Firefighting in Fire-Resistive Multiple Dwellings

BY DANIEL SHERIDAN

In this article, I WILL look back at my 23 years in the fire service and review some of the events that led to the development of the tactics we use today. I do not address the fire load and wind problem here. The following examples just illustrate the basic firefighting principles that we should follow at every fire involving a fire-resistive multiple dwelling.

FIRE-RESISTIVE CONSTRUCTION

A fire-resistive multiple dwelling is a building in which the floors, walls, structural members, and stairway enclosures are made of noncombustible materials with fire-resistive ratings as required by the local building code. I remember going to the firehouse for my first tour. The building was in the middle of the block, surrounded by these 19-story high-rise buildings. I grew up in a part of New York City where no buildings were more than seven stories, so this was a new experience. I soon got to know these buildings very well and counted 50 such buildings in our response area that were fire resistive.

These buildings kept us very busy every single tour with water leaks, gas leaks, stuck elevators, and any kind of emergency you could imagine. We also responded to numerous fires involving trash compactors, rubbish, food on the stove, stairwells, and apartments (photo 1).

(1) Photos by author unless otherwise noted.

Since I was new to the job, I assumed that since these buildings were fire resistive, how bad could the fires be? I was assigned to a ladder company; our job was to locate the fire and try to confine it. As the junior man on most tours in my first few years on the job, my assignment was usually “the can,” the 2½-gallon extinguisher. The can firefighter carried the 2½-gallon water extinguisher and a six-foot hook; along with a forcible entry firefighter and an officer, they made up the inside team. The first few project fires we had were pretty routine. We would find the fire apartment, make entry, and usually get the can on the fire and close the door. You could always tell the next day in the firehouse when we had a high-rise or “project” job; it had a certain smell to it, sort of like a mattress fire smell. When you would ask the guys coming off their tour how it went, usually they’d respond, “Didn’t do anything last night, just a project fire.”

Back then, project fires really didn’t get much attention. We had a protocol, but it wasn’t really followed. Guys would often cut corners, and most of the time we would get away without incident. They’d hook up the hose to the outlet on the fire floor (photo 2), use a 1¾-inch hose as a lead length, perform improper ventilation, not designate and use an attack stairway, and take the elevator to the fire floor without using the fire department service feature (photo 3).

(2) Photos courtesy of National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH).

(3) Photos courtesy of National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH).

IMPROPER VENTILATION

The first time a project fire got my attention, I had a few months on the job, and we responded to a report of a fire on the top floor (19th) of a building down the street from the firehouse. We entered the lobby, called for the elevator, and waited. It never came (as usual); the elevators were out of service. We now had to walk up the 19 flights. I had all my gear on, including three-quarter length rubber boots, a new leather helmet with the fiberglass insert that weighed at least 10 pounds, SCBA, and tools. I considered myself to be in good shape, but with those boots, it was almost impossible to climb stairs.

When we finally made it to the top floor, the door to the fire apartment was open, and it was pretty routine; the contents of the living room were goingcouch, curtains, and so forth. I opened the extinguisher and knocked down most of the fire. After the fire was knocked down, the three of us started toward the back of the apartment to search for victims.

We got about 10 feet into the rear when I heard the sound of windows breaking. I then saw the expression on the forcible entry man’s face. Something was wrong, and I asked him, “What’s the matter?” Next thing I knew, the living room was fully engulfed in flames, and we were on the wrong side. We scooted into the bedroom and closed the door. We now had to wait for the engine to come in and extinguish the fire. I remember opening the door a crack to see what was happening, and I will never forget watching the beautiful sight of the engine knocking down the fire, totally visible through the orange glow.

Looking back on it years later, I think about what happened there, and I realize that the firefighter on the roof did not coordinate the ventilation with the ladder officer on the inside, and there was a good wind blowing. This could have resulted in disaster, but luckily the officer and forcible entry firefighter were seasoned guys and instinctively knew how to handle the situation. Lesson learned: Outside firefighters should never ventilate anything without coordinating it with the members operating inside, preferably that ladder company officer.

Understand that every opening we make will affect the fire. In the above incident, we used the extinguisher to try to confine the fire enough to enable us to get past and make a search. That was a very risky move. Unless there was a confirmed life hazard, we should have waited until we had a positive water source before passing any fire. That fire was considered “knocked down” when the officer decided that we could proceed and do a primary search. We overlooked coordinating the ventilation with the firefighters on the roofit doesn’t take much to reignite a smoldering fire.

Although we may not be able to control every opening, we have to open the stairwell door to attack the fire; it is unavoidable. When I was a lieutenant, we were operating at an apartment fire on the 22nd floor. The guys were stretching the first attack line. I was at the door to the fire apartment, as the guys were about to charge the line, I heard a window breaking. One of the firefighters took it on himself to vent the window in the hallway. I felt a very strong breeze behind me, and the fire took off into the apartment. If the wind had been blowing the other way, six firefighters would have been severely burned.

