We have often said that the “industry” doesn’t build buildings to make our job any easier. This one is a perfect example. John Occhipinti from Hempstead Fire (NY) sent in these photos of an interesting structure they found in their area.

A look from the A/D corner reveals nothing of true significance. We would probably call this ordinary construction, and may estimate the building size to be about 60×20. Building size is a good thing to know for estimating hose (those engine guys always say we forget about them on this site), visualizing search, or a number of other things. But don’t stop there; don’t forget to perform the ever important 360 of the structure.

A look from the B/C corner may give a different perspective. The building is shaped like a wedge! It’s only 6 feet wide on side B. Count the bricks if you doubt our guess. While searching the structure it may be a little confusing or disorienting in this area of the building. What about those crazy locking mechanisms on the doors on side C. Didn’t see them? Look again…

That’s right, no exits on side C! That could certainly complicate things. Many would have “assumed” the presence of exits on side C. Believe it or not the code doesn’t require any to be there. The need for exits is determined on travel distance from the furthest part or the building to the nearest exit. Then the code only requires the doors to be “remote” from each other. They determine remoteness by a mathematical equation calculating ½ or ⅓ the diagonal distance of the structure.

Well that code explanation was probably a little too much detail for this discussion. Bottom line is that the layout of the building could be confusing, and there are no rear exits. Just goes to show you that you have to keep an eye out for this stuff.

When a secondary means of egress is not enough…

These photos are of Boston Fire making it happen. We count 5 devices in the first picture. Judging by the second photo, they just about needed a shoehorn to get all the rigs in there! These photos are from firefighterclosecalls.com, originally taken by Chief David Traiforos of Franklin Park, IL.

A few weeks ago we had a post describing how to attach a carrying strap to the water can. Some people wondered why we discussed such an involved process. Those pictures were based on a can that had a plastic ring on the bottom. The presence of plastic ring created a need to use the large hose clamp at the base. The original post and comments can be found here.

Trevor Holmberg from Poulsbo (WA) Engine 71 sent in a method of attaching the carrying strap to a can with a metal base. They simply drilled 2 small holes in the base of the can and put a key ring through the holes. On the top they used another key ring on the wall hanger tab. The strap is actually an unused flashlight strap. Easy on, easy off.

Engineer Jeff Spinelli from Winter Park (FL) Engine 62 created a strap with a quick disconnect. He simply used an old stretcher strap with an automotive style seat belt release. These straps have pre-sewn loops at the ends that can be girth hitched around the wall hanger tab on top, and fed through the clamp on the bottom.

Obviously there are a million different ways to attach a strap to the water can. The main focus should be to make carrying the can more convenient so it’s carried more often.

We have been sitting on this video for a while; we simply forgot to post it. It’s a video from the Maryland Fire Network of a Baltimore City firefighter having to perform an emergency bailout. Great job by the firefighter inside for “reading” the signs that warned of what was about to happen, and of course great job to the guy on the ladder for the assist.

Two quick observations that could have made the egress even quicker: The ladder just a bit lower, and the sash being removed. Regardless, it had a positive outcome because of some “dialed in” firefighters, it obviously wasn’t their first time trying the ladder bail technique.

Just because you can drive an engine does not mean you can operate a ladder truck…

We don’t know where it’s from, and it doesn’t really matter. Just don’t forget to set the jacks!

Scotty Shelton, Chief of Training for Baton Rouge Fire sent in this tip he spotted out on the training ground. The tip is actually credited to Captain John Braud of Engine 6. He used 3/16 cord and tool dip to create a non-slip grip surface on his set of irons. It’s cheap, easy, and makes the tools readily identifiable. The set of irons are held together with a bungee cord that can also be used to hold back screen and storm doors. Check out the Tips from the Bucket Page for other great tips.

Two years ago, we decided to create a neutral, unbiased and un-intimidating medium were we could share ideas, methods, and techniques of this great profession. We truly believe that firefighting is an art, and we want to protect the art for generations to come. The avenue to a safer fire service is by being pro-active rather than re-active in both our training and our tactics. We want to bring back the aggressive yet safe attitude to the fire service, in order to continue to protect each other on the fire ground. This can only be accomplished through educating each other and sharing ideas, tips and tricks.

We can honestly say this site has been much more of a success then we could have ever possibly imagined. We started this website with the intentions of sharing some information on the local level. Thanks to each of you, it quickly became so much more than that. We have gotten emails, comments, and material from people all over the world! The thought never crossed our minds that this is what would have become of the site after two years. The overwhelming success of this site would not be possible without each and every one of you. No amount of thanks could possibly be enough. It is because of you, our loyal readers, that this site is what it is!

Here are some of the statistics from first two years:
We have had 148 posts, with 1839 comments.
We have had over 600,000 visits to the site, with an average of over 2,000 per day.
We have had over 10,000,000 “hits.”
We are accessed regularly in more than 30 different countries.

We have some big things in the works for the future. We are extremely excited about them and will be unveiling some new things very soon. Thanks again for an amazing two years! Stay safe, and train hard!

Since our last post had some discussion about cutting the roll-up door it seemed appropriate to follow up with this. Engineer Jim Hanel with the Golder Ranch Fire District sent in photos of a roll-up door training prop. The prop was built by Jeremy Rinder, a steel worker/artist from their area. A lot of thought went into the design: It can accommodate any size door since the two sides are totally independent and even works with different sized center rods and roll size. The large yellow handles adjust the distance between the center rod hole and the roll down channel. The small yellow handle (seen in the second picture) secures the roll from rotating once it is all set. As mentioned above, although it’s hard to tell from the pictures, the roll-up slides down a channel just like on an actual installation. The channel prevents the roll up from bouncing while making the cuts, giving it a realistic feel. The nice thing about this prop is once all of the cuts are made and there is no useable door left, simply roll down some fresh door, secure it, and go! The prop can be broken down into 4 pieces for storage or transport and can be fixed to the ground by spikes when necessary.

Engineer George Humphrey from Gary Indiana Fire (Engine 7) sent in these photos of a dollar store in his first due. It’s hard to believe that a Dollar Store would go through all of these additional security measures. We’ll give you a sneak peak of sides A and C but you’ll have to go to the supplemental page to see what we are talking about.