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Firefighting
Firefighting is the act of attempting to prev ent the spread of
and extinguish significant unwanted fires in buildings, v ehicles,
woodland,etc.Afirefightersuppressesandextinguishesfiresto
protect liv es and to prev ent the destruction of property and of
the env ironment. [1] Firefighters may prov ide other serv ices to
theircommunities.

Firefighters ty pically undergo a high degree of technical

training, [1][2] in both general firefighting techniques and
dev elopingspecialistexpertiseinparticularfireoperations,such
as aircraft firefighting and wildland firefighting In the U.S. the
Firefightersatamajorfireinvolvingan
nationallev elofcertificationiscalledFirefighterI/II.
abandonedconventinCanada,2006
Oneofthemajorhazardsassociatedwithfirefightingoperations
is the toxic env ironment created by combustible materials, the
four major risks are smoke, oxy gen deficiency , elev ated
temperatures,andpoisonousatmospheres. [3]Additionalhazards
include falls and structural collapse that can exacerbate the
problems entailed in a toxic env ironment. To combat some of
these risks, firefighters carry selfcontained breathing
equipment.

The first step in a firefighting operation is reconnaissance to FirefightinginJyvskyl,Finland

searchfortheoriginofthefireandtoidentify thespecificrisks.

Firescanbeextinguishedby water,fueloroxidantremov al,orchemicalflameinhibition.

Contents
1 History
1.1 Historictacticsandtools
1.2 AncientRome
1.3 UnitedKingdom
1.4 UnitedStates
2 Firefighterduties
2.1 Firefighterskills
2.2 Specializedskills
2.3 Shifthours
2.4 Firewardens
3 Hazardscausedbyfire
4 Reconnaissanceand"reading"thefire

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5 Scienceofextinguishment
6 Useofwater
6.1 Openairfire
6.2 Closedvolumefire
7 Asphyxiatingafire
8 Tacticalventilationorisolationofthefire
9 CategorizingfiresintheUS
10 Seealso
11 References
12 Externallinks

History
The earliest known firefighters were in the city of Rome. In 60 A.D.,
emperorNeroestablishedaCorpsofVigils(Vigiles)toprotectRomeafter
adisastrousfire.Itconsistedof7 ,000peopleequippedwithbucketsand
axes,andthey foughtfiresandserv edaspolice. [4]

Historictacticsandtools
In the 4th century B.C., an Alexandrian Greek named Ctesibius made a
double force pump called a siphona. As water rose in the chamber, it
Bulgarianfirefightersinaction,1930s
compressed the air inside, which forced the water to eject in a steady
streamthroughapipeandnozzle. [4]

Inthe16thcentury ,sy ringeswerealsousedasfirefightingtools,thelarger

ones being mounted on wheels. [4] Another traditional method that
surv iv ed was the bucket brigade, inv olv ing two lines of people formed
between the water source and the fire. Ty pically , men in one of the lines
wouldpassalongthefullbucketsofwatertowardthefirewhileintheother
line women and children would pass back the empty buckets to be
refilled. [4]

Inthe17 thcentury ,'fireengines'weremade,notably inAmsterdam. [4]In

OttawaFireDepartmentmotorpump,
17 21, the English inv entor Richard Newsham made a popular fire engine
Ottawa,Ontario,takenbytheTopley
that was essentially a rectangular box on wheels filled using a bucket Studio,May1915.
brigade to prov ide a reserv oir while handpowered pumps supplied
sufficientwaterpressuretodousefiresatadistance. [4]

AncientRome
AncientRomedidnothav emunicipalfirefighters.Instead,priv ateindiv idualsreliedontheirslav esorsupportersto
takeaction.They wouldnotonly formbucketbrigadesorattempttosmothersmallerfires,butwouldalsodemolish
or raze nearby buildings to slow the spread of the fire. Howev er, there is no mention of fires being extinguished,

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ratherthey werecontainedandburnedthemselv esout.AncientRomedidnothav eanorganizedfirefightingforce

untiltheVigileswereformedinthereignofAugustus. [5]

UnitedKingdom
PriortotheGreatFireofLondonin1666,someparishesintheUKhadbeguntoorganizerudimentary firefighting.
AftertheGreatFire,NicholasBarbonintroducedthefirstfireinsurance.Inordertoreduceinsurancecosts,Barbon
alsoformedhisownfirebrigade,andothercompaniesfollowedsuit.

