All posts by plamb

TACTICAL PROBLEM

Tactical Fire Problem – Fire in Commercial Stores

This week, fire in commercial occupancy.

1.) Does your department have an sop that indicates a larger attack line in commercial occupancies?

2.) Estimate the length of the hose stretch needed for this attack. What do you use as a rule of thumb for figuring that out?

3.) How much air does it take to advance an attack line up a flight of stairs and then extend at least one full length? Might be a good drill idea, eh?

4.) Depending upon the contents and storage methods of the occupancy, what are the weight loads, what are the weight loads after water absorption, what are our escape routes?

5.) What is the layout of apartments located above stores and is there a common interior stairway?

If you would like to see a building simulation from your area, just send pics of four sides of the building (or just one side if you want). I will post it (with or without your name or department, you decide) and you can just use the website for your drill. Send the pictures to pete@petelamb.com

Pete Lamb
Copyright 2013

Uncategorized

SWOT analysis

SWOT & LAMB??

This week I am talking about something that has been around in the fire service and business world for a very long time. I am of course going to put my own little take on it, as most of you would expect nothing less. We are going to talk about a SWOT Analysis

SWOT is an acronym and a planning tool that can be used at many levels and folks should be considering using this when doing long range planning. SWOT can be used to evaluate a department, a group or shift, a planned event or anything that an officer or member truly wants to evaluate.

SWOT is an acronym that means:

Strengths
Weaknesses
Opportunities
Threats

What are the strengths of the current situation, problem, event etc.?

What Weaknesses are there in this process, situation, event?

With all changes there will be opportunities, what are those and identify all of them.

What are the threats that could lead us to fail? What could happen under Murphy’s Law?

After that the principle is pretty simple……..

Take advantage and maximize all of your existing strengths.

Take steps to make any weakness into a strength and minimize weaknesses.

Evaluate all opportunities positive or negative and maximize and take advantage of ones that will be successful.

Minimize or eliminate all threats to success.

After that is done you stand to gain good success!

Now my purpose for today’s column is to have each and every one of you do a SWOT analysis on yourself and your fire service situation wherever you are. Take a sheet of paper and divide it into four quadrants and sit down and evaluate your personal and professional strengths, weaknesses, opportunities in front of you and threats to you professionally or personally.

When you have completed that sheet share it with a mentor who knows you, and or a family member to see if you have thought of all of those items you need to consider.

Now that you have conducted this personal evaluation of yourself, will you have the fortitude to actually affect and impact the changes to make the weaknesses into strengths, maximize opportunities, and so forth.

It is a tool that can really help you if you take it seriously and share the information with a trusted friend so that you can become the best you can be.

Or you could not even be motivated enough to even try it, which speaks for itself. For those folks that I know well, I would be happy to share some thoughts if you chose to email me confidentially.

Hey even if you don’t Like SWOT, I have my very own acronym which achieves the same thing but is much easier for me to remember…

Limitations Abilities Maybes & Might Be (s) Barriers and Boundaries

A personal evaluation tool called LAMB, now if that doesn’t SCARE you into action nothing will!

Have a good week, stay in touch and stay safe.

Pete Lamb
Copyright 2013

Uncategorized

Firefighting Today – Weekly Roundtable Discussion – Tips & Tricks

Join us Sunday night February 2, 2014 at 8:00 PM EST for our weekly Roundtable discussion. This week we are talking about tips and tricks that might be passed on from the senior folks, retired folks, or senior chiefs you may have had in your career.

Watch the episode live on YouTube.

Or you can watch us at the google + events page HERE.

Also take a minute to check Firefighting Today our new site for all of our video work but especially all of the Roundtable discussions. Click the link in the left hand menu for past episodes.

Pete Lamb
Copyright 2013

TACTICAL PROBLEM

Tactical Fire Problem – Dry cleaning store

This week we look at a very common occupancy that is found in many communities, a dry cleaning establishment.


1.) What do you know about the dry cleaning process in general? How is it done, what chemicals and products are used?

2.) Think about the fire load caused by clothes hanging on movable racks suspended off the floor, wrapped in flimsy lightweight plastic bags. What do you think that will do to flame spread and rapid fire growth?

3.) Think about smoke, mixed with steam, (maybe high pressure steam) and chemical vapor. A little more dangerous then our “normal” hostile environment.

4.) Based upon the conditions shown in the scenario, what are your actions? How many lines and where, how do you search this establishment, how do you vent, what do think your access is like from the rear of this building?

5.) When does a building fire transition into a Haz mat incident? Have you ever had this experience? Have you ever thought about it?

Stay safe, and stay thinking!

Pete Lamb
Copyright 2013

Uncategorized

Some structure fire safety considerations

This week I will discuss structure fires and some very basic safety procedures and considerations.

Please feel free to make this page information into an actual checksheet you can use on the fireground. Train all members what you expect and everyone will be involved in the safety process.

This is not a tactical worksheet to be used by an incident commander, but a secondary sheet to be used by a safety person after the fact.

The order of the activities can be adjusted or enhanced for your own departmental needs.

Structure Fires

Establish staging area and operating area. ( Hot zone and cold zone)

Establish on scene accountability.

Control building utilities.

Complete survey of all sides of the building for hazard potential.

Establish the need for and set up collapse safety zones.

Determine if adequate lighting is available.

Establish and EMS presence on scene for suppression crews.

Establish a REHAB area for operating crews.

Establish refreshments and re-hydration capabilities.

Determine if there is adequate manpower to support current operations.

Determine if there is adequate water supply for current operations.

What can I do, when I spot an unsafe action?

Can the action continue safely as is and be corrected after the fact? Someone who does not have a helmet on in the middle of rescue, should continue the rescue without intervention and be corrected after the fact., etc..

If it is a building safety, collapse type hazard the following 10 progressive steps might be employed. These steps have been summarized from Collapse of Burning Buildings by Vincent Dunn.

1.) Acknowledge the report and take no further immediate action.

2.) Provide additional lighting to the area of concern.

3.) Assign an experienced officer to inspect the area of concern.

4.) Increase overall supervision in the area of concern.

5.) Assign an officer to monitor the defect to say if danger is increasing.

6.) Rope / Tape off the area.

7.) Assign a danger area and restrict access and enforce.

8.) Command for an orderly withdrawal from the area.

9.) Withdraw firefighting operations.

10.) Order a rapid emergency evacuation.

Conduct an accountability check at any and all points of these steps as necessary.

Pete Lamb
Copyright 2013

PODCAST

The Firefighter Training Podcast – Unanticipated Fireground Events …Murphy’s Law

This week we speak about incidents that go wrong for a variety of reasons on the fireground. These have little to do with the building on fire and more to do with operations.

Problems with drafting from water sources
Falls on the fireground due to unseen hazards
Laying hose inadvertently
Pumpers chocking on smoke and stalling
LDH hose being run over in dual wheels
Members falling ill upon arrival
Aerial frozen
Supply lines not charged and burning
Wrong direction, wrong address
Missed calls and more

LISTEN TO THIS EPISODE HERE.

Pete Lamb
Copyright 2013