Through the lock Channelocks

So the "through the lock" channel-locks have been around for some time now. With several slight variations to each handmade pair. All with the same purpose in mind, and that is to act as a set of pliers and at the same time acting as a key tool.

For my pair of pliers, I went the more fireman budget friendly route and recycled an old pair of pliers my grandpa had in his junkyard. Not only was I able to recycle an old tool and give it new life, but it means something more to me knowing my hero busted his knuckles with these pliers at some point in his life.

Most guys are getting the Channel lock brand because they are known for their durability and stout design. However I believe any pair will work. One word of advice though, and that is to measure your bunker pockets before getting yourself a pair. My set is rather long and I have a tough time fitting them in my pocket.

To make your own pair I would recommend following this step by step walkthrough from the guys at ironsandladders.com

I didnt follow the guide exactly but im quite content with the outcome. Especially considering the pliers themselves wouldnt even open when I first found them. When making mine I ground the tip down until it successfully manipulated the lock on my good friend Dave Werners' Through the lock prop

I finished my pair off with a spiral weave wrap of friction tape to increase grip when breaking the cylinder loose.

For a quick video demonstrating how these pliers are used check out this video from Nick Martin Pliers in use

Having a set of these pliers is a great addition to any set of bunker gear. It allows entry to storefronts with Adams Rite style locks while avoiding breaking large amounts of glass and creating excess ventilation areas. Also for alarms with no key or keyholder present the lock can be locked back and the cylinder screwed back in as a temporary fix.

The pliers when I first found them were so rusted they wouldnt even open. After a liberal soaking in WD-40, a little elbow grease and steel wool, they operate good as new.

Homemade door chocks

Door chocks are one of those items every firefighter needs to have on them, and more than one for that matter. I try and carry a few door chocks, cherry bomb style chocks, and two clamps...all with the same purpose, to hold various style doors open at any given time. However the basic wooden door chock is good for so much more, from vehicle extrication, gapping doors, and aiding in various forcible entry methods.

Being a fireman on a firemans salary, I try and make something myself before I go off and buy it. This always saves me money and also instills a little pride in what it is you now will carry.

For Christmas this year, I stopped by The Home Depot and picked up a scrap 2x4 for .80 cents, took it home, and with a few rough cuts of a skil saw, a piece of plastic made into a crude stencil, and some spray paint, I had enough door chocks for all three shifts to have 2 chocks a piece. Or 6 a piece if my shift is feeling greedy.

With thefirestore.com selling door chocks ranging in price from $2 to $15 a piece, all doing the same purpose, it just made sense to get my hands dirty and make 24 personalized chocks for about 3 cents a piece.

What are you making around the firehouse or at home today?

Merry Christmas from Priority Firefighting!

New tool wrap

Now we all know theres a thousand and one ways to wrap our tools out there. Everybody has a preference be it wrapped or unwrapped. Personally I prefer my tools wrapped, and I use a hockey style black friction tape, however after a little firehouse ingenuity my shift came up with a new way to wrap tools, well lets say a new material to wrap them in.

We had a roll of 3M High performance pavement marking tape lying around, primarily used for striping highways improving night-time visibility and wet road traction. Well as we all know Firemen always find second, third, fourth, and so on uses for almost anything. After a little deliberation we decided to try and wrap some tools and discovered we loved it as tool wrap.

The tape is designed to stick to asphalt with no prep work so its extremely adhesive, and really felt like it was going to stay put. It has raised squares that have a very rough feel to them but with gloves really has a solid grip. Also it is designed for visibility on the highway so with any light on it the tape really shines. Not to mention 3M gives it an 8 year life expectancy with highway driving, so its safe to say it will last 2 years in the hands of firemen. But seriously, this tape is tough.

The looks might not be for everyone, but finding a new use for something that actually works is always worth sharing.

If you have any new ways to wrap your tools feel free to share them!

Heat stroke LODDs in training and one personal near miss...

