Parapet ladder bracket, three position stokes receiver and rappelling package with lower rear wall anchor points to increase the rescue capability of the platform.
1305 LB DRY PLATFORM CAPACITY
The HP 100 Platform has a rated load of 1000 lbs of firefighters and 305 lbs of equipment.
PLATFORM CONFIGURATION
Angled front corners and perimeter step provides easier access to structures. Available with single or dual monitors flowing up to 2000 GPM.
STRONGEST CAB IN THE INDUSTRY
Keep your crew safe with the cab that withstands over 5x the static roof load and over twice the frontal impact required by NFPA.
25% STRONGER
The 2.5 to 1 structural safety factor exceeds NFPA minimum requirements by 25%, which means 25% greater assurance in the integrity of the apparatus.
UNMATCHED STABILITY
Rock solid stability, even when tested to one and a half times the rated load over the front with tires off the ground.
INTEGRAL TORQUE BOX CHASSIS
A unique design that combines the chassis frame and aerial torque box to provide a low center of gravity and a solid foundation.
WHAT DO YOU CALL A 25% INCREASE OVER INDUSTRY STANDARDS?
MORE STORAGE SPACE Rescue style compartments on each side and up to 182’ of ground ladder storage with tank and pump.
JACK DEPLOYMENT IN UNDER 45 SECONDS When time is vital and space is limited, the crisscross under-slung outriggers deploy to only 15’6” spread in under 45 seconds.
The E-ONE HP 100 Platform looks like a rock solid beast. And it acts like one too. This aerial, with a 2.5 to 1 structural safety factor is 25% stronger than NFPA requires. But the HP 100 Platform isn’t just a powerhouse, it’s also versatile. With crisscross under-slung outriggers that deploy to a tight 15’6” spread, the HP 100 Platform can go where other aerials can’t. Whatever the job calls for, the E-ONE HP 100 Platform is up to the task!
COLUMNS
04 | Comment
Fire at the centre of the universe
| Between Alarms Get on board
10 | Tools of the trade Task-specific workouts build better firefighters
32 | Fit for duty
Elevate results with highintensity interval training
38 | Front seat
Be nice and say thank you
From the editor
By Laura King
Fire at the centre of the universe
Remember when Toronto mayor Mel Lastman called in the army to shovel snow and the whole country guffawed?
Effectively and efficiently moving snow in Toronto is akin to pinning Jello to the wall – darned near impossible. The volume of traffic, the narrow streets, the millions of people, commuter trains, street cars, the lack of parking . . . myriad factors that few other municipalities must consider. Snow falls, chaos ensues.
Similarly, fighting a fire in downtown Toronto, on a weekday, in February, at the busiest intersection in the country, is an event firefighters in few other Canadian municipalities can fathom.
That the Feb. 14 blaze at the Badminton and Racquet Club of Toronto was contained to the building of origin is remarkable and a testament to the training and skill of the women and men of Toronto Fire Services.
Three division commanders – Dan MacIsaac, Andy Kostiuk and Len Stadler – ran the operation. More than 120 firefighters responded to the six-alarm call. Emergency vehicle technicians were on scene for the duration of the fire fight helping to maintain the dozens of apparatuses at the corner of Yonge Street and
St. Clair Avenue.
Thousands of residents were evacuated from adjacent condo buildings; lawyers and investment bankers working in corporate skyscrapers abandoned their offices.
Buses, street cars, the subway, and roads were shut down.
The power was out. Millions of litres of water poured into basement parking garages –vehicles were floating – and shorted the hydro vaults.
The incident, Chief Matt Pegg said, was the largest deployment of TFS resources he has witnessed. Property was destroyed –between $10 million and $15 million worth – but there were no injuries or loss of life.
before hauling their hoses through the units.
Remarkably, firefighters saved the newer part of the club; they retrieved paintings and other treasured items, and patrons’ wallets and cell phones from lockers.
The fire burned for more than 15 hours. First-in firefighters from station 311 responded at 9:35 a.m., not long after starting their 24-hour shift; they returned to the hall at 5 p.m. to change into dry gear, went back to the scene, were rotated out at midnight, and responded to other calls until 7 a.m..
The incident, said acting Chief Matt Pegg, was the largest deployment of TFS resources he has witnessed.
April 2017
Vol. 40, No. 2 www.firehall.com
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Pedestrians were redirected; observers were given face masks to prevent them from inhaling the swirling, acrid smoke.
Thanks to quick thinking by incident commanders, firefighters commandeered condo balconies, hooked up to standpipes, and sprayed water into the burning racquet club. Residents sent letters of thanks for saving the condos and commending firefighters for removing their boots
Property was destroyed –between $10 million and $15 million worth – but there were no injuries or loss of life. And what was saved – thousands of offices, condos and apartments, infrastructure and business continuity – far exceeds the damage.
The incident, Pegg said, was demanding, dangerous and complex.
Toronto’s firefighters are better resourced than most –for good reason.
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MARK-3®
The MARK-3® is known as the “heart of the suppression system.” Renowned in the industry,the MARK-3® was first introduced in 1964 when WAJAX (as WATERAX was known back then) coupled their patented 4-stage detachable pump end to a 185cc 2-stroke engine. It quickly became the standard wildland portable fire pump used by forestry agencies around the world. A truly outstanding and reliable performer, the MARK-3® fire pump is designed to withstand the rigors of firefighting and it is the core of most water delivery systems in wildland operations.
Ottawa to track First Nations fatalities
Ottawa is reinstating a program to track fire fatalities on First Nations. Indigenous Affairs Minister Carolyn Bennett said the tracking system was disbanded to ease the burden on First Nations to report fatalities. An investigation by the Toronto Star found that 173 people have died in fires on reserves since 2010. First Nations leaders are expected to recommend in a report due in May that Ottawa also create an indigenous fire marshal’s office.
– LAURA KING
In the news 173
people have died in fires on First Nations since 2010
Two-hatters fined by union
Four firefighters who work full time in Mississauga, Ont., and also volunteer on their off days in their home community – Halton Hills – have been fined by their union. The IAFF constitution prohibits members from working part time in another union shop. One two-hatter quit the volunteer department; the others face increasing fines if they continued to respond to calls. Firefighters in Caledon, Ont., may face similar discipline. The municipality is supporting its twohatters, providing legal representation and will cover any fines. – LK
Firefighters charged with fraud
Two firefighters have been charged with two counts of fraud over $5,000, money laundering, and attempting to obstruct justice. Hamilton firefighter Colin Grieve and Toronto firefighter Warren Atkinson were tasked by the Ontario Professional Fire Fighters Association to advocate for families of firefighters who died on the job or of job-related illnesses. Investigators say the two pocketed about $250,000 that was supposed to go into a fund for the families. The union has filed a $4 million lawsuit, claiming the men convinced families to redirect up to 12 per cent of compensation settlements to them. Grieve and Atkinson have filed a $12-million counter claim . – LK
More departments carrying anti-opioid drug Naloxone
Just weeks after starting to carry the opioid-overdose reversing drug Naloxone, firefighters in Barrie, Ont., on March 9 saved a life.
Members of Barrie Fire & Emergency Services became the first firefighters in Ontario to be able to administer Naloxone, adding kits to its trucks in February.
Council in nearby Innisfil, Ont., approved Naloxone kits for its firefighters in March. Firefighters were training to administer the drug, and the kits were expected to be on the trucks by summer.
Legislation to allow firefighters to double-hat has been passed in Ontario but has not been tested in the courts.
The Ottawa Fire Department has been working for months to train and equip 1,500 career and volunteer firefighters with Naloxone.
Use of the opioid fentanyl has spread east across the country after becoming epidemic in British Columbia. Naloxone reverses the effects of the dangerous opioid fentanyl.
While the fentanyl is cheap and accessible to drug users, it’s also being cut into other recreational
and prescription drugs. A 14-year old girl died in Ottawa in February of an accidental fentanyl overdose after taking medication laced with fentanyl.
Firefighters in Vancouver and many other British Columbia municipalities have been administering Naloxone since January 2016. Calgary firefighters began carrying the drug in mid-December; Chief Steve Dongworth has said crews administer the drug an average of once a day.
Alberta Health says 388 Albertans died from apparent drug overdoes related to fentanyl or other opioids between January and September 2016.
Firefighters in Saskatoon began carrying Naloxone kits in January.
“This is the start reality of our job,” assistant fire chief Rob Hogan said in a statement. “The availability of naloxone on fire trucks will enable firefighters to help the patient as well as other first responders like themselves, ambulance workers or police officers.”
- LAURA KING
Between alarms
By Arjuna George
Get on board
Recruiting firefighters is becoming more challenging. Incorporating a comprehensive onboarding program may help departments attract and retain solid members.
