Cedar Rapids Fire Department Press Release from December 8 fire
In Cedar Rapids, Iowa a helmet-cam is making news. Cedar Rapids Fire Department Captain Rick Halleran got permission to try one out. A fire on December 8 was captured via the camera and is now the focus of an article in the Cedar Rapids Gazette.
Fire Critic Rhett Fleitz also posted this video and gives his view of how the fireground was handled (I am sure Cedar Rapids Chief Steve Reid had opening night jitters over whether their film would get a good review from the Roger Ebert of the fire service).
Here's what Jeff Raasch at thegazette.com had to say (Thanks to John Halbrook & Tim Nemmers for passing this one on to STATter911.com):
Rookie firefighters in Cedar Rapids have another training aid available after a recent garage fire was captured on video.
The 17-minute video follows Capt. Rick Halleran on Dec. 8 as firefighters work to control the fire at 430 20th St. NW. The captivating footage, shot from Halleran’s helmet, offers a rare firsthand glimpse at some of the tactics firefighters use to extinguish fires.
“We always talk about as a crew bringing the pieces of the puzzle together, and this video does a great job of showing that,” Halleran said.
Halleran said he and other firefighters had seen videos shot from helmet cameras on the Internet, and they got permission from Fire Department administrators to try it themselves.
Firefighters agree that the video will be a very valuable training tool in Cedar Rapids, and possibly other jurisdictions. Halleran called it a “textbook” firefight.
“The big thing we talk about in training is having a coordinated attack,” Halleran said. “Now, you actually have the visuals and the audio.”
Fire Department spokesman Greg Buelow said no medical calls would ever be filmed. He said the helmet camera might be rolling again in the future, if the administration approves.
Buelow said some people who watch the video may question the firefighters’ strategy, but he cautioned any rush to judgment. He said firefighters are trained on how to coordinate the attack and must follow strict regulations.
“This is a great learning tool,” Buelow said. “I hope people appreciate it.”
Also on STATter911 …
- Controversy in Dallas, TX over helmet-cam video. Press wants to talk with firefighter. Chief not happy. – April 1, 2013
- Man behind most popular helmet-cam video ever finally speaks. Impact of wounded Army Pfc. Ted Daniels’ firefight video has interesting similarities to firefighter videos. – January 28, 2013
- Pre-arrival video & helmet-cam: Rescues of children from house fire in Alameda County, CA caught on video. – February 8, 2012
- San Bernardino helmet-cams: The people & the stories behind the videos. – April 28, 2012
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They are an excellent tool for numerous aspects of the fire service. Looked and sounded like a good coordination between the truck crew, engine crew, and command. Nice Job Brothers!
This video can and will be used against you in a court of law by the homeowner. A well known New York City Chief once said “Put the fire out and all your other problems will go away” First line in the garage door to put the fire out. Second line in the front door to hold the door to the garage and check extension. Would have been over in five minutes. My 2 cents.
I do believe you bring the first line through the front door and place it between the fire and the occupant(s),protecting the first means of egress. REMEMBER protect life first, then property.Second line, backup first line or to locate, confine and extinguish fire.
Good video. You could tell the captain wearing the cam wanted to do as much by the book as possible. He’s a truck captain, so I can’t hold this against him… but it took three or four minutes to get a line in through the door. That’s not an acceptable standard.
Good vid. I’m not going to comment on the tactics because there was something else in this video that struck closer to my own heart. “C’mon 8′s! I don’t wanna have to pump this BLEEP!” LOL, that’s what I’d be saying too.
Hey Capt, I’d run on your truck anyday! It’s refreshing to see proffessional firefighters once in a while.
Anonymous- perhaps you missed the evidence that the fire had already extended into the house? What do you figure the homeowner considers more important- the 75% of the house that’s not involved yet, or the garage that’s already a loss?
Everyone is forgetting the most important part of our job…Did anybody accomplish any type of search?
Yeh, they searched your cranium and found nothing. ALL CLEAR!
1. Kudos to Chief Reid. This is a legit device and shows credible leadership not shown by the many closed minded departments who are worried about “keeping things off the i-net” at the expense of allowing a useful training tool.
2. 1st line in the front door. Great (not into the garage!). The time to engage was long. Maybe he was waiting for the officer to finish the 360 but then he went to the roof. The boys back East could teach the lineman a thing or two!
3. First piece was a quint or ladder? What was the manning? Officer was trying to accomplish a lot. Not critical of his actions. He did a real good job. He talked too much giving out tactical directions that should be handled by SOP’s without the banter. Steve has some work to do with that.
4. Search? The officer can’t show everything done on the fire ground, ya know?
Well done and thanks for sharing it!
how about getting the front door forced, getting line between the fire and the occupied residence and doing a search before we worry about getting the ladder up the the roof of this one story house.
