In January 2022, two historically significant loss of life fires occurred in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and the Bronx, New York. These tragic fires remind us of the importance of having an adequately staffed fire department for the population and density it is responsible for protecting. The loss of human life in both events was huge, and we must acknowledge that fact. However, we must also admit that the loss of life would have been much more significant if not for the aggressive culture these two sizable urban fire departments have carried on for decades.

2022 is the Time to Update Your Search & Extinguishment Culture

For the remaining months of 2022, the American Fire Service has an opportunity to make a monumental impact in the lives of the civilians we willingly swore to protect. Our 2022 challenge is to reduce civilian fire fatalities across the United States of America below 2000. The keystone to increasing civilian survival is updating or changing cultural norms within and across the fire service.

A little over ten years ago, some in the American Fire Service prioritized their own lives over the lives of civilians, steering a cultural shift away from placing civilians first, a violation of our fundamental beliefs. However, groups of passionate firefighters challenged this belief and challenged the fire service to shift the pendulum towards them, the civilians that always have been and always will be our priority.

One example of a cultural fire service change is our search culture. There was a time when some fire departments did not perform searches or even consider using a tactic known as Vent Enter Search (VES). Now we see fire departments of all sizes, regardless of staffing, from urban to rural, utilizing this tactic. They are now making successful grabs based on a cultural shift towards the citizens being a priority. Many of the grabs documented in the last year would not have happened a decade ago.

With research from groups such as the Firefighter Rescue Survey and Underwriters Laboratories Fire Service Research Institute, the resulting data backs up what our historic, highly experienced urban fire departments have done for years with great success. This success of saving civilian lives from a fire has pushed Philadelphia and the FDNY’s culture to continue as aggressive search organizations.

In 2022 We Shall Place People Before Water

Putting people before water is the next cultural change needed to spread across the fire service to reduce fire deaths below 2000. In 2022 we must commit as a fire service to rapidly placing enough firefighters at the fire scene to begin fire attack and primary search concurrently with separate crews. Water saves lives, and water on the fire does improve victim survivability. However, water cannot physically remove a trapped occupant from an environment filled with superheated gasses and the products of combustion; it requires more firefighters on the scene rapidly for our people.

People before water is all about them, the civilians. There are two ways to achieve the new cultural shift. The preferred method is placing six firefighters on the scene in six minutes or eight firefighters on the scene in eight minutes. Regardless of the specific method chosen by your agency, the goal is to have those firefighters operationally engaged in the shortest amount of time to complete fire attack and search operations in a residential dwelling.

Fire apparatus designed with a booster tank holds the water needed to initiate a rapid attack. Therefore, we must get water on the fire and remove trapped occupants more quickly than ever before based on the heat release rate of modern fuel packages and products of combustion. How long can your engine company operate on the water from their booster tank and the booster tank of the next arriving unit with an onboard water supply when flowing at a residential fire flow rate of 150 GPM or 2.5 Gallons Per Second?

A sustainable continuous water supply is vital for the overall fireground but not more important than a trapped occupant that could be trapped in a survivable location waiting for rescue. We have to be using water to need water from a hydrant.