Primary Search is Negative

He notices a car in the driveway and is told that the occupant is disabled. The line box engine is coming around the corner and he assigns them to the primary search. As they gear up to go in they meet up with the officer from the first due engine and help stretch the attack line to the front door. The plan is to stretch the line in and conduct their search from the attack line.

Unfortunately Murphy is working this night as well. The first due can’t get water and the attack line is delayed. The line box company makes a quick search of the front rooms of the dwelling and notices the fire concentrated around the wood stove. They are ordered out by Command when the water problem is realized. Moments later the front room flashes over.

Eventually the line is charged and the fire attack and search continue. The report from the interior is “primary search is negative.”

What does it take for the task those four words represent to be accomplished? I would guess that a majority of the general public has no idea what is behind those words. I also often wonder if some of our brothers really know as well.

What is necessary for a Primary search? First off there has to be a plan. Whether detailed SOPs or operational norms or a brief meeting as you go through the door, everyone has to know what the plan is and what is expected. Obviously the better trained your people are, and the more that is known in advance, the smoother this operation will go. “Learn something right the first time and you’ll do right the rest of your life. Learn something wrong and you’ll spend the rest of your life trying to get it right.” – Sgt Steven Prazenka – US Army – TRUST -Trieste, Italy. (1)

Unfortunately many places do not have a search plan. It is not a task completed at every fire, but rather one completed only when needed. It is not a task trained on, but rather one that is based on some Firefighter I/II skills learned 10 years ago.

For the primary search to be completed you need the manpower to be able to search. Barely meeting 2 in – 2 out is not going to allow you to attack the fire and search. Your Department needs to have policy and procedure that allows for your manpower and conditions. But the bottom line is the search needs to be done. As John Norman says, “To be efficient, all searches must be planned events. That is to say that there is no room for uncoordinated wandering. Each member of a unit performing search functions must have a clear idea as to what to look for, where to look, and how to look.” (2)

Are you an engine company that will search off the hoseline? Are you a dedicated truck or rescue? What type of search will you perform? Do you have a thermal imager available?

An officer and firefighter enter to start the primary search. Training, communication and trust will be key to their efforts. (Shockley/FITHP.net)