Preventing Deaths and Injuries of Fire Fighters Working Above Fire-Damaged Floors

Fire fighters are at risk of falling through fire-damaged floors. Fire burning underneath floors can significantly degrade the floor system with little indication to fire fighters working above. Floors can fail within minutes of fire exposure, and new construction technology such as engineered wood floor joists may fail sooner than traditional construction methods. NIOSH recommends that fire fighters use extreme caution when entering any structure that may have fire burning beneath the floor.

Engineered wood I-joist

Wood Floor I-Beam News Story

NIOSH Training Solutions

http://www.cdc.gov/niosh/docs/wp-solutions/2009-114/pdfs/2009-114.pdf

According to NIOSH firefighter fatality reports, lack of recognition to key aspects related to building construction are a common thread that lead to firefighter fatalities. Utilize this information to train your members the dangers of this type building construction that is very popular with today's modern construction.

As Firefighters We Must Know How The Fire Will Effect The Building

And How The Building Will Effect The Fire



Toledo Fire Rope Rescue Training

 Members of the Toledo Fire/Rescue Department's Rope Rescue Team practice inside the Huntington Center. Members from TFRD Station 5 and 18 participated in the training. Crews rappelled and set up raising and lowering systems. 



Rappelling Down Head First



Rappelling Down

Setting Up Lowering System

Setting Up Raising System


Link To Toledo Blade Photo Gallery
http://www.toledoblade.com/gallery/Firefighters-train-inside-Huntington-Center























PG Update & More on “Wind Driven” fires

Update from statter911.com:

Word from the Medstar Burn Unit of the Washington Hospital Center is that Bladensburg VFD Firefighter Ethan Sorrell (21 years old) and Firefighter Kevin O'Toole (22 years old) remain in critical but stable condition. Sorrell has respiratory burns and O'Toole has second and third degree burns over 40% of his body.

As we reported earlier, O'Toole and Sorrell both requested that the annual Bladensburg VFD banquet on Saturday continue as planned. We are told that Firefighter O'Toole was able to visit the event via Skype.

PGFD Chief Mark Bashoor told The Washington Post's J. Freedom du Lac about the fire:

Strong winds were gusting out of the west at the time — “up to 40, 45 mph,” said the chief. They were blowing directly at — and into — the burning basement, which had a west-facing door.

“As soon as the guys opened the front door and advanced, it blew from the basement, up the steps and right out the front door,” Bashoor said. “It was like a blowtorch coming up the steps and out the door.”

The entire incident — “from the time they were in the door until they were burned” — took eight seconds, the chief said.

The firefighters inside the house “did everything they were trained to do,” he said, but they were essentially defenseless.

“Without that wind, the hot air and gases would have been venting out of the rear of the house,” he said. “The current of air essentially produced a chimney right up the steps and out the front door.”

Our first concern is and must be the continued recovery of these young volunteer firefighters. Nothing below is intended as “second guessing” these firefighters or their brothers on scene at this fire. Having said that and while we await the official reports, the initial discussion leads us to believe that this was a “wind driven” fire event.

Wind driven fires used to be considered most hazardous in high rise structures and with good reason. Numerous firefighters in all areas of the country have been injured or killed when a combination of failed windows and an open apartment door have caused “blow torch” conditions in the public hallway.   

However, this incident as well as previous incidents in Houston, TX and Prince William County, VA have proven that high winds can be a hazard in any type of structure.

NIST Study & Report on Houston, TX 2009 incident (Just released last month): http://www.nist.gov/customcf/get_pdf.cfm?pub_id=909779

Prince William County LODD Report Presentation Video: http://firecritic.com/files/2010/04/LODD-Report-Video-Section-2.wmv

I recently attended a Haz Mat Operations level training class taught by Retired Toledo Chiefs Mark Hertzfeld and Dave Fought. They stressed the importance of knowing what the weather forecast and conditions are each day you’re going to work (EVERYDAY if you’re a Volunteer like me) 

This is so important not only for Haz Mat but for firefighting as well. If winds are gusting, you must be very cautious of how and when ventilation is applied to the fire building. Especially horizontal ventilation but it must be considered in vertical ventilation as well (as discussed in this Urban Firefighter Magazine article: (“To Lee or Not to Lee”) http://epaperflip.com/aglaia/viewerUF.aspx?docid=a9792599ba6f4b41877b0b169ec68c8b

Be aware of where the fire is and what will happen if a window on the windward side fails or is broken out. A 360 walkaround by the first arriving officer can help accomplish this.

