This has generated some great discussions. We look forward to hearing what you have to say.
Based on the picture above, ask yourselves the following questions:
• Identify the construction features of the building that will help to increase or decrease fire spread.
• List any construction features that may impact the safety of crews operating in or around the building.
• Identify size-up information. What does the situation tell you?
Where will your first line go? How about the second line?
• What is the Benefit to be gained by taking the Risk?
• Is this a Go or No-Go situation?
Are there any other considerations to assist our decision to Go or No-Go? Is there anything else to add?
Special thanks to FireMedic Caldwell Clark (FCFD Engine 30) and Fairfax City Medic 33/C for the picture.
8 comments:
This appears to be a T-shaped garden apartment, a duplex or maybe even a triplex. The rear (fire section) appears to be an off set extension of the building or may even be another building butted up against the duplex. This could be a maintenance shop, storage area, boiler room or another apartment. Looking at the Bravo side, it looks as though there may be a chimney stack, which could be causing the fire area to appear as an off set extension of the building. The chimney may be from a boiler or previous boiler. A 360 walk around would provide more information. It is hard to tell from the picture if smoke is even pushing out of the adjoining residential area (side Alpha), but it looks like there may be smoke coming from the front doors). No smoke in this area may indicate we are dealing with a structure that is adjoined on the exterior, but perhaps not so much on the interior (possible fire wall, etc.).
Time of day and type situation...night time fire, residential occupancy and cars in the driveway tell me we have to suspect occupants evacuated and/or trapped.
Construction type is likely to be Ordinary (type 3) or wood (type 5). This could be confirmed by looking for a row of brick headers every 5-7th row and pre-plan information. It also looks like energy efficient windows were added, which may indicate a renovation at some point and delay in windows blowing out from heat conditions and maybe even limited smoke.
Assuming ordinary construction, the structure will stand up well to fire conditions before structural stability is compromised. However, this type of construction allows for rapid fire spread through common vertical voids pipe chases, etc.
Fire is showing from the first floor on side Baker with auto exposure to the second floor and roof line soffit area. It is safe to say we have extension on the second floor and within the attic space. We also have exposure to the cars. The fire is showing from what appears to be a doorway, but it may even be a window. I can't tell if there is a second floor window above, but I am assuming there is.
The roof style is likely to be pitched, flat, hipped or a combination. Looking at the auto exposure, it appears there is a soffit area, which would tell me I'm dealing with some type of pitch, not a flat roof. I do not see cock-loft vents, so safe to say I'm not dealing with a flat roof or rain roof.
Once the actual layout of the building is determined from our walk around and perhaps a quick interview of by-standards (occupants) we can determine where our lines will go. The first line (1 3/4) should go to the first floor fire, preferably from the unburned side. This may come in from side Alpha or possibly side Bravo, depending on the room of origin and how it relates to the rest of the structure. A quick sweep of the area around the cars and the Bravo side will help to reduce exposure to the cars and auto exposure prior to moving in.
The second line should back up the first if needed or can advance to the second floor. Third line should go to the attic space. Any other lines shall take care of immediate exposures and shall act as back up lines.
This is a go situation. The fire is extending, but is still manageable. Time of day and type occupancy indicates lives may be in danger. A reliable confirmation by residence that everyone has evacuated should cause fire personnel to continue their size up, risk/benefits profile and proceed cautiously with fire attack.
Entry and laddering on side Alpha is good to conduct a search and evacuation, to check fire conditions and attack, and to confirm the interior layout of the building and how it relates to the fire area. Good communication and a coordinated attack will prevent opposing lines and pushing fire on searching firefighters.
A picture tells a thousand words, but clearly a 360 walk around would offer us more insight as to what is actually going on at this fire. This stresses the value of taking time to conduct your walk around and teaching everyone that size up is ongoing and not something that is only conducted by the officers. Everyone should be looking at the big picture and conducting their own personal size up. What you catch that an officer may not have may make or break the situation.
Be Safe!
Leatherlungs8 has left a new comment on your post "You Make the Call!":
Let me begin by informing you that I was on this fire, nevertheless, I will try to be unbiased in my reply. It is my intention to provide you with the facts about this incident as it is my hope that you, the reader, may be able to learn or reinforce a lesson from it as I have. I was unable to participate in the critique, so the opinions that I offer are solely my own and do not represent any of my coworkers or the department in and of itself. That's my desperate attempt at a disclaimer, anyhow.
