The first time I initiated a Window-Based-Search (VES) on the fireground was on a fire that my Truck crew discovered around midnight on a spring evening. We were returning from another box alarm and found ourselves pulling up to a large two-story single family home with the entire first floor on fire and an occupant crying in the front yard, anguishly sobbing that his girlfriend was inside.
My department had just recently begun to add a second Truck on the first alarm for single-family residential assignments, whereas previously, two Truck responses only occurred on multifamily or commercial boxes. Due to this change, an entire Truck crew of four could now initiate a search on a house fire, instead of our previous tactic of splitting two-for-search/two-to-the-roof. Consequently, VES and how to employ it was a hot topic in our agency, a topic that my B-team partner (my brother) and I had drilled and spoken about in-depth.
Here was a moment of truth.
Fortunately, we were all dressed out (due to our earlier response), so as I came around the back of the rig after throwing my pack and grabbing my toolset, my brother and I made eye contact, and he calmly informed me, “She’s upstairs.”
We had prepared for this..it was expected..anticipated..all I did was nod back and get on the radio to tell incoming crews that we were, “Initiating VES second floor, alpha side,” the only side of the building where second floor windows were not occluded by venting fire from the first. The victim was found and removed under fairly hostile and arduous conditions, which unfortunately she did not survive. As you can probably imagine, quite a few takeaways occurred that early morning, many career lessons learned.
That fire was eight years ago, and since then my brother and I have sized-up VES opportunities on every fire that we get assigned “all-in” for search, and on most of them, we employ the tactic. We use our designated bedroom window as a starting point for our search operation, with the goal of extending our search beyond that initial room.
Now, whether your department only employs VES as a target-room-search, or as a window-based-search with extension isn’t the topic I’m looking to hit upon with this write-up. Instead, my desire is to share an aspect of VES that I believe gets overlooked during conversations and training around the topic, which is the importance of having a systematic method of VES size-up that is employed on the fireground before initiating entry. Consequently, this write up is about the VES size-up that I employ during search assignments, primarily on single family homes and garden style apartments, a size-up that has been refined over these last eight years.
We run positional assignments on my Truck company that encompasses both tool assignments and fireground tactical responsibilities. Our A-team (Officer and Irons) force entry and locate/confine the fire and then commence their search from the fire’s seat. The B-team consists of our Driver (AO) and our Tiller Operator (Outside Vent) who are responsible for performing a 360 of the fire building while “sizing-up” which bedroom window to utilize to initiate their search operation.
Our VES size-up begins with the Dispatch reports of the fire and, if we’re not first-due, the size-up communications from the first arriving fire unit, such as: life hazard reports, size and configuration of the fire occupancy, fire/smoke conditions, etc. If over the radio I hear, “One-and-a-half-story single family residence with heavy fire from the first-floor delta-side,” and if there are no additional on-scene victim location reports, then as the B-team, floor two is ours and that entry may have to occur from the Bravo side gable window due to venting fire on the Delta.
As we arrive on scene, if possible from our rig’s vantage, I try to catch a quick look of the residence to determine which side of the home/apartment will enable the easiest access to the Charlie side. After gathering my assigned toolset, I make my way to that access point and begin to assess 5 things that are quickly and continuously reevaluated as each side of the structure is seen during our 360.
1) Life - Are there any visible/audible signs of victims or any incoming radio reports giving a probable victim location. If so, we initiate search operations immediately at that location. Are there any cues that may signify a high occupant load within the structure, such as a high number of vehicles in the driveway or a large amount of shoes outside the front door? Are there toys or play structures in the yard that can clue us in to the potential for children being present? Additionally, are there any occupants that have jumped from the structure that are unseen and in need of assistance from an unassigned crew?
2) Fire - What fire and/or smoke conditions are present from all sides assessed of the structure. This information is not only invaluable to command and other interior crews, but provides our team necessary information on what conditions and potential fire spread to expect/anticipate both from the room we target for entry and the structure as we extend our search operation. For instance, do we have smoke under pressure from the eave lines of a half story? If so, we can expect high heat conditions on the second floor due to fire likely being in the knee wall and attic spaces. Is there a heavy volume of fire present from the area immediately below our entry window? If yes, then expect high heat and remember the need for diligent “sounding” during room entry and search progression. Is there pressurized smoke emanating from around the window frame of your chosen entry window? Then we must be aware that the space is not isolated and anticipate that if the room doesn’t “light off” immediately after glass removal that isolation must occur rapidly to stave off that occurrence.
3) Layout - As we arrive on scene, we must determine if the initial size up of the structure was correct. Does the building in fact have a second-story that was hidden by smoke? Is it a duplex vs a single family residence? Does it have a basement? And so on. Any new information that we discover will be vital to all crews on the fireground but primarily informs where we as a team determine to be the most vital bedroom to target for entry.
