PPA and PPV - Positive Pressure Attack and Ventilation Resources

POSITIVE PRESSURE VENTILATION (PPV) AND ATTACK (PPA)
Training, Education, Resources

Positive pressure attack and ventilation are tactics commonly abbreviated as PPA and PPV. Most recently, we have seen it called Pressurized Fire Attack and Forced Ventilation also. We try to use the terminology of attack, PPA, to help emphasize the proactive, tactical use of ventilation in a coordinated attack. On this page...

PPA Book Offer
PPA classes
PPA / PPV Resources

Free Offer with VENTRY® Fan Registration

Education and training are vital to the safe and successful use of Positive Pressure Attack and Positive Pressure Ventilation (the tactic is also sometimes called tactical ppv or ppv in a coordinated attack).

We offer a complimentary copy of the book “Positive Pressure Attack for Ventilation & Firefighting” by Garcia, Kauffman and Schelble to customers who order VENTRY Fans for fire/rescue applications. Limit one per department.

Also free with every new VENTRY Fan purchased, see the Ultimate Door Stop.

To supplement the information provided in the book, we recommend also reading our Fan FAQ pages on the topics of propellers, shrouds, noise and pneumatic wheels.

Online Training: Tactical PPV

Bob Nicks, Chief of Training of the Austin Fire Department, and several partners have done a great deal of research on PPA/PPV and have made their research, training and videos available online for others to benefit. Please see...

http://www.me.utexas.edu/~ezekoye/rsch.dir/PPV.html

http://www.me.utexas.edu/~ezekoye/rsch.dir/research/index.html

Class: Train-The-Trainer Class on Positive Pressure Attack
(TNT on PPA)

Click the photo to enlarge.
Photo used courtesy of
positivepressureattack.com

Kriss Garcia and Reinhard Kauffman, co-authors of the book “Positive Pressure Attack for Ventilation and Firefighting,” regularly teach Train-the-Trainer courses on positive pressure attack (PPA). The most recent class was May 4, 5, and 6, 2010 in Marshfield, Wisconsin. Ventry Solutions sponsored the class and we hope to continue doing so with future classes.

For information on PPA classes, see positive pressure attack.com (link opens in a new window).

Our CEO and Engineer James Neils and production guy Ken Birge completed this training and found it very valuable. They are pictured in the photo above: front row, center, with the VENTRY Fan. James is directly behind the fan and Ken is just to his right. Since taking the TnT course, James and Ken have taught several classes to local fire fighters. Click here for photos.

PPV Resources and Articles Online

Information on positive pressure attack and positive pressure ventilation (also recently called pressurized fire attack) are listed below. Additional sources are available on our links page. Please click here.

Garcia and Kauffman. “Pressurized Fire Attack Precautions: THE BIG THREEE.” Online training course through Fire Engineering University.com, May 2010. <http://www.fireengineeringuniversity.com/coursereview.aspx?
url=34%2fHTML%2f1_index.htm&scid=29> (Last accessed between July 12 and July 21, 2010).

Kerber and Madrzykowski. “Research for the Fire Service: Positive Pressure Ventilation.” Fire Engineering Magazine, Feb 22, 2010. <http://www.fireengineering.com/index/articles/display/7319476426/articles/fire-engineering/firedynamics/2010/02/nist-ppv-experiments.html> (Last accessed between July 12 and July 21, 2010).

Kerber and Madrzykowski. “Go with the Flow: NIST study proves PPV can save lives & improve safety.” FireRescue Magazine, Nov 2009, Vol. 27, Issue 11 <http://fire.epubxpress.com/link/fire/2009/nov/36?s=0> (Last accessed between July 12 and July 21, 2010). The article appears on pages 36-38.

University of Texas, Austin and the Austin Fire Department. “Positive Pressure Ventilation, Training and Research.” Last accessed between July 12 and July 21, 2010 from <http://www.me.utexas.edu/~ezekoye/rsch.dir/PPV.html> (Previously was posted at fireventstudy.com)

Kerber and Madrzykowski. “Evaluating Positive Pressure Ventilation In Large Structures: School Pressure and Fire Experiments.” PDF File (PDF file) <http://fire.nist.gov/nfrlpubs/fire08/art016.html> (Last accessed between July 12 and July 21, 2010).

Ezekoye, Svensson* & Nicks. “Investigating Positive Pressure Ventilation.” (<http://www.me.utexas.edu/~ezekoye/rsch.dir/documents/TravisHouseStudy.pdf>
(Last accessed between July 12 and July 21, 2010). Click here for some highlights we pulled from this paper. *Click here for a May 2010 article by Dr. Stefan Svensson regarding fire fighter safety.

Nicks, Watson, and Ezekoye. “Testing Tactics Scientifically: PPV in Residential Structures.” <http://www.me.utexas.edu/~ezekoye/rsch.dir/PPV.html> Presented April 2005 at FDIC 2005. (Last accessed between July 12 and July 21, 2010).

Garcia, Kauffman and Schelble, fire fighters from Utah who study, train, and publish a great deal on positive pressure attack and ventilation. They maintain the website positivepressureattack.com.

The Building and Fire Research Laboratory section of NIST (National Institute of Standards and Technology) has conducted quite a few studies on PPV. Recent tests included VENTRY Fans. Please see www.bfrl.nist.gov and search for Positive Pressure Ventilation. DVDs of the research are also available through fire.gov.

Kerber and Walton. “Effect of Positive Pressure Ventilation on a Room Fire.” (PDF file) March 2005. <http://fire.nist.gov/bfrlpubs/fire05/PDF/f05018.pdf> Sponsored by the US Department of Commerce, US Department of Homeland Security, and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). (Last accessed between July 12 and July 21, 2010).

City of Phoenix. “Phoenix Regional Standard Operating Procedures, Positive Pressure Ventilation (M.P. 202.12D).” <http://phoenix.gov/fire/20212d.pdf> July-26-2010 (Date of Access). This is part of the “Phoenix Regional Standard Operating Procedures,” which is available in total at <http://www.phoenix.gov/fire/vol2index.pdf> (Click the underlined section number within the index to open additional documents.)

Additional Resources are available on our links page. Please click here.