Fire Fighters Triage Homes to Save

When a disaster strikes a community, emergency rooms near-by go into ‘triage mode’. Triage is from the French language, and means sorting. As victims enter the emergency room they are quickly sorted, or ‘triaged’ into categories: first aid only, emergency and potential for surviving high, emergency and potential for surviving low, and dead on arrival. By triaging, emergency personnel can be utilized to the optimum level to provide care.

Many people may be aware of medical triaging, but were not aware that the same sort of triaging or sorting occurs in major fires. But it does. When firemen move into blazing neighborhoods they sort by which homes may be savable. The following are some of the criteria that are used:

•An absence of heavy vegetation or other combustibles near the house. Firefighters call it "defensible space."

•Non-combustible roofing, such as tile or asphalt. Wood shake roofs are sometimes thought to be too flammable to be worth saving in a crunch,

•Clean roof gutters.

•An escape route for firefighters.

So, if you are one of those people who live in forested locations, please remember the above fire triaging system, and implement it on your own property. Your homes may be one of the few standing when the fire is over.