TACTICAL FIREFIGHTING A COMPREHENSIVE GUIDE TO COMPARTMENT FIREFIGHTING & LIVE FIRE TRAINING (CFBT) P. Grimwood K. Desmet Version 1.1 UNCLASSIFIED TF-1.1 Keywords : Firefighter Protective Clothing, Burns, CFBT, 3Dfog, Tactical firefighting, Tactical ventilation, Live Fire Training Title page photograph : Ian Roberts – Manchester Airport, UK, 2003 Firetactics www.firetactics.com - [email protected] Crisis & Emergency Management Centre www.crisis.be - www.cemac.org - [email protected] © 2003, Firetactics, Cemac All rights, reserved, including the right of reproduction, in whole or in part, in any form. No part of this publication may be used in a commercial context. The reproduction of this document, or any part, is authorised, for internal distribution or training, as long as reference is made to the original document. Despite the care given to this document, neither the author nor the publisher can be held liable for damages caused directly or indirectly through the advice and information contained in this docu- ment. Firetactics – www.firetactics.com CEMAC - www.cemac.org - 2 - Tactical Firefighting – A comprehensive guide... v1.1 - jan 2003 TACTICAL FIREFIGHTING u n c l a s s i f i e d TF-1.1 Paul Grimwood served 26 years as a professional firefighter, mostly within the busy inner-city area of London's west-end. He has also served in the West Midlands and Merseyside Brigades (UK) as well as lengthy detachments to the fire departments of New York City, Boston, Chicago, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Las Vegas, Phoenix, Miami, Dallas, Metro Dade Florida, Seattle, Paris, Valencia, Stockholm and Amsterdam. During the mid 1970s he served as a Long Island volunteer firefighter in New York State USA. His research into international firefighting strategy & tactics spans three decades and has resulted in over 80 published technical research papers and a book – FOG ATTACK (1992). In 1989 Paul Grimwood defined and introduced the concept of tactical fire- fighting as a means of bringing together a wide range of tactical options on the fireground. He also re-defined some already established techniques and procedures, as well as promoting research into various ‘new-wave’ methods being developed including 3D water-fog; PPV and CAFS. His proposal for a basic standard operating procedure (SOP) for first responders that prioritised tactical objec- tives in various situations was first published in 1992. This SOP was formulated with three things in mind – 1. A review into the causes of previous firefighter Line of Duty Deaths (LODD) 2. Ensuring that the wide range of tactical options are applied without conflict 3. Emphasising the ‘safe-person’ concept inline with recognised ‘risk-based’ assessment Koen Desmet is an active volunteer firefighter – rescue diver in Belgium. He has an academic degree in chemistry and holds the title of safety advisor (lev. 1). He recently finished the fire offi- cer’s course. Currently he is working as a researcher at the University of Ghent, Belgium. His research concerns the chemical analysis of gases formed during fire using laboratory combustion tests. He is also a ‘working’ member of Cemac public services, a not-for-profit organisation, which ad- vises and aids emergency services and other government organisations. Firetactics – www.firetactics.com CEMAC - www.cemac.org - 3 - Tactical Firefighting – A comprehensive guide... v1.1 - jan 2003 TACTICAL FIREFIGHTING u n c l a s s i f i e d TF-1.1 THE QUEST The Assistant Chief Fire Officer stared me in the eyes………’Do you honestly believe fire- fighters actually take the time to read this stuff you write’? I raised an eyebrow to this remark. It made me pause and think before answering. ‘Yes sir, I really do believe there are some that have a strong desire to enhance their knowledge – to make themselves better firefighters’. He laughed………’I wish I could share in your enthusiasm Paul but I honestly don’t think they do’. London 1993 ‘The lessons of others are here for you to learn’………I said this in 1992 [4] and I say it again now. If only some of those who have died since then had read these words………acted upon the advice………learned to recognise dangerous conditions and circumstances………I dedicate this book to all those brave souls and can only hope that someone, somewhere, uses this advice to good ends in future. London 2003 Paul GRIMWOOD Firetactics – www.firetactics.com CEMAC - www.cemac.org - 4 - Tactical Firefighting – A comprehensive guide... v1.1 - jan 2003 TACTICAL FIREFIGHTING u n c l a s s i f i e d TF-1.1 I. ADAPTATIONS MADE DATE ADAPTATION BY 23/01/03 Lay-out correction K.D. Firetactics – www.firetactics.com CEMAC - www.cemac.org - 5 - Tactical Firefighting – A comprehensive guide... v1.1 - jan 2003 TACTICAL FIREFIGHTING u n c