The things I learn at FDIC

Scott Nacheman is a Long Island volunteer firefighter who ended up as a engineer/Vice President at Thornton Tomasetti:

Scott Nacheman’s diverse professional experience includes the investigation and repair of existing buildings in addition to the restoration of contemporary and historic structures. He is involved in many facets of emergency response and structural stabilization efforts.

Scott Nacheman  (photo by Larry Shapiro)

Scott coordinates the firm’s Property Loss Consulting Practice within the Midwestern region. These services include response and condition assessment of damage caused by hurricanes, tornados, structural collapses, building envelope and curtain wall failures, fires, and a variety of common and complex property loss scenarios.

His proficiency in fire-safety design and post-incident investigations builds on his 15 years of experience as a firefighter, fire lieutenant and instructor in New York and Illinois. He serves as a Structures Specialist with Illinois Urban Search and Rescue (US&R) Task Force 1 as well as DHS/FEMA US&R IN-TF1 and serves on the DHS/FEMA IST incident management team. He is a Certified Fire and Explosion Investigator.

more bio HERE

His presentation on Friday morning at FDIC was fantastic.  Some of my twitter notes:

• load path
• most new commercial structures have 2 to 3 different structural systems in place
• fiberglass framing
• light gauge steel framing
• nanomaterials
• self-consolidating concrete
• concrete formwork failure
• osb / eps sandwich … structural insulated panels. … ultra-airtight … mold degrade structure … high heat retention during fire
• modular construction … much smaller labor force …. less robust / stability than a frame system
• doubleskin facade … new balloon type structures … LEED friendly.
• Green roofs are much heavier … snow load? retrofit performance
• above ground MRI facilities / healthcare
• delayed finishing … incomplete construction with 2-4 year delay in completion … condition of components
• precast concrete … gravity & friction holding things together …. often overloaded from initial design

The codes are not keeping up with the built environment.

Mike "FossilMedic" Ward

Five years ago today

Last night Dave Statter shared his experience about the 2007 line-of-duty death of Technician I Kyle Wilson in Prince Wiliam County. (Dave's article HERE). Dave is concerned that the Virginia Tech massacre overshadowed the tragedy at 15492 Marsh Overlook Drive.

The after-action analysis and discussions were painful, emotional and worthwhile. I closely followed the process and spoke to with many of the participants. They are my friends and colleagues.

My "bully pulpit" is a textbook that is used by many for their Fire Officer I and II training.

In Chapter 16, "Fire Attack" this is how the section on Smoke, Wind, Size and Fire Flow looks in the second edition (2010).

Let's start the Fire Department Instructor's Conference week with an in-station drill on one of these topics:

• Burning Type V residential structure behavior in high wind conditions
• Determining initial attack fire flow in high wind conditions
• Austere crew (thin staffed) fire attack procedures
• Why the NFPA 1710 single family dwelling does not match your first due (you can find an analysis starting on page 188 of the Prince William report.)

NIOSH LODD report

Fire departments should develop SOP’s for incidents with high-wind conditions including defensive attack if necessary. Weather can be considered as critically important when at the extreme, and relatively unimportant during normal conditions.

Wind has a strong effect on fire behavior which includes supplying oxygen, reducing fuel moisture, and exerting physical pressure to move the fire and heat. Wildland fire fighters are very familiar with these effects of wind on the rate at which fire spreads.

According to Dunn, “When the exterior wind velocity is in excess of 30 miles per hour, the chances of conflagration are great; however, against such forceful winds, the chances of successful advance of an initial hose line attack on a structure fire are diminished. The firefighters won’t be able to make forward hoseline progress because the flame and heat, under the wind’s additional force, will blow into the path of advancement.

Fire fighters should change their strategy when encountering high wind conditions. An SOP should be developed to include obtaining the wind speed and direction, and guidelines established for possible scenarios associated with the wind speed and the possible fuel available, similar to that in wildland fire fighting. When the interior attack line has little or no effect on the fire, the line should be withdrawn and a second hoseline should be advanced on the upwind side of the fire. This method may require the use of an aerial ladder or portable ladder, if safety permits.

