The Domino Effect
As a kid, did you ever line up dominoes, standing them on edge, forming them into various maze like lines all over your house? If you did, you were certainly careful not to knock a single one over until you had completed your masterful design. Up and down, on various levels, back and forth
in different patterns, you lined up each individual domino, spaced closely yet with room to fall over. Perhaps most importantly, you placed each piece in the line, with extreme care.
As long as you had them lined up properly, when the time came to start the event, the chain reaction was started by pushing just the first domino down onto the second... and then, one by one, turn by anticipated turn, until the entire design was exhausted, they all fell. It might have taken you several hours to build, but effectively only seconds to destroy.
Each fireman is a domino in the design.
Like each individual domino in the maze design, each firefighter has a place at the firefight. Each member has a role, an assignment, a function, at each fire to which we respond. Our actions, our inactions, all will have a place in the chain of events and accordingly, an impact on the fire in some magnitude. Sometimes the impact is rather minimal, other times it can be dramatic and life altering. Quite simply stated, a single firefighter who makes a poor firefighting decision can lead a ‘chain reaction’ of events that may spiral an incident down a road that we cannot recover from. A soiled pair or trousers at best, injury or death at worst.
I know that each firefighter that is taking the time to read this, works hard is physically and mentally strong, fire duty ready and well prepared. You know you job at fires, and you want to do it to the best of your ability. But, the reality of the fire service is that not all firemen are at the same level of competence, confidence, experience nor ability. We have to make ourselves as prepared as possible, knowing that we must, at times, be prepared to pick up the slack of other ‘dominos.’
It is not just about the individual. For as firemen we know that we are always a part of something larger. It is about your team, your shift, your company, your battalion, your division and so on. While we may be specifically task oriented as individuals on the fireground, we are all working for the greater good of the greater ‘team.’ That said, we are interdependent on the person next to us, for they must be as strong, as aware, as prepared, as us... and we must work together to elicit the best fireground effectiveness and efficiency. There must be no gaps in our operations. Independent but interconnected.
Your brothers and sisters, they are dominoes too.
As you work together, they are the next domino ‘in-line’, if you will. We must stand tall together. If there arises a disconnect, or multiple disconnects within the ‘line’, catastrophic results may ensue. But, a solid brother or sister next to that disconnect, may be able to hold the situation in check. That said, when things go bad on the fireground, often they do so quickly, and with little warning.
Rarely however is it one single event or solo fallen ‘domino’ that causes a fire scene to go sideways, nor a single cataclysmic event. While one failed domino may cause an entire system to fail, what becomes clear upon a closer inspection is that often there are several smaller failures of simple tasks ‘multiple dominoes’ that fail. Several members performing actions or inactions that are not up to par, not holding up in their part of the mission, and that leads to an incident falling apart. Every action we do or don’t do on the fireground, that fireground will have a reaction. The reactions will involve changes to the dynamics of the operation, and many times these changes come rapidly. It is our ability to predict, react, adapt and overcome will become paramount.
So, if we are to look back and see where an incident started to go sideways, what are some of those first dominoes to fall? Quite often we see simple failures at the lowest level, basic “firefighter 1” skills and tasks are not completed with the attention to detail that they deserve. Bad habits, misapplied short cuts, errors of enthusiasm and complacency that lead the charge for failure.
Take for example, something as simple as the residential front door. You know, that pesky cheap screen outer door and wooden interior door found on most single- family dwellings? The first domino could be as simple as the failure to chock these doors as the line moves in. Oh wait, the engine noted the fire on the 2nd floor so they stretched into the 1st floor with the hoseline dry (contrary to standard operating procedure)! They flake out the hose on the 1st floor and call for water, unbeknownst to them; both of these doors closed on the line... before water was sent. The Engine chauffeur sends water, as requested. As the Engine Company begins the push up the stairs, the line goes limp. The closed doors have effectively produced a hose clamp on the line...
The first due Engine Company’s line is now compromised; I hope you are thinking: “URGENT, URGENT, URGENT.” A “water loss” is an urgent message to be transmitted by any Engine Company. What does a water loss in the primary attack line mean to you? Where are you operating at this fire? What reaction to this action may affect you?
