The Power of Enhanced Stream Placement

In our recent training at Ottawa Fire, Shawn Bloemker and I instructed firefighters on the value of enhanced stream placement. This is one of many concepts that Project Kill the Flashover advocates in our Tactical Thermal Imaging Program. The video above shows the stream being directed by the TIC at our training at Monroe Fire Department (video courtesy of a FLIR K65)

In this short video below (video courtesy of Bullard LDX), one can see the moving convection heat currents over the firefighters head that are often missed due to zero visibility. This can be compared to being in a blast furnace or a convection oven. Firefighters who stand up in this or fail to cool the environment properly are gradually saturating their PPE with heat. Our PPE will only withstand 1-5 minutes in 500 degrees with moving convective heat currents. Our SCBA face-piece lens will fail after 148 seconds in 500 degree temperatures (Fahrenheit) with moving convection currents.

Our goal is for firefighters to use the TIC to be intelligently aggressive and make their extinguishment efforts more efficient. In this short video, we can clearly see the value of this. The firefighters in Ottawa were an absolute joy to work with and encouraged us greatly with their dedication and their passion for learning. We can’t wait to go back and learn more with them as we all work to improve the fire service. Special Thanks to Manfred Kihn and Bullard for their support.

Stay Safe & Keep learning!

Instructor Andy Starnes

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