Technique challenges conventional firefighter training

GREEN TWP., Ohio - The Green Township Fire Department will begin using a new technique to help firefighters work in burning buildings.

Positive Pressure Attack (PPA) is a firefighting approach that uses a high powered fan to help clear smoke and heat from burning buildings. Green Twp. will start using the technique in January 2011.

"Some of the things we use to do may not be what works now, some of the techniques we've been using for decades," said Green Township Fire and EMS Public Information Officer Mike Nie.

Nie said fires tend to burn hotter nowadays due to more synthetic materials used  inside homes.

"In the past we would not ventilate the fire for fear of making it larger until we got to the seed of the fire and started putting water on the fire," said Nie.

PPA does just the opposite.

The first responding crew determines if the situation merits using PPA. Firefighters then begin ventilating specific points relative to the fire's position. While making entry, a high powered fan blows fresh air into the building, pushing out the heat and smoke.

"We're actually ventilating at the time we're making entry. The building is much cooler, visibility is much better," Nie said.

Green Township firefighters trained with the men who developed PPA in the 1980s. No other Cincinnati area departments currently use PPA.

"There's no known documentation that PPA or positive pressure attack has directly resulted in injuries or fatalities with any firefighters," said Assistant Chief Scott Souders.

The department launched an extensive training course based in classroom and practical situations at the Diamond Oaks fire training center. Neighboring departments also trained with PPA so they could understand the the skills if they respond into Green Township.

William "B.J." Jetter, president of the Hamilton County Fire Chiefs Association, commends Green Township for taking the lead in PPA. He said it will take some time before other departments across the county start using PPA.

"We're diligent to keep looking at something long enough to say hey, is it going to work or isn't it going to work. So I think we're on a new horizon here and I think we'll see more of this in the near future," said Jetter.