We will use tempo, experience, data (from actual documented rescues), and building construction knowledge to prepare and position ourselves when we arrive 1st due in the residential setting, whether on an Engine or Truck.

Our goal is to occupy the interior places where the highest percentage of victims are found within the first 4 minutes of arrival to give THEM a fighting chance.

This course emphasizes the 6 MUSTS 4 THEM:

WE MUST:

• Mask up Quickly, No Excuses (15 seconds or less)

• Make the Force, Not Excuses

• Make the Stretch, Not Excuses

• Make the Push, Not Excuses

• Make the Throw, Not Excuses

• Make the Grab, Not Excuses

We will be performing a flanked attack covering 1st due Engine skills to include stretching, forcing, flowing and search responsibilities - in addition to 1st due Truck skills to include forcing, ladder carries and throws, and search responsibilities with an inside team and outside team approach that will cover split / oriented search & VES.

*Live victims are utilized

Delivered as a 2-day class (20 hours)
(Can be delivered as a 1-day, 10-hour class under special circumstances, but we generally do not recommended)

Pre-requisite: Fireground Basic Irons or Irons Ready Class
We recommend pairing up this class with Fireground Basic Irons class as a Forcible Entry Academy offer.

The Irons & Saw class expands on the techniques from the Fireground Irons Class and adds many new challenges and tools. It begins with a hands-on review of basic conventional inward and outward opening door techniques, followed by a comprehensive forcible entry saw overview - to include safe starting and handling techniques, daily / weekly checks, blades, blade changes, inboard vs outboard mounting, and overcoming flooded saw techniques.

This will bring us to our skills stations covering both residential & commercial forcible entry challenges that involve Irons & Saw work. This class, in addition to the Fireground Irons Class, is designed to provide a solid base for most fireground forcible entry challenges.

Skills & Topics

• Dead-end or confined hallways and bottom of stairways: Learn to work as a team in confined entryways.

• No visibility: Putting conventional Irons skills together in a limited to no visibility environment with diminished communications due to wearing a mask.

• Residential / Commercial (Panelized) garage overhead doors: Students will learn the fastest and most efficient way to cut and secure residential & commercial doors.

• Open Grate style roll downs: Students will learn how to defeat these specialized gates with TTL and interior cutting techniques.

• OVM / Outward opening door work: methods for additional leverage and use of limited tools.

• Window bar removal: Learn how to quickly cut & clear a window bar system from both ground level and off ladders.

• Commercial Roll down/up gates: Students will learn efficient techniques to create the largest openings in the shortest period of time, how to pull slats & defeat the common locking mechanisms with these gates.

• Pad locks and hockey puck locks: Learn to identify locks that can be easily pried from those that must be cut, and how to use a saw to cut difficult locks & chain in awkward positions.

• “A” side glass doors: Learn how to Gap & Cut one of the most common commercial entry doors with a saw.

• “C” side outward opening doors & drop bars: Learn to cut shield guards, dead bolts, carriage bolts, and hinges followed by conventional Irons work to get thru these doors when seconds count.

Delivered as a 10-hour class.

*This class can only be provided around the PNW region, Idaho and parts of California due to specific props being hauled with a trailer.

*This class, or a version of it, could be available for greater distances if necessary props can be provided.

This class is driven by the following quotes from two mentors and puts a highlight and purpose on stretching off rear hose beds with static hose loads and breaking the preconnect mindset: 'The Fire Goes As the First Line Goes" Lt. Andy Fredericks FDNY (KIA 9/11/01) and “I believe to this day, that an Engine Company Lives and Dies by it's stretches" - Kevin Shea FDNY (Ret.)

Today's smoke is deadlier and fires are reaching flashover faster than ever before. The number 1 priority of the hoseline is not extinguishment as many might think, it's to protect life! We must stretch to place our first line correctly between THEM and the fire and put water on the fire faster than ever.

This is the expectation from our communities of the american fire service Engine Company, no matter where in the country, you're staffing levels, rural, suburban or urban. We must get it right the first time, we must make the stretch, and we must make the push, NOT EXCUSES!

We will specifically showcase the simplicity and abilities of the 1.75" "Bulk Load" aka static or flat load and why this load is a life saver and fire killer for the long stretches, short stretches and everything in between ensuring we have the correct amount of working line to reach the seat of the fire.

This course gives you a solid base foundation with static hose loads. After this course, you will understand why so many fire departments are ditching preconnect’s to add this versatile and flexible hose load to their Engines.

The second aspect of the class focuses on how to flow water with Hit & Move techniques and how to make a "Push" (flowing water while advancing) techniques, which is the most effective way to advance through a fire area. We won't just be stretching and flowing in open parking lots, we will stretch and flow through many real world fireground obstacles and challenges with evolutions that are designed to give you the confidence to leave and go back to your department and make the stretch, make the push, NOT Excuses, no matter your hose load and then hopefully help you lead the charge to change the preconnected mindset and priority of the first line in your organization.

