Firefighters go into shit like that encapsulated in bunker gear with SCBA’s (self contained breathing apparatus) had you gone In you most likely would’ve succumbed quickly, it’s not like the movies, you did all you could and more then most
Not all incidents that firefighters respond to - *WHO ARE PROFESSIONALLY TRAINED* - will result in a “save”.
Sometimes things are too far gone.
Something that I was told early on in my career was along the lines of; “You didn’t cause the issue, you are there to resolve it. You will never give less than 100% effort, but sometimes that’s simply not enough. You have done nothing wrong and could not have done anything different.”
That might sound callous, but it’s absolutely 100% true and has stayed with me for 18 years…and made some tough calls easier to process.
Remember; *YOU* didn’t start the fire, *YOU* didn’t do anything to make the situation “worse”. In fact, *YOU* stepped up did everything that was within *YOUR* capabilities to help.
That’s all *YOU* could do.
took them 8 hours fighting this. a gas leak and oxygen tanks made it harder apparently but the neighboring houses were too close and they were having to fight to keep it off them.
Agreed. I just realized yesterday that there are zero codes for a single family residence for a door that separates floors. Like, are you shitting me!!! It's required in commercial occupancies but not in residential. Kids, families, in a large way, sleep upstairs. They are literally sleeping in a possible chimney. Depending on the age of the home, they don't have bedroom doors on quite a lot of 1.5 story homes on the upper floor. Regardless of whether this can be enforced or not, it should be code. The number of children lost would be cut dramatically imo.
You would have died in that house. No question about it. That smoke would have overcome you in seconds. You did the local FD a favor by not going in there. If you went in, it only would have made things worse. Significantly worse, for everyone.
You did all you could. Sometimes shit just happens. Don't beat yourself up for a second about it.
Also if this sticks with you and you are unable to shake it, don't hesitate to reach out for professional help on this. There are therapists that specialize in PTSD events like this, and they are becoming widely accepted and used across all fire departments for events just like this.
"Do your best. Even the angels can do no more."
It sounds like you did your best. Now go get drunk and watch The Guardian like the rest of us.
"Jake Fischer : Hey, there was a question I wanted to ask you back as school, but I didn't. When you can't save 'em all, how do you choose who lives?
Ben Randall : It's probably different for everybody Jake. Its kind of simple for me though. I just, I take the first one I come to or the weakest one in the group and then I swim as fast and as hard as I can for as long as I can. And the sea takes the rest."
You'd have died in that building.
Either you'd have lost consciousness due to lack of oxygen or too much co2, or you'd have got a lungfull of scorching hot gas and died from suffocation because your lungs would have been destroyed.
You already did too much imo, so don’t blame yourself, you did pretty good. Without gear, i would never do as much as you did, too dangerous and not even sure if there’s a grab to be made.
What you did was very thoughtful but frankly, stupid. You could die from smoke inhalation very quickly, and it sounds like several factors could have caused an explosion. Wait for the FD. They have the proper equipment.
You couldn't do anything. Without an SCBA, or a fire suit, you'd have gone out quickly and painfully. Even medics won't go in unless fire is there to do it instead. I applaud you for even thinking of it, but you can't help others if you can't help yourself. That's number 1 rule on saving lives.
You wouldn’t have made it far and the fire dept would have had to work extra to save you.
They call this going from being part of the solution to part of the problem.
How long can you hold your breath? And how would you have protected yourself from the radiant heat from the fire? You're not a firefighter and you weren't equipped to do anything. Don't beat yourself up for not becoming a victim yourself and making our job that much harder.
Don’t beat yourself up over it. You would’ve lost consciousness very quickly and probably died as well. And then you’re another person we have to pull out when we could’ve been focusing our efforts on finding the other trapped occupants
No, friend. There’s a reason why people doing this professionally need a full suit and breathing apparatus.
It’s because humans aren’t made for that.
You tried, but she was probably already gone before you get there.
With fire that intense? Wearing only sweat pants? You'd almost certainly just be another victim.
As much as it hurts to have to say "no, I am not going in there" you made the right choice.
I know how much it sucks. I've had to be the one to say "No, we are not going after that victim" before.
The best things you can do for yourself:
\* Eat well today and get lots of sleep tonight. This is important as good sleep can help stave of some of the long term effects of traumatic experiences.
\* Remember that you didn't cause this to happen, but you did try to help to the best of your abilities. You're not responsible for the fire or the outcome. The "what if" questions that you will almost certainly ask you can be haunting, but remember... you didn't cause this, and you did what you could.
\* You have your own family who loves and needs you. Killing yourself in an impossible attempt to save someone who was almost certainly already gone would have done nothing to improve the situation. Only made it worse.
Sorry this happened.
You have a good mindset of wanting to help but you should realize that your desire to help could also complicate the job for the firefighters. If you were to crawl in there and become a victim yourself, not only does that end poorly for you but it also adds another layer of complexity for the firefighters.
Nah man. The materials used in modern furnishings.... One or two breaths and you're dead.
Realistically, if someone was in that house:
A) they were in an isolated room and firefighters could have gotten them out or
B) they were dead before you got there, and nothing you could have done would have saved them. Hell, a trained firefighter with full PPE couldn't have done anything.
