by Robert J. Maloney
“If you don’t tell the fire where to go, it will tell you,” Chris Pepler declared at the Tuesday afternoon workshop, “Modern Fire Attack Principles: Strategic and Tactical Perspectives.” A deputy chief with the Torrington (CT) Fire Department, Pepler emphasized that uncoordinated ventilation can turned a manageable fire into a disaster. Several videos shown demonstrated that “ventilation without a plan” can spread fire to uninvolved areas of the structure. Controlling doors is also essential to containing the fire, he said, because an open door may provide a flow path for fire and smoke.
Pepler reviewed the impact of NIST and UL fire research on firefighting, which challenges some traditional strategy and tactics assumptions.
For example, a traditional method of attacking fire in an attached garage might involve entering from the house. But opening the interior door to that garage provides a flow path for heat and smoke into the uninvolved areas of the home. He recommended if possible to hit the garage fire from the exterior with a deck gun or other large stream.
外部攻击也可能通过地下室窗口be effective in attacking a basement fire, instead of descending the basement stairs, which may be already compromised.
Pepler emphasized the importance of knowing the relationships among pressure, hose size, friction loss, and nozzle type to achieve the appropriate gallons per minute flow rate for fire attack. A 2½-inch line may provide plenty of water for an exterior attack, but it is not as maneuverable as a 1¾-inch line, which is more appropriate for interior attack.
Although protecting exposures is important, he said, if you can knock down the fire quickly, the threat to the exposures disappears.
Pepler has attended has attended FDIC for about 11 years now, and has presented at the last four conferences. He took workshops with Frank Brannigan and John Norman. “I looked at instructors such as the “Professor” and Norman like some people would look at a rock star or movie star. At that point, I set my goal to be a fire service professional and dreamed of a day when I would have my own workshop.”
