Heel work

Heel Work

The “Heel” is another term for the #4 or Drop-Off firefighter. Moving hose and backing up the nozzle firefighter is their first priority.

The heel has a few options when moving hose into a building. One is simply pulling the hose from a stationary position, hand over hand in a straight line. This works well if there are limited obstructions or turns to navigate. This technique is used in conjunction with the “straight stick” method where the heel picks up the hose and moves it with their legs keeping it in a straight line and staying close to the nozzle firefighter.

As the nozzle firefighter reaches a turn, they need to communicate back to the heel what their needs are. Once this communication has been made, the heel can bump up to a corner and continue moving the hose and keep it off of friction points.

A method to use at corners is called “loading the “T” or “overshooting”. This is a way to pull hose into the structure without leaving the excess in the path of travel. As the heel gets to a corner or T intersection they load the extra hose down the opposite direction of travel. This helps to reduce friction for the Nozzle and to store surplus hose.

“Taking a bight” or the “bight” method; the Heel brings a bight of hose with them from the exterior of the building. This allows the Heel to reach the first friction point with excess hose.
Once inside, either feed the hose hand over hand, “straight stick” staying close to the nozzle or method or use the bus driver technique. The heat inside the building will dictate how low to the ground you must be.

The Heel is a second set of eyes to the nozzle. He or she must be paying attention to the environment, looking forward and into the overhead. He or she is the communication link between the nozzle and the rest of the personnel on the line.

As the Heel, you are the motor. The focus should be on pushing hose to the nozzle. This allows the nozzle firefighter to focus on flowing water and killing the fire.

The body mechanics we use as the Heel firefighter are specific. We move hose with our legs where the majority of our strength lies. The rear leg is up and the lead leg is down. The rear hand utilizes an underhand grip and acts as a cable, staying locked in on the hose. The lead hand is on the ground stabilizing the body in a tripod position. Learning and using good technique allows us to be more effective firefighters, experience less fatigue, and to stay in the fight longer.


Resources: Da’ Manual - The Nozzle Forward, Aaron Fields