Finally, be aware that opening a door must be considered as part of ventilation. Smoke, gases and flame will usually follow the path of least resistance. Be aware of what effect your actions for entry are having on both the fire and the building and be ready to change those tactics quickly if bad things start to happen.

Please continue to keep a good thought for these young firefighters who have a long road to recovery ahead of them.

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Remember, Safety and Aggression are not mutually exclusive...be a student of your craft...be smart and be safe.

Everyone Goes Home

In an effort to make personal safety a top priority, the National Fallen Firefighters Foundation (NFFF) and the Chicago Fire Department (CFD)  released a new video, Chicago Fire Department - Everyone Goes Home®. Members of the CFD and families of fallen firefighters share their stories in this compelling and moving testimonial of the importance of adhering to safety standards and accepting personal responsibility for following procedures. I personally feel this is a must see video for all firefighters. Please take the time to review video and share it with the members of your department.





Quick release method

This is the quick release method, I think it's so important to be familiar with your SCBA just like you are with your turnout gear since you may have to do this is zero viability someday. You can tell how comfortable Mike Ciampo is with his just by the way he handles the SCBA. Also notice he says "make sure you never let go of the LEFT strap" this is so you are keeping the regulator side closest to you and so your not ripping off your mask. This is what side most of our packs are on unless you use Interspiro, or Drager SCBA's which in that case you want to keep your right arm strap in your right hand.

Fireground Safety and Survival

http://www.firehouse.com/

There are many attitudes about hundreds of topics in the fire service.  But why are there still attitudes when it comes to the safety of fire personnel.  Unlike other public safety professionals the fire and rescue service is charged with the responsibility of protecting people and property from the ravages of fire and other hostile forces – both man-made and natural.  Who is going to protect us with acts like, failing to wear your seat belt going on?  We are our own worst enemy when it comes to safety.  Failure to be safe is a human act… ATTITUDE!!!
It seems that when a firefighter is seriously injured or killed, the fire service does little to promote positive action to prevent a reoccurrence.  The message spreads quickly of a fallen comrade, but the lesson is slow to follow and is seldom learned.  How do we make the changes in these attitudes?
Time is long over due for the fire and rescue services to actively and seriously address the firefighter safety issue.  Too often we tend to take a cosmetic approach rather than getting to the root of the problem.  We treat the symptoms and rarely the cause. The fire and rescue services, at all levels, must rise to meet this challenge.  This means doing what is necessary to turn around the seemingly apathetic or complacent attitude about safety which prevails in the fire service today.  At this point you may be saying to yourself that the fire service is safer today than it ever has been.  This may be true, but times change and we are playing catch up!!!
Although technology is a necessary ingredient in the safety recipe, it is not the most important.  This is where I feel a lot of professionals are missing the point.  Sure we are dressed well today and our equipment and apparatus are safer.  This aspect is of the utmost importance and is a portion of the recipe.  This is the portion that is most often not left out.  Where we are lacking is the ATTITUDE of both management and the firefighter or at least a safety conscious attitude.
Most fire service personnel have plenty of attitudes, just that they are far too often focused on the wrong things.  I can’t understand why a firefighter would have an attitude problem with safety since it is there own lives affected. Further, I absolutely can not see where a leader, fire officer or management position could not constantly be focused on the right attitudes about everything, especially SAFETY.
Over the past two years the firefighter safety stand down has taken the fire service by storm with progressive departments.  However, there are departments that have not even heard of this program, even with all of the efforts made this past year by the National Fallen Firefighters Foundation.  Every attitude in the fire service needs to be focused on the concept of “having the courage to be safe”.  As a Fire Officer and as a member of the fire service, I want to challenge each and every individual  to change their attitude.  I know I am asking for the world here folks, but we have got to loose the 100 years of tradition unimpeded by progress mentality.  We have got to change and we have to do it NOW!  Line of duty deaths are nothing to be proud of.