Prince William County report  (385 pages)

The major factors in the line of duty death of Technician I Wilson were determined to be:
• The initial arriving fire suppression force size.
• The size up of fire development and spread.
• The impact of high winds on fire development and spread.
• The large structure size and lightweight construction and materials.
• The rapid intervention and firefighter rescue efforts.
• The incident control and management.

Thanks to Dave Statter for making an important observation.

Mike "FossilMedic" Ward

The Scrutiny Never Stops

About 600 members are attending the International Association of Firefighters Alfred K. Whitehead Legislative Conference in Washington DC this week.

Part of the agenda this afternoon was "Fighting Back and the State and Federal Level"

Today, Carl Campanile of the New York Post has an "exclusive" article about a what a disabled city firefighter is up to:

‘Disabled’ FDNYer with $95K pension now a NASCAR rescuer

Cliff Stabner, a 55-year-old city firefighter who retired in 2003 with a three-quarter disability pension of $95,000 annually, has surfaced as a member of the fire rescue team responding to crashes at Dover International Speedway in Delaware.

photo by Lou Angeli used with permission

The Post has obtained photos of Stabner wearing an orange jumpsuit and a helmet and standing next to a rescue vehicle at Dover’s “Monster Mile’’ track.

Stabner also is a fire captain in his quaint new hometown of Lewes, Del.

Real and imagined issues

Like take-home cars (Miami-Dade, Fairfax), and on-duty shopping at a grocery store (Boston), almost every task or situation is subject to scrutiny and instant analysis.

It is not just fire, last month the Sun-Sentinel completed a three-month investigation on speeding police cruisers in Florida:

The Sun Sentinel uncovered the answers by digging into the officers' toll records. The findings:

• 793 transponders assigned to police agencies from Miami-Dade to Palm Beach counties showed evidence of speeding — and habitual speeding by some officers.
• One out of five police cars hit speeds above 90 mph.
• Total high-speed incidents: 5,100 in a 13-month period.
• Most of the high speeds — 96 percent — were between 90 and 110 mph.

Cops among Florida's worst speeders, Sun Sentinel investigation finds

Municipal life in the digital age.

Mike "FossilMedic" Ward

Kicking Off Tuesday Morning's Activities

LORENZO ABUNDIZ, PRESIDENT OF CODE 3 FOR A CURE, rang the opening bell for the NASDAQ financial trading session on Tuesday December 27.

The bell sounds and the light comes on as Lorenzo Abundiz (center)
throws the switch to begin the day's trading activity.  (NASDAQ photo)

Firegeezer readers may recall our coverage last year of the annual mission as Lorenzo drove the Sutphen fire engine across the country visiting firehouses and bringing firefighter cancer issues to the front line.

The Code 3 for a Cure Foundation conducts an Annual Mission of Hope and Honor in which a team of firefighter/cancer survivors drive a fire engine across America to share their personal cancer experiences and to encourage early cancer screenings among firefighters and the general public. The fire engine carries a memorial fire bell on an empty seat that signifies the loss of a firefighter to cancer. The names of fallen firefighters are collected from various fire departments throughout the journey, and at the completion of the Mission a memorial fire bell service is conducted at the Los Angeles Fire Department.

Code 3 for a Cure also grants the requests of terminally ill firefighters who want to ride on the fire engine one more time to encourage fellow firefighters to stay alert of the warning signs of cancer. A main goal of the Foundation is to provide financial relief to firefighters diagnosed with cancer who are facing a financial hardship. You can read about cancer's effect effect on firefighters on the Foundation's website, www.code3foracure.org/stats.html.

Firegeezer is planning to provide coverage again for the 2012 mission.  The Geezerguys were able to meet Lorenzo and see his presentation on this year's tour and we can tell you that it is a marvelous job he is doing.