This blog has been on a standstill, due to two reasons. The main reason is i was very involved in school and the other being during school, i was recovering from a severe heat stroke i suffered in late august. I wasnt planning on writing about it, and i only will to an extent, due to personal feelings surrounding the incident itself regarding events leading up to it. However i saw this article today on firefighter nation and felt an immense connection with Captain Smith.

In late august of 2013, the temperatures were averaging 90-100 degrees on the South Carolina coast with a heat index exceeding far beyond that. I was involved in an intense training regiment similar to that of Captain Smith when during a morning run i suffered a heat stroke and became unresponsive. For  two days prior I had been in a state of heat exhaustion but continued to push through the training, in fear of losing my job, despite becoming ill secondary to the heat exhaustion. Water breaks were scarce and not at all readily available as the media made others believe. Full PPE worn all day along with non stop exercise in the heat had already caused several others to fall out and be transported for evaluation.

During the run, i dont remember much, what i do remember is telling my partner that something was wrong, and i noticed my respirations change to wheezing. Thats the last thing i recall. I collapsed 100 yards from the finish and I was immediately carried to the training facility and iced down by my peers (this is later learned from the ER physician was a major contributing factor that saved my life), then rapidly transported to the ER, where along the way became extremely combative, striking the ambulance crew and ripping out my IVs. I slipped back into an unconscious state and awoke roughly 3 hours later in the ER and had no ability to speak. I could think but not speak.

My temperature in the ER after rapid cooling, A/C, and two large bore IVs with cold fluids was 107 F. Doctors say i was most likely closer to 110 F at the time i collapsed. Far beyond the threshold for survival. All for what? Better training? I disagree...

Now this brings me to several incidents, all similar to mine

On May 19th, 2005, a 22 year old male career fire recruit collapsed during a class run, slipping into a coma with a temperature around 108 F and perished over a week later. This young man died on a 3 mile run, again for what? Someone please tell me...

You can read the NIOSH report here:

Florida recruit heatstroke NIOSH report

On April 20th, 2009, a 26 year old recruit suffers a heat stroke, begins to recover, suffers organ failure due to rhabdomyolosis, is put on life support and passes away days later.

Read the report here:

Texas recruit heatstroke NIOSH report

And again on September 16th, 2012 a four year veteran Fire Captain has a heatstroke during a smoke divers training program, goes into cardiac arrest with a temperature of 107.9, and never recovers.

Read the report here:

Texas captan heatstroke report

And the Firefighter nation article here:

Firefighter nation article

When i look at these incidents, i see three (almost four) deaths of our brothers directly due to training. Now i am all for intense, real world, training. But when we are killing our own, shouldnt we take a step back and figure things out? If we are in a situation where we are training in conditions to hot to stay safe arent we defeating the purpose? We go into a hot environment and as quickly as we can cool it down with suppression and ventilation. We come out and hopefully go to an established rehab per NFPA 1584 and OSHA 29 CFR 1910.120 requirement 1910.120(g)(5)(x), to cool down and rest after at most 30 minutes of strenuous activity. So why then, are we pushing our bodies (or having our bodies pushed) to the point of death for hours and hours on end? Tell me i am not alone in thinking this is lunacy? Not to mention, when we begin to hit the stage of heat exhaustion i can assure you, you arent learning anything new, you have flipped the switch from beneficial training to sheer survival.

The name of this blog is priority firefighting. Following the three firefighter priorities: Life safety, Incident stabilization, and Property conservation. Life safety refers to: Our safety, our crews safety, and then the citizens safety. To push others to the limit where life safety is in jeopardy is not only going against the grain of what we stand for but in some cases could and should be pursued in a criminal manner.

Our safety in these training evolutions falls in what i believe to be three hands: Yours, your instructors, and your peers.

