Hide-and-Go-Hydrants

Thanks to a steady stream of winter storms that have plagued the northeast, near record-setting amounts of snow have accumulated and neighborhoods are piled high with plowed and shoveled snow.  The labyrinth of catacombs built from this frosty mess makes driving in the urban and suburban areas quite a challenge.  Streets are narrowed, vision is impeded, and the road surfaces are often sketchy at best.  As a fire safety professional, one of my obvious concerns during this time period is the accessibility of the fire hydrants in the event of an emergency.  

Locating these vital water resources, even during warmer seasons, can be a problem.  There is seldom an understandable pattern for their location to anyone except the most experienced water system grid study bugs.  Left side, right side, middle of the block… it is anybody’s guess.  Parked vehicles, shrubbery, weeds, and even those mailboxes that look like single-seat outhouses can obstruct line-of-sight vision of responders.  Keep in mind, also, that the forward-riding firefighters with the windshield view of the world have a host of other things on their mind as they approach a fire scene.  The apparatus operator is looking for traffic, pedestrians, overhead obstructions, and the “perfect” vehicle placement, which has to be decided in seconds.  The officer in the “thinking seat” of the apparatus is sizing up the structure and planning a course of action based on the manpower (quality as well as quantity) sitting behind him.  Playing hide-and-go-seek with the closest hydrant is not something either one has time for when every second is precious.  

To make locating them easier, fire departments use a multitude of methods.  First and foremost is standardization of color.  While it may seem cute for hydrants to be decorated like people, or dogs, or blended into the décor of a property, this camouflage effect is not helpful.  A standard barrel color makes for a consistent target to spot.  Colorful, reflective markings can help, especially at night, and many municipalities have a standard for this type of identification as well.  I have seen stenciled street markings, recessed road reflectors (one of my favorites), sign posts, and even the stripped “antennae” markers prove to be effective as well.  Let’s not discount a good map book, whether paper or electronic, with an accurate spotting of the hydrants in a jurisdiction.  Of course, all of these aids are secondary to knowledgeable personnel who take the time to become familiar with their run areas.  

Then there is the Mother Nature Factor; or her partner in crime, Old Man Winter.  As the frozen precipitation accumulates, it needs to be “relocated” so life goes on, uninterrupted.  Streets need to be plowed, sidewalks and driveways need to be cleared, and parking lots need to be scraped clean to allow safe travel.  What one vital device sit right smack in the middle of it all?  The FIRE HYDRANT!  While I understand that the likelihood of needing the fire hydrant near your house is extremely slim, the consequence of NOT having it available could be catastrophic!  Yet, people continue to gamble by taking the risk. 

 

Yesterday, I was taking my truck for “a walk” around the neighborhood, taking in the sights of the latest winter snowpocalypse.  While I would like to say I was amazed at what I saw, that stopped happening years ago.   Not only did I find hydrants that had not been shoveled out, I actually found one that had been completely buried by blown snow!   I would guess this house had a value of about $275,000, and estimated contents of another $150,000. Adding in the $80,000 of vehicles in the driveway (which, by the way, was clear and dry) and we have eclipsed a half million dollars of combustible property gambling that the 500 gallons of water in the first arriving engine will be enough to save everything.  The hand-laid herringbone walkway was whistle clean, as was the sidewalk that traversed the front of the property.  I even noticed that extra effort was made to clear the snow from in front of the satellite dish on the rooftop.  The clear path to the front of the brick mailbox was a nice touch as well; they wouldn’t want their mail carrier to be delayed in putting the latest issue of Fortune magazine in there, right?  They apparently felt that clearing the numbers from the side of the mailbox wasn’t necessary either, since they weren’t ordering a pizza for delivery any time soon.  Hell, there was even a spot in the grass cleared so your pampered puppy could poop without getting her precious posterior in the snow.  But what did my trained eye spot?  About 10 inches of the tippy-top of the fiberglass marking post that I can only assume is bolted to the hydrant about four feet under the man-made mountain of snow deposited conveniently on top of it. 