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As tweeted by @Boston_FF_L29

UPDATE (6:33 am):

Pictures tweeted by @ProvFireVideos

Sad morning.

Incident timeline by @BOSTON_FF_L29

BOSTON & Needham, Ma., USA Boston Ma.Firefighter (L29). Tweeting Local, National Fire News & MY Opinions, NOT those of L29, L718 or Boston Fire. For Wx tweets follow me @L29_SNEWeather

BOSTON_FF_L29 Normally I would have gone to sleep, but this fire seemed different from the start…and got worse by the minute (7:15)

Pictures posted by Matthew Gregoire, Providence Fire Videos, @ProvFireVideos

Thanks to James for catching our headline typo.

STATter911 with additional video and media reports

Fox 25: Worcester firefighter dies in blaze (live helicopter feed ended)

ABC 5: Massive Blaze Destroys Apartment House

Mike "FossilMedic" Ward

The coupe get plastic surgery

Accord coupe rear ends are big … and attractive. For the second time someone was compelled to kiss the rear bumper of my mid-life "crisis" car.

Not as exciting as the first one in 2009: Examining a Reputation Backpack, (right photo – car at the front of the line) the 2011 bump did more damage.

The latest collision occured while I was leaving the city on the way to the latest adventure in geriatric care. Not great timing!

It was during the "unspecified but credible" terror alert for Washington DC and New York City just before September 11th. After 25 minutes I decided a police report was not needed and left the scene.

Things keep hitting me

My last vehicle was a bright blue SUV that attracted two deer.

When the Saturn still smelled new it was involved in a Christmas Eve deer-vehicle crash (DVC) at 60+ miles an hour in southwest Virginia. A lasting reminder of the incident was when water would drip on my shoulder during heavy downpours. Never did get the door "plumb."

About a year later, in a rainstorm, a deer hits the left front corner as I was leaving the community college.  Much lower speed, the deer runs away. I have to go to a car wash to get all of the deer fuzz off the car.

I planned to buy another small SUV or diesel sedan. When I saw the silver coupe, 6-speed manual transmission, V-6, leather, advanced electronics … could not resist … it was similar to the "poor man's BMW" I bought in 1978.

It looks like all the other cars

Sandy pointed out that the coupe looked like all the other silver and grey blobs on the road.

Sleepily standing in the dimly-lit Parking Garage A at Reagan National Airport at 1 am, I realize she is correct.  All I see are round blobs in various shades of bland.

Maybe I need to get the rear wrapped in NFPA 1901 (2009) Standard for Automotive Fire Apparatus compliant reflective chevrons.

How about deer whistles on the front bumper.

Mike "FossilMedic" Ward

When Wagon Drivers Ruled the World

Long before GPS and Google Earth, Wagon Drivers held the secrets of quick response.

In my department they were the informal leaders of the fire station. They sweated the details and enforced the rules.

Woe be it to the the firefighter driving the pumper while the Wagon Driver had to cover as the acting fire officer. You could never be smooth enough.

From 4th expected to 2nd arriving

Part of their sweating was refining the details of a response route.  This residential road, off a main highway, held value to one group of Wagon Drivers 

To get to the far northeast corner of the fire company's box alarm district, the engine should be proceeding east on the highway another eigth of a mile to a major intersection.

Turn north and proceed up another highway that arcs west. Then turn east on a primary road.

Following those directions, the 3rd due engine would often be 4th arriving due to traffic and topography.

Cutting up this residential road would consistently result in arriving second to the box alarm.

It was more than the straighter road. The intersection was wide with excellent line-of-site. At the top of a hill.

Much easier to turn north here than down the hill at the major traffic-light controlled intersection.

The other side of the cut-through was also better, coming down a slight hill allowed drivers on the primary road to see the pumper sooner. You were turning on the primary road that took you to the incident.

Shaved more than a minute during rush hour responses. 