Overhaul-Dont Let Your Guard Down

Overhaul, The true hard work of any firefighting operation. This is the part of the job that is always overlooked but by far is the phase of the fireground operations that is the most physically demanding. We all want to be on the nozzle, that initial fire attack phase as well as the extinguishment phase is where most of our focus on training is. It's that overhaul phase where it is easy to let your guard down. When you analyze statistical data related to fireground injuries, more injuries occur during the overhaul phase of a fireground operations than any other phase. The adrenaline rush of first arriving on the scene of a working fire helps get you through that initial phase of operation, but when the fire gets knocked down and the adrenaline rush is over as you come out of the structure to take a break you then look up at the structure and think about all the hard work that is ahead of you as you prepare to go back in with the shovels, cans, lights and tools to start the overhaul phase. It's easy to let your guard down during this phase, what can happen the fire is out, were just going in to check for hot-spots and haul out all the burned furniture and debris, shovel up all that dreaded cellulose insulation that we all love and carry it out. Now when all that hard work is done you come out and look at all that hose lying all over the place that needs to get picked up. When you sit and think about it, its easy to understand why more injuries occur during the overhaul phase, your tired, wet, it could be very cold out or very hot depending on the time of year. Having an opportunity to bring in fresh crews during this phase can make a difference in helping eliminate those injuries or a potential firefighter illness. Crews may have already had a very busy day or already had a previous fire during their shift. Bringing in fresh crews who may have not been as busy during the shift is firefighters looking after firefighters. I know its not the most desired thing to be called in to relieve at a fire to just do overhaul and clean-up, but when you think of the injury data and the fact you have to consider health and wellness of those tired firefighters, it could make a difference.

Here is a quote from Deputy Chief Vincent Dunn-Retired FDNY:

After a working fire, chiefs, company officers, and firefighters are exposed to many physical discomforts. They may be soaking wet, freezing cold, have headaches, and be exhausted from the exertion of firefighting. There may be emotional discomforts as well. They may be frustrated or angered by events surrounding the fire, the strategy, the tactics, or because one or more of their comrades have been injured. Discomforts and emotions in the aftermath of firefighting can interfere with decision making during salvage and overhauling. Time becomes more important than looking for smoldering embers. Everyone subconsciously wants to return to the firehouse for dry clothes, a meal, and some rest. "Get it done and let's get back to quarters" can often be heard during overhauling

Firefighter Close Call during the Overhaul phase

Overhaul Training Video by our Brothers from the Washington Township FD, Lucas County OH

Bad Night in Prince George's County Maryland

Photo from statter911.com by Billy McNeal

 PGFD chief spokesman Mark Brady:

Seven Prince George’s County Firefighters were injured as they battled a house fire in Riverdale.  At about 9:11 pm, Friday, February 24, firefighters were alerted to a house fire in the 6400 block of 57th Avenue.  The engine from Riverdale and the truck from Bladensburg were the first to arrive and encountered a 1-story, with basement, single family home with fire on both levels. 

Preliminary reports indicate that firefighters had initiated an interior attack on the fire when a sudden rush of air, fanned by high winds, entered from the rear of the house either from a door or window being opened or broken out.  The sudden addition of a large amount of fresh air into the fire environment created a “fire ball’ inside engulfing the firefighters.  Firefighters did all they could do to escape the untenable conditions that consumed the structure interior.

Incident commanders immediately called for additional resources by requesting an EMS Task Force and a Fire Task Force as well as ordering the evacuation tones to be sounded.   There were about 65 firefighters, paramedics and incident commanders on the scene.

 Firefighters and EMS personnel went to the aid of the injured firefighters and prepared them for transport to the Burn Unit at the Washington Hospital Center.  The injuries included burns, fractures and lacerations.

Another team of firefighters regrouped outside and re-entered the structure and had the fire extinguished in about 25 minutes after arrival. 

Of the seven firefighters transported; four, 3 from Riverdale and 1 from College Park, will be released and sent home tonight. 

The most seriously injured firefighters are two from the Bladensburg Fire/EMS Station #809 that were part of the first arriving truck company.  

Bladensburg Volunteer Firefighter #1 is listed in “Critical” condition suffering from burn injuries to his upper body.

Bladensburg Volunteer Firefighter #2 is listed in “Serious” condition with 2nd and 3rd degree burns to 30% of his body.

The third firefighter being admitted is from Riverdale Fire/EMS Station #807.  Riverdale Volunteer Firefighter #1 is hospitalized with fractured ribs.