Onboarding is more of a retention- and good-management practice than a recruitment tool; it is a formal strategy through which new firefighters are encouraged and helped by others in the department to develop positive attitudes.
True onboarding should take months to complete. Recruit orientation is part of greater onboarding process and occurs once; onboarding is a multi-step process.
Onboarding can start during the recruitment campaign and continue until the end of the recruits’ first year. When departments recruit, it’s critical to provide as much honest information as possible to attract the right people. Departments should be up front with recruits about demands, time commitments, danger and compensation so potential recruits are not surprised partway through the process. Recruits should be handing in their applications with a clear understanding of the job, the expectations, and the sacrifices they may have to make. If all this is done properly, departments should end up recruiting only those who are fully prepared; this, in turn, improves retention.
A try-before-you-buy test can be part of the onboarding process; the department invites candidates to a drill night during which they can meet firefighters, see them in action, and ask questions. This type of event ensures that those who want to take the next step in the process have the information they need to make a good decision.
Once you have welcomed new
Top 10 onboarding nuggets
1. Start early (recruitment phase).
2. Provide as much information as possible at the appropriate times.
3. Include culture and your department’s why training, early.
4. Provide expectations of the recruits and of the department.
5. Include a human side to the process, not just employee handbooks.
6. Provide support via mentorship programs.
7. Ogoing process, not a one-day event.
8. Do frequent check ins.
9. Be creative and find unique ways to inform and support your new members.
10. Sweat the small stuff; those small details can determine whether a recruit stays or goes.
Arjuna George is chief of Salt Spring Island Fire Rescue in British Columbia; he has served on the department since 1997. ageorge@saltspringfire.com @AJGeorgefire @AJGeorgeFire @SSIFR
members, orientation begins: paperwork is completed and handbooks, manuals, videos and presentations reinforce the department’s values. Packages are important and a crucial part of the process, but try not to overload the recruits on Day 1 with paperwork, rather roll it out gradually.
At this point, training begins and many departments end the onboarding process, but new members require support and assistance to feel comfortable and encouraged.
Any pre-information that can be provided will make recruits more comfortable in their new surroundings. Provide photos and names of all firefighters, photos or videos of the apparatuses and fire halls, contact information, and an overview of the culture.
Onboarding is not only for new employees, but also for those who take on new roles through promotions. Everyone wants to succeed in their new roles, and that is possible only if they are given the tools and support. Onboarding is critical for new company officers.
Adding a personal touch to an onboarding program helps new members feel welcome; senior firefighters and officers should meet face to face with new hires.
Checklists work well to ensure the department includes all crucial components of an onboarding program. Often, simple steps such as uniforms, email accounts, computer logins or desk preparation are overlooked. These simple steps show recruits and newly promoted firefighters that they are valued and supported.
A mentorship program subsequent to the onboarding process can continue to foster a positive environment in the department. A big brother/sister program can provide the new employee with continual guidance; it is difficult to pre-assign mentors, but looking at special interests and commonalities might
help to set up good mentoring teams.
Defining the fire service culture and your department’s specific culture for new members will help mould recruits in a positive way. Projecting your why can help new members embrace the department’s culture. At Salt Spring Island Fire Rescue, we assign homework to recruits before Day 1. Recruits are required to do an essay or video sharing their knowledge of SSIFR’s history. This encourages recruits to visit the stations, talk to members, research online, and put some thought into the department’s past and its evolution. This exercise has proven to be a great icebreaker.
We have also found great success at SSIFR with recruit-class social-media groups, and in-person study groups. With the accessibility of online connectivity, recruits can form a bond and regularly communicate using a buddy system.
Communicating – or failing to communicate – the small things frustrates new members and may affect their longevity with the department; the little things that regular members know but forget to pass along, such as special events and social gatherings.
Onboarding should be reviewed annually to see if the steps are current and ensure that the program is effective.
Onboarding builds success; the more time and energy a department commits to its recruits, the stronger the membership will become.
Effective onboarding equals positive outcomes, better firefighters, and better officers, which leads to better retention.
(See Culture shock, Using private-sector techniques to change the way firefighters think and value their jobs by Waterloo, Ont., firefighter Lydia Wilcox, in the December issue of Fire Fighting in Canada at www. firefightingincanada.com)
Tools of the trade
By Sean Kingswell
Task-specific workouts build better firefighters
Fire fighting is a physical job, with its most valuable resource being capable manpower. Most fire departments require a test of physical fitness prior to employment, and may offer varying degrees of wellness programming for active members. Some departments have no fitness or wellness programs or initiatives, which, frankly, is surprising. Regardless of what programs employers offer, the nature of fire fighting is such that individuals must take active roles in their own fitness. Not being physically conditioned is a form of complacency that can have deadly consequences. So, what are some guidelines to achieving optimal personal fitness levels as a firefighter?
First, if you are not already an exerciser, become one; training your body is as much a part of your job as training your technical skills. This responsibility to be fit and strong is not just to yourself, but also to fellow crew members, customers, family and friends. When it comes to exercise programming, balance is key. Cross training – which means engaging in different types of exercises – can suit firefighters. A nice blend of resistance training, cardio, stretching, core, injury prevention, balance, agility and functional training will reap significant rewards throughout your career. It is important to front load wellness for a healthy
Sean Kingswell is an experienced career firefighter, personal trainer, fitness coach and the creator of the FIRESAFECADETS program. firesafecadets@gmail.com @firesafecadets
retirement. Ultimately, prevention of injuries and diseases is the priority.
However, the key to firefighter fitness is specificity. Specificity is a fitness concept that is vital to success at a certain skill set or activity. Athletes have embraced this concept and with the physical exertion required, firefighters should do the same. Specificity implies that if you want to get better at x then you need to do things that relate specifically to x, so that x will improve: working on y may or may not be advantageous but it doesn’t necessarily help with x. So, how can specificity be achieved? One way is to use actual firefighting gear and tools to condition yourself. Replicating firefighting activities at a physically challenging pace is, of course, going to improve your fire-ground fitness level. That being said, it is hard to train at intense levels while on duty, and it is also rare for firefighters to have a collection
of firefighting equipment to use when training away from the firehouse. The solution is to create specificity in your life and at the gym. It may sound obvious, though it is not always understood, that there are some areas of fire fighting that can be worked on directly. For example, if you want to be well conditioned to climb stairs . . . climb stairs. Keep in mind that it is not necessarily practice that makes perfect, but rather perfect practice that makes perfect; this may mean climbing stairs with reasonable loads, or learning how to properly drive (or lift your body) with your larger muscles. Good specificity has transfer, which means that how we train relates well to what we do in real life. At the gym, it is important to consider the primary work roles of fire fighting. We still need to work on the typical attributes of strength, endurance, cardio and flexibility, but we should also consider
specifically conditioning ourselves for our work. A few examples of firefighting activities that can be replicated in the gym are proper leg-based pulling, roof skills, partner work, core training, tool use, grip strength, dexterity, CPR endurance, climbing, reactiontime training, foot-eye coordination, and working all three metabolic pathways. Use a slam ball to do compressions –this is also a great chest workout. Use cables or bands to simulate both hand-over-hand and twohanded pulling; be sure to have a secure stance. Dragging weights with webbing through them is highly specific to fire fighting and can be done forward and backwards.
Being aware of the strange ergonomic situations that firefighters get into is also important; one way to prepare for these movements is through ergonomic acclimation in a gym setting. The days of chest and bicep workouts alone should be long gone; although these exercises can certainly be included, they alone do not meet the needs of the profession. However, not all of your exercise and efforts should pertain to fire fighting. I encourage people to balance what we call the personal/professional threshold; that means putting a certain amount of your effort into your personal goals or interests but also spending enough time improving and maintaining your firefighting ability through specific exercise and activity.
Urban challenge
Complex, six-alarm fire tests
Toronto crews. By Laura King
The superintendent of Toronto’s Badminton and Racquet Club met Capt. Steve Green in the driveway on Monday, Feb. 14. There was a small fire, the super said, on the second floor, that he had put out with an extinguisher. Nothing to worry about.
Green and his crew from Station 311 were first-in at the massive, six-alarm fire at the private Badminton and Racquet Club.
Capt. Jeff David and his crew from nearby Station 134 also responded to the original alarm.
Deputy Chief Jim Jessop left a senior-management team meeting when the call escalated to a fourth alarm.
Chief Matt Pegg followed, on the fifth alarm.
Fifteen hours later, the fire was contained. Tens of thousands residents, hundreds of thousands of commuters, and myriad businesses were affected.
Pegg says the call constituted the largest deployment of Toronto Fire Services resources – other than the Sunrise Propane fire in 2007 – that anyone on scene had experienced.
Green was heading for the washroom when the call came in at 9:35 a.m.
