Quiet, you.

It is a viable technique (even to suppress flames) but it's not performed using a solid jet (such as in this case) but rather a wide angle mist jet of water, that way, falling mist will cool the hot smoke and prevent the fire from spreading and in some cases even suffocate a small fire. A solid jet like this is used on the base of the flames. So yeah, he is making an ass of himself. He is also leaning against a wooden fence to prevent the hose kickback from knocking him over.

I AM A BOUNCER HURF DURF

So how does a person this inept find themselves in this position? How did they ever graduate from driving their Blazer around and directing traffic? Wait, is that how it works? If you're not a fireman and you're just a weirdo who knows a lot about firefighting techniques, then I apologize.

I used to be a firefighter, UNTIL I TOOK AN ARROW TO THE KNEE (No, but really, I did fuck up my knee real bad), not in the U.S. though. We did follow NFPA standards however.
I know that in the U.S., like us, you have both permanent staff and volunteers. How dependent on volunteers your stations are, I do not know. In my country, we have a minimum permanent staff but are extremely dependent on the work of volunteers.
I am assuming this man is a volunteer, although, you know, he could be permanent (stranger things have happened in this world). I don't mean to be dismissive of volunteers: their training (at least from what I've seen) is very intensive, exhaustive, and extremely gruelling, and they also have to keep a daytime job. The whole system is designed to prevent this kind of thing from happening. But sometimes, you know... it does...

Now I know firestuff.

this

DAMMIT CHAD I AM NOT ON FIRE

KNOCK IT OFF