Every once in a while, you’ll hear, “Not much for the trucks to do at that one,” when seeing a fully involved building on the news or in a video. But is it really true? If thereis fire from sidewalk to shingles, is there nothing for a truck company to do until the fire is under control?

I think there is. I think the same priorities and tasks for an interior attack apply to a defensive-on-arrival type of fire, with a different application. We still need to search, create access and egress, and support the work the engine companies are trying to do. We may also need to start setting up for master stream work, which is a discussion topic for another article.

Let’s try to define, “defensive on arrival.” Defensive on arrival could be described as a fire where the amount and location of fire showing is at the point where arriving crews’ options are limited to exterior attack or exposure protection. Or, look at it like an MCI (Mass Casualty Incident), except with fire; initial companies are overwhelmed by the task at hand.

Search may sound like a futile effort when the building appears to be fully involved. We need to be honest with ourselves when we make the claim a building is fully involved. Is it? Is it REALLY fully involved? Are there survivable spaces on a lower floor if the top floors are showing fire out all the windows? The answer is most likely yes. Yes, there are. Does that mean you should commit your crew to a search? I cannot answer that for you. I cannot answer that for myself.

I’d have to decide based on what we see and what reports we are getting on arrival. Specific reports of occupants could sway that decision, maybe to the point that VES is initiated. Specific reports are important, not the all-too-common generalizations from someone who has no idea about occupant situation but wants to seem helpful. Lives, theirs then ours, need to be our highest priority. We have equipment, training, experience, and water. Occupants have none of that. We need to use everything we have at our disposal for the occupants. What if the building truly is showing fire from every opening? The search is going to be exterior only. Occupants may have jumped or attempted to re-enter for some unknown reason. We need to verify nobody is in the yard. This sounds like an easy task, but a conscious effort needs to be made to look for possible victims. They may crawl away and attempt to hide from the radiant heat, or may just go until they are stopped by an obstacle they cannot easily negotiate. If a 360 is mandated by your department, and a fire truly is defensive, take a lot of extra time to make sure the surrounding area is clear. A secondary search should be completed by another member after the first one to make sure the area is clear.

Our search shouldn’t be limited to the fire building and surrounding landscape; if there is any possibility of exposures catching fire - any possibility at all - those buildings need to be searched, evacuated, and interior doors closed. If we delay evacuating exposures until they are smouldering or catching fire, we will only make our job harder and the situation more dangerous for potential occupants. Closing the doors seems like a minor thing, but if things don’t go as planned on the fire attack, closed doors will help control the spread of fire through those exposures. If we perform a search, we will already be familiar with the buildings if we have to mount an attack inside them or from them.

Truck crews need to provide access. Any fences that impede movement around a building need to be opened up or cut down. With taller chain link fences, leave the top rail in place; it’s usually the most substantial thing to cut, and the benefits of removal are minor. Cutting the top rail also makes the fence material itself more awkward to move. Cut the chain link mesh between two posts to open a section, and then yank the fence free of the ties holding it to the top rail. Leave the fence attached to the posts when cutting; it’ll hold the fence in place for you work. It can be further opened later on if needed, or if the sharp edges become a problem. Grass and vegetation can grow into chain link and make it impossible to remove; just cut a section and push it over. It’s slippery to walk on, but it’s quicker and safer than trying to cut it free of the over growth.

Picket-style, stockade, and assorted wood and vinyl fences come in a small variety of attachment methods. If there is no gate, and no saw, try to start at an end or corner and pry a section away from a post. If you can get at the top and middle to pry or unseat it from the attachment method, you can push it over. The bottom will be the most difficult, so get it with a saw later. If taking a section isn’t an option start pulling the slats off. Engine companies will have to climb over, or launch an attack through, the fence until more time can be devoted to the problem. An added benefit in leaving some fences intact is that the firefighter on the pipe will have something to hide behind to protect him from the radiant heat.

When talking about access, we aren’t only talking about humans, but water as well.

If we have a boarded up building, efforts need to be made to pull off the plywood and force doors. Water must be applied to the seat of the fire, and we need to prepare for the possibility of bringing the fight inside. We cannot hope to get ahead of a fire by cooling what has already burned (fire, smoke). We have to cool the material that is currently burning. If we are making an interior attack, then yes, cool the environment if it’s too hot. But on an exterior attack we need solid or straight streams that penetrate the fire and reach the seat to cool the burning material. What would be the risk in venting too much in a defensive fire? The fire will grow stronger? Maybe, but we are opening up for better attack. We should expect a little growth, but that should be followed with a stream. We need to attack the fire on all sides.

We cannot hope to extinguish and entire building through one or two openings. There is a reason its called a “surround and drown” or a “pour in”: we need as much water on the fire as possible.