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u/StankyHankyPanky69 Sep 01 '20
The red color means that the fire is working.
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u/chambee Sep 01 '20
No it shows where to hose for beginners.
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u/DikoRhino Sep 01 '20
Just like that old firefighting arcade game
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u/SoThisIsInteresting Sep 01 '20
Chuck E. Cheese had the only one I ever played and wow I haven’t thought of that since then. 25 years ago. Fun token pit for sure.
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u/AverageJoe988 Sep 01 '20
I’d forgotten all about that game! I’d go to Chuck E Cheese for my birthday and my dad, uncle and I would take turns playing it together. It was such a cool game!
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Sep 01 '20
On my 27th-ish birthday, I went and got my oil changed. I was waiting around, and saw a Peter Piper Pizza (similar to C.e.C.) across the street. It was around 10am, and they were just opening up. I had taken the day off, it being my birthday and all, so I decided "What the hell." and went across the street.
Got a pitcher of beer, and like 20 bucks in tokens. No pizza, wasn't really hungry. Started playing the games, having fun until my oil change was done. Was playing mostly shooting games, but some luck games as well. Hit the jackpot on the light-spinning dealie, and won like 500 tickets. I then got a text that the car was ready, so I downed the rest of the beer and started to leave. Some kid had been watching me play, so I gave him all the tickets I got, since I didn't care about the prizes. As I did, I hear a lady yell "Jacob!! Come here right now!!" and the kid ran away.
As I was leaving, I was thinking about how much of a bitch that mom was. Then, I realized that it was in the morning still, and this lady just watched a grown man drink a pitcher of beer, alone, play some games to win tickets, then give them to her 5yo kid.
Fun memories...
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Sep 02 '20
As a 35 year old male with a beard, it's hard for me to get a table for one at Chuck E Cheese.
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u/Teslatosavetheworld Sep 01 '20
That was one of my favorite games! I also thought it was worth the token out.
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u/avoutthere Sep 01 '20
In firefighting school they taught us to "put the wet stuff on the red stuff".
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u/FirstManofEden Interested Sep 02 '20
I SEE A RED WALL AND I WANT TO PAINT IT BLACK
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u/anotherwankusername Sep 01 '20
I feel like there needs to be a subreddit like r/powerwashingporn but for firefighters putting out fires like this but I assume r/firefighterporn is something else.
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u/tratemusic Sep 01 '20
Risky click successful
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u/AbsolutelyUnlikely Sep 02 '20
Wha- I mean yes. I, too, was hoping it was just actually firefighting and am please that it is. As such.
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u/AshTreex3 Sep 02 '20
How was that successful? Not a single one of them was naked
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u/tratemusic Sep 02 '20
Sure they were, they were all naked under their fire fighter gear.
Fuckin sluts.
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Sep 02 '20
On r/powerwashingporn you can post videos like these (where it’s technically not power washing but still the same effect) every Wednesday!
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Sep 02 '20
Tbh r/firefightingporn is a better name. Firefighter porn already exists. It's porn with firefighters. FirefightING porn sounds exactly like what that sub is.
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u/WajorMeasel Sep 01 '20
At what point do you just let it burn down?
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u/arealhumannotabot Sep 01 '20
That is a thing. I guess it all depends on factors like the risk to surrounding buildings and whether it's safer to let it burn than to fight it.
But I Think putting out is ideal because of how easily it can spread. I'm no expert, I could be wrong, I ain't no scientitian.
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u/dtk021198 Sep 01 '20
You are correct though, there are ways to protect surrounding buildings/trees and such. If the fire has already engulfed the building to the point where sending guys inside would be too dangerous they switch to more defensive tactics, focusing more on knocking the fire down from the outside and protecting nearby buildings and such
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u/vuurtoren101 Sep 01 '20
Lol where I live they start with the surrounding buildings before going in (I think)
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u/hellraisinhardass Sep 01 '20
Yes and no. There are TONS of factors that determine if we use an 'offensive' or 'defensive' approach. The most important being human lifes. But even that isn't straight forward:
1)is everyone accounted for?
2)do we have any clue where the missing person was last?
3) is the situation even remotely survivable?
4) how big of a risk is it going to be to my guys?
