SAFE Fireground: Stretching

A couple months ago we discussed the fact that fast fires need fast water and introduced the concept of SAFE training (Stretch, Advance, Flow, Extinguish). The basics still work, and a SAFE training ground inevitably leads to a safe fireground, for both firefighters and civilians. SAFE training focuses on the most fundamental tool we have, handlines. This month we’re going to deconstruct SAFE and take a closer look at stretching the initial attack line, specifically, stretching an extended line. While there are MANY different ways of extending a line, what matters is that you train on them and everyone is on the same page when the tones drop. That means that we’re all speaking the same language and working from the same playbook. Below are a handful of training topics to consider when examining your stretching skills. Stretching: - Choosing the correct line (1¾“ vs 2 ½” vs master stream) - Estimating the stretch - Overcoming obstacles (fences, parked cars, etc.) - Extending lines - Single-family dwellings (room and contents, structural, basement, attic, attached garage, etc.) - Multiple dwellings (center hall vs garden apartment) - Going vertical (i.e. standpipe, well hole, out a window, etc.) - Exterior AND Interior attack Multiple fireground variables (operational mode, fire location, distance to the fire, fire size, staffing, etc.) ultimately dictate how we perform an extended stretch. Although for this video we will be focusing on quickly extending a line with two firefighters, for an interior attack when the crosslay will come up a bit short. In the video we use a 200’ leader line of 2 ½” off of our rear static bed, reduced with a bell reducer into our 100’, 1 ¾” apartment bundle. Through training, we’ve found that for a short extension (300’-400’ stretch) this way is fast and simple and limits the potential failure points. One common failure point that many departments have unfortunately discovered themselves is the use of a gated wye for interior operations. While the gated wye has the obvious advantage of getting two attack lines in place relatively quickly, it has some rather important disadvantages that are often unknown or overlooked. The disadvantages are the hydraulic (pressure and flow) balancing issues, potential for the wye valves to get inadvertently closed by other operating crews and effectively moving your pump panel inside the fire building (and placed on the floor). While these problems might be tolerable when the crew is operating outside the fire building, these potential failure points are unacceptable for our crews inside the IDLH. Again, to state the obvious, to truly make a fireground safe takes much more than fast water - it takes fast entry, fast search, fast rescue, fast ladders, fast back-up, fast supply, fast... I think you get the picture. Next time we’ll look a little deeper at advancing the initial attack line.