Maintaining Orientation

September 25

• Maintaining orientation to the building when conducting a search is critical for the survival of the firefighter.
• It is very easy to lose contact with the building and become disoriented.
• When this occurs, the firefighter becomes lost. This has led to firefighters dying in the line of duty.

• Within the building there are clues that can be picked up to help locate where a firefighter may be and maintain orientation.
• One clue is the floor coverings that are present.
• Depending on the type of residential structure and the number of stories it has, the floor coverings can tell you where you might be.
• If the residential building has two stories, common floor coverings found on the first floor will be carpeting for the great room or family room.
• Hardwood flooring may be found in the dining room, living room, and other open areas of the house.
• Ceramic tiles may be found in the kitchen, bathroom, and entrance ways of the house.

What do these floor coverings feel like with a gloved hand?

• Other common coverings may be laminate wood flooring, which can be found in open areas, great rooms, living rooms, and eating areas

• On the second floor, you may find carpeting in bedrooms and hallways.

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• Ceramic tiles or vinyl flooring will be an indication of a bathroom or an upstairs laundry room.

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• Hardwood floors or laminate wood are also sometimes used in bedrooms.

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• By feeling the floor and knowing what level you are on, you may be able to determine your location.

• Examples of floor coverings
• Notice the multiple changes in the top right picture.
• Carpet hallway to hardwoods in a kitchen or common area to carpet in the living room and the hardwoods up by the door up the stairs.

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What do these transitions feel like with a gloved hand and with no visibility?

• Another set of clues are the utilities located on the walls of rooms.
• These utilities may be baseboard heaters, steam/water pipes, and/or radiators.
• These clues will point to where the outside walls are located within that structure.
• The outside walls are often used to locate these devices and can be felt when sweeping the walls during a search.
• Homes of a certain age will have these devices as opposed to homes built in more modern times.
• Baseboard heaters are still used today as a way to provide electrical heat. Other devices such as the radiator and steam pipes are not used today and will be found in older homes.
• If you get disoriented inside the structure while conducting a search and you can feel on the wall a baseboard heater or a set of radiator pipes, you will know that you are on an outside wall and that there will be a window within a very short distance.  

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• What do you do when you become disoriented? – SOP 3.2.14 – RIT/MAYDAY
• If you become lost, trapped, disoriented, discover an injured firefighter, are unable to account for a member of your crew, or experience some other situation where you require emergency assistance during fire ground operations, transmit a MAYDAY using these steps:

1: Transmit a fire ground MAYDAY over your radio

2: Activate Emergency Status Radio Button

3: Manually Activate PASS Device

4: Keep Command and/or Safety Chief updated

As you attempt to solve your problem, make sure to keep the Safety Chief and/or Command updated on progress and needs. If you, or someone else on the fire ground, solves your problem you must advise the RIT group immediately and update them on your location and status.

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Problem-solving steps to use during your MAYDAY:

• Orient Yourself – Using the flooring coverings as clues. Can you find a hose line? Use the coupling to tell you your direction. Remember – Smooth, Bump, Bump to the pump
• Remain calm and get your bearings.
• What is the status of your air supply?
• What were you doing?
• Were you nearing a wall?
• Advancing or following a hose line?
• Were you on the first floor, second floor, in the basement?
• Who was with you and where are they now?

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• By performing a quick assessment of the situation, you may be able to quickly solve it.
• Your entry should have been systematic and your actions during this problem solving should be the same.
• Communicate with Your Crew
• Actions to communicate with your or any other crew in the structure by:
• Call out to the other crew members, through an SCBA
• Do a radio transmission
• Sound a tool
• Make sure you activate your PASS device (see below) and then make as much noise as possible with the tool

Drill Time:

Firefighter in full protective clothing. SCBA, vision blocking device for facepiece such as a protective hood) length of hose w/couplings, search rope, assigned personal equipment, portable radio.

• 1. Simulate becoming separated from crew members. (Instructor should position a vision obscured firefighter into the room/area at start of evolution)
• 2. FF should transmit MAYDAY message over radio using LUNAR or UCAN, press emergency button on radio if equipped. Listen for confirmation of message by command. – Make sure to get a training channel and let dispatch know you’re pushing the emergency button for training.
• 3. Activate PASS in alarm mode.
• 4. Attempt to orientate yourself to location. Feel for floor coverings (tile, carpet, wood) or type of furniture to help orientate to location in structure.
• 5. Attempt to locate hoseline or rope and identify coupling or knots in rope to assist in finding the correct direction out. (Instructor should place in area)
• 6. Attempt to locate wall and locate doors or windows to find escape.
• 7. Keep I/C updated on any progress or movement, temporarily reset PASS while transmitting on radio.
• 8. Continue reorientation techniques while controlling breathing and monitoring air supply until you escape the area.

• Course/Activity: Firefighter Safety and Survival

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• ISO Code: Should Populate Automatically to Company training

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• Codes: None

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• Location of Training: Location you trained, typically your firehouse

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• Locale: The station doing the training

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• Date: date of the training

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• Hours: 2.5

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• Event Description “September 2025 Monthly Training” and a brief description of training

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• External Instructors: Person or Persons providing the training for the company

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• Attendees: Enter everyone’s name, including those listed as the instructor, yes people can be listed as both attendee and instructor.

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• If you have a prepared training program that would benefit the department, send an email to Chief Steve Clegg Steven.Clegg@indy.gov the training will be reviewed and sent out department wide via monthly training if approved.

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