By thestartofthe1800s,insuredbuildingswereidentifiedwithabadgeormarkindicatingthatthey wereeligiblefor
a company 's firefighting serv ices. Buildings not insured with a particular company were left by its firefighters to
burn, [6] unless they happened to be adjacent to an insured building, in which case it was often in the company 's
interesttoprev entthefirefromspreading.In1833fireinsurancecompaniesinLondonmergedtoformTheLondon
FireCompany Establishment.

Steampoweredapparatuseswerefirstintroducedinthe1850s,allowingagreaterquantity ofwatertobedirected
ontoafireintheearly 1930sthey weresupersededby v ersionspoweredby aninternalcombustionengine.

InWorldWarIItheAuxiliary FireServ ice,andlatertheNationalFireServ ice,wereestablishedtosupplementlocal

fire serv ices. At that time, there was no country wide standard for firefighting terms, procedures, ranks, or
equipment(suchashosecouplings).Thesewerestandardizedafterthewar.

UnitedStates
In January 1608, a fire destroy ed many of the colonists' prov isions and lodgings in Jamestown, Virginia. Boston,
New Y ork City , and Philadelphia were all plagued by fires, and v olunteer fire brigades formed soon after such
disasters. [7]

In 17 36, Benjamin Franklin founded the Union Fire Company in Philadelphia, which became the standard for
v olunteerfireorganizations.Thesefirefightershadtwocriticaltools:salv agebagsandsocalledbedkey s.Salv age
bagswereusedtoquickly collectandsav ev aluables,andbedkey swereusedtoseparatethewoodenframeofabed
intopiecesforsafeandrapidremov alfromthefire. [7]

ThefirstAmericanattemptatfireinsurancefailedafteralargefireinCharlestown,Massachusettsin17 36.Laterin
17 40, Benjamin Franklin organized the Philadelphia Contributionship to prov ide fire insurance, which was more
successful. The Contributionship adopted "fire marks" to easily identify insured buildings. Firefighting started to
become formalized with rules for prov iding buckets, ladders, and hooks, and with the formation of v olunteer
companies.Achainofcommandwasalsoestablished. [7]

Firefighterduties
Afirefighter'sgoalsaretosav eliv es,property ,andtheenv ironment.Afirecanrapidly spreadandendangermany
liv es,butwithmodernfirefightingtechniques,catastrophecanoftenbeav oided.Toprev entfiresfromstarting,a
firefighter's duties may include public education about fire safety and conducting fire inspections of locations to
v erify theiradherencetolocalfirecodes.

Firefighterskills

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Firefighting requires skills in combating, extinguishing, and prev enting

fires, responding to emergency calls, operating and maintaining fire
departmentequipmentandquarters,andextensiv etraininginperforming
firefightingandrescueactiv ities.Firefightersmustalsohav e,orbeableto
acquire, knowledge of department organizations, operations, and
procedures, [4] and the district or city street sy stem[4] they will hav e to
negotiateinordertoperformtheirduties.
AerialvideoofFirefighting
They must meet minimum phy sical fitness standards and learn v arious
firefightingandrescuedutieswithinareasonableperiod[4]

Examplesare:

StructuralFirefighting
WildlandFirefighting

Specializedskills
Specialized areas of fire operations may require subjectspecific
training. [8][9]

Examplesare:

AircraftFirefighting
MaritimeFirefighting
AerialFirefighting

Shifthours
Firefighters ty pically follow a 24hour shift schedule, although some fire
departmentsworkeightor12hourshifts. [10]Australianfirefightersworka Afirefighterdoingaladderslide,
10/14shift,inwhichtheday shiftworkstenhoursandthenightshiftworks whichisusedtoquicklyescapefrom
14 hours. [11] Firefighting personnel are split up into alternating shifts. awindow
Usually , the 24 hour shifts are followed by two day s off. [4] The shift
personnel arriv e for roll call at a specified time, ready to complete a
regular tour of duty . [4] While on shift, the firefighter remains at the fire
stationunlessreliev edorassignedotherduties. [4]

Firewardens
In fire fighting, there are also people designated as fire wardens, also
knownasthechiefofficer.Theirdutiesv ary ,somemay ensureev acuation
ofthatpartofthebuildingforwhichthey areresponsibleothersmay be Ahoseteamtrainingtofightan
responsible for fire control in a particular area, direct a crew in the aircraftfireaboardaUSaircraft
carrier,2006
suppression of forest fires, or function as fire patrolmen in a logging
area. [12]

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Thechiefofficerisinchargeofhisfirefightersduringfiresoremergencies,
and he is expected to command and control the ov erall situation while
effectiv ely combating a fire or other emergency . [4] Chief officers must be
able to ev aluate their firefighters, use sound judgement when deciding
when it is time to withdraw firefighters from a fire, and react calmly in
emergency situations. [4]Thechiefofficermustdirecttheactiv itiesofafire
department and superv ise all firefighting activ ities. In addition, he must
hav eextensiv eknowledgeofthecity ,thelocationofstreets,firehy drants
and fire alarm boxes, and the principal buildings. [4] Also he must hav e
knowledge of explosiv es, hazardous chemicals, and the combustion
Afirewardenposter,circa1940s.
qualitiesofmaterialsinbuildings,homes,andindustrialplants. [4]

In certain jurisdictions, civ ilians can get certified to be a Fire Warden, and some cities require certain ty pes of
buildings,suchashighrises,tohav eacertainnumberofFireWardens.Forexample,theCity ofHouston,Texas,
requiresev ery tenantinahighrisetohav eatleastoneFireWardenforev ery 7 500sq.ft.occupied,andaminimum
of two Fire Wardens per floor. [13] In this example, their duties include inv estigating any fire alarms (see if there
really isafireandifso,itsnature),ensuringthefiredepartmentiscontacted,directingtheev acuationofthefacility ,
activ ating or delay ing activ ation of fire suppression equipment such as halon and sprinklers (delay ed in case of a
falsealarm),meetingthefiredepartmentandtakingthemtothelocationofthealarmortothefirepastany security
orlockeddoors,and,ifnecessary ,fightingthefireuntilthefiredepartmentarriv es.

Hazardscausedbyfire
Oneofthemajorhazardsassociatedwithfirefightingoperationsisthetoxic
env ironment created by combusting materials. The four major hazards
are:[14]

Smoke,whichisbecomingincreasinglydangerousduetotheincreased
varietyandamountofsynthetichouseholdmaterials.
Oxygendeficientatmosphere,21%O2isnormal,19.5%O2isconsidered
oxygendeficient.
Elevatedtemperatures
StructurefireinGrandRapids,
Toxicatmospheres
Michigan,US
To deal with such hazards, firefighters carry a selfcontained breathing
apparatus (SCBA an opencircuit positiv e pressure sy stem) to prev ent
smoke inhalation. These are not oxy gen tanks (oxy gen as a powerful fire accelerant would represent a grav e risk
when combined with v irtually any thing combustible in the presence of fire) but use compressed air in a similar
mannertoSCUBAdiv inggear.Afirefighter'sSCBAusually hold30to45minutesofair,dependingonthesizeofthe
tankandtherateofconsumptionduringstrenuousactiv ities.Whilethisgearhelpstoeliminatetherisks,firefighters
are still exposed to smoke, toxic dust and fumes that hav e contributed to firefighters being 14% more likely to
dev elopcancer.

