<body><div><figure><img src="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?type=thumbnail_580x000&amp;url=2p53Kt_1H3HsKou00" alt="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=2p53Kt_1H3HsKou00" width="2048" height="1365" ><figcaption>Photo courtesy Indianapolis (IN) Fire Department PIO.</figcaption></figure><h2>THE BOOK OF SEARCH</h2><p><b>This article is part of a</b> <b><i>Fire Engineering</i></b> <b>series featuring content from</b> <b><i>The Book of Search</i></b> <b>(Corley Moore, editor). Purchase the hardcover edition of</b> <b>The Book of Search</b><b>, from Firehouse Vigilance,</b> <b>or download the free PDF</b> <b>here.</b> <b>All profits go toward the</b> <b>Firefighter Rescue Survey.</b></p><h2>CONSIDERATION ONE: TOOLS</h2><p>Before a victim removal is accomplished, a determination of the tools needed must be made. It is recommended that the tools required be limited. During a search, the most important tools you have are the ones you are born with. Your sense of sight, hearing, hands, and feet. If you can see it, it is searched. No tools on an active search allow us to use our hands and feet to sweep, clear, and move quickly. Targeting searches visually significantly speeds up the process of discovery. The other tools considered for the search team must be easy to carry and use.</p><p>The can and a set of irons are good tools of choice for a search team. The can provides the search crew with protection for the team, although it can slow down the search. A tip is to stage the can in a strategic location when performing a search and remember once the can has been expelled it can be left behind if necessary.</p><p>Not carrying a tool as the lead target searcher allows more freedom from the subconscious management of a tool in hand. Leaving the tool with the oriented firefighter frees up the searcher to move about more rapidly. An always rule should be that the oriented search partner (holding tools at the point of entry) be within verbal or visual contact. At a minimum, the tools can be left at a doorway or point of entry as an orientation. When we encounter a victim, we will be prepared to immediately assist without a tool hampering our progress.</p><h2>CONSIDERATION TWO: THE ENVIRONMENT</h2><p>What are the conditions found upon entering the environment to be searched? Size-up is everyone’s job on the fireground. The ongoing survey of the scene and immediate operating environment is critical to the safety of the search. We must take into consideration the environment encountered inside “the box,” aka the area or room of search, and its effects on the removal of the victim. If conditions are not viable for us, it is not viable for them thus affecting the removal process. We should consider door control as we enter a space to be searched. In minimally staffed suburban companies, the engine is often simultaneously searching for fire and victims. If victims are on that path, they get removal first. However, we must be cognizant of controlling the environment with a dedicated nozzle position or closing a door.</p><p>During our size-up and upon the approach we must consider the following concerning the smoke conditions; what are the smoke conditions telling you? Visually: Is it angry fast smoke? The door is open, and the fire is near. Is it slow and lazy? The door may be closed, or the fire is distant. Either way speed is necessary for the viability of victims.</p><p>Simply put, the hotter the more volatile the environment, the harder and riskier the removal process will be and more stressful for the victim. This means our time is limited unless we control our atmosphere. The two ways we can control our atmosphere are closing the door or applying water. The situation will dictate which tactic is appropriate. When inside the room understanding the environmental indicators will help us determine the time, we have to remove the victim. The ways we can monitor our environment are with our senses (eyes, ears, etc.) and thermal imaging cameras (TICs).</p><p>The TIC: Convective currents indicate the path of fire. Scan high, when currents are present this means there is an open path to your location. You may need to close a door or apply water. Time is limited. Visualize the environment through the eyes of your thermal imaging tools. Act fast to control that box.</p><p>The environment for the victim is obviously dangerous and toxic, but for us, it is routine business. Our gear grants us the ability to take the assault when encountering conditions inside the building. We must understand when it is time to abandon the search for victims and when their survivability is in question. Keep it simple; if it is hot enough that your shoulders and upper body are becoming notably hotter (in your gear) when in the crouching/crawling position, it is quickly becoming untenable inside. </p><p>Two things need to happen if the box is not controlled. Get out (abandon the victim) or flow water. If the box is controlled by the door, you have time. Depending on the environment we encounter it will affect our decision to remove the victim. Situations will dictate the environmental conditions encountered on arrival. Regardless, you will have extremely limited time to make that decision and determine the risk. When we can isolate the fire area, it allows a search to continue. Otherwise, we are battling the clock, and unchecked fire growth. </p><p>Is the environment hoarded or severely cluttered? Most likely it will be. This remains the most unpredictable consideration for removing victims. Simply put, the more stuff in the way, the more difficult the removal will be. This requires resources and quick calls. However, in minimally staffed situations, it may only be two firefighters to effect a rescue. In this case, it will require work to clear the path and determine the quickest route to safety and clean air.