, every one of your finished products should be a wide open, glass, sash or other obstruction free opening in the side of your fire building. This is one of those objectives not to be slighted as cutting corners here can come back to haunt you.The first three pictures show a dwelling that had a heavy fire condition where quick horizontal ventilation is warranted. If a jam-up of some kind occurs, and a disoriented firemen in this building wants out using a window his transition could be much less difficult than it would be here. Yes I know the front door is right there. Keep telling yourself you will find that if your disoriented. Under high heat and zero visibility, a firefighter needing to be elsewhere for whatever reason will do so using the first available egress point they find. Look at how alligatored the meeting rail is, why is it still in place? Why is there a child restraint bar still between the jambs? Moreover, why is the upper window still in tact. We should be chomping at the bit to remove these things, not shying away from them. Situation always dictates how much we destroy property of course... Location and extent being the major variables. Hesitation to open up on the premise of damaging the home should be trumped by the potential fire damage that may result. In this case, there is no reason for firemen to be salvaging anything on the fire floor and everything pertaining to the first floor windows should be free and clear. Things happen at fires that may distract, detain, or be more pressing, leading us astray from a task we may be in the middle of. The next man along should look at unfinished work and want to polish these off.A possible situation where the window may not even need to be broken. Time and place notwithstanding, your judgment is vital to endearing yourself to the public (if your even the slightest bit concerned). Ventilation was necessary here, but could the window have been slid down and the curtain moved aside? Are you standing at this window burning up or are you easily able to remove a glove and lower the window? Is this a rubbish fire on the first floor that you saw the engine getting the knock on while you went upstairs or did you pass this window while doing a quick search under heavy smoke? By the way, that curtain need not be there any longer. If things go bad quickly and you or another member find yourself forced back to this window having to exit hastily, the curtain will be all over you, rip it down please.
This window was boarded up with several pieces of plywood and secured with a bunch of wood screws. You can see where a member hit it dead center from the interior. Take this personally, if you need to get it done or not. leaving this in place says that it beat you, and that you didn't care it did. If you sprained your wrist or tweaked your shoulder I get it, but again, the next man along seeing this should clear it. Feel free to finish up what another started. Like dressing your knots, a dressed window is preferred. Be a purveyor of openings, hopefully its never needed as an egress point but if it becomes an area we need to use for removal of our own or otherwise, its already waiting for you in the best condition.Above, a pretty heavy smoke condition is shown. Think of it as a smoke recognition class... the walls may tell you to break rather than open. Was this a mattress fire or room and contents on the same floor? The wall opened up around the baseboard dictates a check for vertical extension stemming from a heavily involved first floor fire. Opening the bottom window here is not as effective as the top, everyone benefits more by pulling the top down if you decided against breaking this window. However If you think your going to tear the wall out to check for extension, then leaving the window intact should not be the result of a damage limiting mindset. Always think about what's coming next while you go thru the motions of your assigned tasks and functions. If your tearing apart the wall for extension then the job was serious enough to break the window. This shows that not everyone on the fireground is on the same page... The below shot is a dangerous way to leave your work. Glass left to precariously hang, perhaps falls on the unsuspecting member or pedestrian after the fire is placed under control. If VES was done into this opening, we, or our "grabs" are susceptible to serious injury upon exiting. The gloves we wear are nice but will not help much if you feel like using your hand to break a widow. If that becomes necessary than good luck with your stitches and try to keep a tool with you next time. Regardless of the tool your using, It does not take an extra 5 minutes to clean a window out completely. Finishing the job the moment you start venting is a matter of mere seconds. Start from the top down if you can help it and once your windows glass is breached, break all of it and/or the muntin in the sash, remove the meeting rails (the horizontal member of the sash) and run your tool along the openings edges to get all the broken glass as tight to the rails and stiles as possible. Develop your own clearing technique. From the interior, try making a hard initial impact on the center of the meeting rail and go from there. See what presents itself after your first contact and work accordingly. Keep in mind the cause and effect of your next destruction (as it relates to breaking, not venting). Pushing in or out becomes the question. Do you dump glass to the exterior where falling pieces become projectiles, or inside the structure where it can become a slipping hazard? Is there a trapped occupant on the other side to contend with? Is it even possible to control where the glass goes in every situation? Does your department have an SOP/SOG stating you transmit your venting the "A" side, or do you just do it? Use your tool to your advantage... either type of axe or a halligan can hook meeting rails in as well as make good driving contact out. Once the meeting rail is broken the stiles will usually drop out, leaving you more usable space and no sharp edges to deal with. In older cities like CMD, many windows are original and the wood coming out will often be followed by the counterweight, sash cord and pulley, no big deal. While difficult, try to make certain your not hitting another firefighter on the opposite side. Members can easily get harpooned by 6 foot hooks or get struck by smaller hand tools with allot of force. This happens when two gentlemen are simultaneously performing the same task from opposing sides. Maybe a few taps first so one of you knows to back off, the member doing the tapping is yielded too, unless not in better position. Obviously its always easier to vent windows from the interior with sound footing. Preferably, the whole window comes out leaving your opening outlined by the head and sill vertically speaking and the stop or jamb to your east and west. If it becomes necessary, removing the mullion between side by side windows can also be done but is surely more labor intensive unless a chainsaw is at play.Horizontal vent makes advancing lines easier, gives trapped occupants more usable time and air, enhances our interior visibility, allows the fires seat to be found quicker and gives us escape options as well. These openings should be completely cleared the first time if possible with an emphasis on making the opening as big as possible. This is NOT a post about horizontal ventilation, but rather an effective way to ventilate windows commonly found in residential dwellings, there is a huge difference. This post is also not about specialty windows made for intense weather, soundproofing, bulletproofing or otherwise so do not take it as such. A future post about Type 2 or 3 windows in urban areas may happen, but this is not it.