Search and Rescue Operations: Primary Search, VEIS, and Crew Safety

Search and Rescue Operations

Search is the highest-risk, highest-reward operation on the fireground. You're sending people into an IDLH atmosphere to find victims who may or may not be there. Get it right and you save a life. Get it wrong and you add to the body count — potentially your own crew. Search operations demand discipline, technique, communication, and constant situational awareness.

The Search Priority

Not every part of the building gets searched first. Prioritize:

• Most severely threatened area: Closest to the fire, directly above the fire, in the flow path.
• Most likely occupied area: Bedrooms at night, living areas during the day. Think about where people actually are based on time of day.
• Remaining areas: Systematic search of everything else.

Intelligence drives this priority. Dispatch information, bystander reports ("my kids are upstairs"), and your size-up all inform where you search first.

Primary Search

The primary search is a rapid, systematic search of the most critical areas while fire suppression is underway. Key characteristics:

• Speed: Primary search is fast but not reckless. You're moving through the building quickly, checking likely victim locations.
• Coordination with fire attack: The search team typically operates ahead of or alongside the attack line. The hoseline protects both the search team and their egress.
• Systematic: Every room gets checked. Sweep under beds, in closets, behind doors, and in bathtubs — children hide in small, enclosed spaces.
• Communication: Report what you find and where you are. "Search is negative on the second floor" or "Victim located, bedroom 2, Bravo side."

Secondary Search

After fire control, a secondary search is conducted to verify the primary search was complete. The secondary search is:

• More thorough: Different crew, different approach. Check every space including attics, basements, closets, and crawl spaces.
• Conducted by a different crew: Fresh eyes prevent confirmation bias. If the first crew missed something, a new crew is more likely to find it.
• Better visibility: With fire controlled and ventilation improving, conditions allow a more detailed search.
• Documented: Mark rooms as searched using your department's marking system (single slash = in progress, X = complete).

VEIS — Vent, Enter, Isolate, Search

VEIS (formerly VES) is a targeted search technique for specific rooms — typically bedrooms — performed from the exterior through a window, independent of the interior attack line.

• Vent: Break the window from the outside (or from a ladder) to create a fresh air inlet and exhaust products of combustion.
• Enter: Enter through the window. Sound the floor before committing your weight.
• Isolate: Close the door to the room before searching. This separates you from the fire environment in the hallway and controls the flow path. THIS STEP IS CRITICAL — it's the difference between VEIS and just climbing through a window into a fire building.
• Search: Search the room quickly and thoroughly. Check under the bed, in the closet, and behind furniture.

VEIS is a high-risk operation that requires training and coordination. It should be communicated to command before execution so interior crews know what's happening.

Oriented Search

Oriented search uses a reference point — typically a hoseline, a rope, or a wall — to maintain orientation in zero visibility:

• Left-hand or right-hand search: Follow the wall with one hand, maintaining constant contact. Simple and effective for basic layouts.
• Hoseline-oriented search: Use the attack line as your reference point. Search off the line and return to it. The line leads back to the exit.
• Search rope: Deploy a search line from a known point (usually the entry door) and search off the rope with personal search lines. Essential for large-area searches in commercial buildings.
• Thermal imaging: TIC-guided search allows you to see heat signatures, but always maintain a physical orientation reference as backup. Cameras can fail.

Thermal Imaging in Search

Thermal imaging cameras (TICs) are game-changers for search operations, but they're tools, not crutches:

• Scan systematically: Sweep the room from floor to ceiling, wall to wall. Don't just point it forward.
• Look for heat signatures: Victims show as warm spots against cooler backgrounds. Remember that under debris or blankets, a victim may not be immediately visible on thermal.
• Use it to read conditions: The TIC shows you thermal layering, hot spots in the structure, and fire extension behind walls and ceilings.
• Don't walk into things: Firefighters get so focused on the TIC screen that they trip, fall, or walk into hazards. Keep moving your eyes between the screen and your surroundings.

Crew Accountability During Search

Accountability during search operations is non-negotiable:

• Stay together: Search teams work in pairs minimum. Separation in an IDLH atmosphere can be fatal.
• Maintain communication: Verbal contact, physical contact (touch the shoulder of your partner), and radio communication with command.
• Monitor air supply: Know your crew's air consumption rates. The person with the lowest air supply dictates when you leave.
• Know your exit: At all times, every member of the search team should know the fastest way out. Hoseline, search rope, or wall orientation — something connects you to safety.
• Report in: Regular progress reports to command. "Search team to command, second floor primary search in progress, conditions are tenable."
• MAYDAY: If a member becomes lost, trapped, or is running out of air, declare a MAYDAY immediately. Don't wait, don't try to fix it yourself first — MAYDAY.

The Bottom Line

Search and rescue is why many of us joined the fire service. But the best search team is one that finds victims AND comes home at the end of the shift. Train hard, practice your techniques, maintain your situational awareness, and never freelance. A disciplined search saves more lives than a heroic one — including yours.