</p><h2>CONSIDERATION THREE: QUICKEST ROUTE OF EXIT</h2><p>What is the route to find the victim? Depending on the conditions encountered which way is the best way out? The majority of the time it will be the way you came into space, however; we cannot predict when or where we will move our victims. Without some sort of fire control the search is always endangered. Having an oriented partner is key to direction and alternate routes. The team must remain oriented and aware of our surroundings and the options they present. Typically, that person will have mapped the way in and hopefully considered the building prior to entry and assist in determining the way out. Keep it simple; if it is a straight shot back from entry (fire mostly controlled) and path is clear, it may be best to head out the way you came in. In other more volatile circumstances where you do not have the protection of a hand line, it may require you to move the victim to an area of refuge within the structure until you can get assistance or better control the environment. In any case, you need to have a plan to move the victim outside of the structure.</p><h2>CONSIDERATION FOUR: VICTIM SIZE AND REMOVAL</h2><p>This is the most critical factor in victim removal. Is the victim large or small? Clothed or not? Is the victim oriented to the direction out? Can we get them out with 1, 2, or 3 people? What resources will I need to remove an extra-large victim? We will have zero intel and control on this matter.</p><p>We must have a plan and that plan must be simple. Keep the moves to 3 steps or less and get assistance. The most crucial factor in victim removal is keeping the victims’ head low to the ground. Recent studies from the UL Firefighter Safety Research Institute have shown that the cleanest air inside a structure fire is closest to the ground. </p><p>Considering that information, the most efficient way to move victims is with the thigh drag; grasping the victims’ legs high up at the thighs, locking the legs into your arms, and dragging the victim to the desired location. In this maneuver, you are using your core and legs to move the victim while keeping their head as low as possible to the ground. It is recommended that whenever you encounter an adult victim of any size, to get assistance from your partner. Moving victims in real-life situations in hoarded environments is extremely difficult and is made easier with assistance. Your partner can assist in the movement of the victim when standing is not an option. Your partner can also communicate with the command victim contact and removal. Large victims will require assistance especially when removing victims from windows. Resources may be needed. </p><p>Depending on the size and complexity of the victim’s location, this may require some form of area of refuge. Extra-large victims may not be able to be moved over long distances, and instead may require moving to a room and closing the door. In this case, when the victim is so large that they are unable to be lifted to a window for removal, a window conversion (cutting away the window into a door from the base down) may be in order. Again, the situation will dictate such extreme options. Finally, what is the plan when the victim is removed to clean air? We must commit to patient care and initiate EMS measures as soon as possible. If patient care is being rendered, get back inside, and finish the search. You are their only hope.</p><h2>CONSIDERATION FIVE: TRAINING AND PERFORMANCE</h2><p>We will perform in the way we practice. Training in how we make decisions and move victims is key to success. Keeping training simply and repetitively. For most, searching in structure fires is considered a low-frequency, high risk event. Considering the dangers that present themselves in these types of events, we must practice to a point of minimal thought to engage in action. In other words, we must drill to a point where we default to a specific body language, communications, and victim movement. Hands-on training and building a mental muscle memory creates an ability to think more rapidly and move to action.</p><p><i>“When you train on the fundamentals…drilling on them, it frees your brain to think through the variable. To recognize when you need to call an audible or change tactics.” —Grant Schwalbe</i></p><p>Rapid decisions concerning victim removal will be based on your experience, which mostly build on your training and what you feed your mind. As we gain experiences in real life, we will then be able to integrate those incidents into our training forming a more dependable course to action. Train in real time, with real people, in a hoarded type of environment for the best results. The keys to success in the fire service are keeping operations as simple as possible. The less we process, the quicker we act. Our safety in operations is built on the knowledge you put into your mind and the practice you put into the field. Add experiences in real life (which take time) and success will certainly follow you.</p><p><b>DAVID STONE</b> is the division chief of training for the South Walton (FL) Fire District. After 24 years of service, he retired in 2022 from the Fort Walton Beach (FL) Fire Department, where he served as a line battalion chief. Stone is a seasoned instructor who has presented at conferences throughout the Southeast and Midwest, including FDIC. He holds certifications as a Florida Fire Pump Operator, Fire Officer II, Live Fire Training Instructor (LFTI), and Florida State Instructor I.</p><h2>ALSO IN THIS SERIES</h2></div></body>

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This article is part of a Fire Engineering series featuring content from The Book of Search (Corley Moore, editor). Purchase the hardcover edition of The Book of Search, from Firehouse Vigilance, or download the free PDF here. All profits go toward the Firefighter Rescue Survey. CONSIDERATION ONE: TOOLS. Before a...

Five Considerations for Victim Removal

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This article is part of a Fire Engineering series featuring content from The Book of Search (Corley Moore, editor). Purchase the hardcover edition of The B

Five Considerations for Victim Removal

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