![]() As a consequence, many officers are now not willing to take the risk. Firefighters have been injured in training, and in one case the result was fatal. Past training-related issues have put a dark cloud over head-first exit techniques. The head-first exit gives us the smallest profile on exit, but note: I am taking this approach with the assumption that the majority of departments are not equipped with personal escape systems. Smaller windows, higher sills and personal equipment all are contributing factors to complicated exits from windows. The following videos show real life situations where firefighters were trapped by rapidly deteriorating conditions.įootage from a firefighter window bailout in Baltimore:įootage of fire from the Moyers Corners Fire Department located in Clay, New York, and a firefighter bailout:įirefighter escapes a burning building through a third-story window at a Peabody apartment, climbing head-first down a ladder:įire scene and subsequent window bailout by firefighter: FlashoverTV is powered by Īs seen in these videos, we may be placed in situations where a head-first exit onto a ladder is the only option. The old follow-the–line-out is great, but if you study specific cases such as the FDNY Black Sunday fire, you will find rapid exit is the only option in most cases to spare your life. It stands to reason that we must therefore find more rapid alternatives for escape. In a previous article, I outlined how the PPE of today allows us to go deeper into buildings for longer periods of times, exposing us more frequently to the most extreme of conditions. It should be critical to us as firefighters, officers and instructors to spend some time familiarizing ourselves with escape procedures. ![]() Out of these, about 25 percent were attributed to being trapped or caught in some fashion on the fireground. ![]() In the past five years, we've averaged 112 firefighter line-of-duty deaths. The more videos I uncover in the fire industry, the more head-first ladder bailouts I discover. In researching head-first ladder bailouts, I found some controversy in the discussion about the dangers of training the procedures.
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