A Team Effort

Team search can enhance operations in large & complex buildings
By Fred LaFemina
Photo Gert Zoutendijk

It’s 0300 hrs, and you’re doing the watch at the station. You’re taking the promotion exam next week and you’re trying to get in some review time. Suddenly, the dispatcher contacts you and requests you to respond to a reported fie in a commercial occupancy housing electronic appliances.

Now let’s break down the little amount of information we have and conduct a size-up in our heads. A commercial building could possibly mean a large area or a basement fire, which will definitely challenge the troops. It is 3 a.m., so except for a possible security guard, the life hazard at this fire will be to the firefighters themselves. There could possibly be lots of stock, piled to the ceiling. If there’s a basement, rest assured it will contain a maze of obstacles. Now, don’t forget to add the fire and smoke to that scenario.

Sounds like it could be a tough one. But right now, you’re probably wondering where I’m headed with this. The answer: team search. It’s not something firefighters do often, but at the right type of fire, it can enhance the operation while maintaining safety and accountability for the members. Team search is another option available to the incident commander (IC) for searching for victims, fires or a trapped or missing firefighter. Remember: You must have a plan when the dreaded mayday is transmitted.

What Is Team Search?
Team search is a tactic that can be employed to complete a safe, organized and thorough search of a large area or a complex layout. When this technique is implemented, members must maintain search team integrity at all times. The team must be disciplined and perform the search remembering they’re part of a team with several integral components. Members must work together to ensure the search is completed to the best of their abilities while maintaining safety for all members.

Team search uses tag lines off a main search line to allow for minimal duplication of a large search area and a quick path to the exit when needed.

Team search techniques are best used when the situation is beyond the scope of standard search techniques. Examples include gymnasiums, warehouses, ballrooms and convention centers; complex layouts such as office areas containing many cubicles; schools and hotels; and below-grade areas such as basements, cellars and tunnels. 

Initial Considerations
Team integrity is crucial to team search. Disorientation of members during these searches can and has resulted in serious injuries and deaths to firefighters. Conditions can change dramatically during a fire in a short period of time. Members are working in an IDLH atmosphere and these conditions, at the very least, can cause a certain level of uneasiness or discomfort. Unfamiliar layouts or a possible localized collapse can also contribute to firefighter disorientation.

The FAST/RIT often employs team search techniques, and as a result, when you’re asked to conduct a team search, there’s a distinct possibility that you won’t be the only crew doing so. Therefore, when deploying the rope, make sure you can identify your rope and manage it during the search. This will prevent possible entanglement and confusion with ropes already deployed.

Another issue to consider: the timeframe of the search. Depending on the complexity of the structure and the fire conditions, a thorough team search can take an hour or more. Do you have the available resources and equipment with the proper amount of manpower required to conduct the search? As the IC, you must consider the risk factors and what you’re actually going to accomplish. You may have to delay the search until the resources you need to conduct the search safely are on the scene and ready to go. However, if we have cause to believe a citizen—or, more likely, a firefighter—is trapped and still viable, we must attempt to locate them using what is available to us at the scene. Remember, we will exhaust all efforts to save lives; that’s just the way it is.

Rotation & Discipline
Rotation of the search teams may be necessary due to air management issues, limitation of equipment or firefighter fatigue. How effective do you think you’ll be if you find an unconscious victim after you’ve been operating for a long time? You found them, but can you remove them? At this point you may even become part of the problem; this must be considered when relieving personnel.

Discipline of the team is also an important factor. Members must stay together when conducting the search and periodically report their progress to the IC. These searches are very difficult and demanding, and having an experienced group will enhance the effectiveness of the search.

Part 2 of this article will discuss equipment and techniques that will enable you and your company to safely and effectively conduct team search.

Chief Fred LaFemina is a 23-year veteran of the New York City Fire Department (FDNY), presently chief of Rescue Operations. He has been with Special Operations for more than 19 years and is the task force leader for New York’s Task Force 1 Urban Search and Rescue team. He is also the operations chief on the USAR IST White Team. LaFemina has written many articles on fire operations and technical rescue and lectures throughout the country. He is a technical editor of FireRescue.