The cut through is not as valuable now, the maximim width 2010 pumper restricts manuverability. The cut through was great with narrow 1970 era rigs.

21st Century Wagon Drivers

A colleague from a large city was lamenting the over-reliance on technology. The city used map books that were created at each fire station. Each rig has a set of maps covering their box alarm district.

He noticed that the ambulance was taking longer to get out on dispatches. The rookies were entering the dispatch address into their smartphone and could not leave the station until the phone processed the address.

The kids said it took too long to look the address up in the map books. My colleague responded by increasing the number of street drills for the younger firefighters.

There are situations where technology makes a big difference:

Chicago Fire Department placed GPS devices on all of their front-line and reserve ambulances. Each device pre-loaded hospitals and fire stations into the database. They have prepared additional GPS units that are provided to EMS units that are coming into the city to assist with special event standbys.

How do newer members learn your response district?

Mike "FossilMedic" Ward

International Debut on Firegeezer

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Firegeezer notes:  In February we posted the announcement HERE that Franck Gaviot-Blanc, a fire research scientist in France who specializes in advanced research into fire behavior and extinguishment methodology, has invented a revolutionary new nozzle that is designed to suppress "flashover" conditions in a fire building and protect the firefighters inside from the deadly effects of the flashover.  This is done by creating an engineered fog pattern designed to suppress and cool the fire gasses that are waiting for ignition and flashover.

Franck Gaviot-Blanc

This new nozzle is ready for the market now and it will be introduced tomorrow (Thursday) at the 3-day annual National Congress of Firefighters in Nantes, France (similar to the Fire Rescue International in the U. S.).  Franck has chosen Firegeezer.com to publish the details of the nozzle today, one day early, as the official international announcement.  Our European correspondent Laurence Delorme "Fireball" interviewed Franck Gaviot-Blanc about his new design and is posted here.

Update, October 14:  Technical video added.  Scroll down to end.

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Introducing the "Optimal Nozzle"

Fireball:  1. Why did you give it this name, Optimal Nozzle?

FGB: I wanted to give a short name to this nozzle but I also wanted to point out the term optimal related to this nozzle because of its ergonomics. With its shape of a pistol, this nozzle can be used easily with your 2 hands and the fact that there is no drain, this reduces the number of handlings. You will make fewer mistakes when you operate with this nozzle, especially when you will have to operate in the dark or in a building with a lot of smoke. The way the water is delivered, each setting has been built/designed to reach one goal, to get an optimal water delivery (flow rate) where you can fight fire or cool gasses. The training to use this nozzle is very short, just 1 minute for each probie or firefighter.

2. For what kind of fires will you use this nozzle?

FGB: this nozzle will be mainly used to attack what we call "under-ventilated" fires. (flashover conditions.)  Let me give you some examples or scenario of a structure fire:

First scenario: I arrive at the structure fire and there are flames coming out of the windows of the structure.

Second scenario: I arrive and there is smoke and very few flames. I go inside the burning building and i do the vent-enter-search where there is a lot of smoke around me. Finally I find the seat of the fire which is not very intense or strong and i stop this fire.

Third scenario: I arrive at the firescene, there is smoke and nearly no visible flames. I go inside the building and i do V-E-S with a lot of smoke, and while i'm inside the building blazes up. The seat of the fire will become very large.

In the first scenario, most of the time the fire is large,strong, and the thermal radiance of the flames hamper the firefighters. They will have to use many nozzles from outside with a flow rate of 500liters/per minute for each nozzle. The Optimal nozzle has been designed for the scenarii 2 and 3. This means that when firefighters have to go inside a burning building and operate a nozzle, they will have to cool gasses around them. 

3. How long did it take to you to design this nozzle?

FGB: I have asked my boss IFPEN to begin work on this project in June 2006. From June 2006 to February 2007 I have tried to find an industrial partner which could help me to create this nozzle and to sell it. A partnership was signed in June 2007 and a patent was registered. I'm the inventer, but the patent belongs to my boss, IFPEN. Many tests have been done,and the nozzle will be on the market at the end of this month, September 2011. It took me 6 years to realize my project from my first idea of this nozzle to today, where we have the final product, a fog nozzle for under-ventilated fires.

