T R A I N I N G B U L L E T I N

The Power of 1 ¾” Attack Line

Primary takeaway:

• The main body of this fire was effectively knocked down with a 1 ¾” attack line.

• Appropriately applied water, quickly and efficiently positioned, has considerable knock-down power

• They flowed for approx. 1 minute, 13 seconds. With a target flow of 150, this is less than 200 gallons of water

Firefighter takeaways

• You have PPE — eliminate the distance between yourself and the fire once you start flowing. Your water’s doing more for you if you’re spraying the garden hose right above the campfire than if you’re 30 feet away. Same deal here.

• Excel at deploying hose. Train until you do.

• Hit the seat of the fire first, then the exposures. Know if you’re hitting the seat of the fire.

Engineer takeaways

• As soon as your crews ask for the line to be charged, charge it. Those seconds matter.

• Still focus on securing a water supply, but know you have time. Tank water gives us time and a great start.

Command officer takeaways

• Remember, “What do I have?”

  • Primarily a garage fire with exterior extension

• “Where is it going?”

  • Likely extension to the attic

  • Probably not much extension into Division 1 (where you walk in) or Division 2 unless we had window failure, but certainly needs to be checked.

  • Get crews to each floor to check for extension.

  • Check lower floors first to be sure not to commit crews above unchecked fire

• “What do I need?”

  • In this instance, they assigned one hose line and one special service (ladder or rescue) to Division 1 and Division 2

  • Multifamily — need to check for horizontal extension, too. Get crews in the neighboring occupancies early

  • Extra resources early; you can always cancel them.