Station 311 is directly behind the large, L-shaped building that houses courts for tennis, badminton and squash, a formal ballroom, office space, locker rooms, a bar, a store, and fitness facilities.
“The badminton club is in our backyard,” Green said. “It’s a place that we run alarms and first-aid calls; were very familiar with it, but it’s hidden. The driveway goes down off St. Clair West, but no one would even know it exists.
“We got our dispatch and I checked for updates; there weren’t any, but there was a comment saying that it was an unknown fire, so it looked like was it was a fire, not just alarm call.”
Club members had evacuated and were moving their vehicles out of the parking lot.
“One person waving us down,” Green said, “which usually indicates that it’s more than a just false alarm.
“We left the truck on St. Clair because we were unsure if there was a hydrant down by the building.
“We walked down the driveway and met maintenance person and asked him what was going on. He said there was a fire in the second floor, that he had hit it with extinguisher and believed that it was out.
“We didn’t really think that it was anything too concerning. I was thinking that it was something like a garbage can, or stove had caught some cabinets on fire. There was nothing showing. It’s quite a posh club, beautiful inside.
“We went upstairs and there’s quite a large ballroom, which was full of chairs; they were getting ready for a conference.
“[The maintenance guy] brought us around a corner
The call at 9:35 a.m. on Feb. 14 indicated a small fire at the Badminton and Racquet Club of Toronto. The raging blaze burned through the night but was contained to the building of origin.
by a hose cabinet through a door that led up to a metal staircase that went up to what looked to be a maintenance room; this room overlooked three tennis courts, so if you can imagine cathedral ceiling, tennis courts inside, and at the peak of a gable over the tennis courts, the metal staircase going up to what I thought was maintenance room.
“There was brown smoke coming out of the door, and that indicated incomplete combustion and that it was more than just a garbage-pail fire.
“I called for a working-fire response, which gives us another three apparatus and a rescue squad; we had a highrise kit and hooked up to hose cabinet.
“By this point another crew had arrived; one hoseline went up the staircase with three crew members, and another hoseline was stretched down the hallway. The initial crew was backing down the stairs, saying this is an extensive fire. We only got a few feet into that door and the thermal alarms on masks started going off; one of the firefighters got burned on the neck. It
was at that point I called for second alarm.
“When I had announced a working fire I had asked for a crew to go to the roof, and an aerial crew did so.
“At this point, more crews were arriving; I still believed that it was small room of some sort and that we were going to get a hold of this fire. I had asked for the chairs to be cleared so we could put tarps on the floor and I believed we were going to get a handle on it and knock it down pretty quickly.
“Shortly after that smoke started to filter into the ballroom; I had set up our entry control system; we probably had six firefighters in there plus another two moving chairs out of the way. The smoke was building in the ceiling area and we were using thermal-imaging cameras on the ceiling.
“At the far end of the ballroom I was getting a heat signature and so I said to take down the ceiling. The firefighters said when they took it down there was plywood but they couldn’t access where the fire was. The smoke conditions were getting worse and I asked for one of the windows in the ballroom to be taken out to help ventilate the area. We were starting to lose visibility in the ballroom area and very shortly after that there was a tremendous sound of the ceiling coming down – it was not the drywall, it was the ceiling and the floor and the whole thing came down with a thunderous crush, so much so that we felt the vibrations on the second floor.
“The fire was getting the best of us; we started doing face-to-face PAR making sure everyone was out who was in the hot zone; the fire has broken out and was raging in the ballroom. I sent two firefighters in with thermal cameras to make sure all the firefighters had gotten out; I was very concerned that someone ha been seriously in injured or killed with the ceiling coming down, it was that bad.
Entry Control
“We backed down the stairwell. Some of our hoses had been buried by the collapse and I could tell the fire had been vented through the ceiling because the smoke was drafting into the ballroom area. We tried to fight the fire a little bit more but at that point we knew it was going to an exterior fight.
“The building looks new to me; I did not know that it was an older building. It had obviously gone through may renovations. I suspect that there could have been two ceilings in there. The fire was well seated before we got there and it had escaped room of origin.
“It had probably already escalated to a fourth alarm at this point. We puled our hoses and left some inside that were buried. And then we were assigned different tasks.
“If I can impress upon you anything, it’s the importance of entry control.
“What made this fire difficult was accessing it; the trucks were stationed on Yonge Street with platforms and aerials going over three-storey buildings to get to the fire, and the fire load around it – there were condos literally four feet from the building.
“It’s midtown – there were tens of thousands of people affected; the wind was blowing to the east, into the condo building; office towers had to shut down the ventilation system. Workers were exiting the buildings.
“My biggest takeaway? The maintenance person wasn’t excited so I was surprised that the fire was of some significance; I was thinking that it was just going to be a garbage pail on fire, so you always have to expect the unexpected.
“And the spread of the fire – the fire was not showing; when we showed up there was no smoke visible, so it went from no smoke to a first alarm, to a second to a third to an exterior fight, so the speed at which a fire can burn hidden in a blind spot surprised me. Just because the fire is not showing doesn’t mean there may not be a raging fire in the building.”
Capt. Jeff David and his crew from station 134 were second in, behind pumper 311.
“I met Capt. Green and his crew at the top of the stairs and we were in the ballroom area of the club. Steve and I were talking and an acting captain came down from the area and said something’s going on up here and I think I’ve found it; we started to lay out hoses – there were some problems with standpipe systems – so we laid out hoses and myself and my crew moved into this side room and up the stairs to the doorway leading into that space. My crew and myself made the first attack with a 45 millimetre hand line.
“It was very hot; Darren Pugh, who had the nozzle, was up on the landing and he said when he first got up there was black smoke and it didn’t appear to be all that hot but by the time I got up there and made the attack conditions had deteriorated greatly and the heat
By the Numbers
120 firefighters (on day 1)
167
17
pushed us right down to our stomachs.
“In the transition Darren, who had the nozzle, his heat detector went off on his SCBA and was telling him it was very hot. Darren had the 45 millimetre going so I called for another line and quickly changed to 65 millimetre; the other guy with us, Shahram Kouhbad (Shimmy), got the 65 and he started operating it into the room as well, so we were operating a 45 and a 65.
“We didn’t try to get too far into the room; we had both lines operating straight out in front of us and we weren’t hitting anything, so it was a big space we were operating in, and it was just getting hotter and hotter. When I realized with the two lines going we weren’t making any difference we backed out of the room.
Darren reported that he felt like he was getting burned so that made the decision pretty easy.
“There was another crew behind us; we wanted to take just a little breather, so we gave the two hoses to them but instructed guys not to enter the room.
“We went back downstairs then went back to help Steve and his crews, pulling ceilings and directing hoselines into the ceiling area.
“We were there until midnight; we got a break around five o’clock and took another truck back to our hall, switched into spare bunker gear, and we were assigned to relieve an aerial crew and spent the next four hours running aerial operations; we got back at midnight and ran calls after that.
“As firefighters we need to be open to the fact that things change so quickly and we need to think on our feet. It was a complex, fast-moving fire and the guys moved along with it, and that’s another reason why everyone went home that night.”
Matt Pegg had already had a busy few days – he had attended a couple of multiple alarm fires, and there had been a fatality. Council was preparing to debate the proposed budget the next day, and all eyes were on him as acting chief.
“There was brown smoke coming out of the door, and that indicated incomplete combustion and that it was more than just a garbage-pail fire.”
“This was the most complex and significant deployment of resources at one scene that I’ve seen in Toronto and that I’ve ever witnessed,” Pegg said of the Racquet Club fire.
“The physical size of the structure, the proximity –the building was surrounded by other highrise buildings, which made it an extremely large scene, and it made access extremely difficult. Of course, there was almost immeasurable exposure risk and the fact that you’re talking about the intersection of Yonge and St. Clair – one of busiest in Toronto, and trying to deal with a smoke plume that was variable and unpredictable. The wind was strong and the wind direction was
changing frequently.
“At the height of the incident there was about 120 firefighters on the ground. It was one of the largest incident management system deployments that we’ve seen. It was the only incident in my time in Toronto that I’ve seen us set up a second mobile command post.
“The command function is complicated all the time but at an incident that size the incident command process is immense. Simply the task of personnel accountability took multiple people and an immense amount of space. There were multiple people assigned specifically and only to the task of personnel accountability. That took so much effort and so much space we ended up engaging a second command post.
“For such a large, complicated and dangerous scene our incident command team did an amazing job, and that goes all the way to not only the chiefs in the command post but all of the company officers, every firefighter; we had firefighters on the tips of aerials for hours.”
“It wasn’t until you had the aerial view that you could see that it was an inferno,” said Deputy Chief Jim Jessop.
