In Episode 19, check out UL's Fire Safety Research Institute (FSRI) Advisory Board Member and Cobb County Fire Department Captain, Sean Gray, as he discusses attack line deployment when fire is showing remote from the primary entry point of the structure.

When arriving on the scene of a residential structure fire with remote fire showing, the initial attack line placement may have less to do with the proximity of the venting fire to the entry point and more to do with other variables on the fire scene such as the extent of fire advancement, obstructions to attack line deployment, need for forcible entry, weather, etc. For a room and contents fire, a priority is to cool the compartment and to knock the fire back before it extends beyond that room. There could be a scenario where that is achieved faster by conducting an interior attack through the front door, or a scenario where it could be faster to deploy the line to the remote venting fire. Whichever attack line deployment will allow for the fire to be knocked down faster may be the most effective tactical choice.

The tactical choice of an interior or transitional attack should be about timing to get water into the compartment.

Once initial water is applied into the compartment, the next tactical choice is how to most effectively get into the compartment to complete suppression. For some transitional attacks, you may be able to approach the vent and directly apply water to the burning contents; however, on others you may not. Similarly, for interior attack, some fires you can rapidly advance to the compartment after using the reach of your stream for initial suppression. Other times, interior conditions can prevent you from making rapid entry into the compartment. All of these factors should be considered together when making the choice on where to initially deploy the primary attack line.

To learn more about this tactical consideration, take FSRI’s Suppression Tactics in Single-Family Homes online training course.