l a s s i f i e d TF-1.1 II. CONTENT I. ADAPTATIONS MADE __________________________________________________5 II. CONTENT __________________________________________________________6 III. ABREVIATIONS _____________________________________________________8 IV. INTRODUCTION ____________________________________________________10 V. THE BASICS OF FIRE FIGHTING ________________________________________12 Fire explained ________________________________________________________12 Explosions ___________________________________________________________18 Fire growth __________________________________________________________22 Fire classes __________________________________________________________26 VI. PERSONAL PROTECTIVE FIREFIGHTING GEAR ____________________________28 Structural firefighting gear ______________________________________________28 Fire fighting gloves ____________________________________________________38 Comparison of NFPA and EN fire protective clothing standards___________________40 VII. COMPARTMENT FIRE BEHAVIOR TRAINING ______________________________45 CFBT simulator safety __________________________________________________49 Recent CFD research into fire simulators is flawed ____________________________52 The transition of CFBT to working structural fires _____________________________54 VIII. RAPID FIRE PROGRESS_____________________________________________57 Flashover____________________________________________________________61 Flashover case histories ________________________________________________62 Backdraft____________________________________________________________63 Backdraft case histories_________________________________________________64 Fire gas ignitions ______________________________________________________67 Fire gas ignitions case histories___________________________________________71 Website poll__________________________________________________________75 Step & transient events_________________________________________________77 Firefighter's actions & warning signs _______________________________________78 The under-ventilated fire________________________________________________81 Flashover Phenomena – Questions & answers – Revision Aid ____________________86 IX. ‘NEW-WAVE’ 3D WATER-FOG IN FIREFIGHTING ___________________________92 Flashover____________________________________________________________94 Firetactics – www.firetactics.com CEMAC - www.cemac.org - 6 - Tactical Firefighting – A comprehensive guide... v1.1 - jan 2003 TACTICAL FIREFIGHTING u n c l a s s i f i e d TF-1.1 3D water fog-applications _______________________________________________94 False assumptions _____________________________________________________96 3D Offensive fog attack (Gas cooling)______________________________________98 Indirect (defensive) water-fog combination attack ___________________________100 Direct attack ________________________________________________________103 Direct attack ________________________________________________________104 Interaction of water sprays with flames and gases ___________________________105 Scandinavian research_________________________________________________108 Benefits of 3D water-fog applications _____________________________________110 Flow-rates __________________________________________________________111 X. TACTICAL VENTILATION _____________________________________________113 Natural ventilation____________________________________________________114 Positive pressure ventilation ____________________________________________116 Fire isolation (confinement) tactics (anti-ventilation) _________________________117 Ventilation in practice _________________________________________________118 XI. TECHNICAL JARGON _______________________________________________120 XII. REFERENCES ____________________________________________________126 Firetactics – www.firetactics.com CEMAC - www.cemac.org - 7 - Tactical Firefighting – A comprehensive guide... v1.1 - jan 2003 TACTICAL FIREFIGHTING u n c l a s s i f i e d TF-1.1 III. ABREVIATIONS A A Alfa ACT Australian Capital Territory AIT Auto-ignition temperature B B Bravo C C Charlie CAFS Compressed Air Foam System CFBT Compartment Fire Behaviour Training CFD Computational Fluid Dynamics D D Delta 3D Three-dimensional E E Echo F F Foxtrot FGI Fire gas ignition G G Golf H H Hotel HRR Heat release rate HVG High velocity gases I I India J J Julliet K K Kilo L L Lima LEL Lower explosion limit M M Mike Firetactics – www.firetactics.com CEMAC - www.cemac.org - 8 - Tactical Firefighting – A comprehensive guide... v1.1 - jan 2003 TACTICAL FIREFIGHTING u n c l a s s i f i e d TF-1.1 N N November NSSC Naval Sea Systems Command NPP Neutral pressure plane O O Oscar P P Papa PPE Personal protective equipment Q Q Quebec R R Romeo RFP Rapid fire progress