Front End Fire

1. Front End Fire Inter Dash To Front Bumper

2. Front End Fire Dangers; 2 Gas Canisters in the A posts. 2 Knee air bags. Dual stage drivers side air bag. Dual stage passenger air bag. 2 Hood Struts. 2 Front Tires. 2 Bumper struts. Possible Magnesium engine.

3. Cause: #1 Electrical wiring short. #2 Fuel system leaks. #3 Poor maintenance (causing back firing).

4. Suspicions: Always expect air bag deployment, even though the fire is confined to the engine compartment, (the wires will short as they burn). Always expect hood struts over heated from confined space. Always Expect magnesium fire.

5. Approaching A Front End Fire. • As with the rear end fire, we have always approached a front end fire diagonal to the bumper. • Washed out under the car from a distance. • Approached with a narrow fog stream, and made a quick knock down. • Then we cooled the tires and bumper struts. • Then opened the hood and put out the fire.

6. But let’s look at today's vehicles • Approaching diagonal to the bumper we cool the tire and the bumper struts. • Let’s say we cool the left strut first, and while we are cooling it, the right one blows. With the left one still holding, the bumper will swing around to the left. Is anyone tooclose? • At the same time the seat of the fire is under the hood, still getting hotter.

7. And the fire is spreading to the unburned area of the car, the dash. By the time we get the bumper and tires cooled, so we can get to the hood, the two A post gas canisters are now hot, and we still do not have the hood open to the seat of the fire. And do not forget in the same compartment with the main fire is two will heated hood struts.

8. New Training Method • If we approach the car diagonally from the rear, washing out under the car from a distance, and doing a fast knock down. • We can break the door glass, cool the A post and dash, stopping the spread of fire.

9. Approach the car diagonally from the rear, Do A Fast Knock Down Cool The Door Area And Tire

10. Bust The Door Glass Cool The A Posts And Dash Stopping The Spread Of Fire

11. Cool the tire Bend the edge of the hood, shoot a good stream of water on the seat of the fire, cooling it and the steam smothering it, as we work.

12. Putting Water Under The Hood A Halligan Bar Works Good Only open the hole enough to get the water in. This lets us loose steam and Exposes more chance for magnesium splatter.

13. Halligan Bar Slide the adz end in the edge of the hood Pull back on the bar

14. This is all we need to apply water This keeps the steam in, and stops any Magnesium splatter.

15. We then cool the bumper strut on that side, go around to the other side, cool the tire and bumper strut on that side. Bend the edge of the hood, cool the hood struts. And the fire is pretty will out.

16. Another Plus • By cooling the dash the first thing, we may have saved the hood latch cable, and now we can just pull it, with no one in the path of a hood strut, should one blow, and mop up.

17. Hood Cable This Is After We Had Tried Three Burns Using This Approach

18. Look Back Were We Bent The Hood To Apply Water. Notice The Steam Conversion And Almost Complete Extinguishment

19. And We Never Opened The Hood To This. A Flash Of Fire In Your Face Or An Unknown Magnesium Spatter

20. Again Steam Conversion Put The Fire Out

21. Using this method we faced : • 2 gas canisters in the A post • 2 knee air bags • 2 dual stage air bags • 2 hood struts • 2 tires • 2 bumper struts • And possibly a magnesium fire. And never once put a man in danger.

22. But Remember ! No two fires are the same ! This method all depends on a good size-up. A good size-up is detailed

23. For Instance • Rear End fire: Which side are you going to approach ? • The first thing we face is the C post. So look at the left C post. The paint is blistered. • Look at the right, it is not blistered. Meaning it is cooler than the left. • So we approach from the right side, this gives us a straight shot at the hottest canister, from the longest distance.

24. Your Size-up Must Be A Continuing Process • When you sprayed the water under the hood to cool the seat of the fire, did it cool the flame, or did it flare back at you ? • If it flared back at you, it is a good indication that you have a magnesium fire.

25. Compartment Fire Dash To Rear Seat

26. Approaching A Compartment Fire. • With our old training, we approached the car as always diagonal to one corner. Do a quick knock down, then reach through the window and put the fire out. • If the window was not open, how many of us have simply opened the door and put the fire out ?

