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Tim O’Connor

Tim O'Connor

Firefighter/EMT
Task Force 1, Inc.
Townsend, DE

Tim O’Connor is a career firefighter/EMT with a combination fire company in Delaware. He has been an active volunteer for 20 years and has held various leadership positions, including Deputy Chief. Tim serves as an instructor with the Delaware State Fire School and teaches with Task Force 1, Inc. He has authored articles published in Firehouse and Fire Engineering magazines and has presented at numerous conferences across the country, including FDIC, Firehouse Expo, and various regional fire service conferences. Tim is passionate about sharing knowledge and advancing training within the fire service.

Extrications and EMS (Saturday, October 24, 2026 - 9:45-11:00am)
You have been dispatched to a motor vehicle accident with entrapment. Where do you fit into the puzzle of the modern-day extrication as an EMS provider? What can you do to move the incident toward a successful conclusion? There are multiple time-sensitive operations that must occur simultaneously and in close proximity to one another. How do you provide the best care to your patient without slowing down the extrication process? This presentation will discuss the specifics of the EMS response during vehicle extrication, including who is in charge, how to determine if extrication is required, what patient care is needed, the best ways to provide that care, tips and tricks to help move the incident forward, and patient packaging for removal. Each agency involved in an extrication has a responsibility to ensure their actions are in the best interest of the patient, medically sound, supported by current research, and effective. Can you check all the boxes?
The fire service has been provided a great gift in the form of scientific studies focused on exploring our on-scene behavior and the effects that behavior has on the overall fireground. Unfortunately, many do not fully understand the information contained within those studies or what it means for our operations. Understanding the “why” behind the “how” helps make us better firefighters. Being able to take an overwhelming amount of data, identify what is beneficial, apply it to our operations, and train on it is what makes us more effective on the fireground. This class will provide an overview of recent studies, explore the data and recommendations, and facilitate a discussion on how to best incorporate relevant information into solid, research-backed fireground tactics.

It has been said, “The fire goes as the first line goes.” Nothing could be more true, and nothing is more integral to solving the problem than a successful fire attack. What is a successful fire attack? What makes it “go”? Where does it need to “go”? How should it “go”? What happens when it doesn’t “go”? Can it be accomplished with short staffing?

The fire service has been afforded a tremendous advantage with the availability of scientific data that can be combined with past practice and the resources available to each department to create a successful fire attack. This session will combine data from UL/NIST studies, textbooks, street experience, and trial and error to break down the components of a successful fire attack and provide an understanding of the “why” behind the “how.”

The presentation will also provide a flow chart and decision-making process that students can use to adapt these concepts to their department’s operational needs and successfully execute the required steps of a fire attack at an incident.

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