Obv ious risks associated with the immense heat generated by a fire, ev en without direct contact with the flames
(direct flame impingement), such as conductiv e heat and radiant heat, can cause serious burns ev en from great
distances. There are a number of comparably serious heatrelated risks, such as burns from hot gases (e.g., air),
steam, and hot and/or toxic smoke. Accordingly , firefighters are equipped with personal protectiv e equipment

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(PPE)thatincludesfireresistantclothingsuchasNomexorpoly benzimidazolefiber(PBI)andhelmetsthatlimitthe
transmission of heat towards the body . No PPE, howev er, can completely protect the user from the effects of all
possiblefireconditions. [15]

Heatcancauseflammableliquidcontainedintankstoexplodev iolently ,producingwhatiscalledaBLEVE(boiling

liquid expanding v apor explosion). [16] Some chemical products such as ammonium nitrate fertilizers can also
explode,potentially causingphy sicaltraumafromblastorshrapnelinjuries.Sufficientheatcauseshumanfleshto
burnasfuel,orthewaterwithintoboil,leadingtopotentially sev eremedicalproblems.

Dependingontheheatofthefire,burnscanoccurinafractionofasecond.

Additional risks of fire are the obscuring of v ision due to smoke, potentially causing a fall or disorientation
becomingtrappedinafireandstructuralcollapse. [17]

"Threehoursoffightingafirestiffensarteriesandimpairscardiacfunctioninfirefighters"accordingtoanewstudy
by BoFernhall,aprofessorinthedepartmentofkinesiology andcommunity healthintheCollegeofAppliedHealth
Sciences, and Gav in Horn, director of research at the Illinois Fire Serv ice Institute. The conditions (observ ed in
healthy malefirefighters)are"alsoapparentfoundinweightliftersandenduranceathletes..."[18]

Reconnaissanceand"reading"thefire
The first step in a firefighting operation is reconnaissance to search for the origin of the fire (which may not be
obv iousforanindoorfire,especially iftherearenowitnesses),toidentify any specificrisks,andtodetectpossible
casualties.Anoutdoorfiremay notrequirereconnaissance,butafireinacellaroranundergroundcarparkwith
only afewcentimetersofv isibility may requirelongreconnaissancetoidentify thesourceofthefire.

The"reading"ofafireistheanaly sisby firefightersofindicationsofthermalev entssuchasflashov er,backdraft or

smokeexplosion.Itisperformedduringreconnaissanceandfiresuppressionmaneuv ers.

Themainsignsare:

Hotzones,whichcanbedetectedwithaglovedhand,forexamplebytouchingadoorbeforeopeningit
Sootonwindows,whichusuallymeansthatcombustionisincomplete,andthus,alackofairintheroom
Smokepulsinginandoutaroundadoorframe,asifthefirewerebreathing,whichusuallyalsomeansalackofairto
supportcombustion.
Spray ingwaterontheceilinginshortpulsesofadiffusedspray (e.g.,aconewithanopeningangleof60)canbe
undertakentotesttheheatofsmoke:Ifthetemperatureismoderate,thewaterfallsdownindropswithasoundlike
rain if the temperature is high, the water v aporizes with a hissthe sign of a potentially extremely dangerous
impendingflashov er.

Ideally ,partofreconnaissanceisconsultinganexistingpreplanforthebuildingthatprov idesinformationabout

existingstructures,firefighterhazards,andinsomecasesthemostappropriatestrategiesandtacticsforfightinga
fireinthatcontext.

Scienceofextinguishment
Therearefourelements[19]neededtostartandsustainafireand/orflame.Theseareareducingagent(fuel),Heat,an
oxidizing agent (oxy gen), and a chemical reaction. A fire can be extinguished by taking away any of the four
components. [19]

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The fuel is the substance being oxidized or burned in the combustion

process.Themostcommonfuelscontaincarbonalongwithcombinations
ofhy drogenandoxy gen.Heatistheenergy componentofafire.Whenit
comes into contact with a fuel, it prov ides the energy necessary for
ignition, causes the continuous production and ignition of fuel v apors or
gases so that the combustion reaction can continue, and causes the
v aporizationofsolidandliquidfuels.Theresultingselfsustainedchemical
chainreactioniscomplexandrequiresfuel,anoxidizer,andheatenergy to
Afirehelicopterisusedtofighta
come together in a v ery specific way . An oxidizing agent is a material or
wildfire
substance that will release gases, including oxy gen, when the proper
conditionsexist.Itiscrucialtothesustainmentofaflameorfire.

