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"The" Fire vs. "A" Fire - PART TWO
Article Submitted by:
Capt. Ryan Christen - FullyInvolvedFire.com
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"The Fire vs. A Fire " - Part TWO
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The lessons you learn could save someone's life!
www.FullyInvolvedFire.com
Part Two
Several years later I responded to another structure call that became a “The Fire” story for me. It was lunchtime, and dispatch reported that the first caller reported heavy smoke coming from the home. While responding dispatch came over the air and advised that they were receiving multiple calls. I had been on the job for a couple of years and was working with a good crew. The structure was a single family dwelling. Our bread and butter type of fire. We arrived on scene and found medium grey laminar smoke coming from the eves of the house. Nothing I hadn’t seen before. I grabbed the pre-connect (the correct one) and met my officer at the front door.
This is when things began to get complicated. The homeowner ran up to us and began screaming about her baby in the back bedroom. Meanwhile mechanical difficulties with our truck were preventing our driver from engaging the pump. So here we sit with a burning house, a baby inside, and no water in our line. The smoke inside was still a few feet off the floor, and visibility was workable. My Officer and I had fought several fires together and knew each other well. We exchanged only a simple nod and began advancing into the house with our empty hose to find the baby.
We made it through the living room and just began to turn down the hallway when everything changed. The smoke turned black and drove straight to the floor. Visibility dropped to zero. The heat became significantly more intense. Obviously part of the back bedrooms of the house had flashed. Undoubtedly the rest would very soon. As foolish as it sounds we continued, expecting to get water to our line any second. We had become fixated on finding the trapped baby and allowed ourselves to take life threatening chances.
Suddenly I could feel our hose line being pulled back from us towards the front door. I could also barely hear someone yelling at us to back out. The individual was making it clear with several four letter words that it was time for us to get out. I guess that was just enough to remind us what the hell we were doing. We started back to the front door, aware of the direness of the situation we were practically running. It was getting hotter faster than I thought possible. Only a step or two from the door, the hallway and living room flashed, and my Officer and I crashed out the doorway from a wall of fire with our gear smoking.
Seconds later the truck found its way into pump and our line became charged. We regrouped and got after the fire. It turned out it was our Chief that had been at the door frantically trying to get us the hell out of this flashover in the making. Had we not turned back when we did you would probably have read about us several years ago.
The house was essentially a total loss. And the baby that the homeowner had been screaming about was nothing more than a puppy that had ran out the backdoor of the house. All of those risks for what gain? This is where this story usually ends. Not today. Not anymore.
We made some poor choices at that fire. First we should never have gone in without a hose line. I know, we thought there was a baby inside and used that as our justification. Many of you reading this would probably have done the same thing.
We should have simply asked the woman a question. “What room is your child’s room?” This alone may have yielded enough information to keep us out until we had water. Since we took a major chance we should also have remained acutely aware of conditions without having become fixated on the baby. Take your pick from the mistakes I have listed, or pick from a few others in that story. Either way, learn something from this.
These stories bring me back to the point of this article. How can the same fire be an, “a fire”, for one member and a “The Fire” for another? Why would you tell a story like this without explaining it? From now on, when find yourself listening to stories like these ask “What lesson was learned from this experience?” From now on, when you pass on stories like these give your audience the benefit of the lessons you learned. And, from now on make sure you pass these stories farther than across the table. If your experience reduces the number of line of duty deaths by one, then the effort is worth it.
There are some new trends in the fire service that we should be embracing. There are new reporting systems that allow for the proliferation of these stories on a much wider scale. There are dozens of great websites (www.FullyInvolvedFire.com) with countless pictures, video clips, stories, and safety presentations you and your crew can review. I have several favorites that my crew and I review together each month. The “Near Miss” reporting system is online as well. These stories no longer have to be just another old war tale that you bore your buddies with. Take the time to share your stories with others. Most importantly though, when you find yourself passing on a piece of your past, or listening to that of another, pay close attention for that key description and take the time to explain or ask what lesson was learned.
There is an expression that I heard recently: “Good judgment comes from experience. Experience comes from bad judgment.” Start sharing information. Expand the knowledge base for us all. Spare someone else the bad judgment and give them your experience.
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