Coordinated Fire Attack

in all firefighting situations it is the job of the officer to coordinate the use of available manpower equipment and resources needed it is relatively easy for the officer to kill and heat akyuu Shin is low the direct attack should be used in a hotter situation where steam production is desired for a longer period of time the indirect attack can be used if maximum steam production is wanted within the shortest period of time and with a minimum amount of water the combination attack can be used to avoid upsetting the thermal balance in an area the nozzle Minh knows that he must be careful about his pattern adjustment and nozzle handling he realizes he must shut down when the fire is blacked out to avoid condensing or breaking up his steam blanket as fires increase in size the officers job becomes more complex larger flows and more nozzle men are needed besides coordinating all fire ground activity the officer must choose the number and size of lines points of application and the type of attack to be used he must give orders so that the crews know when to attack and when to shutdown nozzle Minh should not make these decisions individually since their actions must be blended smoothly together if the overall firefighting effort is to be effective in other words the officer attempts to make a coordinated fire attack regardless of the size of the fire the principles which govern fire behavior remain unchanged these same principles must be considered during extinguishment extinguishment of any structural fire can be accomplished by getting the right amount of water in the right form in the right place the principle is simple but the application becomes complex let's see how this complexity affects fire ground operations in this situation the officer knows that two inch and a half lines will provide an adequate flow of water getting at the area of major involvement and distribution of the water are not problems here also coordination is simple and getting crews in for overhaul will be relatively easy most fire companies have no trouble providing the needed rate of flow for a residence fire they usually have sufficient amounts of water to absorb the heat and blanket the fire receive as fire areas increase in size it becomes increasingly difficult to provide the needed rate of flow in a partially ventilated area where the fire has reached a steady state there is a minimum rate of flow which is required for initial control take this one room open area for example the estimated rate of flow for a fully involved interior is about 200 gallons per minute a convenient way to find the approximate rate of flow in gallons per minute is to divide the cubic feet involved by 100 this provides a flow of 1 gallon per minute for each 100 cubic feet involved when properly distributed in the involved area this amount will knock down the fire from a pre plan or by estimation the officer can determine the approximate dimension he knows this building is about 30 by 60 with 10-foot ceilings 30 times 60 is 1,800 times 10 gives us 18,000 cubic feet this figure divided by 100 will give us our needed rate of flow in gallons per minute in other words if this structure is completely involved internally you will need a minimum rate of flow of 180 gallons per minute to inch and a half lines will provide this amount of water getting to inch-and-a-half lines into operation is a routine task for most fire departments but providing and properly distributing an 800 gallon per minute flow in this 80 by 100 area would be a more difficult task this would require 8 inch and a half lines or three two and a half inch lines or any combination which provides a flow of 800 gallons per minute going a step further here's an area where a flow of over 2,000 gallons per minute would be required if this flow is available near the structure how many departments have the manpower equipment and capability of getting it properly distributed a 2,000 gallon per minute flow for attack requires a lot of manpower and equipment especially when we consider that attack crews must be backed up and exposures protected and any structure we are concerned with the largest single body of fire that might develop in that particular building here is a large building but it is partitioned the largest open area is an auditorium located on the upper floor the rate of flow for an actual fire attack inside this building would be based on the flow necessary to knock down a fire in the auditorium knowing the required rate of flow the officer must determine the size of lines to be used he must consider points of access shape of the area in relation to these points of access and obstructions that may interfere with proper distribution we're a long reach is required a two and a half inch line will be advantageous where mobility is most important inch and a half lines may be favored attack lines must be chosen positioned and adjusted so that their cones of coverage will partially overlap this is essential if the water is to be utilized most effectively on the fire ground there is no substitute for pre-planning the officer has many decisions and actions that must be coordinated in a minimum amount of time he does this by blending information obtained during the pre-planned with fire ground observations this enables him to get the right lines laid in to the right locations for attack and backup first lines laid in may be used to protect exposures or prevent the fire from spreading when sufficient lines are layed in to provide the needed rate of flow all lines may be utilized for a simultaneous attack on the main body of the fire absorbing the heat and blanketing the entire area with steam simultaneously delivers a knockdown blow to the fire if first lines lady and are used to attack the main body of the fire we will not get simultaneous cooling and blanketing of the entire area this may seriously delay control of the fire whenever possible attacks should be made with the wind but in some cases to get proper distribution it may be necessary to work crews against the wind poor timing or poor distribution may leave hot spots in the fire area these are usually evidenced by dark streaks in the steam cloud this is the officer's clue that a change in the pattern or direction of a stream may be necessary you