Usingwaterisonecommonmethodtoextinguishafire.Waterextinguishesafireby cooling,whichremov esheat

becauseofwatersability toabsorbmassiv eamountsofheatasitconv ertstowaterv apor. Without heat, the fuel
cannot keep the oxidizer from reducing the fuel in order to sustain the fire. Water also extinguishes a fire by
smothering it. When water is heated to its boiling point, it conv erts to water v apor. When this conv ersion takes
place,itdilutestheoxy genintheairabov ethefire,thusremov ingoneoftheelementsthatthefirerequirestoburn.
Thiscanalsobedonewithfoam.

Anotherway toextinguishafireisfuelremov al.Thiscanbeaccomplishedby stoppingtheflowofliquidorgaseous

fuel,by remov ingsolidfuelinthepathofafire,orby allowingthefiretoburnuntilallthefuelisconsumed,atwhich
pointthefirewillselfextinguish.

Onefinalextinguishingmethodischemicalflameinhibition.Thiscanbeaccomplishedby apply ingdry chemicalor

halogenatedagentsthatinterruptthechemicalchainreactionandstopflaming.Thismethodiseffectiv eongasand
liquidfuelbecause,they musthav eflametoburn.

Soundwav eshav ebeensuccessfully usedinadev icefabricatedby twoGeorgeMasonUniv ersity seniorengineering

students,VietTranandSethRobertson,buttheprocedureisstillawaitingapatent(2015). [20]

Useofwater
Onecommonway toextinguishafireistospray itwithwater.Thewater
has two roles: It v aporizes when it comes in contact with fire, and this
v apor displaces the oxy gen (the v olume of water v apor is 1,7 00 times
greater than liquid water, at 1,000 F (538 C) it expands ov er 4,000
times).Thisleav esthefirewithoutenoughofthecombustiv eagent,andit
diesout. [16] The v aporization of water also absorbs heat it thereby cools
the smoke, air, walls, and objects that could act as further fuel, and thus
prev ents one of the means by which fires grow, which is by "jumping" to
nearby heat/fuel sources to start new fires, which then combine. Water USMCfirefightersneutralizeafire
duringatrainingexercise
extinguishmentisthusacombinationof"asphy xia"(cuttingofftheoxy gen
supply ) and cooling. The flame itself is suppressed by asphy xia, but the
coolingisthemostimportantelementinmasteringafireinaclosedarea.

Water may be accessed from a pressurized fire hy drant, pumped from water sources such as lakes or riv ers,
deliv eredby tankertruck,ordroppedfromwaterbombers,whichareaircraftadaptedastankersforfightingforest
fires.Anarmoredv ehicle(firefightingtank)may beusedwhereaccesstotheareaisdifficult.

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Openairfire
Foroutdoorfires,theseatofthefireisspray edwithastraightspray :the
cooling effect immediately follows the "asphy xia" caused by v aporization
andreducesthefurtheramountofwaterrequired.Astraightspray isused
sothewaterarriv esmassiv ely totheseatofthefirebeforeitv aporizes.A
strong spray may also hav e a mechanical effect it can disperse the
combustibleproductandthusprev entthefirefromstartingagain.Spray is
alway s aimed at a surface or an object. For this reason, the strategy is Afirefightingaircraftdumpingwater
sometimescalledatwodimensionalor2Dattack. onaforestfireinSouthAfrica.

Anoutdoorfireisalway sfedwithair,andtherisktopeopleislimitedas
they canmov eaway fromit,exceptinthecaseofwildfiresorbushfireswherethey riskbeingeasily surroundedby
the flames. It might, howev er, be necessary to protect specific objects like houses or gas tanks against infrared
radiation,andthustouseadiffusedspray betweenthefireandtheobject.Breathingapparatusisoftenrequiredas
thereisstilltheriskofinhalingsmokeorpoisonousgases.