Obviously you should keep yourself safe and as hydrated as possible, rumors surrounding my incident claimed i was "hopped up on energy drinks" and "not drinking enough water". Both of which are untrue. Hydration is of paramount importance and should not be taken lightly. If you arent feeling yourself and you honestly feel like something is wrong, something most likely is and you ned to act quickly.Your safety secondly falls in the hands of the instructors, training is great, but killing people to do so is the most asinine thing i can think of. Refusing water to students, and blatant disregard for heat index regulations is something that cannot be overlooked. Lastly your peers have somewhat of a responsibility. If you see one of your own with any of the signs or symptoms of heat exhaustion, make sure you take action before it progresses to heat stroke. As first responders we arent limited to the people that call 911, we are responsible for the ones around us. Preventing an injury is much better than having one occur that could have been stopped. These brothers gave their lives and you dont hear much about heat regulation in fire training. Why? Most likely because admitting heat illness as a fireman is a demeaning sign of weakness...but is it really? If we take precautions in the field, why dont we do the same to make sure we make it to the field?

NIOSH 5 part 2 - Lack of command

NIOSH top 5, number 2...

Lack of incident command.

Having been on the job for a few short years, ive worked for now 3 career fire departments (and dont plan on adding any more). With these 3 departments ive also worked alongside several other departments through the means of mutual aid, Some were bigger and some were smaller, but all of them  did fireground command different. Why?

The department i currently work for has an excellent command structure and have revamped their system emphasizing the crucial need for an experienced, trained, and dedicated Incident commander. Previously i have been on fires where there was no command at all, and some where the word "command" was thrown around so loosely well just say there wasnt. 

Now obviously every place has their reasons as to why a designated commander isnt utilized, mostly the reason boils down to manpower. Something many places are dealing with. But with this being the number two killer wouldnt we want to focus a little more attention on it?

Now i by no means am qualified to be an incident commander, im just writing what i see and what i know. i am finding this part difficult to compose because of my current position.

I cannot sit here and tell you how to be an effective commander, i can however layout some basic command information and the benefits thereof, in hopes that you can take it to somewhere that struggles with the belief that "we arent big enough to use command" or "we dont run enough fires for that".

If your department utilizes command then by all means refer to departmental SOGs.

Below is an excerpt (with adjustments) from an SOG draft i composed for a previous department:

If we hope to reduce the number of firefighter LODD’s on the fireground, we must command fires in a way that evolves around all five of the NIOSH 5 factors.

Every fire deserves our respect, and each fire presents unique challenges. That being said, we must have a consistent and systematic way to approach these fires if we hope to consistently run an effective incident. That’s the reason SOG’s are so important and the lack of SOGs or not following them is number 5 on the NIOSH list. With that being said, no system will replace astute fire officers who know their job.

-Responsibilities of IC

Upon arrival of the first commanding officer, command will be established, this will be known as Initial command, if the officer decides or is forced to remain in a command mode for the duration of the incident, he know becomes Continuing command.

The responsibilities of initial command will be:

• Assume an effective command position.
• Transmit a brief initial radio report.
• Rapidly evaluate situation (size-up).
• Develop a plan of attack.
• Assign units as required.

The responsibilities of continuing command will be:

•             Provide continuing overall command and progress reports for the duration or     until relieved by a ranking officer.
•            Assign Sectors if necessary and manpower allows
•            Review and evaluate attack efforts and revise plan of attack as needed.
•    Requests and assign additional unit as necessary.
•            Maintain crew member accountability.
•         Return companies to service and terminate "command"

Now breaking down those two types of command further we have three other types of command generally established by the first arriving officer:

-Types of command modes

Nothing showing mode

This is a situation where upon arrival, no immediate actions are required to mitigate a situation. In this situation the first arriving officer will call command but will make entry to investigate the situation while reducing response and staging incoming units. This sometimes is referred to as investigative mode.

