Coordinating Ventilation: Supporting Extinguishment & Survivability
Nicholas Papa
Wednesday, June 11, 2025
8:00 AM – 12:00 PM
Ventilation can make or break the outcome of a fire. Achieving the desired effect requires the knowledge of how the tactic works and the precautions that must be taken. This program breaks down ventilation, detailing its relationship with fire dynamics, firefighting operations, and most importantly, victim survivability, to identify how it can be leveraged to positively influence the fireground. By coupling past experiences with the latest research and data, the common pitfalls and misconceptions are addressed to reduce potential errors and avoidable losses. A set of guiding principles and practices is provided to establish an operational baseline. The framework is universal and can be applied to any environment – from rural to urban communities. With a practical understanding of ventilation and the means for its execution, participants can more consistently make the right call for their fireground.
Nicholas Papa
Nicholas Papa is a second-generation firefighter with 20 years of experience in the fire service. He is a captain with the New Britain (CT) Fire Department, where he has served for 16 years. He was the co-founder of the department’s fire academy, and the lead instructor for the inaugural recruit class. Nick entered the fire service in 2003, volunteering for the neighboring suburb of Newington until his appointment to the NBFD. He is a contributor to Fire Engineering and the author of the best-selling book, Coordinating Ventilation: Supporting Extinguishment & Survivability. Nick is a FDIC International advisory board member and has been a classroom instructor since 2017. He also served as a technical panelist for the FSRI research project, “The Study on Coordinated Fire Attack in Acquired Structures.” Nick is also the founder Fireside Training, LLC.