“We were at our senior-management team meeting. I was the on-call deputy that week; the first notification to management was a second alarm and literally, a
minute or so later it went to a third, then a fourth. Once I hit St. Clair I could see nothing but smoke and I knew even blocks away we had a significant challenge.
“I arrived at same time as our senior commanders; we did a quick 360, surveyed what was happening and immediately started to assign responsibility. The commanders – Andy Kostiuk, Len Stadler and Danny MacIsaac – ran operations; I started liaising with Toronto Police because we had to shut down traffic both ways. Toronto Transit Commission streetcars were shut east and west on St Clair. And then I got my first real view of it . . . Matt had already left to respond; basically I told him it appeared to be one of most significant fires I’d seen in a long time. I went to the command post and stated notifying city hall, the mayor’s office, the deputy city manger and the city manager, and made sure that all the appropriate senior staff and elected officials were notified immediately; I could actually see CTV and CP24 helicopters overhead.
“The commanders did a great job positioning aerials in the proper places. Matt took over media duties and asked me to take over liaising with all city agencies. I dealt with the TTC and the next agency we got in touch with was Toronto Water because we needed water pressure boosted with the number of elevated devices flowing; knowing the amount of water we would be flowing, Toronto Hydro and the Electrical Safety Authority were next. We made sure Enbridge Gas was notified. Toronto police sent their command post and a number of senior officers.
“At around noon that day we started formal business cycles. I represented Toronto Fire with commander Danny MacIsaac.
“We instituted the incident command system at the strategic level so we had a unified command.
The big picture
At the height of the incident there were more than 120 firefighers on the ground – the largest deployment of resources Chief Matt Pegg had witnessed.
“At around noon we brought in hazmat trucks because the wind became significant factor with the amount of smoke – we were getting readings inside a number of buildings, especially the condo just south of the fire; we evacuated all the businesses on both sides of St. Clair two blocks south of Yonge, the four corners of Yonge and St. Clair including the CIBC and Scotiabank towers – thousands of people – and the Office of Emergency Management started to make arrangements,.
“This was the first emergency incident where I’ve been on-duty chief for City of Toronto where I personally called the deputy city manger and city manger – it was significant enough that I personally spoke to them and continued to do that throughout the day; that, quite frankly, is something that does not happen, so that gives you the scope of the incident. It is one of the
Division commanders ran the incident on at the Badminton and Racquet Club while Deputy Chief Jim Jessop liaised with city departments and Chief Matt Pegg managed media.
busiest intersections in Canada – you’re looking at transit, business continuity, and the amount of water that was required to stop the fire from spreading was causing water in hydro vaults in underground parking garages that were flooding, so we had crews pumping out water that was the result of the master streams.
“Another thing I have never seen – the commanders made a decision to commandeer a number of balconies at an adjoining condo building. Had that decision not been made, that condo would have suffered significant thermal damage and possibly flame impingement. The Fire Protection and Prevention Act permits us to do that under section 13. That strategic decision saved that adjoining condominium complex – it was so close you could literally step off a balcony onto the roof of the racquet club.
“Our new division chief of investigations, Larry Coco, also respond immediately and was tasked to start looking for the origin and cause. That group started interviewing witnesses, obtaining video feeds, and got onto the balconies to look for the area of origin.
“At around 2 o’clock we were not making headway so the commanders and I did a walk around and were discussing possible strategies because we could not get to the seat of the fire, so we decided that we would exercise our municipal bylaw and bring in heavy equipment to try to get to the seat.
Toronto Fire Services investigations team was on scene for the duration of the fire fight, interviewing witnesses and looking for the origin and cause.
PHOTO: LARRY THORNE
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“We had shut down one of the busiest intersections in Canada both ways for blocks, so Toronto Police provided emergency escort for the contractor to pick up the heavy equipment and were able to help the contractors navigate rush hour in downtown Toronto with midtown shut down so we’d have the equipment much sooner.
“We had to remove a number of parked cars and had to arrange for towing of vehicles out of laneway where equipment was going to go.
“Mayor [John] Tory showed up; to put it in perspective, the Tuesday of the fire [Feb. 15] was the first day of debate on the Toronto city budget. Matt was at council all day and I stayed at the fire and was the senior officer on site; I provided Matt with updates on hydro restoration, gas, water, and traffic, and then started working with Toronto building services – building inspectors were on site with
engineers and looking at what buildings could not be reoccupied because of potential collapse. All through Tuesday we continued our planning cycle with Toronto Police; our goal Tuesday was to have Yonge and St. Clair open for traffic.
“Tuesday morning we knew we had good control of the fire fire and our unified team’s objective was to have the subway running again and the streetcar tracks cleared. By Tuesday at suppertime we had the streets open, the streetcars running and building inspectors assessing, the investigation running parallel, air monitoring being conducted on all buildings that had been evacuated, and we were working with all property management companies assisting pumping out water.
“By Tuesday evening most of the gas had been repaired and by late in the evening we left two apparatus on scene for a fire watch – we continued to have flare ups for a
number of days but at that point traffic was restored, the building department had placed orders restricting occupancy until unstable walls were dealt with, and we were removing historic items from the club, anything we could save.
“By Wednesday noon the command posts were downsized and we transitioned the property back to the owner; all buildings had been reoccupied except 1430 Yonge because it had significant smoke and electrical damage because of the water.
“On the Tuesday I made a point of surveying the damage – apart from the absolutely Herculean efforts of our staff in stopping this fire from spreading, the cost avoidance of the work done by the women and men of Toronto Fire can not be measured – there is between $10 million and $15 million in damage at the club but that pales in comparison to what it would have been had our firefighters not been able to stop the spread.
“It was almost eerie – you walked into the condo units and the coffee was on the tables, the kids’ schoolbags were still at the front door. But our firefighters who went onto the balconies had taken their boots off and laid down paper so they could wipe their feet. We have no reports of any damage to any of the suites we used.
“We used the lessons learned from Elliot Lake and controlled the messaging; we knew our commanders are the best in Canada at tactical issues in downtown cores, so we weren’t worried about that; we had helicopters hovering above us so our number one concern was messaging to the public.
“Every two hours we had a planning meeting. We had senior representatives from each agency with scribes and proper notes. We knew what every agency was doing and what every agency required.
“It was certainly the most complex and challenging fire that I have been at in 21 years. It’s not the largest one Toronto has ever had – Sunrise Propane was the largest – but it was also probably the best organized and most fluid fire operation that literally ran over two days that I have every participated in with other agencies.
That day, the City of Toronto posted the long-vacant fire chief’s job.
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Managing the message
By Laura King
QAt what point did you realize the magnitude of the incident and the potential for a media circus?
AI recognized it immediately upon arriving. We were in senior-management team meetings at headquarters and, of course, all of our team gets notified once a call goes to a second alarm, and notifications recur once it goes to next alarm level; it went from two to three to four in a matter of minutes. A division commander responds on a third alarm and the on-call deputy goes on a fourth – that was Deputy Chief Jim Jessop. Within 10 minutes it was at a fifth alarm. Once it goes to fifth I’m notified formally.
One of the first things Jim did was connect with the command post and then co-ordinated the media that was already there and arranged for an 11 o’clock scrum; Jim called and said they were at the north-east corner of Yonge and St. Clair. Basically when I arrived and knew how extensive it was and how impactful it was going to be, and the extent of the smoke migration – I knew at that point this was an incident where a lot of success was going to be based on our ability to communicate with media and, through them, with residents.
The last thing I said in each scrum was to advise the reporters when I would be back for the next scrum. I met with them every hour until 10 o’clock at night, then again at 6 and 7 the next morning. After the 7 a.m. scrum, I handed on-scene media off to my senior command team and went to council for budget all day.
QThis incident happened at one of the busiest intersections in Canada with cars, pedestrians, street cars, a subway system and tens of thousands of residents and commuters. How did you control the messaging to and use the media to your advantage?
AIt was very obvious there was going to be a very significant impact on a lot of people. I didn’t know initially that the incident would affect the subway but it ended up being affected because of smoke. For operational reasons we had apparatus parked across street-car tracks , the subway was closed, the streetcar was shut down and a lot of people were affected. My priority was to leverage the expertise and partner with the media – the print and broadcast media on scene and also social media to keep the residents in Toronto and to give all of the stakeholders, such as elected officials, timely, accurate relevant information.
The overarching principle for me was to do my very best to give everyone a sense of calm – to let people know this is a big incident but we’re OK. My goal was to do the very best I could do to be that voice.
QDid you have assistance from corporate communication and Toronto Fire Services media division?