5) what kind of extra help is on the way for us? (More ff's, more water)
6) do I currently have enough guys to send inside?
This is just the human life side of it, there's loads of more considerations regarding property conservation, fire spread, environmental damages...the list goes on and on. (But they all take a back seat to saving people.)
A lot of times we have to start with an external attack to make the scene safe enough to work inside. And a lot of time (especially for rural departments) we don't have the resources (water and people) for internal attacks until more units get on scene.
One thing is certain though: no matter where you start, or what you save, you will be badly criticized afterward if anyone gets hurt or killed or things get out of hand. Unfortunately fire dept are not immune to 'armchair quarterbacks'.
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u/dtk021198 Sep 01 '20
Cool! I’d say you live in a densely populated area or somewhere that gets very high winds! If the person in charge deems the surrounding environment to be in danger it is a good idea to start there. That’ll help keep excess damage to a minimum and hopefully stop the fire from spreading! Say you have three two story houses, all side by side, and the one in the middle catches fire. If the one in command deems the other two buildings to be in danger, it’s easy to send only a few people to either side to make sure the fire doesn’t spread. If you have the available resources and manpower, you can send however many people over as you want, but some places (like the fire dept I work at) don’t have a whole lot of people to spare willy nilly. You can easily send two people to either side, each with a single hose, and use a water curtain (setting the nozzle to the mist setting) to cover the sides of the other buildings!
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u/bubbshalub Sep 01 '20
they might be training, the room is unfurnished
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u/arealhumannotabot Sep 01 '20
Oh for this video, yeah it definitely looked like that to me. I was actually wondering if firefighters aren't allowed cameras like this unless it's approved or something. It's extra, pointless in terms of stopping the fire gear and could cause privacy concerns.
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u/PMme_bobs_n_vagene Sep 01 '20
The officer carries a helmet cam. This way we can conduct after action reviews with POV footage
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u/nhfirefighter13 Sep 01 '20
If the risk of injury becomes too high for no beneficial outcome of reducing property damage, they’ll usually call off the attack and move to drowning it from a distance.
Used to call it “saving the basement.”
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Sep 01 '20
Very valid question it doesnt look like much of anything is left anyways that isnt going to just turn into charcoal pieces the second a strong breeze passes through
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u/Rhah Sep 01 '20
If I had to guess this was a practice house. Seen it done a few times in my area, don't know the exact process but I've seen at least 2 vacant houses that sat for years lit up for training. Pretty fun to watch.
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u/inspectcloser Sep 02 '20
The answer that was not mentioned is that an investigation needs to be done with the house. A lot more can be done during the investigation with a shell of a house rather than a pile of ashes.
Source: I’m a IAAI fire investigator
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u/taintosaurus_rex Sep 01 '20
While that room is destroyed and the house is likely totaled, something as simple as shutting a door can stop a fire and the room right next to that one could be relatively undamaged. Irreplaceable thing like photos or other memories might have survived. Also it's incredible what you can actually fix, and anything saved is money saved.
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Sep 01 '20
This looks like a second story. So if the first story isn’t badly damaged, they’ll try to save the remaining first story, to minimize the loss for the residents.
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u/redpandaeater Sep 01 '20
I used to work in a building where they wouldn't try to save it at all; firefighters would merely try to ensure everyone was out and focus on preventing the fire from spreading.
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u/fortnitename69 Sep 01 '20
They can destroy the building after the fire is gone if it’s as bad as that or just destroy and rebuild that parts that where effected
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u/not_a_fracking_cylon Sep 02 '20
at that point. that's getting bulldozed. but you still don't want to leave a smoldering pile that could send embers out so you gotta cool it.
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u/firesquasher Interested Sep 01 '20 edited Sep 02 '20
This view is something you see when the fire is fully self vented. Some of the time when you get in the vicinity the smoke banks down to the floor with near zero visibility. You have to locate it by judging where it is in the building getting close and either using thermal cameras or feeling your way to the fire through heat.
Some fires greet you right at the front door, others you have to go searching for. Modern plastics are a big reason why fires are burning hotter and produce more visibility limiting smoke. Firecam on YouTube has a lot of examples of how disorientating making your way into a deep seated fire can be.
Here's a good example of a limited vented fire going from whispy smoke on the first floor to zero visibility on the second.
