Wednesday July, 27 2016 @ 19:00

Nature: Firefighter In-service Training – Fire Behavior

Location: Station #1 32628 Oak Orchard Road, Millsboro, DE 19966

On Wednesday, July 27th, the members of the Indian River Volunteer Fire Company underwent some professional development and in-service training to enhance their awareness of fire behavior and ventilation tactics. This course was offered via the Delaware State Fire School with instruction being delivered by Cody Lockwood, a certified DSFS Instructor.

The intent of the curriculum was to enhance firefighter awareness and review basic fire ground operations with specific emphasis on ventilation.

It was identified that fire behavior is ever changing, and fires progress more rapidly than ever because of the presence of synthetic materials, which are basically petroleum products in solid form.

Today’s firefighters must be aware of the resulting increased potential thermal energy output, and various other factors that could impact activities on the fire ground. In essence, a firefighter must be able to effectively interpret the visual and audio messages the that fire is offering. Effective fire communication consists of a sender (the fire), the message (behavioral aspects), the receiver (the firefighter), the decoding (reading the smoke and fire), and the feedback (individual reaction). All of these components must be present; if not, communication does not take place and misunderstanding is possible. A fire’s development is from ignition to decay. Each stage of the fire is progressive and distributes its dangerous fire events--e.g., rollover, flashover, smoke explosion, backdraft, and rapid fire spread. The fire gives off clues to its progression, travel, and dangers and the firefighter must pay attention and listen.