I don’t want to pick on just these cement-heads, there are many more like them.  I can’t believe the lack of concern by not only people, but entire neighborhoods.  I even passed a hydrant that was used less than a year ago at a rather significant house fire on the block.  You would think at least ONE of the folks that live on that block would be concerned enough to spend the five minutes it would take to shovel the hydrant clear.  Well, I would think that, other firefighters would think that, but would YOU think that? 

In an emergency, responders do not have the time, or extra manpower it takes to find and uncover your fire hydrant. 

Please take the time to walk your shovel to the fire hydrant closest to your home.  Use it to clear a circle around the hydrant so firefighters can operate it without delay.  Clear ALL THREE OUTLETS as well.  Try to picture how much room a charged hose line will need.  Three feet on all asides would be ideal.  If the snow mountains around it are high, try to knock them back so the hydrant is VISIBLE from the cab of an approaching fire engine.  Finally, be sure it is accessible from the sidewalk side as well as the street side, that way both dogs AND firefighters will be happy!  Then go get a big mug of hot chocolate or coffee, and curse that damn groundhog for these extra six weeks of winter. 

Concrete Training

Nothing beats real world, on-the-job training; particularly in the fire service. 

It has always been a major challenge of the fire suppression providers to simulate real world scenarios.  How do you create a potentially deadly, deteriorating atmosphere in an unknown location with the urgency of saving a life (while preserving your own) without destroying property and killing recruits? 

There are hundreds of ways to development skills needed to function in an actual burning building.  We negotiate mazes with blanked out SCBA masks (like blind mice looking for cheese), repetitively practice with our equipment to hone technical skills into thoughtless reflexes (while sitting on a chair in the engine room), we flow nozzles (onto sunny parking lots) to give pump operators and nozzle jockeys time to develop natural reactions and thought processes.  We watch videos, we tell stories, and we read articles and books.  We pre-plan, chalk talk, and “what if” ourselves to death.  We participate in scheduled drills, we attend structured classes, and we obtain “certifications” by jumping through some carefully monitored and well documented “hoops”.  While these tasks may prepare us for the real deal, they certainly don’t recreate it. 

Many will argue that live burn sessions are the only way to properly prepare a firefighter for the real action he or she may face, and in many way, this type of training is very helpful to measure one’s abilities in certain areas.  Certainly, a live burn will assure that a candidate understands the purpose of the PPE, and the importance of maintaining it and wearing it properly.  It is an important tool for measuring one’s ability to remain calm, tolerate heat, and negotiate with limited visibility.  There is also no better way to drive home the lessons about staying low, NOT opening a fog pattern into a superheated space that you occupy, the importance of good timing with your ventilation techniques, or why proper radio use is so very important. 

Then there are the drawbacks to this type of training… The things it can’t teach...  Worse yet, are the habits we can develop when we train in a concrete prop more than we fight real fire.  Such as:

·         Real fire doesn’t check your schedule…or the weather

·         Real fires require overhaul… LOTS of overhaul

·         Real fires threaten property that can be SALVAGED

·         Real fires aren’t over in 4 minutes

·         Real fires decompose buildings in short periods of time

·         Real fires should be completely extinguished the first time

·         Real fires don’t wait until your crew, back-up crew, vent team, RIT team and water supply are all set and ready to go

·         Real fires don’t let you try it again

·         Real fires don’t show you the floor plan and escape doors

·         Real fires ignore the safety rules

A live burn session is a great tool to use to help teach a firefighter, but FAR from a simulation, and certainly not the ONLY tool that should be used to measure a firefighter’s ability…that’s what certifications are for, right?  More on that powder keg topic next time…

Stay safe Brothers and Sisters!

I Am Not Sure Where This Is Headed...

Deeply rooted in the volunteer fire service, I evolved from a system with ample manpower.  If you were slow getting to the fire station, you didn’t have a place to ride.  We filled cabs, tailboards, and even rode the hose bed to fire calls.  I know what you are thinking; I cringed when I typed that as well.  What can I say; we have come a long way in regards to firefighter safety in 32 years!

