All photos courtesy of author
In the early morning hours, downtown companies were alerted for a reported building fire two blocks north of the firehouse. On arrival, fire was showing from the south end, suite 1, through a failed storefront window. The occupancy was a one-story, Type 3, commercial, flat-roof building consisting of three storefront suites. I instantly recognized the building on arrival from a prior callout from my days as a SWAT operator. When the SWAT team made entry, we found someone sleeping in a suite. This was in the back of my mind while positioning the truck.
Being that the truck chauffeur must finish dressing out on arrival, I am always one step behind my crew. My initial actions on commercials may include grabbing my Rex tool from my compartment, running up to the point of entry, and opening the involved occupancy by means of through the lock, all before dressing out. I did not get a great initial look at the door while spotting my turntable as the driver side of the truck was away from the building. Stepping off, I could see the urgency in my step firefighter as he jumped out. I knew he was well versed in through-the-lock forcible entry and carried a modified Adz-Rex, so I decided to get dressed before making my way around the truck for a look. Within seconds I heard the distinct metal-on-metal strikes from tools as my company was gaining access.
After I finished dressing out—a mere 10-15 seconds from the truck break—I grabbed my tools and walked up to the building. I could not help but smile with pride as I observed members using the through-the-lock method of entry; the gold-standard technique on aluminum stile doors. The step firefighter, Koehler, had already removed the cylinder, manipulated the lock, and was finishing masking up. The can firefighter, Ozbun, having emptied his pressurized water extinguisher on the fire through the failed storefront window to the right of the entry door, was masking up as well…