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Steam Myths, VEIS + Basement Fires with Returning Guest Sean Gray | Fully Involved Podcast (E11)

Task Force Tips - Firefighter Equipment

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Back by popular demand! He hosted the Fully Involved crew at Cobb County Fire Department in Georgia for on-site Ep. 4-7, then he was the Ep. 1 guest of the Fully Involved Podcast. Now in his second podcast appearance (Ep. 11), the Fully Involved crew catches up with Sean at Connecticut Fire Academy’s Winter Fire School to talk steam myths, VEIS, basement fires, gas cooling vs. surface cooling, and what’s changing in the brand-new Second Edition of "The Evolving Fireground" that he co-authored with PJ Norwood.

In Sean Gray’s Podcast Episode 1, we covered steam expansion myths, exterior streams, water mapping, nozzle choice, and why water placement beats chasing bigger GPM.

Now in Podcast Episode 11 firefighters will learn:
• Why exterior water does not automatically “steam” firefighters
• How straight streams, fog patterns, and air entrainment change fire attack
• What UK and US crews can learn from each other about air control and flow rates
• Why surface cooling matters in hallways, fire rooms, and water mapping
• How to recognize low-intake, high-exhaust basement fire problems
• Why maneuverability and speed can matter more than higher GPM
• How VEIS and search tactics are changing with new research
• Company officer leadership lessons from Sean’s “Walking the Wire” class

3 Comments

@scotthewlett7040 4 months ago

Firefighters will be quick to soundbite the statement that 'It doesn't matter how many GPMs you typically have', as confirmation bias that smaller hand-lines are all that is required to fight fires. A garden hose on the '185 gallons total' video would not be enough water, one 1 3/4 on a fully involved 2000 sq ft home would not be enough water, one 2 1/2 on a dollar store fire would not be enough water, one deck gun on a Walmart fire would not be enough water. GPM does matter. A skilled nozzle firefighter can be more effective with less water, but how many truly skilled nozzle firefighters are there? Everyone is better off by putting 'more water than should be necessary' in the hands of the unskilled.

@sfd253 4 months ago

So every bit of scientific data around the globe is wrong that water expands 1:1600 to 1:1700 when changing from a liquid to a gas, and it just got put into textbooks because it sounded cool?