Closedvolumefire
Untilthe197 0s,fireswereusually attackedwhilethey declined,usingthe
same strategy as for open air fires. Now fires are attacked in their
dev elopment phase because firefighters arriv e sooner at the site of a fire
and because of changes in building construction. The increasing use of
thermal insulation confines the heat, and modern materials, especially
poly mers, produce much more heat than do traditional materials like
wood,plaster,stone,andbricks.Undertheseconditions,thereisagreater Iranianfirefightershadtoextinguish
riskofbackdraftandflashov er. thefireatBistoonPetrochemicals
Powerhouse
Directly spray ingtheseatofthefireinenclosedareascanhav eunfortunate
consequences: the force of water pushes air in front of it, which supplies
thefirewithextraoxy genbeforethewater.Themostimportantissueisnotcombatingtheflames,butcontrolling
thefireforexample,coolingthesmokesothatitcannotspreadandstartfiresfurtheraway ,andendangertheliv es
ofpeople,includingthefirefighters.

When a fire spreads bey ond the building of its origin and spreads throughout the neighborhood, it is called a
conflagration.Today ,aconflagrationisalargefirethatisbey ondthecapability ofthefireserv icetocontain. [21]

Thev olumeofthefiremustbecooledbeforeitsseatisattacked.Thisstrategy ,originally ofSwedishorigin(Mats

Rosander&KristerGiselsson),wasadaptedby LondonFireOfficerPaulGrimwoodfollowingadecadeofoperational
useinthebusy WestEndofLondonbetween1984and1994 [22]andtermedthethreedimensionalor3Dattack.

Useofadiffusespray wasfirstproposedby ChiefLloy dLay manoftheParkersburgFireDepartment,atthe1950Fire

Department Instructors Conference (FDIC) held in Memphis. Using Grimwood's modified 3D attack strategy , the
ceilingisfirstspray edwithshortpulsesofadiffusespray .Thiscoolsthesmokewhichisthenlesslikely tostartafire
whenitmov esaway .Asgascoolsitbecomesdenser(Charles'slaw)thus,italsoreducesthemobility ofthesmoke
and av oids a "backfire" of water v apor. Also, the diffuse spray creates an inert "water v apor sky ", which prev ents
"rollov er"(rollsofflamesontheceilingcreatedby hotburninggases).

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Only shortpulsesofwaterneedtobespray ed,otherwisethespray ingmodifiestheequilibrium,andthegasesmix

insteadofremainingstratified:thehotgases(initially attheceiling)mov earoundtheroom,andthetemperature
risesattheground,whichisdangerousforfirefighters.

An alternativ e is to cool all the atmosphere by spray ing the whole atmosphere as if drawing letters in the air
("penciling").

Modernmethodsforextinguishinganurbanfiredictatetheuseofamassiv einitialwaterflow,e.g.500L/min for

eachfirehose.Theaimistoabsorbasmuchheataspossibleatthebeginningtostoptheexpansionofthefireandto
reduce the smoke. If the flow is too low, the cooling is insufficient, and the steam that is produced can burn
firefighters(thedropofpressureistoosmallandthev aporispushedbackintheirdirection).

Althoughitmay seemparadoxical,theuseofastrongflowwithanefficientfirehoseandanefficientstrategy (diffuse

spray ,smalldroplets)requiresasmalleramountofwater.Thisisbecauseoncethetemperatureislowered,only a
limited amount of water is necessary to suppress the fire seat with a straight spray . For a liv ing room of 50 m2
(60sqy d),therequiredamountofwaterisestimatedas60L(15gal).

Frenchfirefightersusedanalternativ emethodinthe197 0s:spray ingwateronthehotwallstocreateawaterv apor

atmosphereandasphy xiatethefire.Thismethodisnolongerusedbecauseitturnedouttoberisky thepressure
createdpushedthehotgasesandv aportowardsthefirefighters,causingsev ereburns,andpushedthehotgasesinto
otherroomswherethey couldstartotherfires.