27. Let’s See Where You Are Standing. Gas Canister

28. Gas canister

29. Air bag

30. Air Bag

31. Air Bag

32. Air Bag

33. Who Wants To Open The Door ? As you can see. With The New Technology We Face Today. We Must Make A Change In Our Training

34. New Training • With a window down, we can simply start with a quick knock down, from a distance. • But Always remember the Basics, we may have enough radiant heat through the floor board to melt the plastic gas lines or tank, be sure to cool under the car before approaching it.

35. With the window up we face a more difficult task. • With today's heating and AC systems, the windows are going to be up the year around. • This means we are forced to get closer to the danger zone, just to make a knock down. This is where a Skilled Size-up is a must

36. Size-up • Is this a true compartment fire, if so it is from the dash to the rear seat. • If it extends past that, in either direction, it is a fully involved fire. • Where am I going to approach from ? • With a true compartment fire we have very little danger of bumper struts or tires blowing, which allows us to approach from either end.

37. So Where Is Our Best Approach ? • Look at the paint, it is like a thermometer. Where is the coolest door ? • The reason I say door, is because the windshield is very hard to break from the outside. Putting us in the danger zone longer. • If we approach the coolest door, we can break the glass and get back to safety quicker.

38. But Let Me Stress !! Never Stand In The Middle Of A Door ! • The gas canister will blow shrapnel, and with the mounting plate on the back of it being strong, and the hinges, and nattier pin being strong, the weakest part of the door is the outer skin, where you are standing.

39. Again Every Fire Is Different. • You must make that decision based on your size-up. • But, remember if at all possible, our safest approach is from the front. • Remember the films of the air bags blowing, they always went out the roof to the back of the car. • And the C post is a larger area to confine heat on the gas cylinder that we would be standing beside, if we make a rear approach.

40. Also • Look at the VW we seen, the gas cylinder was in the quarter panel, right where we would stand to break a rear window. • But, From the front there is no danger in the fender, that we would be standing beside. • Again let me stress, Skilled Size-up, if you were wrong about it being a true compartment fire, you may now be standing right next to a hot hood strut.

41. Other Reasons I Say Door Glass. • The smaller the opening the more steam conversion we retain, blanketing the fire. This gives us two parts of the tetrahedron working at the same time. • Also the smaller the opening, the more detourant we have to at least slow down flying shrapnel.

42. As You Can See We Didn’t Spare The Heat Note The A Post Is a Smaller Area To Contain Heat Than The C Post C Post A Post The Red Marks Were Our Danger Zones, We Had 33 Marks On This Car

43. We Approached The Lift Front • We washed out under the car and cooled the gas tank area, with a straight stream from a distance. • Then approached the left front fender, cooling the A post, with a narrow fog stream. • With a TNT tool we busted the front door glass, and done a good knock down of the fire.

44. We then cooled every thing we could safely reach, on the right side of the car, from that position. Went around approached the right A post, busted the door glass, and cooled every thing we could safely reach on the left side. We then went out a good distance around the door areas, and approached each C post, cooling the front, using the same method.

45. Notes From Experiment • We used a TNT tool to bust the window. • One of our men is less experienced then the rest, and learned a lesson that we need to stress here. ( Basic Fire Fighting ). • When he swung the tool he hit the middle of the window, it busted and the weight and thrust of the hammer went in the window until the handle hit, this then threw his body around. ( Now he isstanding in front of the door gas canister. )

46. Right Way Always Hit The Corner Of A Window The handle Hits The Post And Stops The Motion

47. Fully Involved Fire Bumper To Bumper OR Any Two Types Combined

48. Attacking A Fully Involved Fire. • The average 2003-up car has at least 22 danger zones. • Some as high as 47 dangers • In studying every angle of attack that we have used, we believe the only safe one is a full defensive attack.

49. One Good Event For Us Is : The Windows Will Always Vent Themselves In a Fully Involved Fire This allows us to knock down the fire from a distance

50. Defensive Attack Attacking Diagonal To The Front Is By Fare The Safest