If Charlie side access is unseen during our arrival, we have to quickly determine which side of the structure gives us the best route. Is there a gate to the backside of the house? Do we have extreme clutter surrounding the home (giving us a likely clue to interior clutter conditions)? Are we at a large garden style apartment structure with the fire located in a central unit where access to Charlie can potentially be made through a bottom floor adjacent unit? And of utmost importance, where do we believe the bedrooms to be within the structure? Bedrooms are not only our primary access point to the structure’s interior because they are likely an isolatable space, but as Firefighter Rescue Survey continues to show, they are the most likely place to find a trapped occupant, no matter the time of day. Lastly, the final layout cue that must be assessed and decided upon prior to taking glass for entry, is where do I believe the door to the room to be?
4) Electricity - Or as I like to call it when instructing, “Magic”. I address it as magic because not only does its existence slightly baffle me, but it also serves to lodge the importance of its identification on the fireground in the minds of those I’m speaking to.
As the VES team, we are likely going to be one of the first crews to perform a 360 of the structure, taking us along the route where aboveground power connects to the house. Consequently, our pathway is the likely location where a downed power line will lay if fire has caused it to detach from the structure. Additionally, any existing chainlink fence that may be impeding our access to the Charlie side may be energized. Furthermore, Murphy’s Law often seems to be in effect during upper story ground ladder entries, as in my experience the electrical drop seems to always be near our entry point. As you leave the rig to perform your search duties (or any fireground operation), it is essential & of utmost importance to quickly look at the power poles to see where the drop connects and its condition. This simple act may prevent the Magic from “disappearing” you or your partner.
5) "The Stretch” - The final component of my VES size-up is centered around Engine company operations, which due to my personal identification as a Truckie, I’m hesitant to share. But the truth of the matter is that the aggressiveness of my search is largely dictated by how fire attack’s initial line placement and ongoing operations are progressing, due to potentially unchecked fire conditions in my search area. This assessment of “The Stretch" begins after I place my gear on the Truck and check the roll call to see who is staffing the Engines in my Battalion.
A fundamental truth that seems to be downplayed or discounted during these present day “we are all the same” times is that Reputation in the fire service (your personal and your company’s) is everything. Your reputation is likely known and of utmost importance to those you work with, individuals whose lives may depend on your performance. So as I scroll the Battalion page, I assess the reputations of the crews and individuals around my Truck company, reputations based off of my own professional interaction and/or from the experiences of firefighters I trust.
Are they the crew/individuals that drills incessantly, purposefully refining their craft? Are they a summer-time staffed crew of newer firefighters, well-trained but less experienced? Or are they known by their reputation of being an “empty uniform”, a firefighter in title alone? This reputation, coupled with any difficulties the fireground may throw at Engine operations, must be continuously weighed and evaluated as we perform our search. So when I get to work, I assess reputations, when I get to the fire scene I assess the stretch, and when I’m at the interior bedroom door of our chosen entry room with fire in the hallway I think, “Is this the crew that’s going to make the push so I can extend my search?”
As I stated earlier, these size-up considerations are performed quickly and continuously as we begin our 360, a 360 that is performed at pace on the fireground. Additionally, I shared in an earlier article, “The Detroit of EMS,” that I practice aspects of this size-up during medical calls in order to make the looking for and absorption of these cues automatic and reflexive. This size-up practice is a simple yet effective method I highly recommend you utilize, if you don’t already employ it.
It is my belief that Decisive-Deliberate-Aggressive-Action on the fireground saves lives. Those four words are how I quantify my fireground mindset. This mindset drives my personal performance by directing my focus on these three things: Learning the basics, practicing them mentally and physically until they are automatic, and never losing sight on what I define our primary mission as firefighters to be- to occupy the interior fireground space aggressively with the intent of rescuing any trapped occupants, and in the process of performing this mission we save property while protecting each other. Window based searches are a tactic in-line with this mission, a tactic that must be continuously practiced, “table-topped”, and applied for refinement.
Over the years, in my mind’s eye, I have countless times revisited that spring evening fireground from eight years ago. As fate would have it, the life lost that night was the sister of a member in my department, a good friend of mine. My crew gave our utmost in our efforts to save her life. And while that fireground proved too unforgiving of an environment for that to be possible, her death has served as a tragic reminder over these last eight years that I must continually hone my skills and abilities, for lives are on the line in our occupation. These VES size-up cues are an example of this refinement process.
My hope is that what I’ve shared will help you and your company further sharpen your search operations. My hope is that this will help you in your journey to operate decisively, deliberately, and aggressively on the fireground. Because I know that no matter your locale or career status or time on the job, those “moment of truth” fires are just around the corner, and they don’t care if you're ready or not.
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