4. Will the nozzle will be sold on the European market only?

FGB: The nozzle will be sold by 2 different companies. One, Gallin, will be in charge of the distribution in France, and the other company, Pok will sell it in the other countries including North America.

5. Why did you create this nozzle?

FGB: In France, calls for fire are not numerous in the fire service. They represent 10% of the activity of a French firefighter. Less than 1% of the structure fires need to have firefighters inside the burning building. It is extremely rare that you have firefighters who need to operate inside the burning building. But when that happens, these fires are very dangerous and it is always hard to deal with them. You have firefighters inside the building and the fire spreads very quickly.

Most of the nozzles that we use nowadays have not been designed for interior operations. To fight fire inside the building, those nozzles have been designed by people who just tried to adjust their nozzles to work inside burning buildings, so a lot of mistakes happen. Too many possibilities concerning the adjustment for the firefighter on his nozzle when he wants to fight a fire inside.

There is a lack of training concerning nozzles and a lack of time too. The nozzles have a lot of possibilities/options, and the firefighters do not have enough time to learn to use them correctly. I really think that technology could make life easier for the firefighters and not more difficult.

6. Give us some details about this nozzle.

FGB: This fog nozzle has only 2 flow rates, one for each setting. The flow rate of the peripheric setting (made of 4 holes) and which allows you to fight fires or to make long pulse is 250 liters per minute up to 6 bars (pressure) for an angle of 25 degrees.

Fire suppression setting

The flow rate of the central setting which allows you to make short pulses for gas cooling, or produce a fog pattern is 95 liters per minute at an angle of 55 degrees.

Gasses cooling setting

The nozzleman can easily switch from one mode to the other by turning the adjuster at the end of the nozzle. (Like the way American nozzles adjust their patterns….ed.)

The optimal nozzle can flush itself. In the European standards, when you have nozzles with a flow rate which can reach 250 liters per minute, they have to flush themselves.

7. What are the advantages of this nozzle?

FGB: a) easy to use. b) time of training is very short when you want to learn to use it. c) self-flushes itself. d) optimal efficiency.

Thank you, Franck.

National Congress of Firefighters (CSPNA)  WEBSITE.

Update, October 14:
The technical video that was presented at the congress is now presented here:

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A brilliant and terrible Tuesday morning

Fourteen months into retirement I am teaching a Fire Officer II class at the Reagan National Airport fire station. The classroom is also their kitchen. The kitchen has a television.

The acting battalion chief steps in, apologizes for the interruption, and turns the television on. 

Good Morning America (ABC) is covering the breaking news of a plane that has hit the World Trade Center.

As the news camera focuses on the entry hole, many of the experienced air-crash-rescue guys are speculating on what type of plane hit the tower and the issues facing FDNY.

After a dozen minutes I try to restart the class. Agree to leave the television on with the sound turned down. I get one or two sentences out when we see the second plane hitting the tower.

Class over!

You do not need a Formal Announcement to Mobilize

As FDNY Firefighter James Hanlon (Ladder 1) points out in the opening of the Naudet Brothers documentary 9|11:

… there were days we would go to the Trade Center five times in a single shift. My point is, we knew those towers as well as anybody. But nobody, nobody, expected September 11th.

When the civilian editors of Fire-Rescue Magazine and Journal of EMS were vetting my article, Attack on the Pentagon: The Initial Fire and EMS Response (April 2002 issue), they struggled with the concept that hundreds of emergency responders initiated action without receiving a formal notification.

The Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority Fire Department never expected a 757 to be used as an assault weapon against the Pentagon. When the second plane struck in New York, the dozen off-duty members attending the Fire Officer class joined the 16 on-duty members preparing for the unknown.

