This is a recovered post:
I believe this post discussed the importance of aerial ladder placement. EVERYONE better know how to operate ALL of the overrides on the aerial ladder! I’ll let the rest of the comments speak for themselves. –Jimm-
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IOwlTrhKk4Y[/youtube]Â
Dave
HOT!! I imagine the guys in the bucket were wishing they would have opted for the bucket nozzle (sprinkler) on the bottom of the bucket. We can all learn from videos like this. Like Jimm said, interior crews need to report on location and conditions. There are times when things go from bad to worse in an instant, but all units on scene need to keep fire conditions and safety in mind. Also, this would be a good reminder to train EVERYONE on the operation of the tower, not only its normal crew. If your department does inside/outside functions, and the outside team is busy elsewhere, someone needs to know how to get the ladder up. It may be good operating procedures to have an engineer on a third/fourth in engine to do this. I’d hate to be the guy, civilian or not, waiting in a window like that while the truck driver gets back to his unit to operate it because no one else knows how.
Shawn
I believe the best approach method for a victim rescue is from the side. If you are making a window rescue and you decide to approach from above at some point you have to rotate sideways or you will have the jumper danger the whole way up. Forget about going past or above the victim and come from the side. Rotation is a faster movement than raise and extend on most aerials. All Truck guys should learn how to use all 3 movements together Raise/Rotate/Extend.
KevinO
Both valid points. Might I add that in the a departments SOG’s it should be emphasized that if a bucket is in operation there must be a competent person at the pedestal not only to take control (dead man switch)but to add a set of eyes and inform the members in the bucket of dangers they might not be aware of. It’s very easy to become so focused on the task at hand (rescue) that we become oblivious to our surroundings. Hopefully all of the rigs we use have some sort of intercom system so that communication between the pedestal and the bucket does not interfere with operations.
Walt
On a sidebar, there was a story about the operation. Apparently the 2man team in the bucket deployed into the window, when the floor below was only issuing smoke. The search didn’t last long as the heat drove them out, back into the bucket, meanwhile, the smoke lit off. In jumping back into the bucket, one of them hit the emergency off button in the bucket. I guess that manufacturer doesn’t have a pedestal override or a switch to disable the upper-power’s control. With them hoping to have been retrieved by the pedestal operator, it took a few moments until the E-OFF button was deactivated and they could be removed from the chimney.
If nothing else, know your equipment and it’s limitations and capabilities.
Jeff
Great suggestions. Like Kevin O stated someone should always be devoted to the turntable when aerial operations begin. Unfortunately due to manning issues this essential position is often overlooked. As both Shawn and Walt posted knowing your equipment is imperative one method that we use during our morning checks is hanging a hose from the bucket guns, place a 5 gallon bucket on the roof and practice placing the end of the hose in the bucket. As Shawn stated use of multiple controls allow for quicker operations especially in this case where time is critical. When practicing with this scenario you must use at minimum of 2 controls when maneuvering into position. I am with Shawn on this one as well I would prefer moving into position from the sides of the victim. JP
Lucky those guys didnt bake in the bucket,a really good video of a flashover though , Gonna show it at the firehouse.Thanks guys
Wow, I am all for having a guy at the pedestal for reasons just like this…a second set of eyes helps trendously when operating a bucket. Many great points made here, a lot of which we follow on our ladder. We have several ladder trained guys from our engine crew. This helps with our inevitable minimum manning that sometimes occurs during daytime operations…experienced by many departments. These guys are proficient and can assist us when and if needed on a moments notice. We are getting a new tiller soon, so we are going to begin training on entirely new evolutions and procedures different from our current tower ladder.