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• Amber Steiding: Assistant Chief 
• Potomac Fire Company #2
• 9/1/25 Labor Day
• Type of building: single family dwelling
• Approx time from arrival to removal: roughly 10 minutes 
• Weight of the victim (approximately): victim 1-100 to 120, victim 2- 190 to 200
• Method of removal: More of a tackle and push, victim 2 was an assist under their power.
• First I’ll start with staying ready and staying prepared.  Between being fit, training, drilling, and studying the Lord prepared me for this. 
• I really got a first hand feel for what victims are going through. 
• Do not trust dispatch or initial reports of all occupants out. How do you know? Search, search, search…even if no one else will.

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Grabs 165 Ashville, NC (2/16/2025)

• Grant speaks with Senior Firefighter James Burnette 
•  02/16/2025 at 11:07pm
• Single story, Single family residential 
• 5:23 seconds to removal
• Victim 130lbs
• Horder Conditions 
• 50’ exit Grab limbs and exited on Alpha
• Takeaway-Masking up with gloves on

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Grabs 164 Orange Township Fire Department, Indiana (April 14, 2025)

Chief Gene Landers

Chief pulls up on house fire, met by mom that said baby was inside.

Mom ran inside and chief followed her, quick grab by mom (18 month kid) <1 min

Crews arrived and this became a bread and butter fire.

Take-aways

Set up of command vehicle, be prepared for firefight by yourself.

No mask bag with SCBA, speed up

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Grabs 164 Orange Township Fire Department, Indiana (April 14, 2025) 

• Chief Gene Landers 
• Chief pulls up on house fire, met by mom that said baby was inside. 
• Mom ran inside and chief followed her, quick grab by mom (18 month kid) <1 min
• Crews arrived and this became a bread and butter fire.
• Take-aways
   
  • Set up of command vehicle, be prepared for firefight by yourself. 
  • No mask bag with SCBA, speed up 

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Grabs 163 Carson City, NV (5/16/2018)

Jon Pedrini., Battalion Chief

Carson City Fire Department

05/16/2018

2-story wood framed multi family apartment

5minutes

8yr old male

120lbs Second floor window

Always be ready, fast turnout and mask up times make a difference

If your job is to clear a window for removal make sure you clear it out completely

Room isolation. Shutting the door and isolating the room from fire makes conditions immediately better.

Train often on the drill grounds and in the gym. Make sure the training is realistic and functional.

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Grabs 162 South Metro Fire Rescue, Colorado (March 2025)

First truck assigned all in VES Delta side.

Taylor Slaught Firefighter

Vince Pratt Engineer

House converted to Assisted Living

Initial Call as AFA, then upgraded to working fire with 6 trapped.

High windows

First window-heard vict call out from bed. 3 in first, pass victim out window head first.

Extending search from first room, bathroom and door swing (good orientation)

Find second victim in hall face down, dragged victim to same room where victim 1 came out.

Third victim heavy

Fourth victim-a lot of hands trying to make grabs.

Fifth victim found and removed by engine company.

All victims out and fire out in 12 minutes.

1)Fire attack supports search

2)when to VES vs going in through normal egress points.

3)when to extend your search beyond the initial VES room.

4)victim handling/when to take them out a window or go through a normal egress point.

5)making the decision when you locate a victim whether to hand them off to an exterior crew and continue searching or take the victim out and you stay with them until they are transported.

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Grabs 161 Orem Fire Department, UT, (7/19/2025)

Name and Rank: Austin McBride Firefighter Critical Care Paramedic 

Department Name: City of Orem Fire Department 

Date of Grab: 7/19/2025

Type of building: 2 story residential with add-on/DIY construction. Ill add a picture so you can reference it. 

Approx time from arrival to removal: 7 minutes

Weight of the victim (approximately): 140

Method of removal: VES, removed out of second story window via ladders. 

3-4 takeaways for show notes: 1) Due to communication lapses, I ended up performing the search alone, so I had to modify our standard search tactics: 2 people,1 isolates, one searches. Due to no visibility and quick location of the victim right by the window, isolating the door was delayed to effect the rescue. We can talk about the fire conditions and why I made that decision. 2) The window we brought the victim out of had a car parked right in front of it, so ladders were augmented to the side of the car, making the rescue more difficult (for those who encounter this in the future, stick that ladder right through the windshield) 3) Instead of bending the victim's legs at the window and hoisting the victim out the window, I found clean air right at the window and sat him up just below the window while I waited for ladders to be thrown and help to arrive to me. 4) I was engineer (driver) that day, so I was in a pumping mindset. Once an audible was called and our assignment was changed to rescue mode, I found myself lacking some critical equipment once performing the rescue: Radio, tool and water can. Take away: Always prepare for a potential rescue or for an audible to be called, even if you are a driver (Engineer), or even a fourth due arrival you never know. 

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Grabs 160 Minnesota (October 7, 2024)

* Nick speaks with a Captain about a grab made in October from an anonymous Dept in Minnesota.

* Captain Dustin Kunnari

* Two-story SFD

* ~140 lbs

* 4-person lift out the window to a porch roof, then brought to the ground via parallel ladders

* Arrival until removal was approx 6-8 minutes.

* Search method and tactic was window initiated split search.

* Victim was located with naked eye

* Takeaways 

* Every structure is occupied 

* Plan on being the crew who will make the grab with reports of victims 

* Have a plan for search and removal and be on the same page as your crew. 

* Be aggressive and be ready to make a difference. 

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Grabs 159 Moncton, New Brunswick (March 15, 2025)

* Andrew Wainright and Chris Colford

* Truck 4 (Quint) arrived second

* Came in as AFA 10 story HR around 1730

* Nothing showing upon arrival, no additional reports.

* Panel-Smoke detector and water flow, residents reported smoke on 8.

* Elevators to 6-could smell it.

* 8th floor-dirty hall, smoke pushing out of closed apartment door (first apartment on right)

* Search ahead of the hose line with can and irons, dropped bundles in hall. Split search.

* TIC issues, communication problems with sprinkler noise and alarm going off.

* Couch fire, used can, then vented.

* Closed bedroom door-good viz compared to rest of the apartment.

* Found male victim unconscious at feet of the lazy boy. On back with feet towards Andrew

* Leg drag-found hall and walked straight back, took victim hall. Chris met up with Andrew and Captain.

* Victim was slippery. Arms and Legs once in the hallway.

* Portable radio was off-transmission never went out.

* Took victim to elevator bank, elevator control brought it up and they took victim to lobby.

* Delay for EMS to get there. They are not dispatched on AFA.

* Not convinced they had completed the search of the apartment.

* https://firetrainingassociates.ca/

* https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=JhcOp9Z7XGw

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* Grabs 158 South Adams County Fire, Co (June 17, 2024)

* BC Andrew Fairban, LT Paulie Johnston,, Eng John Warmeth, FF Antony Giana

* 152 p multiple calls

* 2 story house with crawl space (Converted to multi-family)

* Reported victim trapped in wheelchair.

* 2nd due all in for search

* Entrance blocked due to car fire, awning collapse (Also blocked stairs to basement-hidden)

* 2 people in basement

* Chief found basement window and victims, Tk28 came

* Basement window entry difficult

* Moderate smoke in basement but good lift

* Longest time was to find that there was a basement. Once located victims came out quick

* Smaller victims, 1st able to assist (boost out) second handed out.

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