ATwo groups managed a nearly unbelievable amount of information: one was strategic communications (our corporate communications division) and the other was Toronto Fire Services; that let me focus on being able to meet the needs of all the media that were on scene and stay as connected as I could with a significant number of people on social media. I was tweeting on my own account (@ChiefPeggTFS) and our public information officer(s) were managing the @TorontoFire account. My goal was to connect with people in language they understood and provide information that was relevant and important; that ranged from simply letting people know what was going on to referring people to resources to let them know how their commute was going to be impacted, and to get information to those who were evacuated.
We have such a luxury today because in 140 characters I can reach thousands of people instantaneously. That’s the only time in my life I actually got a tweet from Twitter to let us know that we were trending globally.
QYou posted hundreds of tweets and re-tweets between about 10 a.m. and midnight. Specifically, what was the impact of your presence on Twitter?
Toronto Fire Chief Matt Pegg’s tweets helped to manage expectations of residents in nearby buildings. Tweets were read and shared by hundreds of thousands of people who were able to get information about evacuations and resources.
Toronto chief uses Twitter to be the voice of calm
AIt’s very easy for us to not think about an incident beyond the fact that it’s a fire in the city in which we work, but the reality is this was international news; there was a significant volume of interaction on social media with people from the United States and even the U.K. – a lot of interaction from well wishers, just people saying I hope you guys are all OK and will be safe – a lot of interaction from fire-service colleagues to say we’re watching and you’re doing great, and keep up the great work with the media – to just general interest, to getting a message from someone saying I was evacuated out my apartment how do I get my cat? I really believe it gave people the ability to be put at ease because the [constant communication] gave people the ability to ask the questions instead of being behind the yellow tape and not having anyone to ask.
QBecause TFS is such a large department you were not the incident commander; did you know going in that your role would be so specific?
AMy role at that incident was to first be the connection point, the face and voice of Toronto Fire, to communicate openly and transparently with the three million people affected by this fire; and, at a large-scale incident like this in a big urban city, my job is to be the face and voice of calm. The whole city’s on its ear, and there’s a lot of angst because people are stuck in subway stations, the street cars aren’t coming, the buses aren’t coming, and people are angry. My job is to say it’s OK to be frustrated, and it’s important to me and I’m going to be very candid about why that is. Today, more so than ever, connecting with media and people needs to be a component of the incident command
system – it is as much a priority as the tactical priorities we’re demanding through the ICS process.
An incident this big in a city this big could be the equivalent of a significant fire in a small town; my advice to chiefs is to consider that the media needs to be incorporated into your incident action plan. I have the luxury – I don’t have to be the IC – I had two command posts full of people; but if I didn’t have that luxury, it would be part of my responsibility to figure it out and fulfill that role.
It is a mistake, based on what I’ve seen, to ignore that communication role. We didn’t have issues with media self deploying to unsafe places, for example, to take pictures, because I gave them my commitment that I would be there to update them, and I was; it was a top priority for me to honour my commitment. If I told them I would be there by 3 I was there by 3. I’ve seen it in the past where we disrespect the business
Acting Toronto Fire Chief Matt Pegg worked with media to communicate with hundreds of thousands of commuters and residents about road and transit closures, evacuations and resources. Pegg held hourly briefings for reporters during the blaze at the Badiminon and Racquet Club of Toronto on Feb. 14.
cycles of the media and they’ve got live feeds scheduled or deadlines and we blow them off, and then that’s not co-operation and I need them to co-operate with my rules and they need commitments; we both were able to get what we needed.
We changed the media perimeter four times; the wind was fairly strong and the direction was changing a lot. When the wind gets whipping through the highrises . . . managing the smoke migration was very difficult.
QEverything went as well as it could have; still, what lessons were learned?
AOur lessons learned were positive reinforcement. As much as it was a priority for me – and it became almost my entire priority – I didn’t even really appreciate the magnitude of how important that media and social media were until the next day. We were going to be international news at that fire anyway – but I guess what I realized in retrospect, you’re going to be international news but is that going to be a negative or positive thing for your organization? I’m pretty proud of the way our whole organization managed the media interaction. I think I underappreciated how powerful it is when you sincerely just thank your people for doing a good job. The media was really happy just to hear someone in uniform just be human. They asked how is everyone and I was able to say we’re tired, we’re beat up but we’re OK.
We had no loss of life which, given the location and the magnitude of the incident, was a huge achievement. I have the deepest respect for all of our command team and all of our operations personnel to operate a scene that big in nearly zero visibility for 15 hours, and the worst injury we had was a twisted ankle.
QWe know from other significant incidents that it’s best to engage the media and manage the message rather than isolate reporters, who will then find other sources of information. How did you do that initially?
AI needed them to partner with me. In the very first conversation before the fist scrum –there were 40 cameras there – I introduced myself and told them it was going to be a long day and I needed their help. I needed them to be candid and straight up with me and I would be candid and straight up about what I needed from them.
As the day went on we had a number of times when due to changing conditions we had to widen the evacuation perimeter. I was able to walk out of the command post and go to the media area and of ask if any of them could go live right now, and within two minutes they’re going live right now; they were able to go live on CP24 say we were widening the evacuation area and indicate that if you are in that area we need you to move.
I didn’t feel like a needed to manage the media; they were part of our team.
Keeping up with demand
Take elevator training to the top
By Domenic Guaragna
In January 2016, I was tasked to update the Vaughan Fire & Rescue Service (VFRS) standard operating guideline (SOG) for elevator rescue and creating a training program.
As the City of Vaughan – a community of more than 320,000 people north of Toronto – grows vertically, VFRS needs to improve elevator rescue skills to ensure we provide premium customer service.
VFRS responded to 94 elevator-rescue calls in 2016 and 74 in 2015. These types of rescues will increase as a multi-use, highdensity urban corridor is developed that will include two 50-storey towers adjacent to the new Vaughan Metropolitan Centre.
I began by asking questions: What was ineffective about our current elevator program? How much money/time will this program require? Which Technical Standards & Safety Authority-accredited elevator-training provider would best suit our needs? How many shift training instructors would it take to successfully roll out a program to reach our 300 firefighters? How could I create a SOG that our fire service can grow into and will last for at least 10 years? How could I make the training user friendly while holding the attention of firefighters?
My first task was to source the right company to train 16 firefighters as shift leaders and choose a training provider.
The two-day course took place in March 2016 at our training division. The first day was predominantly theory and addressed the use of the elevator props. The second day was all hands-on training, divided evenly between hydraulic and traction elevators. We had access to a hydraulic elevator at a local community centre and a traction elevator at a 20-storey residential building. The
hands-on component was the most engaging and the best way for firefighters to validate the techniques we were shown the previous day; we were able to see how a safe elevator rescue should flow. Having an elevator prop and a strong PowerPoint isn’t enough: firefighters must train on elevators to hone their skills.
The elevator-door prop
Once the training was complete it was clear that VFRS needed to purchase its own elevator prop. I visited Toronto Fire Services, Barrie Fire and Emergency Service and Durham College’s elevating devices mechanic program to see elevator props. All roads
led to an elevator parts supplier that carries props made in New York state then shipped to Mississauga for pick up. Note: if you call to enquire, refer to the elevator prop as an “elevator stand.”
SOG revisions
I began to revise our SOG after the prop was ordered. I got elevator SOGs from six departments. I took into consideration what I learned in the elevator course and, combined with the feedback from our shift training instructors, the foundation and vision for our new SOG was laid. I took this vision to our joint health and safety committee members, administration,
Vaughan Fire & Rescue Service in Ontario responded to 94 elevator-rescue calls in 2016 and 74 in 2015. The elevator-door prop commissioned by VFRS is custom designed.
demand
platoon chiefs, district chiefs, and firefighters. After editing the proposed guideline, it was finally complete. I was sure to follow all the guidelines and lessons from the training provider, the Ministry of Labour Section 21 Guidance Note #632, the American Society of Mechanical Engineers Emergency Guide Manual A17.4-2015, and case studies provided by TSSA.
SOG highlights
Level 1 (stand by and wait for an elevator mechanic) versus Level 2 (rescue).
Crews can remain on scene in Level 1 mode for up to 30 minutes waiting for an elevator mechanic if the occupant(s) is not in distress. After 30 min utes we open the door and never leave the scene until the occupant is out. Crews can respond non-emergency if it is confirmed by the communica tions operator that the occu pant(s) is not in distress. If the company officer perceives dis tress or doesn’t have enough information to confirm the absence of distress while on scene (or en route) the crews respond emergency and get the door open ASAP. Always con firm that an elevator mechanic is en route.
10 rules of elevator rescue
1. Never try to repair the eleva tor.
2. Never try to identify the cause of the elevator’s failure.
3. Never turn the lobby fire service switch to recall (this will fix nothing)
4. Never put the elevator back
into service until a licensed elevator technician informs call it, is used on an elevator door that doesn’t have a drop-
use a hockey stick (or broom handle) through the hoistway
Celebrating 50 Years
Extrication tips
By Chad Roberts
A simple size-up plan
No two motor-vehicle collisions (MVCs) present the same: differences range from the vehicles involved to speed, the numbers of patients involved, and their positions in the vehicles. While it’s impossible to manage every collision scene the same way, a simple, modular approach that is scalable and uses principles of the incident management system can be applied to size-up every incident.