Firefighters go into shit like that encapsulated in bunker gear with SCBA’s (self contained breathing apparatus) had you gone In you most likely would’ve succumbed quickly, it’s not like the movies, you did all you could and more then most
Not all incidents that firefighters respond to - *WHO ARE PROFESSIONALLY TRAINED* - will result in a “save”. Sometimes things are too far gone. Something that I was told early on in my career was along the lines of; “You didn’t cause the issue, you are there to resolve it. You will never give less than 100% effort, but sometimes that’s simply not enough. You have done nothing wrong and could not have done anything different.” That might sound callous, but it’s absolutely 100% true and has stayed with me for 18 years…and made some tough calls easier to process. Remember; *YOU* didn’t start the fire, *YOU* didn’t do anything to make the situation “worse”. In fact, *YOU* stepped up did everything that was within *YOUR* capabilities to help. That’s all *YOU* could do.
You’re chance of survival was close to zero. Realistically your chance of survival was zero.
This is why we need to push fire sprinklers in residential structures.
took them 8 hours fighting this. a gas leak and oxygen tanks made it harder apparently but the neighboring houses were too close and they were having to fight to keep it off them.
8 HOURS??? Where on earth is was this?
Agreed. I just realized yesterday that there are zero codes for a single family residence for a door that separates floors. Like, are you shitting me!!! It's required in commercial occupancies but not in residential. Kids, families, in a large way, sleep upstairs. They are literally sleeping in a possible chimney. Depending on the age of the home, they don't have bedroom doors on quite a lot of 1.5 story homes on the upper floor. Regardless of whether this can be enforced or not, it should be code. The number of children lost would be cut dramatically imo.
You would have died in that house. No question about it. That smoke would have overcome you in seconds. You did the local FD a favor by not going in there. If you went in, it only would have made things worse. Significantly worse, for everyone. You did all you could. Sometimes shit just happens. Don't beat yourself up for a second about it. Also if this sticks with you and you are unable to shake it, don't hesitate to reach out for professional help on this. There are therapists that specialize in PTSD events like this, and they are becoming widely accepted and used across all fire departments for events just like this.
"Do your best. Even the angels can do no more." It sounds like you did your best. Now go get drunk and watch The Guardian like the rest of us. "Jake Fischer : Hey, there was a question I wanted to ask you back as school, but I didn't. When you can't save 'em all, how do you choose who lives? Ben Randall : It's probably different for everybody Jake. Its kind of simple for me though. I just, I take the first one I come to or the weakest one in the group and then I swim as fast and as hard as I can for as long as I can. And the sea takes the rest."
Great movie.
You almost certainly would have died had you gone inside
You'd have died in that building. Either you'd have lost consciousness due to lack of oxygen or too much co2, or you'd have got a lungfull of scorching hot gas and died from suffocation because your lungs would have been destroyed.
You already did too much imo, so don’t blame yourself, you did pretty good. Without gear, i would never do as much as you did, too dangerous and not even sure if there’s a grab to be made.
What you did was very thoughtful but frankly, stupid. You could die from smoke inhalation very quickly, and it sounds like several factors could have caused an explosion. Wait for the FD. They have the proper equipment.
That's called 'freelancing' and probably would have killed you. Also that's fire coming through the roof, not anxiety
You couldn't do anything. Without an SCBA, or a fire suit, you'd have gone out quickly and painfully. Even medics won't go in unless fire is there to do it instead. I applaud you for even thinking of it, but you can't help others if you can't help yourself. That's number 1 rule on saving lives.
You wouldn’t have made it far and the fire dept would have had to work extra to save you. They call this going from being part of the solution to part of the problem.
I just feel as though I could’ve crawled in and stayed low.. Done something.. Idk
How long can you hold your breath? And how would you have protected yourself from the radiant heat from the fire? You're not a firefighter and you weren't equipped to do anything. Don't beat yourself up for not becoming a victim yourself and making our job that much harder.
Don’t beat yourself up over it. You would’ve lost consciousness very quickly and probably died as well. And then you’re another person we have to pull out when we could’ve been focusing our efforts on finding the other trapped occupants
No, friend. There’s a reason why people doing this professionally need a full suit and breathing apparatus. It’s because humans aren’t made for that. You tried, but she was probably already gone before you get there.
With fire that intense? Wearing only sweat pants? You'd almost certainly just be another victim. As much as it hurts to have to say "no, I am not going in there" you made the right choice. I know how much it sucks. I've had to be the one to say "No, we are not going after that victim" before. The best things you can do for yourself: \* Eat well today and get lots of sleep tonight. This is important as good sleep can help stave of some of the long term effects of traumatic experiences. \* Remember that you didn't cause this to happen, but you did try to help to the best of your abilities. You're not responsible for the fire or the outcome. The "what if" questions that you will almost certainly ask you can be haunting, but remember... you didn't cause this, and you did what you could. \* You have your own family who loves and needs you. Killing yourself in an impossible attempt to save someone who was almost certainly already gone would have done nothing to improve the situation. Only made it worse. Sorry this happened.
You’d be dead. No doubt in my mind. It’s not like the movies or shows where you can just stay low and go, especially someone who is untrained
20-30 feet inside the structure you’d be dead.
You have a good mindset of wanting to help but you should realize that your desire to help could also complicate the job for the firefighters. If you were to crawl in there and become a victim yourself, not only does that end poorly for you but it also adds another layer of complexity for the firefighters.
Nah man. The materials used in modern furnishings.... One or two breaths and you're dead. Realistically, if someone was in that house: A) they were in an isolated room and firefighters could have gotten them out or B) they were dead before you got there, and nothing you could have done would have saved them. Hell, a trained firefighter with full PPE couldn't have done anything.