Fast attack mode

                                  In situations, which would require immediate action to stabilize an incident or to save viable life, such as occupied residences or businesses, the company officer may have to decide how to commit his company and be involved. When a fast interior attack is critical to life safety, he may take advantage of his portable radio to manage his crew from either interior (dependant on the situation), or be a very mobile and engaged command. This mode should not last more than a few minutes and should end with one of the following:

•  The situation is stabilized
•  Command is passed off to the next arriving officer
•  Situation is not quickly stabilized and the officer must retreat to a normal command position.

                  Command mode

Situations that require designated initial command immediately. Such situations that by virtue of the size of the fire, the complexity/potential of the occupancy, or the possibility of extension require strong, direct, and overall command from the outside. In such cases, the officer will initially assume a Command position and maintain that position until he is relieved by another ranking officer.

-Benefits of a designated IC

-It improves accountability. The number three killer of fire fighters on scene is lack of accountability. The main way accountability will be improved is by having someone literally accounting for all personnel. The easiest way to maintain this, once IC is established is by utilizing PAR (personnel accountability report). This basic system allows command to keep a log of who is where on what assignment and allows for an accurate and rapid implementation of a RIT team if a MAYDAY was transmitted. PAR roll calls may be transmitted at any of the following times:

•  Any report of a missing or trapped fire fighter
•  Any time a Mayday is called
•  Any change from offensive to defensive
•  Any sudden hazardous event at the incident, i.e: flashover, backdraft, structural collapse, etc.
•  At every 30 minutes of elapsed time
•  At a report of fire under control
•  Any time an “Abandon” order is given.
•  Any time Command feels it is necessary

A company specific PAR should also be given any time a company is performing a specific operation. For example:

Command, Engine 1

Engine 1, go ahead

Command, Engine 1 entering A side of structure on fire attack with 3.

Engine 1, 10-4, entering with 3

This short transmission allows the officer of the crew on fire attack to relay his location and assignment to command. Benefiting the crew in the sense of this gives command an opportunity to confirm or deny this task, it benefits command by allowing him the knowledge that there is currently an engine crew inside on attack, and it benefits all other crew members by allowing them the knowledge and location of that crew so they can better coordinate with the attack team.

Another basic method of staying in contact while maintaining radio discipline and keeping transmissions brief is utilizing the CAN methodology (Conditions, actions, needs). This simple transmission can relay to command all the vital points he may be bothering interior crews with and let him know maybe what his next step will be. An example may be:

“Command, interior attack”

“Interior, go ahead”

“Command we are advancing to the fire room, we are offensive, we have heavy smoke and heat, we need ventilation near the C-D corner, air is 3500, Par with 3.”

This report tells the IC what he needs to hear and accomplished the following:

• The officer is still comfortable with his chosen strategy, offensive fire attack.
• The crew has not attained its objective but is making progress
• Conditions are not ideal; the crew needs ventilation assistance
• Air supply is adequate to continue the operation
• All members who entered with the fire attack crew are accounted for (based on commands knowledge of fireground accountability of his crews)

-It improves communications. The number four killer on scene is inadequate or a lack of communications. This goes hand in hand with accountability and its hard to differentiate which one is more vital than the other. 

Communications with the IC will allow him or her to have a better understanding of areas that are unseen from their field of view. And allows precision deployment of crews incoming or on standby needing assignments. If interior is unable to communicate heavy smoke conditions and the structure is not self venting then IC is unable to properly assign a vent team at the proper time and location.

“A well communicated attack is a well coordinated attack.

A well coordinated attack is a well communicated attack.”

-It improves safety. This goes without saying. The entire purpose of implementing SOG’s and an IC is to improve life safety. However a specifically designated IC improves safety by having a pair of eyes and ears to stand back from the incident and view it in its entirety. An interior crew can not see the spalling of exterior concrete, or may not hear the creaks and cracks of an imminent collapse. While it’s true the engineers should be able to notice such situations they are tied up with their obvious tasks of supplying water to and from the trucks, and it is quite possible for one to overlook such factors when performing these duties.

If you arent familiar, then dive into your departmental SOGs or even better pick your captains or chiefs brain. Learn what you can, no matter your rank. Good leadership starts now.