They were not alone.

Most of the senior staff and urban search and rescue commanders in my department started purposeful action when they heard of the second plane in New York City. The information came through radio and television, informal digital networks and word-of-mouth.

Rapidly deploying 72 USAR members and 75 tons of equipment

It takes dedicated action by dozens of staff, support and non-USAR firefighters to make a deployment happen.

A point of pride is the ability to assemble the team well within the response deadline for domestic and international response. A deployment represents an administrative five alarm event.

A small role I had while assigned as a company officer at the Fire and Rescue Academy was to respond from home to get the facility unlocked on evenings, weekends and holidays. The Academy, with six classrooms and a large training bay, is the point of staging and assembly for the team.

Far from high tech. The tasks included moving apparatus out of the bay, properly configuring the "quad" – a large space with movable walls to create smaller class spaces, and powering up the facility.

Have to do Something

Ten years ago I also had a part-time job as a civilian Fire Instructor III at the Fire and Rescue Academy.

American Airlines Flight 77 struck the Pentagon shortly after I left the airport.

I was stunned. What could I do? No fire gear in the car, not in uniform, my "retired" fire department ID card did not provide KardKey access to headquarters or communications.

Headed for the Academy. Maybe they are assembling a fire crew with Engine 407.  I was at the Academy in 1982 when we loaded up a Suburban with EMS gear and responded in near-blizzard conditions to the Air Florida 90 crash at the 14th Street bridge.

Not this time. All of the on-duty uniformed staff are away, either responding to the Pentagon or the anticipated USAR deployment. None of the remaining staff experienced a USAR deployment. 

I looked up in time to see the South Tower collapse on live TV. 

Purposeful Action – Setting the Academy for USAR deployment

No more wondering what to do.

Without asking for authorization, started moving academy apparatus out of the high bay building and up the hill. Configured the quad. Tried to set up the communications equipment, but no one had the key to the cabinet.

Before the 11 am official federal mobilization notice, the academy was ready …

… and I was on my way home, satisfied that I did something worthwhile in reaction to the unthinkable.

An Inherent Orientation to Action

Emergency service folks are hard-wired to take action.

To validate the impact of our Citizen CPR program we tried to identify the background of every person who performed CPR prior to the arrival of the department. More than half of the citizen responders were off-duty or former police, fire, ems and health care staff. 

The same orientation that motivated Jeff Simpson, a Dumfries-Triangle Rescue Squad volunteer EMT who was near the World Trade Center. 

From the National EMS Memorial:

"I have no doubt whatsoever that, while I was stricken with disbelief and inaction, Jeff was figuring how he could help.

It was clear in the few minutes we were in the plaza that thousands of people had and would continue to be injured. There were many police, fire and EMS squads arriving at the scene and it was toward these and the injured that Jeff was headed the last time I saw him.

Frankly, there was no other reason for him to go towards the World Trade Center. His hotel, work site and safety were in the opposite direction.

With the second plane hitting the tower, Jeff would have been thinking about the increased number of casualties. I believe Jeff was caught in the collapse of the towers.

I do not know if he was inside the towers or working at one of the triage stations that had been set up close to the towers. In either case, he was doing what he was trained to do and spent his final hours helping the victims," stated Joseph T. Finnegan.

Mike "FossilMedic" Ward

Earlier 9/11 essays:

2011: Remembering 41 EMS responders who died at WTC, including a hero from Prince William County, Virginia

2010: A Terrible and Brilliant Blue Sky Morning

2008: Reprint "The Anger Never Dies"

Why Air Bags Are Beneficial – #41

THE OKLAHOMA COUNTY, OKLA., SHERIFF'S OFFICE has released this dash-cam video taken from a deputy's cruiser. 

It shows a head-on collision between a deputy's cruiser and an SUV traveling the wrong way in south Oklahoma City. The deputy suffered minor injuries. His K-9 deputy "Boze" was not seriously injured.(CBS News).

via Washington Post.

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