The rescue service in Allmänsta receives an alarm concerning a fire
in a rubbish room. On arrival at the incident site the fire is relatively
limited, to a single container. Instead of tackling the blaze quickly
with a hand fire extinguisher, the incident commander decides to
apply water via a hose and nozzle. A fan is also taken in with the
intention of using pressure ventilation. By the time the preparations
have been made, the fire has spread to the whole rubbish room
including the ceiling. Despite the fact that the object cannot be
saved it was decided that an effort would be made, which resulted
in a firefighter suffering burns to the hands. In retrospect all those
involved agreed that the wrong course of action had been taken,
causing unnecessary risk. Preparations also took too long in relation
to the development of the situation. One can take a big risk to gain a
lot, a small risk to gain a little, but no risk to try to gain something
that is already lost.
Example 16