I could write volumes about how technology has changed the fire service, and I imagine in time, I will.  But lately, I have been thinking about the issues of manpower.  The most irreplaceable commodity of the fire service is staffing, and the willingness and ability of qualified personnel to overcome fear and risk self-preservation in order to accomplish extraordinarily heroic acts to save life, property and community. 

How that staffing is amassed differs from community to community, sparking ongoing debates about certification requirements, qualification standards, and career vs. volunteer debates.  Originally staffed by the entire able-bodied population, armies of volunteers managed to get wet stuff on the wet stuff, and preserve their communities.  Over time, the evolution of the fire service staff has taken many different twists and turns.  Firefighting has become more technical, standards of training have been developed to offset liability concerns, and the demographic of the American family has drastically changed.  While some communities manage to maintain their fire protection with an all-volunteer staff, many municipalities have adopted a combination-department, where volunteers are supplemented with career staff.  Still others have turned into an era where the staffing is primarily career, and supplemented by volunteers.  Finally, there are areas (mostly metropolitan regions) that are staffed by career firefighters, and volunteers do not exist. 

The city of Reading, Pennsylvania, for example, is home to one of the oldest functioning volunteer fire companies in the country; although their presence on the fire ground is barely noticed.  This city of 88,000, people, situated on 6400 acres, is protected by an on-duty staff of just 18 firefighters; a dangerous situation for the overworked staff, their force limited by budget restrictions by the cash-strapped city.   Injury rates have increased by 80%, likely caused by the stress of working overtime to fill staffing minimums, and being forced to accomplish the work of several personnel because of the staffing shortage.  Volunteer support within the department, while technically present, is realistically non-existent.

Conversely, Dover, The capital of the state of Delaware, which encompasses an area 4 times the size of Reading, but less than half the population, is still protected by an all-volunteer department, the Robbins Hose Company.  A recent two-vehicle accident in town brought well over 20 firefighters to the scene, less than 25% of the “available” volunteers on their roster.  Dover, however, is still growing.  One must wonder how long the tradition of being 100% volunteer can be maintained.  All it takes is one bad leader, one poor governmental decision, one tragic event, and the atmosphere could change overnight. 

To the unaware bystander, there is no difference to the service rendered by the heroes who arrive on the BRT’s (Big Red Trucks) in each of these towns.  The expectation of a professional solution to the emergency at hand by the experts on the scene dressed in the turnout gear does not change from town to town, or state to state.   However, to the “seasoned” veteran, who has been involved in and studied the evolution of the fire service, the differences are enormous.  I am not choosing sides, or pitching one system over another.  I have tremendous admiration for BOTH groups for what they accomplish given the resources they are offered.  In Dover, it is clear to me that some of the municipal dollars saved by avoiding the need for payroll associated with a career staff has been spent on equipment.  The age, amount, customization, and technological level of the apparatus and portable equipment gives the volunteers the best tools to work with to do their job, all while maintaining the sense of appreciation from the community leaders that likely inspires them to continue to commit their time to their community.  Meanwhile, in Reading, the thinning, aging fleet is “urbanized” and the equipment is fiscally selected and well used, but the staff is well-trained, job-tested, and hardcore. 

So here we are, in 2012, with the ongoing debates and senseless arguments.  Volunteers scoff at career firefighters, thinking they “only do it for the money”.  Their self-righteousness clouds the fact that the career firefighters are being asked to do twice the workload with a fraction of the resources.  Meanwhile career firefighters critique the “whackers” for inadequate experience, lack of training, and over-chromed “parade pieces”.  The battles are senseless and immature.  Both sides have very valid points, but you are comparing apples to oranges.  It is a debate that I avoid, mainly because I could make a good case for either side.  In combination departments, these skirmishes often exist in the same room, among “friends”… brothers who may be side by side in a few moments facing the most challenging predicament of their lives … TOGETHER!   It is not a very comfortable place for the weak-minded, and the toll such childishness takes wears out even the most committed public servant over time.  I digress; I will save that sizzling story for a later time.  No sense burning a bridge I am still standing near.  

