Tactical Consideration: Pushing Fire 

Applying plain, untreated water through the window only addresses the physics of the fire and does little or nothing to address the chemistry of the fire. Fires are more than just physics (heat). To address the chemistry of the fire (Fuels) you must add chemistry to your water. Adding surfactant to fire streams bonds water molecules to hydrocarbons in smoke and fire gases making them too wet to burn (oxidize). Lets move out of the caveman days UL and begin to address both the chemistry and the physics of the fire by researching the impact that Class A concentrate has on the extinguishment of fire. Jerry Hughes, Battalion 1 (ret) Chicago FD.

My take away from this would be to never use anything but a straight stream from the outside of a building and always aim at the roof so you arent blasting thru the building onto a search team. That using an open stream to blast the smoke an heat right out of that bedroom fire was slick and a nice stunt, but how many times are you going to know the floorplan? A solid stream off the cieling that cools a room with fire ,already thru the windows without interupting flow path, seems like an awesome way to locally snuff the fire without affecting anyone in the building negatively.

Just as we use fog to hydraulically vent from the inside it works in any direction even into a closed room.... the room will pressurize and blow back if the windows are open or gone it will vent the room

Great teaching tool thank you.

My thoughts on a good conversation to have. Pushing fire can occur from certain water application methods using fire streams, there are three understood contributing potential mechanisms at work, occlusion of one or more vent/or exits of established flow path (this can occur interior or exterior, moving energy to the new path of least resistance) air entertainment of the fire stream (displacement), and finally inadequate gas contraction during water application into a involved space (inadequate rapid cooling). Hand-line fire streams have this potential, to push “fire” gas from rich to lean leading to burning, but one must understand this can occur from both interior and exterior positions. Proper knowledge and understanding of handline fire streams, reach, water mapping, air entertainment potentials and their ability to seal spaces is the discussion we need to be having. This gives the Nozzles the proper knowledge and understanding to use their handline stream best. Anyone that has taken a class of mine in the handline fire stream section has noted this is gone over in detail, including burns that occurred from interior pushing of fire onto search teams. Do not let anyone say different this is both an interior and exterior phenomena. A handline fog nozzle in a fog pattern is bail limited (negative change in conditions driven, low surface cooling), reach limited (localized gas contraction, but little to none at distance) and high air entrainment with movement of the line to map an area 15k+ CFM is possible. These attributes make pulsing and open and shutting the line more necessary because sealing and over pressurizing the advance is more possible creating a negative pressure behind the nozzle team. In addition since water is distributed in such a way (many small droplets) massive surface cooling is not readily occurring more steam is produced when the fog stream hits hot surfaces, this can out pace contraction that is occurring leading back to the pulsing of the stream to prevent this. Solid & Straight Stream handline is a bail non limiting binary application method, typical run in the wide open position without movement somewhere around 1000 cfm is occurring and with movement around 6000 cfm of air entrainment. This occurs with reach, so gas contraction can happen both locally and at a distance as the stream is played about. In addition in the 150 to 185 gpm, 40 to 60psi nozzle pressure range massive surface cooling takes place, so additional steam production that can overwhelm the gas contraction is less likely. Finally without movement it will not seal the exit of a flow path, making it ideal for exterior application, but also with movement inside it has the potential to adequately seal the advance. This allows for pushing the products of combustion and extinguishment away from the nozzle team, but also creates a condition less likely to over pressurize the advance because only 6000cfm is readily possible, and this is done while maintaining reach. The attributes talked about above make the high gpm, low air entrainment handline fire stream in the 85feet/sec range more forgiving to operate on the fire ground and provides a focus on functionality over efficacy. It can and will when properly used readily contract gas, cool hot and pre-treat uninvolved surfaces (safer), entrain a sweet spot of air (not too much not too little with movement), interact with flames and achieve base fire extinguishment. It does this in a simultaneous manner with the most constants and the least variable to account for when operating the handline. This making the high gpm, low reaction force straight or solid stream handline in a flow and move application methodology ideal to utilize in a task saturated and time compressed emergent condition that is the modern fuel load. Addition of lots variable in a quest for efficacy in suppression utilizing fog pattern (low or high gpm) as it relates to total water use is a Don Quixote Esk ethos based in the facts it’s possible not within oath of the mission of saving Life (1st) and Property on the fire ground.

Great teaching tools thanks useful information

Great video, thanks. Stay safe

Jesus Loves You All

Right to fight, left for life, nozzle pattern controls...

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good surround and drown tactic

I call B.S. water most definitely pushes fire . Idc how you word it with gas , oxygen . But when you are inside a structure on fire with a line being used from outside it most certainly will push the fire on to you and your brothers.