BOF FF1 Chapter 11*21 Structural Search and Rescue

Bump Test

Function check for an air monitor in which a gas that is meant to trigger the monitor's alarm is passed over the sensor(s) at the correct concentration and exposure time to trigger the alarm.

Bypass Valve

Valve on a self-contained breathing apparatus (SCBA) that when opened allows air to bypass its normal route through the regulator; used when a regulator malfunctions.

Calibration

Operations intended to standardize or adjust the values of quantities indicated by a measuring instrument.

Combustible Gas Indicator (CGI)

Electronic device that indicates the presence and explosive levels of combustible gases, as relayed from a combustible gas detector.

Freelance

To operate independently of the Incident Commander's command and control.

Incident Action Plan (IAP)

Written or unwritten plan for the disposition of an incident; contains the overall strategic goals, tactical objectives, and support requirements for a given operational period during an incident. All incidents require an action plan. On relatively small incidents, the IAP is usually not in writing; on larger, more complex incidents, a written IAP is created for each operational period and disseminated to all units assigned to the incident. When written, the plan may have a number of forms as attachments.

Instrument Reaction Time

Elapsed time between the movement (drawing in) of an air sample into a monitoring/detection device and the reading (analysis) provided to the user. Also known as Instrument Response Time.

Low-Pressure Alarm

Alarm that sounds when SCBA air supply is low, typically 33 percent.

MAYDAY

Internationally recognized distress signal.

Oriented-Search Method

Search method in which the team leader remains at a fixed point such as a door, wall, or hoseline while searching team members spread out through a room to complete a search. The team leader's role is to communicate with team members and guide them back to the entry point.

Personnel Accountability Report (PAR)

Roll call of all units (crews, teams, groups, companies, sectors) assigned to an incident. The supervisor of each unit reports the status of the personnel within the unit at that time, usually by radio. A PAR may be required by standard operating procedures at specific intervals during an incident, or may be requested at any time by the incident commander or the incident safety officer.

Point of No Return

Point at which air in the SCBA will last only long enough to exit a hazardous atmosphere.

Preincident Survey

Assessment of a facility or location made before an emergency occurs, in order to prepare for an appropriate emergency response.

Primary Search

Rapid but thorough search to determine the location of victims; performed either before or during fire suppression operations. May be conducted with or without a charged hoseline, depending on local policy.

Rapid Intervention Crew (RIC)

Two or more firefighters designated to perform firefighter rescue; they are stationed outside the hazard and must be standing by throughout the incident.

Rekindle

To reignite because of latent heat, sparks, or smoldering embers; rekindling can be prevented by proper overhaul.

Safe Haven

Any area that is no longer considered a hostile environment.

Safety Data Sheets (SDS)

Reference materials that provide information on chemicals that are used, produced, or stored at a facility. SDS forms identify specific hazards that are likely to be present at an incident. Also known as Material Safety Data Sheet (MSDS) or Product Safety Data Sheet (PSDS).

Secondary Search

Slow, thorough search to ensure that no occupants were overlooked during the primary search; conducted after the fire is under control by personnel who did not conduct the primary search.

Target Hazard

Facility where there is a great potential likelihood of life or property loss in the event of a fire, terrorist attack, or natural disaster.

Thermal Imager (TI)

Electronic device that forms images using infrared radiation.

VEIS Method

Stands for vent, enter, isolate, and search; search technique intended to provide a rapid search and isolation of an individual room accessed from the exterior; normally conducted in survivable areas of a structure where there is a credible report of a possible victim.

Wide-Area Search Method

Tactic that employs a dedicated search line to allow a large number of team members to search a large, open space inside a structure.

What conditions should be observed during search and rescue operations?

Location and extent of Fire, changes in heat level, changes in Fire Behavior, spread, and growth including signs of rapid fire development, Visibility levels and changes invisibility (more difficult to see/ less difficult to see), Changes to the neutral plane in the structure (smoke lowering forward/ Smoke Rising), Volume and behavior of smoke including color and any changes in color, number of known victims are occupants including possible locations, starting and available air Supply for yourself and your team, locations of Safe Havens and alternate exit routes, indicators of ceiling/Floor collapse such as ceiling burns throughs or sagging floors

What are some ways to overcome psychological effects of obscured vision conditions?

Remain calm, control your breathing, maintain your situational awareness, stay in contact with your partners, focus on your assigned task, and rely on your other senses including hearing and touch (to work with disorientation, fear, claustrophobia, panic)

What are some MAYDAY situations that you may face?

Air emergencies, lost/disoriented, entanglement, rapid fire development, collapse/trapped

What are the three key principles of air management?

Always know how much air you have left/ monitor your remote air cylinder gauge and end of surface time indicator (EOSTI), know your point of no return, inform the IC if you must exit the structure

How can you become familiar with a building floor plan?

Inspections, pre-incident surveys, architectural plans, or personal observation

List advantages and disadvantages of thermal imagers (TIs)

Advantages include enhancing situational awareness, enhancing visual perception of the various thermal signatures in an obscured environment, provides additional information during search, maybe useful in locating victims, the seat of the fire, or hidden fires; disadvantages include detecting a person under or behind furniture or on opposite side of a wall, see-through water, glass, or other reflective services, and detecting a fire in the next lower floor through a carpeted floor

What are some search safety guidelines to remember?