As the title of this post said, I am not sure where I was going with my thoughts today.  So I will wrap this post up with a few general, but time tested axioms.  While the evolution of the fire service continues, these few principles remain:

·         Every firefighter should strive to be the best prepared that he/she can

·         Professionalism is an attitude not an economic standard

·         In the, end, we are all trying to accomplish the same thing

·         None of us are better than everyone at everything

·         If they wear a helmet,  one day your life may depend on them

·         If YOU wear a helmet, one day THEIR life may, depend on YOU.

Dissent Was Inevitable

When I began my blog a few months ago, I never expected that my thoughts, my opinions, and my beliefs would be shared by everybody.  But it was quite a surprise to find out that I offended someone the other day.  OK, I was not really surprised; these days, everything you do or say offends SOMEONE.  That is what makes this country so wonderful to live in; freedom to think, and belief, and feel. 

I began this blog to expose my thoughts, beliefs, and opinions to anyone who wishes to read them.  From the looks of the stats, there are many of you who enjoy reading my occasional rants, my funny tales, and my organizational lessons learned.  I think back to the days when Howard Stern was on free radio.  He had as many haters listening to his show as he did fans. I happened to be a fan.  He was rude, and he was crude, but he was brutally honest, and he was passionate, and he was entertaining.  What I liked best about him was his reaction to the critiques.  “If you don’t want to listen, turn the dial!”  There were days when I did.  Even as a fan, there were times when I wasn’t in the mood for his crap, or I didn’t like or agree with what he was talking about that day.  I exercised my right to change the channel to something else, and respected his right to continue broadcasting his show.  I did not denounce his broadcast team, the station who aired him, his sponsors, or the company he worked for.  I simply turned him off (Sometimes only for 10 minutes, because I wanted to see what he was going to say next).

Those of you, who are fans of my blog, thank you for your kind words of support.  I am proud to bring my stream of thoughts to you to help stimulate thoughts, and conversations that need to happen in the fire service.  We do many great things in the fire service, and we also make many mistakes.  If we don’t learn something from BOTH scenarios, than we are cheating ourselves. No one is immune from error, poor judgment, or miscommunication, and I am certainly no exception.  If you have read all of my posts, you know that I am my biggest critique.  I have second-guessed my decisions, doubted my commitment, short-changed my potential, and failed to maintain self-discipline on numerous occasions. I can also be moody, and I speak fluent sarcasm.  I write about those failures here, so you can learn from my experiences.  I also write about the failures and misjudgments of others on my pages as well, again, so we can ALL learn from these mistakes.  What I do not do, is intentionally attack, insult, or attempt to embarrass any individual or organization, despite an arsenal of ammunition I have amassed. My blog has been read all across the country and in several foreign lands as well.  It is meant to be global, not local.  It is much bigger than you or me. 

I have nothing but the utmost respect and admiration for my comrades and the service to humanity they perform.  I love my department, and everyone in it. Sadly, however, not everyone in my department is as proud of me as I am of it, so hereafter, I will never speak or blog on behalf of the organization.  Of course, when I make it big in this world, I will remember the support (or lack of it) extended to me by my organization, and will reciprocate the credit appropriately.  Meanwhile, I will continue to post as an unassociated individual.  It saddens me to have to do this, particularly since I am so proud to be a part of my department, and hiding my alliance goes against everything I support in the fire service.  What is a blogger to do?  

Anyone who questions my loyalty really doesn’t know me.  To those people, please call me, text me, e-mail me, or God forbid approach me. I love to talk shop, especially with people who don’t share my viewpoint.  Hell, I may just learn something from you, and you may learn something about me.  Meanwhile, please continue to despise my blog posts; my feelings will not be hurt.  And remember, if the truth of my words are too much for you to handle, peace is just a click away.