Considerations
From the time of dispatch, several factors should be considered: time of day; weather and temperature; location of the incident; previous incidents at that location; credible information received from dispatch; the number of vehicles involved and possible patients; potential for a hazmat situation; and large vehicles, which may require the early deployment of a certified heavy tow.
En route, rescuers should think about road conditions and the number of responding apparatuses. It’s also critical to consider the direction from which it is best to approach the area to allow quick and safe access to the incident, and to ensure there is no need for crews to cross over other rescuers on scene. Route planning is also important if the exact location is unknown – to make sure responding crews don’t bypass the incident.
While en route, crews can delegate jobs: one firefighter in charge of patient contact; another takes care of the vehicle; and the driver secures the scene.
Scene safety
Once on scene, safety is the most important factor. Keep in mind the vehicles involved, the reactionary issues caused by the incident, and the active scene around your crew, including traffic and pedestrians. How many vehicles are involved in the incident? Note that vehicles might be in the ditch or have carried on for several metres on the same road. Incident com-
manders must look for and take in a lot of information: try to make a full 360-degree circle around the scene to get a clear picture of the vehicles involved. Doing so can provide an indication of damage sus tained by each vehicle, and reveal any hidden hazards.
Roles and tasks
Next, the previously delegated firefighter 1 attempts to identify the patient(s). It’s always best to approach a patient headon; this prevents the patient from moving his or her head side to side and helps to protect the C-spine. Make contact, re assure the patient, and let him or her know what’s going on. Start and keep a dialogue with the patient to keep him or her calm. Patient care is the most import
While patient assessment is occurring, firefighter 1 can work on primary stabilzation of the vehicle.
Extrication tips
running and could move, even if you can’t hear the engine; alternative fuel hybrids can be difficult to identify and can runner whisper quiet).
Driver duties
The driver must consider where and how to position the truck, with safety top of mind: which lane(s) of traffic to occupy; distance from the scene; and room for ambulances or heavy rescues. The most widely accepted position is the fend-off position, which protects the scene and ensures that should the apparatus be rear-ended, it moves away from the scene rather than toward working personnel.
After the truck is positioned, the driver further secures the scene, setting out pylons, flares and fire-lline tape. It’s also a good idea for the driver to bring an extinguisher to the crash to start fire protection; if needed, the driver can pull a line for greater safety. Once fire protection is established and the scene is safe to work, the driver can help firefighter 2 to stabilizing the vehicle.
The first couple of minutes on scene can be chaotic – all the more reason to have a plan and ensure each crew member knows his or her role. That said, variables such numbers of vehicles or patients require the incident commander to tweak the plan. If there are multiple vehicles involved, firefighter 1 and firefighter 2 each take one vehicle and one patient, and it may be necessary for the driver to become more involved. In situations with multiple patients in one vehicle, firefighter 1 and firefighter 2 each take one patient. A solid model that works for your department, which is scalable to each incident, gives crews confidence and ensures a smooth response. The modular system explained here relates to one- and two-vehicles incidents but as with many systems in the fire service, can be expanded to address the situation. Never be afraid to call for help early in the incident; additional responders can always be turned back if they are not needed.
The next column, in July, will focus more on size-up, particularly stabilization, glass management, patient access and assessment, and a plan for extrication. Until then, be smart and never stop watching, reading and listening.
The first couple of minutes on scene can be chaotic; all the more reason to have a plan and ensure all crew members know their roles.
Back to basics
By Mark van der Feyst
Mark van der Feyst has been in the fire service since 1999 and is a full-time firefighter in Ontario. He teaches in Canada, the United States and India and is lead author of Residential Fire Rescue. Mark@FireStarTraining.com
The tenets of survival – part 2
In the January issue, we examined the first three points of the basics or foundations of fire fighting that every firefighter should know: your equipment; your crew; and your response area. The last two basics are size-up and training.
Before we dive in, we need to clarify a small matter: a photo with the January column showed a firefighter wearing his face piece incorrectly – the face piece was put on over the flash hood. This photo was taken at a training event and was used on purpose, to reinforce the importance of knowing your equipment. Instructors immediately spoke with the firefighter and the situation was corrected.
Size-up
Firefighters need to have a basic understanding of size-up and understand how it applies to themselves as well as other aspects of the fire ground.
All firefighters need to be aware of their own limitations and those of other firefighters. Even though we may think we are invincible and capable of doing everything, we are not –you are not! We all have limitations and knowing what they are helps prevent firefighters from being caught in situation that may require self-rescue. Knowing what other firefighters can do is also a benefit: if you are or paired up with another firefighter for a task assignment, it is good to know if your colleague is going to be a benefit to the team or a hindrance.
Size-up also includes the structure and the fire ground.
As we have been taught in basic training, size-up begins when the call is dispatched and it ends when all crews are back at the station. This continuous process is required because the fire ground is dynamic with changes happening, often for the better but sometimes for the worse.
For structural size-up, it’s important to determine entry and exit points so that firefighters can get out and get out quickly. We never want to enter a structure without knowing exits other than the initial entry point. This process includes identifying door and window locations, noting the types and size, and recognizing any obstructions or barriers. If windows are obstructed by security bars, the rapid intervention team (RIT) must remove the bars while there are teams inside.
Firefighters must also size-up the number of storeys; this is especially important for situational awareness. Some structures may look to be two storeys from the front, but may actually be three or more storeys. When a firefighter reports to command on a mayday call, it is critical to know the location so the RIT team can respond quickly.
Lastly, firefighters want to size up the location of the fire; this is important for the team making entry as well as for individual firefighters. The location of the fire dictates the actions to be taken to combat it. Knowing the location of the fire also keeps firefighters aware of their actions in relation to the fire and helps to prevent anyone being caught between the fire and the
exit. Situational awareness of surroundings includes knowing where the fire is and what it is doing.
Training
Training is the cornerstone of firefighter survival and it paves the way for firefighters to be able to self-rescue from a dire situation. For training to be effective, it needs to be both constant and consistent.
Constant training means training every day or every shift or every training night. Constant training allows firefighters to exercise muscle memory to
develop skill sets. The goal of training is to refine skills and make firefighters better at what they do.
To perfect those skills, training also needs to be consistent. Firefighters develop habits; good habits develop from consistent training. Training is not isolated to an official training time, but occurs every time we don our gear and respond to a call. This is why we need to be consistent – developing good habits rather than bad habits; the good habits will save us when face a life-or-death situation.
Constant and consistent training helps firefighters develop good habits.
Consistent training helps to build and increase skills proficiency.
Fit for duty
By Sherry Dean
Sherry Dean is a career firefighter/engineer with Halifax Regional Fire & Emergency. She has more than 20 years of experience in fitness and training. deansherry@bellaliant.net
Elevate results with high-interval training
Recently I read yet another article on HIIT, high intensity interval training. The author touted HIIT as the latest greatest. It is hardly that. HIIT has been around for decades, but science does continue to support the benefits and results of this type of training. There is a copious amount of information available if you are interested in learning why HIIT works, but for today, you are just going to have to trust me. The great news is the workouts are shorter. The bad news is, it’s not easy.
Fire fighting and HIIT are not dissimilar. One of the fundamental concepts of HIIT is working at 85 per cent to 95 per cent of your maximum effort with short bouts of rest or resting work. Sound familiar? Drag a hose up the stairs and down the hall, kneel and spray water, repeat. HIIT is what we do a lot of the time on the fire ground and without the benefits of dynamic warm up. That, in and of itself, is a great reason to use HIIT to maintain your fitness or, at a minimum, put it in your repertoire.
There are a number of different methods of HIIT including power intervals, Tabata, and the little method, some of which we have covered in past columns. All of these types of HIIT training hinge around similar principles: work as hard as you possibly can for a short period of time with limited recovery. This workout is a modification of a 4x4 with longer periods of work in one interval and active recovery build in the next interval. You should feel spent after intervals one and three. Don’t leave anything in reserve. Work as hard as you can without stopping if possible. I hope you enjoy.
4 X 4 – Each interval is a total of four minutes with each exercise lasting one minute. Intervals 2 and 4 are active recovery rounds.
Interval 1
Thrusters – Squat with overhead press. Squat stance holding a sand bag or hose pack tight to your chest with your hands high at the shoulder level. Squat aiming for parallel or lower, and return to start position. Press the bag/pack over your head, keeping your spine neutral and core tight. The finish position is with your arms directly overhead, your head slightly forward so you have a straight line from hands to feet.