It’s about attention to detail. This seemingly simple lack of such can cause problems for all operating forces, not just the engine with the line. “URGENT-Water Loss” radio traffic should make everyone take notice!
An important side note, all members must stay vigilant to radio traffic on the fireground. It is much more a listening device than a speaking one.
With the first due line now no longer moving in, water not being applied to the fire, in this now inaction... there will be a reaction. What will this fire’s reaction be and how will it affect you? Will this event be the precursor to other dominoes that will continue to fall?
Unless we get water to the fire, fire growth will continue and conditions will deteriorate. Collateral damage will be felt in all directions. Operating forces will be impacted in every direction: adjacent, above, and below.
Adjacent:
Who will be operating adjacent to this hoseline? Often, first due Engine and Trucks will be paired up on the fire floor. The Engine members will have the first due hoseline and the Trucks will be conducting searches and opening-up to find pockets of fire. While friendly banter in the firehouse can be pit Engine vs. Truck, we know that each company cannot act nor be successful alone, at least for very long... without the other.
Engines can’t open up walls and ceilings with nozzles alone. Nor, can Trucks stamp out fires with halligan’s and hooks. Communication must allow all members to retreat to safe areas pending the return of water to the line, or the arrival of another hoseline or the freeing of the line from the poorly chocked doors.
Above:
Who may be operating above? Other than in the immediate fire area, the floor above the fire certainly has well documented inherent dangers. In-fact, some say operating on the floor above the fire holds the greatest danger. Is your standard operating procedure that the second due Truck or perhaps a Rescue Co will be there? Will members be conducting Vent Enter Isolate Search (VEIS) on this level?
With the first line now out of service, how comfortable are you in this position?
Where is the second line headed, are they repositioning due to the water loss? Who is bringing a line to your position on the floor, if anyone?
What and where are your exits? How “deep” are you going to push with your searches after hearing this notification? Hopefully, outside team members are bolstering the initial compliment of portable ground ladders if your initial interior exit is cut off.
Below:
How can this water loss have an effect on members operating below the fire? Who will be in such a position? Staged companies, ancillary members (such as engine members flaking out hose dependent on building size), members controlling utilities etc. all can be operating on floors below. When fires go bad, everyone wants to rush up to help, that’s part of what makes us who we are. However, clogging the stairs is a big problem at fires.
Everyone wants to get a piece of the action. Sometimes, an urgent message can turn to a mayday when the stairs become impassable for members to come down to safety. I have personally witnessed members dive overtop of other brothers on stairs to get off a burning floor. I’ve seen a burning brother punch another brother in the face who was clogging up a stairway.
Stairs are for transport, if you are on the steps, be moving up or down. Keep the stairs clear! Oh, and the residential staircase, its 36” wide... on a good day. Go to your fire academy and measure the width of those stairs, bet it is much wider than that.
What Can We Do?
Can we stop this domino effect? It’s very hard to stop the momentum. Sometimes, rarely, it does stop on its own. If there happens to be too much space between domino’s, the motion stops, the gap is too great to overcome.
The best way to stop it is to prevent it from starting in the first place.
Prevention from starting the domino effect lies in the quest for mastery of basic firefighter 1 skills. We must master the basics before we move on to the extreme. As a company, we must conduct realistic training in conditions as real as we can make them. We must become masters of our routine. Each and every fire company has certain routines. You must recognize the fires you routinely respond to and make yourself a master of them.
Stop the domino effect by creating your own fireground operational “gap.” I liken creating the “gap” in the fire service to
be tied with experience, recognition and combat readiness. We must step up, step in and do the right thing when we see others that may be struggling with a task. We must keep our heads on a swivel at fire operations. Be mindful of those operating adjacent, above and below.
A conscientious “adjacent” firefighter who sees a closed door, takes the time to chock it open when appropriate. Or perhaps it
is the “above” Truck Company Officer who orders his search team back to the stairs upon hearing the “URGENT” message about water loss. “Below” the “gap” is created when the senior firefighter tells members to keep the stairs clear of firefighters.
We owe it to ourselves and our fellow “dominos” to make our companies and ourselves combat ready. We do not want to be the cause of, nor caught in... the domino effect.
