Vallejo Ventilation Video

Opening up the roof in Vallejo.

The video below is of a house fire in Vallejo, California. As we can see, from a limited view and without supporting information, lines are stretched and operating and the roof over the garage is about to be ventilated. Remember having more than one way off also means ladders at different locations. Plan your cut(s) so that you can work back towards your egress. Take a look at some of the articles from FireRescue Magazine/FirefighterNation.com on truck company operations.

We’re not specifically critiquing this incident, but using it as a prompt; why vent over garage fires if the hole you cut might only be half the size of the natural opening (garage door removed)?

Back-to-Basics Truck Training
Simple training evolutions to improve your crew’s truck skills
Jim McCormack

"One of the most common excuses for not conducting training is “we don’t have a training facility.” Give me a break! If you have a firehouse, then you have a facility."

Truck Companies’ Ability to Focus
Truck company success hinges on the crew’s ability to stay focused on the fireground
Jim McCormack

"We train every day in order to maintain our skills. (The key word here is skills.) But like everyone else, we don’t go to as many fires as we’d like."

The Why & When of Ventilation
What crews should know about when to begin ventilation—& why it’s so vital in the first place
Randy Frassetto

"Ventilation is too often an afterthought, only brought up when an interior company is driven to the ground from high heat and low visibility—and then frantically requested."

Bill Carey is the daily news and blog manager for Elsevier Public Safety (FireRescue Magazine/Firefighter Nation, JEMS and LawOfficer sites.) Bill also manages the FireEMSBlogs.com network and is a former volunteer lieutenant with the Hyattsville Volunteer Fire Department in Prince George's County, Maryland.

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Also on Backstep Firefighter …

• Squad Co.18 Working:
  Top Floor Fire on Lower East Side – February 23, 2012
• “Good Enough”
  Let’s Not Be Neanderthal about Roof Ventilation – July 23, 2012
• RIT Deployed at Texas House Fire – January 8, 2013
• Why We Search: Australian Squatters – November 6, 2012

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