Travelling push-ups – Do a pushup then use your arms to travel right or left, push up, then repeat.
Split jumps – Start in lunge position with arms reaching above, jump up and switch legs.
Star jumps or jumping jacks – Star jumps start from a feet-together, hands-touching-feet position. Jump up extending your arms and legs to the side at the same time and return to the start position. It looks like cheerleading.
Interval 2
Plank – Forearms or straight-arm position. One or both feet on the ground.
Superman/banana – Lie on your back with arms and feet off the ground in a banana shape, without using your arms, roll to the side and onto your stomach in a curved superman position, arms and feet off the ground. Repeat, but remember to roll in opposite directions. Reach throughs – Laying on your back with knees bent, reach through your legs with your right hand, then left hand, followed by reaching outside your right leg to your heel, and then the left side.
One of the fundamental concepts of HIIT is working at 85 per cent to 95 per cent of your maximum effort with short bouts of rest or resting work. Sound familiar?
Plank jacks – From a forearm plank, jump your feet narrow and wide as if doing a horizontal jumping jack. Arms do not move.
Interval 3
Prison burpees – From a standing position, hit the ground (chest must touch the ground) and complete three push-ups before jumping back up. A quick hop at the top and hands clap above your head.
Jump tucks or driving high knees – Regardless of which one you choose, the idea is to drive the knees as high into the chest as you can. You want to get some air on this exercise. Lines – 10-metre sprint from line to line. Touch the line at each turn around.
Step or jump-ups – Use a box or stairway. Each step up should be between 18 inches and 24 inches high. Make sure you open your hips (standing straight up) at the top of each step/jump up. Alternate lead legs if you are stepping.
Interval 4
Supine leg march – Laying on your back with quads perpendicular to the ground, extend one leg to almost straight just off the ground and return to start position. The key here is to keep your back connected to the ground and move only one leg at a time.
Side plank – From forearm or straight arm (right side only this time).
Russian twist – Start in a seated position with legs slightly bent and upper body angled back. Using a light weight or medicine ball in both hands, move it from your right side to your left. You can touch the weight/ball to the ground on each side or keep it slightly elevated at all times.
Recipe rescue
By Patrick Mathieu
Camaraderie, cuisine breed fire-hall cookbook
Ican hardly believe I have been sharing recipes, tips and cooking stories from life in the firehouse for more than six years. My first column spoke to the camaraderie and huge benefits that a platoon can experience from time spent together in the kitchen. Cooking and eating together is a time during long, busy shifts when firefighters can bond, chat about life, reflect on the success and failures of the shift and, well, be a family. I still vividly remember my first column because it is still something I am passionate about and firmly still believe in today. I have experienced firsthand that a platoon/family that cooks together, stays together.
I recently released my first cookbook, The FireHouse Chef ; it is a project I am incredibly proud of and, really, is a testament to camaraderie and cooking as part of firehouse culture.
I come from a long family line of both firefighters (my grandpapa and great uncles were firefighters in Quebec City) and passionate home cooks. My grandmama was the chief in our family kitchen, the best cook I have ever known; she wrote recipes that would become family treasures, even passing them out on her death bed. While visiting my aunt and uncle in Florida, we were translating grandmama’s recipes to English from French and trying to convert “a little of this and a little of that” into a tangible recipe.
My beautiful wife Andrea inspired me to start compiling my stack of recipes and place them all in a book; if nothing else, we would have all of my recipes from years of cooking in the fire hall in one place to pass along to our family and generations to come. I thought, what an amazing idea, but as I began the process I also realized I am not the only passionate firefighter foodie who takes pride in feeding his platoon. What if I reached out to other firefighters?
Patrick Mathieu is an acting captain at Waterloo Fire Rescue in Ontario. Mathieu is the author of Firehouse Chef: Favourite Recipes from Canada’s Firefighters, published in 2016. stationhousecateringco@yahoo.ca @StationHouseCCo
Cooking was a huge part of my life and growth within the fire service and I was certain other brothers and sisters felt the same. What if I could write a cookbook featuring other Canadian firefighters, their love for food, and highlight their best fire-hall recipes? What if I could have this book professionally published and use it as a tool for charity? Cooking and giving back to our communities, that’s what firefighters do right! With the help of my amazingly supportive association and IAFF Canada I began the four-year labor of love this cookbook project became, and reached out to every single fire department in Canada, asking for submissions of locally inspired recipes and stories about the departments and communities.
The response and support from our firefighter family was amazing. Recipes came in from Newfoundland and Labrador to Yukon. The idea of a professionally published fire-hall cookbook soon turned into a story of Canadian firefighters and life in our firehouses.
Since being released in November 2016, The FireHouse Chef has raised approximately $10,000 for charity, has been featured on national radio and television, and in multiple local newspapers and magazines across Canada.
Other than the immense charitable aspect of the cookbook project, the biggest reward has been the camaraderie I have experienced from firefighters across the country, who have contributed to the book, cooked from the book, seen the book on television and contacted me, or are using the cookbook as a tool to raise money to support local charitable organizations.
My inspiration behind my very first column six years ago resonates even more today. I am immensely proud to be part of this firefighter family and to be a firehouse chef. Here are four recipes from me and our firefighter family. Enjoy!
Crisp braised duck legs with apricots and brandy
INGREDIENTS
6 (12- to-16-oz) fresh duck legs, trimmed of excess fat
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 tbsp grape seed oil
1 tbsp butter
4 medium carrots, cut into 1-inch pieces
2 medium celery stalks, cut into 1-inch pieces
DIRECTIONS
1 medium yellow onion, chopped
6 medium cloves garlic, minced
1 lb dried apricots, thinly sliced
4 sprigs fresh thyme
4-8 cups good quality chicken broth
3 tbsp brandy
2 tbsp finely chopped fresh parsley
1 Season the duck legs liberally with salt and pepper. Melt the butter in the oil in a Dutch oven or other heavy-duty pot over medium-high heat. Working in batches, put the duck legs in the pot skin-side down and cook until the skin is very well browned and crisp, about 10 minutes (reduce heat to medium if they brown too fast). Flip duck legs once and cook a couple minutes on the other side. Transfer legs to a plate and drain off all but 2 tbsp of the fat from the pot and save the fat for another day.
2 Add the carrots, celery, onion, and garlic to the pot and cook over medium heat stirring often, until the garlic is just starting to turn golden-brown, 3 to 4 minutes. Stir in the apricots, thyme and brandy. Arrange the duck legs skin side up on top of the vegetables and add enough chicken broth to cover the duck by about 1/2 inch, up to 8 cups. Increase the heat to high and bring the liquid to a boil. Add salt and pepper to taste, reduce the heat to low, cover the pot, and cook until fork tender, 1-1/2 to 2 hours. Turn off the heat and let the duck rest in the juice for 15 to 30 minutes. Skim off any fat from the surface of the sauce.
3 With a slotted spoon, distribute the vegetables among a platter. Top with the duck legs. Stir another dash of brandy into the sauce in the pot, and then drizzle the sauce over the duck legs. Garnish with chopped parsley and serve.
Recipe rescue
Thai drunken noodles
INGREDIENTS
1 200g package pad Thai noodles
4 chicken thighs cut into bite-sized pieces
1 cup basil leaves, preferably Thai 2 shallots, chopped
2 scallions, white and green chopped
3 large cloves garlic, minced
2 Thai bird chillis, finely chopped
DIRECTIONS
2 eggs, beaten
2 tbsp peanut oil
Sauce:
3 tbsp oyster sauce
1 ½ tbsp mushroom soy sauce
1½ tbsp normal dark soy sauce
2 tsp sugar
¼ cup Sake rice wine
1 Pour boiling water over noodles in a large bowl and set aside for 5 minutes (or as per packet instructions), and drain when ready. Make sure to rinse noodles under cold water.
2 Put sauce ingredients in a small bowl and mix to combine. Heat oil in wok or pan over high heat. Add garlic and chilli and cook for 10 seconds. Add the eggs and cook stirring constantly until just set. Add chicken and fry until cooked partially through, about 2 minutes.
3 Add the shallots/scallions and about 1 tbsp of the sauce and stir fry for 30 seconds, just to coat the chicken. Add the noodles and sauce and cook for a couple minutes until the sauce has coated the noodles completely and the start to brown.
4 Remove from heat and immediately add basil leaves, stir until just wilted, then serve immediately. Enjoy with a cold Tiger Beer!