Skills & Topics:

• How to load the "Bulk Load" with tips and tricks learned from experience

• Simple & Complex stretches (dictates # of FF's required and their jobs)

• Spotting the Engine for the stretch- stopping short, pulling past, attack angles

• Priorities of hoseline placement

• Dealing with known / visible victims

• Locating the fire and determining the correct route for the first line

• Estimating the stretch

• How to stretch through realistic terrain and obstacles - tight streets, cars, driveways, courtyards, through gates, hallways, normal living conditions and fireground operations

• Vertical stretches- up stairs, coupling drops / rope stretches

• Nozzle handling- Hit & Move and Push (flowing while advancing) techniques

• Stairs- Hit & Move and Push (flowing while advancing) up and down stairs

• Fire room operations: including hydraulic ventilation and primary search

• Searching while advancing the line

• Trouble shooting / overcoming hazards such as dropped bundles, excess hose, short on hose, water / pressure issues

• Mask up skills

• Dirty drags

This is our longest running class - putting fireground proven techniques in the hands of thousands of students from around the country and even internationally for over 8 years.

A lot can be accomplished on the fireground with only hand tools. This course is designed to help you develop the skills and good habits necessary to begin to master the craft of forcible entry with some of our most traditional, tried and true tools of the trade.

Upon completion of this course, Firefighters will be able to dress and set up their tools for success, perform a rapid size up to identify and defeat multiple forcible entry challenges, account for door control, effectively use commands to enhance communication, develop good striking techniques, and perform the appropriate standardized techniques while working alone or as part of a team.

Seconds do count. To effectively mitigate a high stress, unpredictable event, we must be able to communicate to all rescue members our intent and predict each other’s actions based on standardized training and techniques.

Topics & Skills

• Residential

• Locked cyclone gates

• Forcing & Breaking Pad locks

• Security doors

• 2 FF inward opening door

• 1 FF inward opening door & Wood jamb / Baseball bat swing

• Window bars- (prying)

• Commercial buildings

• 2 FF outward opening

• 1 FF outward opening

• Defeat actual drop bar & carriage bolts (“C” side doors)

• Thru the lock- mortise locks, panic hardware (“A” side glass doors)

• Overcome skinning real metal doors with the Tunneling/Crush Techniques

Delivered as a 10-hour class.

*This class can only be provided around the PNW region, Idaho and parts of California due to specific props being hauled with a trailer.

*This class, or a version of it, could be available for greater distances if necessary props can be provided.

IRONS: Many say they are the keys to the city, but this is only if you understand how to maximize the designed mechanical advantage, leverage, and force of these tools. Once you do, you can problem solve and work through many common fireground forcible entry challenges and know when and how to change things up and think or work outside the box to get the job done.

This class is all about IRONS work and it’s so much more than access- it’s addressing the main paths of egress! Upon completion of this course, Firefighters will be able to dress and set up their tools for success, perform a rapid size up to identify and defeat multiple forcible entry challenges, perform initial interior size up, account for door control, effectively use commands to enhance communication, develop good striking techniques, and perform the appropriate standardized techniques while working alone or as part of a team.

To effectively mitigate a high stress, unpredictable event, we must be able to communicate to all rescue members our intent and predict each other’s actions based on standardized training and techniques. Seconds do count. We will be able to mask up quickly, make the force, and make the grab- NOT EXCUSES!

Skills & Topics

• 1 & 2 FF inward opening doors 


• 1 & 2 FF outward opening doors 


• Limited access / dead-end hallways 


• Bottom of the stairs

• Limited / zero visibility forcible entry 


• Additional leverage / limited tools 


• Wood jamb / baseball bat swing technique (w/ prop available) 


• Dirty drags 


• Mask-up skills

Forcible entry work and GRABS performed under live fire, heat and smoke conditions. This class is about refining your forcible entry skills by putting them to the test, buying back time, and putting THEM first! Those 3 elements even just individually (but even more so altogether) will test, refine, humble and force you to take an honest look at your preparation, your skills set, and your ability to answer the call when you’re under stress.

We MUST:
1) Mask Up Quickly, NO EXCUSES!
2) Make the Force, NOT EXCUSES!
3) Make the GRAB, NOT EXCUSES!

Skills & Topics

• Refining our MASK up skills

• Dirty drags & victim removals from main paths of egress

• Prioritizing the first interior size up of LIFE, FIRE, & LAYOUT

• 1 & 2 FF inward opening doors

• 1 & 2 FF outward opening doors, limited access, & dead end hallways

• Bottom of the stairs

• Limited and zero visibility forcible entry

• Additional leverage & limited tools

• Wood jamb & baseball bat swing technique *if necessary prop available

• Limited to zero visibility saw work on the exterior and interior

Beyond the Door goes beyond the physical action of searching beyond the door; it challenges our thinking beyond the “check box” that has consumed most typical VES trainings.

We will use experience, statistics, building construction knowledge, and tempo to occupy the spaces where victims are most likely to be found and put THEM first!

We will put you in real world scenarios, environments, and layouts that will reinforce your current VES skills and when, why, or how to move beyond the standard check box VES training.

Situations may include - What to do if there is no door to control? Can multiple FF's perform VES? Do conditions allow us to continue the search beyond the door? How to deal with access / egress problems? Victim removal issues? Victims presenting at windows? & much more!

Skills & Topics

• Window cuts

• Baby drop / conscious victim ladder assist

• Interior door off hinges removal / isolation challenges

• Continuing search beyond the door

• Large open areas / rooms with no doors for isolation

• Multiple beds / bunks / cribs

• Access / egress obstacles like cyclone gates, fences, window bars, cars (obstacles may vary based on training locations)

• Dirty drags

• Mask-up skills

• Ladder carries & throws