THAT WAS THE WORSE THING I EVER SAW! CORRINATED FIRE ATTACK, ARE YOU KIDDING ME?! FIRST DUE TRUCK : LADDER FRONT OF STRUCTURE( TREE NOT IN THE WAY)AREIAL SHOT,WHY NOT USE THE BUCKET TO VENT(SAFELY)?! CONDUCT A PROPER SIZE UP…. SIZE UP WAS HORRIBLE. CORDINATE WITH FIRST DUE PUMPER AND CONDUCT A PRIMARY SEARCH,PLACE A INTERIOR ATTACK LINE BETWEEN THE OCCUPANTS AND FIRE AND TO PROTECT SEARCH!!!!!PROTECT FIRST MEANS OF EGRESS,LOCATE , AND CONFINE FIRE! SECOND DUE PUMPER:BACKUP FIRST LINE OR FLOOR ABOVE. SECOND DUE TRUCK OR RESCUE CO. VENT:HORIZONTAL (OPPOSITE ATTACK LINE, AND VERTICAL…… SORRY GUYS BUT I DON’T AGREE WITH THE ASSESMENT OF THE ARTICLE. POOR JOB!
Anybody notice the Chief, Stephen Reid, is the same gent that retired as a Chief Officer from DCFD. (when we where still a Fire Dept) One of our own homegrown boys.
Rescue 1 – If you want people to take your criticism serious, try using spell check and release the caps lock button.
So Rescue 1, I’m not sure what you’re all amped over.
Ladder the building-Check!
Any need for the laddeer to be raised?- Prolly not. In fact, after watching the video again, the truck officer made the right call. Noo need for the bucket to be raised. That would take up precious time and they easily accomplished the vent task.
Size up was horrible?- How? He reported what he saw. He correctly identified the need for verticle vent. He stated what the fire conditions were. Then,he shut off the gas. He also asked the bystanders if they knew if anyone was in the house. The first line pulled went inside the house. Later in the video you can see some guys flowing water from the outside into the garage.
Primary Search-How do know that another company wasn’t assigned the job? We only get to see what his vantage point was. If they have low staffing, at first, I thought the truck only had two guys on it including the officer.
Pumper- You’re transferring your departments operating procedures on this one. I am not sure if you saw the same video, but what second floor? It was a single family home. 1 floor. Oh sure, they could have taken a line to the “floor above” but I am pretty sure the city would not allow the CRFD to take on a construction division.
So, you’re %$#^& that in roughly 17 minutes, including response time, they had the fire out, utilities shut off, ventiliation complete etc.? I’d say that’s pretty good work. Can there be improvments made? Sure, on every fire there can be. These guys had the stones to put it out for the world to see.
Finally, ease up on the all caps. Your ranting and yelling on teh interwebz doesn’t lend your argument and credence.
Hey, Rescue 1. Here’s the breakdown of CRFD. Looks like they suffer from low staffing, just like everyone else…. based on their very own slice of the web, it looks like they did the best job they could, with what they had. So, before your filet a department, check them out and see if there is anything that might dictate the way they do things, ie; staffing.
http://www.cedar-rapids.org/government/departments/fire/operations/Pages/FireSuppression.aspx
The Cedar Rapids Fire Department staffs eight engine companies, one truck company, one quint, one rescue company and one battalion chief. They operate on a 24 hours on, 48 hours off schedule consisting of three shifts of firefighters, captains, and battalion chiefs.
Engines are staffed with a captain and two firefighters
The truck company is staffed with a captain and anywhere from one to three firefighters
The quint is set up as a second truck company but primarily operates as an engine unless its truck equipment is needed. It also includes extrication equipment.
There was no information on the rescue staffing.
I apologize for the caps….and FMCH your right. I shoud of checked out Dept. staffing first….
I Stand by my opinion, Size up was poor. HE was worried about gasline than conducting a primary search of the p/d…..
and if your town is short staffed… call mutual aide, call them early and call them often…..
C onstruction
O ccupancy
A pparatus and manpower
L ife hazard
W ater supply
A uxilary appliances
S treet conditons
W eather
E xposers
A rea
L ocation and extent of fire
T ime
H eight
my last post. Stay low and Stay safe!!!!
Join me and keep our fallen brothers and sisters in our prayers,especially during the holiday season!
You all missed the point…just shut up and put the stinking fire out…two quiet dudes and a 1 1/2″ line means problem over no debate ugh,
Anon- yup
No Monday morning quarterbacking here. Just one point. At the end of the video they appear to be shutting off electrical breakers. It looks like they are shutting them all off individually. I’ve been told to shut off just the main breaker. That way the investigators can look and see if any of the other breakers had popped. Merry Christmas and stay safe.