Cast iron hanger steak with Dijon cream sauce
INGREDIENTS
8-12 oz hanger steak, trimmed of excess fat and silverskin
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 tbsp unsalted butter
1 tbsp olive oil
5 tbsp cognac or brandy
¼ cup heavy cream
2 tbsp Dijon mustard
1 tbsp minced flat-leaf parsley
DIRECTIONS
1 Season the steaks liberally with salt and pepper. Melt the butter in oil in a large cast-iron skillet over medium-high heat. Once the pan begins to smoke, add the steaks. Cook, turning just once, about four minutes per side or until an instant-read thermometer reads 130 degrees in the thickest part. Remove pan from heat and transfer steaks to a cutting board and loosely tent with foil.
2 Add 4 tbsp cognac/brandy to the pan and stir, scraping any browned bits from the bottom with a wooden spoon. Return pan to medium-high heat and cook for about 20 seconds. Add cream and mustard, season with salt and pepper and cook stirring vigorously until the sauce just comes together. Stir in remaining cognac/brandy and keep warm over low heat. Slice the hanger steaks across the grain in ¼-inch pieces and drizzle sauce over top. Serve steaks garnished with parsley and black pepper. Enjoy!
Tim-bits
By Tim Llewellyn
Tim Llewellyn is a firefighter for the Allegheny County Airport Authority in Pittsburgh, Pa., and an instructor for several fire academies and training faculties. llewellyn.fire@gmail.com
Standpipe considerations
The dispatcher’s voice crackles loudly over the pager through the late-night silence: “Possible structure fire, 2 Gilkey Dr. – Penn Mar Plaza in Mars Borough. Caller on the 7th floor can hear smoke alarms going off and reports black smoke filling the hallway – unable to evacuate. Responding units will be Engines 42, 19, 20, 21 and 22, Truck 42, Truck 228 and Rescue 16 for the RIT. Now receiving multiple calls . . . ” As the company officer rises out of bed and fumbles for socks to put on, one thought runs through her head based upon the first two parts of the dispatcher’s message – working fire on the seventh floor of an occupied mid-rise: “This is going to be a standpipe job.”
Many urban and suburban buildings are equipped with standpipes. Fire departments in rural areas may find commercial warehouse developments or other installations with built-in standpipes. Standpipes are basically threeor four-inch pipes installed in a building with outlets at defined locations that have the sole purpose of providing water for firefighting operations in areas distant from the fire apparatus – most commonly a vertical distance away. Standpipes can be supplied with water from the municipal water supply (or a water reservoir) by a fire pump installed in the building, or by fire apparatus on a hydrant connected to the building with hoses through connections on the outside of the building.
There is debate in Canada and the United States about what size hose should be used to connect to a standpipe for fighting fires. Many departments have great success and hold true to 65 millimetre (2.5inch) hose and smooth-bore nozzles, while others have had success and find preference in 45 mm (1.75-inch) hose and combination nozzles. While there are many things to consider when choosing fire hose for standpipe operations, there are two facts that must be taken into account: NFPA 14; and the age of the building.
In 1993, the pressure requirements for standpipe systems were increased by the consensus standard, NFPA 14: Standard for the Installation of Standpipe and Hose Systems. Prior to 1993, the standard required standpipes to have a minimum residual pressure of 65 psi. These systems were designed for 65 mm hose with a smooth-bore nozzles; they were not designed for 45 mm hose combined with 100 psi fog or even 50 psi smooth-bore nozzles. The friction loss of 45
mm hose and the pressure requirements of even a low-pressure combination nozzle are greater than the system’s capacity. There is even greater danger in utilizing automatic fog nozzles, as demonstrated in Philadelphia Fire Department’s deadly One Meridian Plaza fire in 1991. The result in using an automatic or combination nozzle could be a dangerously low flow nozzle stream with poor reach and stream pattern.
In the 1993 edition of NFPA 14, the residual pressure requirements were increased to 100 psi. Many believe that this change permits the use of smaller-diameter hoses and lower-pressure fog nozzles for standpipe operations. While many fire departments have had success with this type of hose set-up, there may be a misconception. Let’s look at the pressure calculation. The standpipe is designed to give 100 psi; a typical low-pressure fog nozzle requires 75 psi to achieve the desired flow rate. A 45 mm hose (typically) has a friction loss rating of 26 psi per 30 metres (100 feet). Standpipe
hose packs are usually 45 metres (150 feet) long. The math: 75 psi nozzle pressure + 39 psi friction loss = 114 psi required. By design, the standpipe offers only 100 psi for use – 14 psi short. The result is that the low-pressure nozzle that requires 75 psi would get only about 60 psi and would not have the gallons-per-minute flow rate or stream reach that is normally encountered and expected. If this were a pre1993 code standpipe, the hoseline would be 49 psi short – very under pressurized.
Changing only the fog nozzle to a smooth-bore nozzle (50 psi required) alters the math favourably: 50 nozzle pressure + 39 friction loss = 89 psi. The smooth-bore nozzle set-up offers a surplus of pressure – 11 psi – which will increase the total gallons per minute available to put out the fire.
For 65 mm hose and a smooth-bore nozzle combination, the math works out even more favourably. Using the same calculations, the improved friction-loss characteristics of 65 mm hose (15 psi per 30 metres) combined with the low operating pressure of smooth-bore handline nozzles (50 psi), the surplus pressure rises to 28 psi.
Whatever combination of hose and nozzles your department chooses to combat fires in buildings with standpipes, there must be careful consideration given to the factors involved before the fire starts. In the July edition of Tim-Bits, I will introduce a method of storing and deploying 65 mm hose from a standpipe that works for many fire departments and might work for yours.
TIM LLEWELLYN
BY
PHOTO
This class I standpipe connection with a pressure reducing valve was installed in 1994. It is expected to deliver roughly 500 gpm at 100 psi residual pressure.
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Front seat
By Jason Clark
Jason Clark has been a volunteer firefighter in southwestern Ontario since 2007. Having recently made the transition to captain from firefighter, Clark has a new perspective on riding in the front seat @jacejclark jaceclark71@gmail.com
Be nice and say thank you
Every morning I get into my vehicle, turn the key and, due to years of engineering behind the internal combustion engine, my ride starts up and I’m on my way. I then drop in at the local coffee shop, where pleasant and observant staff start making my regular order before I reach for the change in my pocket. I never think about saying “Sue, the coffee process is running top-notch today.” Maybe I should.
Generally, we think our about dayto-day routines only when something goes awry – when the truck breaks down on the way to work, or that desperately needed medium double-double turns out to be an unappealing decaf single-single. And when things go awry – even the don’t-sweat-the-small-stuff things –we want someone to know, so we rant to our spouses, co-workers, or on social media to everyone we’ve come in contact with since Grade 6.
This type of reactionary behaviour got me thinking about the fire service and the calls to which we respond. Do we let our crew members know when they are doing a great job? Or do we focus on the stop-bad mindset and fail to emphasize the good things we accomplish on scene? I’m not saying every time a crew member successfully backs a truck into a bay without clipping a mirror we should give out gold stars and throw a party; it’s more subtle than that.
We let our crew members know when they do something incorrect or unsafe – it comes with the territory as a supervisor or fire officer. But we need to make sure we put more positive energy into telling members that yes, they did the jobs they signed up for and were expected to do – but they did an outstanding job.
Some examples:
I go on a structure-fire call and the
pump operator I ride with to the scene has the hose charged for the crew members as soon as they call for water. So I tell the pump operator, “Things were hectic off the start with people screaming that their shop was on fire, but you kept us in sight and you got us water the instant we called for a charge on the line.”
Something positive happens every time the tone drops and responders start arriving on scene . . .
Having responded to the worst car accident I’ve experienced with the fire service, I remember the rescue and supporting crews doing an exceptional job. The power-pack and extrication tools were off the rig, the road was blocked off in both directions, and the jaws were operating minutes after I said “We’re cutting, we have someone trapped.” While the crew members who were working the jaws and cutters were gaining all the glory for performing extrication, I noticed a rookie had the car stabilized and cribbed 30 seconds prior; that rookie might not get any praise because cribbing and stabilization are expected to be completed, but his role was as important that of his colleagues. Let your people know when they do good work, that they’re doing good work.
When we lead from the front, I think it is important to do a walk-
around and talk with crew members after the call and let them know that they did everything they could to help the stabilize the incident. This may also be the time that crew members, as students of the fire service, may have questions about some of the things that unfolded on the call; getting some one-on-one time will be beneficial for crews and for you. Something positive happens every time the tone drops and responders start arriving on scene; on complex and stressful scenes, there are many working parts and tasks that need to be accomplished. I look back at some scenes and think, “that really went well given what was thrown at us.” The reason things go well is simple: because we work in team environments with highly trained emergency responders including paramedics, police officers, firefighters and members of mutual-aid departments. These women and men constantly blow my mind by exceeding expectations, training extensively and knowing their jobs inside and out, and getting the job done. The next time you’re on scene with your crews – or your morning caffeine hit turns out exactly as you ordered – say thank you.
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