Private dwelling fires are the most common structure fires in North America. Historically, 75 percent of our annual civilian fire deaths occur in residential structures; that equates to about 2,500 deaths a year. In addition, a significant percent of our firefighter line-of-duty deaths and injuries occur in these same structures. It should be no surprise that our work environment has changed; structural members are being made lighter and cheaper; homes are more energy efficient; and, most importantly, fuels have higher heat-release rates. This workshop explores command, fire attack, ventilation, search, and fire dynamics as applied to private dwelling fires. Topics include the importance of a thorough size-up and of coordinating all fireground tactics safely and efficiently with today’s staffing, current research studies and how they may or may not relate to your operations, and applying some of the lessons learned to other types of structure fires.
