Firefighter Air Coalition launches initiative on air resupply in large buildings

The Firefighter Air Coalition has launched The Next Standpipe Initiative | Know the Distance to help departments assess how to get replacement breathing air to crews working in high-rises, warehouses and other large buildings. The effort centers on the impact of distance, workload and staffing on firefighter safety and operations.

Why it matters: - Fire departments are facing longer travel distances, heavier workloads and more complex logistics when crews need replacement breathing air inside large buildings. - The initiative is meant to help departments evaluate whether current air-resupply practices can sustain search, fire attack, rescue and rapid intervention during prolonged incidents. - The coalition frames the issue as both a firefighter safety problem and an operational capacity problem.

What happened: - The Firefighter Air Coalition announced The Next Standpipe Initiative | Know the Distance on Sept. 29, 2026. - The national effort is designed to help departments assess firefighter air-resupply demands in high-rise, warehouse, fulfillment center and other large-footprint occupancies. - The launch includes a This or That? discussion video, a Know the Distance background, objectives and assessments package, a Know Your Distance Planning Guide and a Know the Distance Firefighter Air Resupply Assessment Worksheet. - The coalition said the resources are meant to help departments understand the operational impact of distance, air resupply, firefighter workload, staffing requirements and departmental capacity.

The details: - The initiative asks departments to choose between continuing to rely on firefighters carrying breathing air to the point of operation or finding ways to bring reliable breathing air closer to where crews work. - The coalition does not prescribe one answer. - The effort urges departments to examine building size, height, depth, occupancy type, travel distance, staffing levels and operational demands. - A firefighter climbing 20 floors in a high-rise carries the same cylinder as a firefighter operating in a house fire. - A firefighter advancing a charged hoseline hundreds of feet into a warehouse or fulfillment center carries the same cylinder. - The coalition says distance affects more than cylinder transport. - Crews climbing stairs or advancing hoselines are doing substantial physical work before search, rescue, fire attack or overhaul begins. - Greater workload can increase air consumption, fatigue, staffing demands and the need for rehabilitation and crew rotation. - The initiative's Executive Brief draws on firefighter physiology research, high-rise operational experience, large-footprint building operations and firefighter air-management principles. - The coalition says departments should measure the route between the point of operation and reliable breathing air, staff the response needed to sustain air resupply while maintaining other critical functions and plan for the impact on incident duration, rehabilitation, mutual aid, staffing and community response.

Between the lines: - The campaign is a signal that the fire service may need to think about air delivery the way it once rethought water delivery through hydrants, pumps, standpipes and sprinklers. - The coalition is not arguing that bottle brigades fail. - The broader point is that bottle brigades consume personnel and time, and those costs can slow other core tasks if the distance grows too long. - Mike Gagliano, president of the Firefighter Air Coalition, said bottle brigades work but are not free, and the farther air has to travel, the more firefighters and time it takes to move it. - Gagliano said that burden can delay search, fire attack, rescue, rapid intervention and other critical operations. - The coalition says the Rule of Air Management remains essential and is reflected in NFPA 1404 training principles. - The initiative does not replace ROAM. - The coalition draws a distinction between managing the air on a firefighter’s back and getting replacement air to crews operating deep inside a building.

What's next: - The Firefighter Air Coalition is positioning the initiative as a national discussion rather than a push for a single solution. - Departments are being encouraged to use the resources to evaluate their own staffing, mutual-aid plans and air-resupply capacity before an emergency forces the issue. - Gagliano said the American fire service has 250 years of tradition, but changing buildings require changing the way firefighters are supported inside them. - The coalition says resources are available through its channels for departments that want to begin the distance, staffing and planning review.

The bottom line: - The Firefighter Air Coalition wants departments to know the distance before they count on air resupply in a large building fire.