Without further ado; the fire was in a single family, brick colonial, 2 stories from the front, one from the rear. The fire began in the garage (quadrant B) and auto extended to the floor above as well as to the suffits. The occupants were out of the house upon arrival of the first in unit. Given the circumstances, the fire had gained considerable headway into the living space. The initial attack line was advanced through side Alpha, this was done to fight the fire from the unburned side and to protect the stairs for firefighters that would soon be searching above. I am unsure of where the second line was advanced to so I will refer you to "the Book". Our procedures typically dictate that the second line be stretched to the floor above, given those plans are not deviated from by the OIC or the crew from the first line does not need assistance. As I see it, there is no reason to believe that this did not occur.
It is imperative to remember that we, as firefighters took an oath (in one way or another) to protect live and property. Hoselines are advanced to specific locations to protect life, both civilian and, in this case, firefighters, cover exposures (interior / exterior), and confine and extinguish the fire. The gain is that we do what the public has called upon us to do. The risk is obvious as this is a dangerous occupation, however it is minimized, not only by good communication and a coordinated effort, but discipline as well.
I am blessed to belong to a department that practices all of the above on a regular basis. I am equally blessed to be assigned to a station / shift that trains hard, consistantly.
On this particular incident, however, the first due truck was delayed, thereby decreasing the efforts of a coordinated attack. As a result, the first due officer was placed in a difficult predicament. Whereas normally the crew from the truck would find the fire and work their way back in search of victims, the engine officer had to decide whether to commit the line to a given location or break off and try to find the fire before committing the line. If you think that there is an easy answer to this I would encourage you to think again. Since the truck had not yet arrived, ventilation was delayed. Although the fire had self vented, the crew was still met with zero visibility conditions just inside the front door. Now, take a moment to place yourself in this man's shoes (or boots!). Do you take the chance of committing the line to the wrong place, possibly having the fire get behind you? Or, do you rely on your instincts and protect the remainder of the crew by leaving them tethered to a hoseline by the front door? Do you risk one life or three?
Good, bad, or indifferent (you decide!), this officer decided to take the later of the two options. The Mayday occurred after he found the fire and became slightly disoriented while returning to direct his crew. To be more precise, his foot became entangled and he asked for assistance after issuing a Mayday.
I ask you what you would do in this particular situation not to express the severity of the incident. Just the same, my intent is not to place blame. As it were, the officer that needed assistance, remained calm, cool and collective during all of his radio transmissions and if you asked him, he referred to it as being not a "big deal" afterwards. Rather, I ask you this to emphasize that we are all a entracte piece of the puzzle. As a team, we are dependant on each other's actions. Through discipline, we are expected to perform these actions in a timely manner. When we leave out just one piece of the puzzle, we are no longer complete and the results will, more then likely, have a domino effect.
In closing, I will say that experience was gained at this fire, by all who were willing to embrace it. As a reminder, though, how many times have you read about an incident that went sour very rapidly? Better yet, think about all of those LODD or Near-Miss reports in which a survivor referred to the incident as a "bread and butter" or "typical" fire.
Please, don't just be safe, but practice and preach it!
Friends DON'T let friends work on Engine 430!
The water line goes through the house to cut off the running fire. Find the basement steps, and proceed downward for fire extinguishment.The 2nd line goes to the first floor(entry level).
No i would not sit at the front door. That handline is your safety line...
By eliminating the hazard, you minimize the problems presented!
This building appears to be of wood frame and masonry construction. The age of this building would indicate compartmented layouts but would not indicate light weight trusses both of which are to our advantage. The masonry construction also assists in the overall integrity of the building during the attack and presents many signs of collapse when the time comes.
This hard-burning fire has auto-exposed to the exterior of the Bravo Side. Extension via soffit to the cockloft/ attic is almost a given and the possibility of a common cockloft/ attic would be a major concern. Also, if there is a 2nd floor window above the fire room it would indicate fire spread to the 2nd floor which is where the bedrooms are likely to be.