Dozens of fire service members as well as family and friends are with the injured firefighters at the Washington Hospital Center including Fire Chief Marc S. Bashoor, Riverdale Volunteer Fire Chief Chucky Ryan and Bladensburg Volunteer Chief Randy Kuenzli.

The cause of the fire is currently under investigation and fire loss estimates are not yet available.  This is a vacant structure although firefighters believed the house may have been occupied as a car was parked in the driveway.

The Prince George’s County Fire/EMS Department will fully investigate this incident and review all aspects of the operations from a safety perspective.

Updates concerning the medical status and the cause and origin of the fire will be made as information becomes available.

Fireground audio here: http://www.scanmd.org/member/doc/attachments/228/6334%2057th%20Ave.mp3

Please keep a good thought for these injured firefighters

Firefighter Survival Pocket Tools

A significant link in the chain of fireground survival is to "have a plan" to respond to the various unexpected events that lead to Mayday situations.  Part of your plan should be preparing yourself to initiate either your own self-rescue or the rescue of a crew member once the Mayday has been issued and RIT is on the way.  What tools do you carry in your pockets to help initiate that process?  There are many options.  Here are some suggestions...First, carry your own fire-service rated flashlight.  Light inside the hostile fire environment is invaluable, especially when lost and/or trapped.  Second, a good door choke.  Doors of all kinds are one of the most frequent & frustrating obstructions we encounter (think of the issues they create with just hose line deployment).  Third, a 15' section of webbing with a life safety caribener attached to one end.  Webbing has many life safety uses such as firefighter drags, rescuing a downed firefighter up out of a collapsed floor, etc.  Fourth, a personal escape rope of a length of your choosing.  I carry 50' (this length will allow me to bail out of a fourth or fifth floor window which covers most of the residential and some commercial buildings in my city).  I can also utilize this rope for large area search (if necessary).  Lastly, I strongly recommend, a good, substantial pair of wire cutters with a piece of either webbing (as pictured) or rope attached to both handles.  The idea is to store the cutters upright in your right bunker pants pocket with the webbing hanging just out of the pocket (as pictured).  The rationale behind this setup is...remember the process of disentanglement from your entanglement training...as a last ditch effort to disentanglement we were taught remove the SCBA.  When you remove the SCBA, we were taught to grasp the left SCBA harness shoulder strap and never let go (remember this was for maintaining orientation to the harness for re-donning and so that we did'nt drop the SCBA through the floor).  Therefore, if you are in this worse case scenario, the only hand left to cut with is your right hand, obviously, it is easier to reach down to the right pocket than it is to reach across your body to the left pocket.  Leaving the end of the webbing hang out of the pocket eliminates the need to manipulate the flap of the pocket and reach into the pocket and fish around inside the pocket trying to grab the cutters.

I hope these suggestions are helpful to you.  Remember, one of the keys to surviving a fireground emergency is being well organized, educated, trained, proactive (not reactive), and make sure you "have a plan" to react...expect the unexpected!! STAY SAFE!! 

Antagonistic Training

One of the hardest things to do in training is to simulate the sense of urgency that is needed in the fires & emergencies we respond to. This is even more true for RIT training. Check out this video:

http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=185561254886099

These guys have done an outstanding job using research that has been done by the airline industry, NASA & the military in creating extremely stressful conditions in training to ensure that the firefighters will have some experience in controlling our reaction to these stressors.

If nothing else, this video & description should give you some ideas to incorporate in your drills to more closely simulate the stress and urgency of being inside a burning building.

Be safe but be Aggressive!

Fire Engineering Training Minutes

Training Minutes

Fire Engineering Magazine has an excellent website filled with several training videos called Training Minutes. There are several videos in the subjects of arson, engine and truck company ops, extrication, forcible entry, health and safety, leadership, RIT along with many other topics. These videos are a great resource for self study and company drills.