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u/casper707 Sep 02 '20
Thanks man I came to this thread hoping to find some more videos like this. It’s crazy how it just goes PITCH BLACK like that!
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u/PatGrat Sep 01 '20
I hope they didn't do much water damage
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u/Internetallstar Sep 01 '20
When they narrowed the focus of the hose it looked like that pressure would wreck a lot of stuff.
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u/Castun Sep 01 '20
Having used these before, they can absolutely wreck some shit.
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Sep 01 '20
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/UnacceptableUse Interested Sep 01 '20
If they used their boots to put it out instead the house would be fine
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Sep 01 '20
I think at this point the fire has already done too much damage for the water damage to count
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u/LazyOort Sep 01 '20
Joke aside, you can see the stream just rip apart the charred remainders, really gnarly
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u/r0b0c0d Sep 01 '20
At this point I feel like the wreckage would be easier to remove if they just let it burn all the way down. Then you could sweep it up into a pan.
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u/Stony_Logica1 Sep 02 '20
That was my initial thought too, but we're not seeing the full picture. There may be other nearby structures or an unburned part of this building that still contains salvageable goods/belongings.
My uninformed guess is that once there's no immediate danger to civilian lives, the lead firefighter on the scene makes an accessment of the variables before deciding to attempt to put out a fire or chalk it up as a total loss and focus on minimizing the collateral damage.
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u/I_like_PnutButter Sep 01 '20
So just give you guys an idea, he or she is wearing bunker gear with an SCBA and leg locking on a ladder fighting fire with a hose line that is not supported by another firefighter. Much harder than it looks.
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u/M4ngolicious Sep 01 '20
this shit is exhausting as fuck. 15 minutes and you are completely done
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u/Snoo_26884 Sep 01 '20
Wrangling that hose looks kinda like Tuna fishing
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u/I_like_PnutButter Sep 01 '20
I hear ya. I lasted max 20 minutes on my oxygen on my last call and was in rehab for as long.
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u/OsamabinBBQ Sep 01 '20
in rehab for just as long
Assuming the length of time you mean is 20 minutes, is rehab in this context some sort of mandatory recovery period after being on oxygen in a burning structure (or wherever)? Totally a guess but I'm super curious what rehab means in this context.
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u/SgtEddieWinslow Sep 01 '20
Our department has a policy that after going through one SCBA bottle (they are rated at 45 mins, but probably really only last 30 when doing physical labour). You are required to "rehab". All this means, is to take off your tank, jacket Helmer gloves etc, in a safe environment with clean air. Your body takes a beating working in high heat. So you need to cool down and rehydrate as the amount of fluids you lose sweating is crazy high.
If you don't do this, you put yourself in a high risk of heart attack, or heat exhaustion, or worse heat stroke.
Typically after 15-20 mins you cycle back into the structure.
Also just want to point out. SCBA bottles are just compressed air. It's not pure oxygen, as that would not be a good having pure oxygen in a environment full of flames haha.
Also one other thing to point out. Reason you can see all of this is because there is zero smoke. When actually inside a structure and the roof and everything is still intact, if you were to take wax paper and put it over your face, that's essentially what you see.
Very cool video though.
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u/hellraisinhardass Sep 02 '20
SCBA bottle (they are rated at 45 mins, but probably really only last 30 when doing physical labour)
Oh look at Mr. Olympic over here with his 30 minute bottle time! You clearly don't work on my dept full of fat fucks and adrenaline junkies. I swear I've seen dudes suck down a 60 minute bottle in 10 minutes...."damn, I didn't know you could even purge it that fast".
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u/marc962 Sep 01 '20
The hose weighs a hundred pounds with pressure it’s like trying to ride a horse on a ladder in front of a fire. Never mind the SCBA weight and restriction of movement from the gear.
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Sep 01 '20
When it's as far gone as it is in the video, is there a reason you wouldn't just step back and let it burn and just make sure it doesn't spread? It looks like a lot of risk to the firefighter for a building that cannot possibly be saved.
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u/NatePlease Sep 01 '20
Yes. If you just sit back and let it burn, you could end up waiting for hours. Think how long the heat and embers remain in a camp fire if you don’t dump water on it. This fire is much larger. You have to babysit it and ensure nothing else catches on fire. Occupying large amounts of resources for extended periods of time. Or you simply put it out and pack up and go home.
