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JBSA News
NEWS | June 29, 2016

JBSA firefighters gain new perspective at strategy, tactics course

Joint Base San Antonio-Randolph Public Affairs

Firefighters from Joint Base San Antonio locations and local communities watched as a fire blazed and temperatures soared inside the left side of a stud wall simulator during a demonstration last week at JBSA-Randolph.

The dramatic change in the fire’s behavior – precipitated by the removal of newspapers stuffed inside a hole in the wall – showed how improper ventilation can accelerate a blaze, leading to possibly even more devastation.

The demonstration was part of a weeklong course, “Strategy and Tactics: Managing Company-Level Tactical Operations,” that provided professional development for firefighters and covered strategies and tactics for fighting building fires, including sizing up a structure, performing a risk-benefit analysis and developing an action plan.

In addition to the wall prop used to demonstrate a fire’s behavior and the impact of ventilation on a fire, the course featured a miniature model city that allowed firefighters to assess and solve simulated incidents.

“This course gives us things to think about,” said Scott Ridenour, JBSA Fire Emergency Services assistant chief of training. “It opens eyes and helps us make better decisions.”

Ridenour said the course is especially beneficial for incident commanders, who must come up with a strategic plan at the scene and assess risks as firefighters battle the blaze.

Tech. Sgt. Matthew Chalmers, JBSA Fire Emergency Services station captain, said the course will help firefighters perform their jobs better.
“Seeing how other departments operate will help us in the long run,” he said. “It’s good to get insights from outside views.”

Course instructor Bret Stohr, a retired Department of Defense fire service veteran who is now part of the team at Insource Inc., a fire training and consulting company, said the course provides tools for safe, effective performance at emergency incidents and helps participants better meet National Fire Protection Association standards.

The course teaches participants to develop an action plan, perform a risk-benefit analysis, maintain accountability and improve incident communication, he said. The risk-versus-value assessment considers whether people and property can be saved, a safe operating time and the resources needed based on the size of the fire.

“It passes on the craft of firefighting by teaching tricks of the trade and best practices based on the more than 120 years of our instructors’ experience,” said Stohr, a former DOD firefighter of the year. “For class participants, the world is no longer flat; fire service myths are busted with science.”

Two of those myths are straight streams push fire and water placed on fire from the outside will steam-burn building occupants, he said.
The course also includes case studies that help students understand and learn from the past, Stohr said.

Ridenour said the strategy and tactics course – which was attended by firefighters from JBSA locations and the cities of Live Oak and Universal City as well as 902nd Security Forces Squadron officers – is one of 14 courses for fiscal 2016 that augments the JBSA Fire Department’s training plan.

“This builds on what we do,” he said. “We’re training across the spectrum, looking for courses that will challenge everybody. When the year is over, we will have trained 220 firefighters in advanced courses.”
The course was actually taught twice – to one shift on Monday, Wednesday and Friday and to another shift on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday.

Ridenour said last week’s course covered the basics of firefighting but also taught new techniques.

“A lot of it goes to basic firefighting, but it’s at an advanced level,” he said. “It’s been five to eight years since this course was offered. Some of the concepts are changing because of continuing research.”
Ridenour also said the course is geared toward the incident commander.

“He’s like the head coach,” he said. “He has to develop strategies based on his knowledge and give tactical assignments to firefighters to carry out those strategies.”

Stohr, who was assisted by his son, Buddy, said the wall prop, which simulates drywall construction, is an important part of the course.

A blow torch ignites the wall prop, which is divided into two sections. Temperatures rise at similar rates on both sides until stuffed newspapers are removed from a hole on the left side of the prop. The ventilation accelerates the fire and causes the temperature on that side to dramatically increase, while the temperature on the other side, which is not vented, never rises above 390 degrees Fahrenheit.

“It reinforces classroom instruction on ventilation and flow path in an unforgettable demonstration,” Stohr said. “It helps participants understand fire behavior so their actions will be based on science, not myths such as ‘a hole in the roof reduces temperatures.’ Contrary to the myth, the wall prop shows temperatures rise from 300 to 1,500 degrees Fahrenheit when the fire is ventilated.”

Chalmers said the wall prop convincingly showed the effects of ventilation.

“Everybody will be talking about this because they saw how fast the fire spread from ventilation,” he said. “That’s what happens when oxygen is introduced. Fire will behave the same way in every situation.”
Stohr said the model city is the execution phase of the course, a practical application of its methodology.

“Classroom instruction focuses on the profile of the competent incident commander and the rules of engagement used to make decisions at an emergency incident,” he said. “The diorama allows the students to demonstrate competencies, the need to improve their skills and a tool for the instructor to provide demonstration and examples. Also, anytime a student is standing up and doing something, both the participants and observers are engaged.”

Daniel Flores, JBSA Fire Emergency Services lead firefighter, said the course provided firefighters with different perspectives.

“We saw ways of looking at fires that were different from what we’ve known,” he said. “The course teaches how to identify problems, how to attack a fire and how to maximize resources. The class helps you think on your feet as you look at many different factors.”