Link to Fire Engineering Training Minutes: http://www.fireengineering.com/video.html

Make Everyday a Training Day

Primary Search Tips

When conducting a primary search for victims, some teams are not as efficient or coordinated as they could be. To improve the chances of quickly and safely locating possible victims, remember these key tips:

• Bring the right tools along. Typically, this means a hand tool, hand light, a thermal imaging camera and a hose line. Primary use of the TIC is for searching of victims, not looking for hot-spots during overhaul. Don't forget to take the TIC for primary search operations.
• Get in, search and get out quickly. Remember that the longer a victim is left in the IDLH, their chances for survival dimish rapidly, and there is a reason we do secondary searches.
• Under the right conditions, it's acceptable for firefighter pairs to separate themselves by a few feet to cover more area, as long as voice contact is maintained.
• Consider which side of the house is most likely to have occupants in it. Fire victims are commonly found in areas of egress like hallways and also in bedrooms. The time of day and clues like toys in the front yard can also help indicate where victims might be.
• As you make your search, the first firefighter should be rapidly checking the area from the wall outward and the furniture he comes into contact with and the second should be searching the middle of the room that the first firefighter can't reach. This method can easily cover an entire room in seconds.
• If you get to the bedrooms, in many cases the first firefighter can search the room while the second firefighter controls the door with the hose line to protect your position.
• If you find and remove a victim, make sure you indicate to other firefighters that the search is not yet over, as other victims may still remain.
• Don't hesitate the put out fire if you come across it, since this will remove the hazard to the victim.
• Communicate with your teams and command. This is especially important to coordinate with ventilation and in the event that you find a victim.
• For known victim locations consider aggresive Vent, Enter, Search (VES) tactics. For more info on VES click here: http://bcove.me/2s8w8pbs

Toledo Fire/Rescue RIT Training



The Toledo Fire/Rescue Department has finished training all members firefighter safety and survival that was part of a department wide RIT training program. Guest firefighters from Maumee, Sylvania, and Fremont also participated on a few of the days as a way to share ideas and training information with other departments.The training also included teaching all members a new proactive approach toward the position of RIT (Rapid Intervention Team). Members reviewed and discussed some of the common threads according to NIOSH firefighter fatality investigation reports that lead to fireground fatalities. Discussed were breakdowns in the incident managment system, comminications, accountability and a lack of understanding to key aspects related to fire behavior and building construction.



Firefighter Survival Training prop



Wall breaching drill



Crews review the MSA RIT pack



Crews discuss and review recommended tools for RIT staging

Lifting firefighter up from simulated fall through floor using webbing

Head first ladder bail

Window hang self survival skill 





National Firefighter Near-Miss Reporting System

I suggest this site be a frequent visit for every firefighter. A near miss experienced by a firefighter/EMT can improve the knowledge, skills and abilities of everyone who is made aware of it.  Reporting your near-miss event to www.firefighternearmiss.com will help prevent an injury or fatality of a firefighter.  Near-miss reporting has worked effectively in other industries, especially aviation, since team members have more knowledge.  Industries using near-miss reporting systems have lower injury rates and fewer worker fatalities.
Firefighters have taken the time to submit near-miss reports for us to learn from. Please take the time to learn from them. These reports make excellent in-house drills on those busy days, share them with your crew to discuss.

The supporting partners of this website are frequent visits of mine. All these websites have excellent information dedicated to our profession of firefighting and safety.
Website: http://www.firefighternearmiss.com/index.php/near-miss-partners



Heart Healthy Firefighter Resource Guide

Cardiac related illness is still the #1 killer of firefighters. If you are in this line of work you must take into consideration your health and wellness. Below is a link to the National Volunteer Fire Council (NVFC) Heart Healthy Firefighter Resource Guide.

Resource Guide: http://www.healthy-firefighter.org/files/documents/2005resourceguide.pdf

NVFC Heart Healthy Firefighter website: http://www.healthy-firefighter.org/

Dont Forget To Drill On Fire Behavior

No...I'm not talking about that fire triangle we all learned in basic training. I'm talking about those key aspects related to fire behavior such as Flashover and Backdraft. Firefighters are still being severely injured or killed by Flashover at a rate like unseen before. Please take the time to review the Reading Smoke video posted on 2/19. Today's fires are much different than in years past, as a result fire behavior has changed dramatically also. If your department is like mine, the idea of sitting down to drill and review fire behavior is not at the top of the list, but it has to be. According to NIOSH, lack of understanding of today's modern fire behavior is a leading cause to firefighter injury or death.

The Underwriters Laboratories conducted a comparison burn test to show how much faster structures with modern furnishings reach Flashover potential at a rate much faster than years ago. The room to the right is a test room of furnishings of modern day synthetics, plastics, nylon materials. The room on the left is a room made up of furnishings of natural fibers such as wool and cotton. Watch how much faster the room of modern day furnishings reaches Flashover. With today's light weight construction, faster growing hotter fires, now you can see how firefighters are getting caught off guard. As firefighters we must size-up our structures better by reading the smoke, better understand building construction,recognize the signs of an impending Flashover and not put ourselves in those compromised positions. As firefighters, you must know what the fire is going to do to the building and what the building is going to do to the fire.

