More with Doors

Firefighters can find other uses for doors that aren’t so common or spoken about but can prove invaluable on the fireground.

ON FIRE | by MICHAEL N. CIAMPO

Throughout our careers, firefighters will encounter plenty of situations that involve forcing doors and using doors to assist us in our tactical operations. Sometimes, we’ll even find other uses for doors that aren’t so common or spoken about. Developing our tactics on using or attacking doors will offer us plenty of advantages on the fireground and emergency scenes.

If you’ve been following the recent surveys on civilian rescues, you might notice that firefighters are performing these functions every day. Many of these rescues allow victims to survive but, unfortunately, some rescued victims may succumb to their injuries. Recent studies by Underwriters Laboratories, in collaboration with researchers and seasoned firefighters, have shown that the lower victims are to the floor, the better their chances of not inhaling poisonous smoke, gases, and chemicals—giving them a better chance of surviving.

Also, firefighters shouldn’t drag victims all the way through an occupancy to remove them from the structure. Not only does this expose them to more smoke inhalation, but they could also be burned or injured when dragged through smoldering embers and debris. We should be focusing on getting them out of the toxic atmosphere as quickly as possible. So, if we’re in the bedroom on the second floor of a two-story private dwelling, look for the window as a means of egress for the victim. Notify exterior crews to throw at least one or, if possible, two ladders there to assist in the removal of the victim. Having two ladders in position makes the removal that much easier on the firefighter supporting the unconscious victim’s weight, who can be supported by a backup firefighter while another firefighter on an adjoining ladder can help support, reposition, or carry the victim down.

Sometimes, we might find it difficult to get victims up to the window from the floor, especially when they’re covered in oily soot, wearing slippery clothing, or obese. Since most bedrooms have some type of closet or bathroom door, we can use the door to assist in the removal: Remove the door from its hinges, and place one end of it up on the windowsill to create a ramp. Once you pull the victim onto the door and up the ramp, you can continue the removal through the window to the portable ladder. On an upper floor, you can place a tower ladder bucket to the window to remove the victim from the structure. You can also use an aerial ladder, but the steeper the ladder angle, the more difficult the removal.

During training evolutions in acquired structures, smaller closet doors, separated bi-fold doors, and louvered doors have all been used to perform this tactic. When removing the door from the frame, insert the forks of the halligan or the head of an ax behind the upper, middle, and lower hinge and close the door to pull the small hinge screws out of the frame, releasing the door.

Another way to perform the tactic is to hang a hook on the upper hinge in between the space of the door and the frame. Once in position, close the door; the screws should pull out of the hinges, releasing the door. Always use caution when pulling the door closed; try to use the door’s handle so you don’t pinch your hand between the door and the frame. On cheaper doors, inserting the adz of the halligan and prying down or up sometimes crushes the door and the hinges won’t release, so use caution with this technique.

“Aggressive” is a common term used to describe many actions in the fire service. Companies get this reputation by using sound tactics and also thinking outside the box to get tasks completed. When battling a cockloft or attic fire in a larger apartment complex, peaked-roof garden apartment, or row of townhomes where there’s no flooring, there usually isn’t a floor in the space because of the truss construction. Popping off a door and putting it in the attic to serve as a floor allows a firefighter to get into the space, operate the nozzle, and extinguish the rapidly extending fire. Of course, prior to climbing into the space, make sure a charged hoseline is in place and that there is plenty of ceiling opened well ahead of or behind the fire so the operating member can make a quick retreat if conditions worsen. Performing this tactic can quickly prevent the fire from extending farther and reduces the need for firefighters to play catch-up while chasing the extension.

Over the course of your firefighting career, you’ll hear someone say, “Get a door,” and you may question why. When we encounter holes in the floor, we need to protect ourselves from falling through. Placing a door over the hole limits this possibility, and since the door is long, it spans numerous joists, so we can do this even when we encounter floors that have questionable stability. If you can’t find a door, flipping the kitchen or dining room table upside down works too!

You also might need a door to cover a room’s door that is burning through or cover an opening such as an archway to prevent fire from spreading into another area. There’s also a time we might forget when we should have one ready: When forcing the center panel out of a “picture frame door” (the center panel is usually constructed with a thinner material), how would we control the door if we had to retreat? Having another door in the vicinity and ready to place over the opening should be part of our initial door size-up when we use this method of forcible entry.

Doors aren’t just for confining the fire. Let them open your mind, and use them to the best of your ability.

MICHAEL N. CIAMPO is a 37-year veteran of the fire service and a lieutenant in the Fire Department of New York. Previously, he served with the District of Columbia Fire Department. He has a bachelor’s degree in fire science from John Jay College of Criminal Justice in New York City. He is the lead instructor for the FDIC International Truck Essentials H.O.T. program. He wrote the Ladders and Ventilation chapters for Fire Engineering’s Handbook for Firefighter I and II (Fire Engineering, 2009) and the Bread and Butter Portable Ladders DVD and is featured in “Training Minutes” truck company videos.