The Initial Size-up would be something like this:
- 2-3 Family Dwelling (Duplex or Triplex)
- Heavy fire from 1st floor Bravo/Charlie corner w/ extension to the 2nd floor and cockloft
- Possible entrapment (due to cars in the driveway at a night time fire)
Assuming our First Alarm response of 3 Engines (with 3 each) a Truck (with 4) and a Chief , I would allocate resources as follows:
Upon arrival immediately call for 2nd Alarm (or fill the Box)
1st Engine- Fire attack 1st floor
2nd Engine- Fire attack 2nd floor
3rd Engine- Establish RIT and stretch a backup line to the door. *
1st Truck- Split crews into search crew floor above fire and vent crew to the roof.
*The 3rd Engine (RIT) would stage Alpha Side and be sort of a "flex team". Depending on progress, they may be deployed as an additional search team or to backup one of the other Engine Companies. In this case, a RIT would re-established by a 2nd Alarm unit. Due to the probability of a viable life hazard, this is acceptable.
Ground ladders for egress are a must. The vent crew will throw a couple to the roof, maybe throwing one or two to windows on their way. However, I would have our proactive Engineers and/or RIT throw ladders while the attack crews were stretching lines and preparing to make entry.
The 2nd Alarm companies would re-establish RIT if necessary, make entry into exposure units to search for victims and/or fire extension and begin to establish a manpower pool.
This fire is definitely a "GO". It is a serious fire, but not terribly complex. Though it could become complex if extension is not controlled. Success will depend on the effectiveness of the 1st Alarm companies.
If however, the floor above companies (or vent crew) find heavy extension into the cockloft, the operational mode may need to change with additional emphasis being placed on clearing all units with a primary search.
This is a good fire that will test the testicular fortitude of first arriving crews (especially with entrapment). If they can get in and get it knocked, vented and overhauled it shouldn't be that bad. But any problems with establishing a water supply, stretching and advancing lines or heavy extension into void spaces could put crews behind the 8 ball enough to maybe go defensive.
I'll keep it simple and only talk about the Engine Companies' handline placement for now (utilizing a typical engine company crew size of 4: chauffeur, officer, 2 firefighters).
The first line would be an 1-3/4" handline deployed by one firefighter and the officer through the front door to:
1. Make sure the door leading from the garage to the house was still intact and closed, and to keep any fire at that location in check.
2. Protect the stairwell/occupants.
The second line would be a 2-1/2" blitz line (or preconnected quick attack monitor (ie Murcury Nozzle)) deployed to the driveway by the second firefighter to make the knock on the garage. This would have to be done with precise communication with the crew on the first line inside. Careful consideration must be made not to flow directly through the door leading into the house (where 1st line is taking cover) and to quickly sweep back and forth.
The third line would be an 1-3/4" handline delployed by the second arriving engine company to the second floor above the garage, to stop extension to the attic (being created by the auto-exposure from the fire in the garage) and protect any trapped occupants.
Once the bulk of the fire is knocked down, the attic will have to be checked too.
Although this is a late post on this thread I thought I would add some important details that are missed and tell you what did happen.
As stated earlier, E430 advanced an 1 3/4" line through the Alpha side to cut the fire off in the utility room that was in the Charlie Quadrant on the first floor. They were also in a great position to protect the stairwell.
The DFCO arrived and established command.
E418 arrived second and was directed to attack the fire from the Bravo side of the structure. This was done with an 1 3/4" line and was very effective. The initial attack from here was to the eaves to stop the auto-extension to the 2nd floor. The attack line was advanced into the garage and also into the utility room connected since the door was already burned through. Foam was eventually needed due to the running gas fire from the vehicle in the garage.
E423 arrived as the 3rd engine and took a line to the 2nd floor and knocked down the remaining fire on that floor and in the attic.
The Tower did not arrive late since they pulled in behind E418 and laddered the building.
This is a very unique layout since the garage is part of the first floor layout, normally it would be an attached structure at the 1st floor level.
As a note to the Mayday. The Officer from E430 did a great job advising command that he was slightly entrapped and needed some assistance. Command asked him if it was a "mayday event" and he said "yes". He was able to free himself and continued operations after notifying command that the mayday was mitigated.
Good jbo by all with the amount of fire showing.
Capt. Burns
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