Do not enter a structure for survivors are not likely to be found/ if you observe conditions that indicate a lack of survivors report them to your supervisor, if you encounter a fire in a room/close the door and report the condition, search systematically to increase efficiency and reduce the possibility of becoming disoriented, where visibility is limited stay low and move cautiously, continuously monitor the structures integrity and communicate any changes in conditions, mark entry doors into rooms and remember the direction you turned when entering/ To exit the building, turn in the opposite direction when leaving the room, when visibility is obscured/ maintained contact with a wall, hose line, or search line, have a staffed/charged hose line available when walking into the fire floor or the floors immediately above or below the fire/the hose line can be used for fire suppression, crew protection, and indicating the path out of the structure, coordinate with the IC and ventilation teams before creating any exterior openings in the structure (door, windows, breaches), inform your supervisor immediately of any rooms or room that cannot be searched, and report promptly to supervisor once the search is complete

What is the first priority before any search at a structural fire?

Ensuring that the fire does not spread Beyond the compartment of origin

How should an oriented-search method be conducted?

The team leader remains anchored at the door, wall, or hose line, while other team members spread out through the room to complete the search, After the search is complete, the searchers return to the anchored team leader and proceed to the next room

When might the wide-area search method be used?

To conduct a primary search of a large or complex area that is filled with smoke

When might the VEIS search method be an appropriate search technique?

When there is a credible report of possible victims in survivable areas of a structure

What is the difference between a primary search and secondary search?

A primary search is intended to rapidly determine the location of victims - it should be fast but thorough and maybe performed either before or during a fire suppression operation; A secondary search is a slow, thorough search conducted after the fire is under control - ensuring that no occupants were overlooked during the primary search (but, just as systematic as primary)

When would sheltering in place for victims be an appropriate method to use in a structural incident?

the hazard is minor, it is safer to keep the victims inside the structure, victims are incapacitated and cannot be moved, there is limited staffing to assist with evacuation, and the structure can provide a protective barrier between the victim and the hazard

What are some types of carries and drags for victim removal?

Incline drag, extremities lift/carry, webbing drag, cradle in arms lift/carry, seat lift/carry, litter carry

Describe the steps for transmitting a MAYDAY

All radio traffic seizes and only traffic relating to the Mayday is allowed, the IC will determine which activities will be delayed or redirected to assist with searching for the firefighter who has broadcasted the Mayday, the rapid intervention crew (RIC) is dispatched to locate the downed firefighter

What are some actions you can take to improve survivability during rescue operations?

Staying low to the floor, using your hose stream for protection, closing doors between you and the fire, using tools to shore building material, and filtering toxic air

What are maneuvers and methods for escaping to a safe haven?

Teamwork - If your team is intact, follow your hose line or search line to your original point of entry to escape as a unit/ If you are separated from your team, follow the hose line, search line, or a wall in the direction from which you can't, Use a duck walk or a low profile maneuver during your escape, To search for an exit locate a wall and crawl along it, If you are on an upper floor, find out if there is an aerial or ground ladder at or near the window, Breaching an interior wall may give you access to a safe haven or room from which you can safely exit the building, to breach a wall remain low and use your forcible entry tool to make an opening

What steps are taken by a rapid intervention crew once a downed firefighter is located?

The RIC should check his or her air supply, may need to connect a full replacement cylinder, deactivate the PASS device and confirm or determine the firefighters identity, RIC notifies command of the firefighter's location and status, if trapped or injured - assistance will be requested, while waiting for help to arrive the team will mitigate hazards that threaten the down firefighters safety, if necessary - may move the firefighter to a safe haven (in most cases the IDLH atmosphere takes priority over stabilization of the FF injuries (if the firefighter has a functioning SCBA the team must move the firefighter carefully so as not to dislodge the mask/ if the firefighter does not have a functioning SCBA the team must either connect the firefighters face piece to the functioning scba or quickly remove the firefighter from the hazardous atmosphere)

What situations may require air monitoring?

to determine whether the atmosphere at an incident is safe, for numerous situations - identify whether gas leaks of natural gas/propane/carbon monoxide caused the emergency, monitoring and identifying any gaseous or hazardouse materials, based upon the materials at the scene, trench or confined spaces

Describe general atmospheric hazards that may be found at a rescue incident

Oxygen enrichment or deficiency, flammability (based on the gases lower explosive limit using a combustible gas indicator), and toxicity (measured in parts per million of a toxic gas)

What are some guidelines for staying safe during air monitoring procedures?

Maintain communication with safety officer or IC, understand the limitations of the instruments and detection devices - follow manufacturers instructions for collaboration and usage, remove any damage devices from service immediately, it may no longer be intrinsically safe and may provide false readings, be consistent and always wear your appropriate PPE and respiratory protection, work with a buddy and always have a backup team waiting in it appropriate PPE and respiratory protection, approach the hazard from upwind, pay particularly attentionToo low lying grass areas, confined spaces, and containers where vapors and gases will likely concentrate, move slowly making allowances for instruments with various reaction times, monitor for vapors and gases at ground level, waist level, and above the head, and follow local record protocols and SOP's in the event and alarm sounds or a hazard material is detected