Asphyxiatingafire
Insomecases,theuseofwaterisundesirable.Thisisbecausesomechemicalproductsreactwithwatertoproduce
poisonousgases,orthey may ev enburnwhenthey comeintocontactwithwater(e.g.,sodium).Anotherproblemis
thatsomeproductsfloatonwater,suchashy drocarbons(gasoline,oil,andalcohol,etc.)aburninglay ercanthen
bespreadby thefire.Ifapressurizedfueltankisendangeredby fireitisnecessary toav oidheatshocksthatmay
damagethetankifitisspray edwithcoolingwatertheresultingdecompressionmightproduceaBLEVE.

Electricalfirescannotbeextinguishedwithwatersincethewatercouldactasaconductor.

Insuchcases,itisnecessary toasphy xiatethefire.Thiscanbedoneinav ariety ofway s.Chemicalproductswhich

reactwiththefuelcanbeusedtostopthecombustion.Alay erofwaterbasedfireretardantfoamcanbeappliedby
thefirehoseinordertoseparatetheoxy genintheairfromthefuel.carbondioxide,halon,orsodiumbicarbonate
canbeused.Inthecaseofv ery smallfiresandintheabsenceofotherextinguishingagents,cov eringtheflamewith
afireblanketcaneliminateoxy genflowtothefire.Asimpleandusually effectiv eway toputoutafireinastov etop
panistoputalidonthepanandleav eitthere.

Tacticalventilationorisolationofthefire
Oneofthemainrisksofafireisthesmokebecause,itcarriesheatandpoisonousgases,andobscuresv ision.Inthe
caseofafireinaclosedlocation(building),thefollowingtwodifferentstrategiesmay beused:isolationofthefireor
v entilation.

Paul Grimwood introduced the concept of tactical v entilation in the 1980s to encourage a better thoughtout
approachtothisaspectoffirefighting.FollowingworkwithWarringtonFireResearchConsultants(FRDG6/94)his
terminology and concepts were adopted officially by the UK fire serv ices, and are now referred to throughout
rev isedHomeOfficetrainingmanuals(199697 ).Grimwood'soriginaldefinitionofhis1991unifiedstrategy stated

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that,"tacticalventilationiseitherthev enting,orcontainment(isolation)actionsby onscenefirefighters,usedto

take control from the outset of a fire's burning regime, in an effort to gain tactical adv antage during interior
structuralfirefightingoperations."

Whenproperly used,v entilationimprov eslifesafety ,fireextinguishment,andproperty conserv ationby 'pulling'fire

away fromtrappedoccupantsandobjects.

Inmostcasesofstructuralfirefighting,a4x4footopeningiscutintotheroofdirectly ov erthefireroom.Thisallows
hot smoke and gases to escape through the opening, returning the conditions inside the room to normal. It is
importanttocoordinatethev entilationwithaninteriorfireattacksincetheopeningofav entilationholesupplies
more air, and thus oxy gen, to the fire. Ventilation may also "limit fire spread by channeling fire toward nearby
openingsandallowsfirefighterstosafely attackthefire"aswellaslimitsmoke,heat,andwaterdamage. [23]

Positiv epressurev entilation(PPV)consistsofusingafantocreateexcesspressureinapartofthebuilding.This

pressurepushesthesmokeandheatoutofthebuilding,andthusfacilitatesrescueandfirefightingoperations.Itis
necessary tohav eanexitforthesmoke,toknowthebuildinglay outwelltopredictwherethesmokewillgo,andto
ensure that the doors ensuring the v entilation remain open by wedging or propping them. The main risk of this
method is that it may accelerate the fire, or ev en create a flashov er for example, if the smoke and the heat
accumulateinadeadend.

Hy draulicv entilationistheprocessofdirectingastreamofwaterfromtheinsideofastructureoutthewindowusing
afogpattern. [16]Thiswilleffectiv ely pullsmokeoutofroom.Smokeejectorsmay alsobeusedforthispurpose.