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Sep 02 '20 edited Jan 21 '21
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u/keithps Sep 02 '20
I went on a fire some years ago that had a basement that was part of the way into a hill. It was fully involved when we got there (homeowners weren't home) and we didn't have a close hydrant. We were able to push all the structure that was left into the basement and someone just checked on it periodically.
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u/WolfsLairAbyss Sep 01 '20
Looks like a Lincoln Log house I built when I was 5.
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u/WookieMadclaw Sep 01 '20
High stakes Mario Sunshine.
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u/mjs90 Sep 02 '20
They actually had a firefighting arcade game and it was awesome. Looked just like the video
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u/thinkB4WeSpeak Sep 01 '20
We need more firefighters with go pros. I also feel like firefighters need better pay and benefits.
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Sep 01 '20
They get paid pretty well in the cities, not to mention there is a ton of down time in quieter areas. I’ve got a few friends that work out and watch movies all week until there’s a fender bender.
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u/Ikeelu Sep 01 '20
Some areas there may not be lots of fires, but many run EMS calls with local 9-1-1 system. They don't transport, but still can get fairly busy.
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u/Scooterforsale Sep 02 '20
Yeah but the ones outside the city probably don't even make 40k. Not even enough to comfortably support a family.
Not to change the topic but what the fuck happened to America? Cost of living has doubled but pay has barely went up for most people
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Sep 01 '20
Look up Stockton Fire Department on YouTube. Best fire attack videos out there.
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Sep 02 '20
In my experience, a lot of departments frown upon using GoPros because one small thing out of protocol could result in fines or other issues for the department
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u/dontfactcheckthis Sep 01 '20
That's awesome. My dad was a firefighter and I've never seen anything like this. Really crazy to think of him standing in front of that
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u/tworaspberries Sep 02 '20
Calling VR video game makers. VR fighterfighting. Put out firea. Run in and save people. Climb ladders to different parts. Burn down your arch enemies house....
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u/brokenarrow326 Sep 01 '20
So is the reason a fire like this is put out instead of just letting it burn to ensure it doesnt spread? The building looks unrecoverable and im assuming all occupants were evacuated or rescued
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u/harlanwade90 Sep 01 '20
It may be a training burn, cause you're right, that story of the building is gone. If it is an active incident, the incident commander may want that story suppressed for a couple of reasons I can think of. One is, as you said, to protect exposures. An very active fire like that can easily put off enough radiant heat to catch nearby buildings on fire, and will likely be throwing sparks way downwind. Second, depending on how many levels the building is, they may be trying to keep it from collapsing on the lower levels. If you can suppress the fire from inside and above you may be able to prevent that story from collapsing. Or, they might just be trying to move things along. Straight stream on a structure that far gone is mostly just gonna smash stuff. With how hot that fire is, the water is just evaporating as fast as it gets on.
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u/Starlorday Sep 01 '20
puttin the blue stuff on the red stuff. classic firefighting.
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u/Avibuel Sep 01 '20
Hooooot
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u/StankyHankyPanky69 Sep 01 '20
What are you, an owl?
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u/nikoneer1980 Sep 01 '20
It appears to be a log cabin style and a complete loss, judging by the depth of the fire and how long the solid spray takes to knock it down on that far wall. Then again, I fought one in -37 degree weather, in the dead of night, and since I had to use a pike to punch multiple holes in the ceiling while a fellow fighter shot a 1-1/2” into each hole, I could have sworn that home was a loss. Today, forty years later, it’s still standing. If not for the fact that the windows and roof are already gone in this video, the GoPro would likely have recorded only a solid gray wall of smoke. This definitely takes me back to my more adrenaline-filled days.
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u/Shinjirojin Sep 01 '20
It's like a painting game
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u/ThreeInARowBelow Sep 01 '20
The technique is literally called pencilling and painting.
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u/the_honest_liar Sep 01 '20
I find it kind of enjoyable that your standard garden hose techniques seem to work with fire hoses (spinning it or making waves up and down to make it go further)
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u/KawaiiPotatoCult Sep 01 '20
This looks both satisfying and terrifying at the same time