Hoarder Homes: Piles of Hazards for Firefighters
Fighting fires in hoarded homes is rapidly becoming a familiar occurrence in today’s fire service. While the mission is still the same, the tactics used when fighting these fires need to change to make for a safer environment. This presentation will put you in the first due unit arriving at a reported structure fire inside a Hoarded home. From hoarder recognition to salvage and overhaul students will be exposed to the different thought process used while fighting fires in hoarded homes. “Hoarder Homes: Piles of hazards for firefighters” will return you to quarters with the knowledge and tools to come home safe!
The intent of this presentation is to expose the students to the ins and outs of fighting a structural fire inside a house with a hoarder type conditions. Multiple variables will complicate the use of normal tactics when faced with areas that are no longer able to be used for their intended purpose. The learning objectives will be to identify factors such as hoarder front yards, tactical changes used while fighting these types of fires, and overhaul techniques used on massive amounts of belongings. This program hopes to introduce new ways of thinking when engaged in fire operations inside hoarded homes. The target audience of this program is from the chief level to the street level firefighter. Knowing your stuff when faced with a hoarder fire is valuable to everyone on the department. During the program all aspects of a hoarder response will be covered. The knowledge gained can benefit everyone who attends, no matter what rank or level.
Instructor: Lt. Ryan Pennington – Charleston, West Virginia Fire Department
Ryan Pennington is an authority on heavy content firefighting (hoarder firefighting). He has more than 22 years in the fire service and is a Lieutenant/paramedic in Charleston, West Virginia. He has lectured on and trained thousands of firefighters in the United States and internationally. Ryan blogs at Jumpseattraining.com and podcasts at Jumpseat Radio.