CategorizingfiresintheUS
In the US, fires are sometimes categorized as "one alarm", "all hands", "two alarm", "three alarm" (or higher) fires.
Thereisnostandarddefinitionforwhatthismeansquantifiably though,italway sreferstothelev elofresponseby
the local authorities. In some cities, the numeric rating refers to the number of fire stations that hav e been
summoned to the fire. In others, it reflects the number of "dispatches" requesting additional personnel and
equipment. [24][25]

Alarmslev elsaregenerally usedtodefinethetiersoftheresponseastowhatresourcesaretobeused.Forexample,

a structure fire response draws the following equipment: four engine/pumper companies, one
truck/ladder/aerial/quint company , and one battalion chief unit. This is referred to as an Initial Alarm or Box
Alarm. A working fire request (for the same incident) would call for air/light units and chief officers/fireground
commanders(ifnotprov idedintheoriginaldispatch).ThissummarizestheresponsetoaFirstAlarmfire.Second
andsubsequentalarmscallfortwoenginecompaniesandonetruckcompany .

The reason behind the "Alarm" designation is so the Incident Commander does not hav e to list each apparatus
required.Hecansimply say ,"Giv emeasecondalarmhere",insteadof"Giv emeatruckcompany andtwoengine
companies" along with requesting where they should come from. Categorization of fires v aries among fire
departments.Asinglealarmforonedepartmentmay beasecondalarmforanother.Responsealway sdependson
thesizeofthefireandthedepartment.

Seealso
Glossaryoffirefightinglistoffirefightingtermsandacronyms,withdescriptions

GlossaryoffirefightingequipmentexpansionofGlossaryoffirefighting

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11/30/2017 FirefightingWikipedia

GlossaryofwildfiretermsexpansionofGlossaryoffirefighting
Indexoffirefightingarticlesalphabeticallistoffirefightingarticles
Listoffiredepartments
Outlineoffirefightingstructuredlistoffirefightingtopics,organizedbysubjectarea

References
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(https://books.google.com/books?id=wHEGcPZZmHwC&pg=PA54&lpg=PA54&dq=ancient+roman+fire+sale#v=onepage
&q=ancient%20roman%20fire%20sale&f=false).ISBN9780415224581.
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FireHistory.Retrieved21February2015.
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scue/special_operations.htm).fortlauderdale.gov.
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(http://www.jobmonkey.com/firefighting/schedule.html).jobmonkey.com.
11."Fire&RescueNSWAnnualReport2012/13".Fire.nsw.gov.au.
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healthandsafetyhandbook .com.au.Retrieved21February2015.
13.FireWardenCertificationClassesCityofHoustonhttp://houstontx.gov/fire/HFMO/highrisecert.html
14.EssentialsofFireFightingandFireDepartmentOperations5thEdition.2008.
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170683heatrelatedthreatstofirefightersandhowtofixthem/).FireRescue1.Retrieved20160616.
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Edition.CliftonPark,NY:DelmarPublishers,2004.
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1/0803firefighting_GavinHorn_BoFernhall.html).illinois.edu.Retrieved21February2015.
19.Hall,Richard.EssentialsofFireFighting.FourthEdition.Stillwater,OK:FireProtectionPublications,1998:
20."GeorgeMasonUniversityStudentsUseSoundtoPutOutFire"(http://www.msn.com/enus/video/wonder/georgemaso
nuniversitystudentsusesoundtoputoutfire/viAAa6qWQ).Retrieved30November2016.
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22."FirefighterCareerGuide"(http://www.firetactics.com/).FireTactics.RetrievedFebruary21,2015.
23.BernardKlaene.StructuralFirefighting:StrategiesandTactics.JonesandBartlettPublishers,2007.ISBN076375168
5,ISBN9780763751685

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11/30/2017 FirefightingWikipedia

24."WashingtonDCBusinessNewsBusiness,Money,Financial&CorporateNews"(https://web.archive.org/web/2007112
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Externallinks
CDCNIOSHFireFighterFatalityInvestigationandPreventionProgram(https://www.cdc.gov/niosh/fire/)

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