BE PREPARED, KNOW THE WARNING SIGNS !!

DONT LET THIS BE YOU !!!!

Why We Need RIT

Article from FirefighterNation website:

http://www.firefighternation.com/article/firefighter-safety-health/why-we-need-rits

Monroe County RIT Training

I have received several emails from those that attended the Monroe County RIT training and have been asked to share links to some of the videos we showed to review again and share with members of your home departments. Attached to this post are some of the videos we showed in our presentations. Our training group also has a facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/fire.tactics.training We can bring some of our training programs to your departments to assist with department training or regional fire training such as fire schools.
If you are interested in any of our programs, email Moe Collins at wtfd7215@gmail.com or Ron Kay at rjkay7@gmail.com and we will be glad to assist you.

Tale of Two House Fires

Wooden Floor I-Beam Test

Head First Ladder Bailout-Close Call

Cincinnati Backdraft

Baltimore Backdraft



Playing with Fire

Playing with Fire

By Moe Collins, Captain Washington Township FD, Lucas County, Ohio

There’s been a lot of discussion in the fire service the past few years regarding using the “New Wave 3-D” fog attack to stop flashover. This tactic is much more popular in Europe and other parts of the world than it is here in the U.S. Here’s a video of training for this tactic from Australia. The theory behind this tactic is that pulses of water fog in the hot gas layer cools it down enough to stop flashover but maintain visibility.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gUSrS26vP1g

My thought after watching this video is that it seems to be “playing” with the fire. Yes, the visibility is maintained but the same can be said for applying a straight or solid stream to the ceiling AND it has the same results: cooling the hot gasses to prevent flashover without disturbing the thermal layer plus the added benefit of the larger water droplets splattering off the ceiling and reaching the seat of the fire!

One of the main “benefits” of using a fog stream is the larger surface-to-mass ratio of all the tiny little droplets that make up a fog stream are converted to steam more quickly than the larger droplets of a solid stream from a smooth bore nozzle. In a sealed compartment, this expanding steam will cool and “smother” the fire. Lloyd Layman, the “Father of Fog Firefighting” adapted shipboard firefighting to structural firefighting in the late 1940’s.

As shown in testing at the Rockland County Fire Academy, a fog stream entrains huge quantities of air into the fire compartment (the highest their testing equipment would read was 2000 cubic feet per minute but they estimated the flows to be as high as 10,000 CFM!) Testing using a solid stream nozzle and a combination nozzle in the straight stream position showed entrained air flows of only 500-700 CFM.1 You can test this yourself on a drill night. Open the nozzle and stand close. Change the pattern from straight stream to narrow fog to wide fog. You can feel the breeze that’s created.

One of the most difficult things to accomplish on the fireground for our understaffed departments is timely ventilation. For most departments, “ventilation” is starting the PPV fan after the fire has been knocked down. We may call this “ventilation” but in reality it is simply smoke removal. If we don’t have the manpower (or the experience/training) to properly ventilate opposite the attack line, what is going to happen when upwards of 2,000 CFM of air is pushed in AND the small water droplets are turned to steam, where is it going to go? Most likely right back to the nozzleman but the hot steam and fire gases may also spread to other places inside the structure including areas where victims may be trapped.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vkNFPWyidlc

Why “play” with fire? As shown in the video above, an attack line with an adequate flow, in a straight or solid stream will cool the fire gases below their ignition point and will maintain visibility and prevent steaming your attack crew and any occupants in the structure that don’t have the benefit of SCBA and bunker gear.

What’s an “adequate flow”? Stay tuned, brothers and sisters…

Let me know your thoughts & experiences on the 3-D Fog Attack or fog streams for interior firefighting in general in the comments. Be Safe but Be Aggressive!

1: “Nozzle Tests Prove Fireground Realities” Knapp, Pilsworth & Flately Fire Engineering Volume 157, Issue 2 http://www.fireengineering.com/articles/print/volume-157/issue-2/features/nozzle-tests-prove-fireground-realities-part-3.html