HOOKING UP ON FIRE FLOOR

A number of years ago, we had a fire in New York City on the waterfront, where things were taken for granted and it came back to bite us, hard. The fire resulted in the death of one firefighter, which could have easily been prevented if we had done things “by the book.” The call came in for a report of smoke on the third floor of a 13-story fire-resistive multiple dwelling.

The first-due ladder company proceeded to the third floor and found a light haze in the public hallway. Company members made their way to the apartment and found the door closed but unlocked. On entering the apartment, they found heavy smoke and a medium heat condition.

The first-due engine gave the signal to dispatch for a working fire and proceeded to take a hydrant. The members removed two lengths of 2½-inch hose and a lead length of 1¾-inch hose. They also walked up the stairs to the third floor and proceeded to hook up to the standpipe outlet in the public hall. The control firefighter attached his length of 2½-inch hose to the outlet without testing it first. The other members of the first engine were beginning to couple their lengths together.

Inside the apartment, conditions began to change rapidly; the inside team was now confronted with a very high heat condition, and a fireball was bearing down on them. The apartment was flashing over. The firefighters were able to crawl out of the apartment but had left the door open. The engine firefighters were hit with a blast of heat and heavy smoke and scrambled to don their face pieces.

As all this was happening, the second engine was entering the building with the same hose setup, two 2½-inch hose lengths and one 1¾-inch hose. The second engine pump operator helped the first-due operator to stretch the supply line. He subsequently attached it to the wrong fire department connection, the sprinkler.

At this point in the operation, the firefighters were in dire straits. The control firefighter was trying to start water in the line but could not because the valve was missing. He tried to locate the tool bag but could not find it in the confusion; he was also being severely burned and was forced to abandon his position. The ladder company was then scrambling to find the exits. Unfortunately, the can firefighter went past the exit and ended up at the end of a dead-end hallway, where he eventually ran out of air and tragically died. The fire was extinguished about 45 minutes later.

ELEVATOR TO FIRE FLOOR

A few years later, we had another fire in a fire-resistive building along the waterfront in another part of the city. Fortunately, no firefighter was killed, but one firefighter came very close. Unbelievably, the first-due engine hooked up its line to the outlet on the fire floor. This time, though, they did use a 2½-inch hoseline. The firefighters on the inside team attempted to enter the apartment and confine the fire with the extinguisher. While inside the apartment, the window failed, and the members were forced to retreat from the apartment. On leaving the apartment, they were unable to close the door. The engine firefighters attempted to stretch their hoseline from the attack stair but were unable to get a decent stream because of the numerous kinks. Contributing to the intensity of the fire was the fact that the security people on the roof had opened both bulkhead doors, creating a flue from the open window, the open attack stairway door, and the roof.

As this was happening, the ladder company chauffeur wanted to join up with his officer and inside team on the fire floor. He decided to take the elevator instead of using the stairs. Our protocol states that we use the stairs for any fire on the seventh floor or below. This fire was on the second floor. If we use the elevator, we should place it in fire department service. This requires the firefighter to place a key in the lobby switch and put the elevator into fire department service. He then needs to remove the key and place it in the switch on the car itself. The switch recalls all elevators to the lobby. The firefighter now has the ability to operate the elevator manually. This firefighter had not done that. He then arrived at the fire floor and was confronted by extreme heat and smoke. Had he put the elevator in fire department service, he could have taken his finger off the door open button and the door would have closed automatically. Instead he was facing a severe fire and wasn’t wearing his SCBA. He was able to exit the elevator and don his face piece. He never called a Mayday; he was disoriented and lost. He was subsequently found accidentally by one of the engine company’s nozzle firefighters as they were advancing the second line.

He was successfully removed from the fire floor; he had no pulse and was not breathing. He was revived in the street and brought to the local hospital, where he, thankfully, made a full recovery.

We just looked at four different incidents, and they all seem to have a common theme. I could cite many other examples, but it would just come back to the same issues. Let’s focus on a few of the things that keep recurring at fires where we have issues.

Consider the following scenario. You are getting reports of smoke on the upper floors of an eight-story fire-resistive multiple dwelling (photo 4). You are familiar with the building; you know it well. It is a building down by the water that is occupied by elderly people. Your engine and ladder are there a few times a week for many emergency calls. It is December 28 at 0230 hours. The dispatchers are now pretty sure that you are responding to a working fire. The fire is reported in apartment 7K. The temperature is dropping, and the winds are blowing at 15 mph. The building contains two stairwells, designated A and B; they both contain standpipes. The hallway is 100 feet long. The elevator contains fire department service, but it is usually not working. The first engine arrives and has smoke showing on the front of the building near the B corner. The A stair is located on the B side. The engine transmits a signal for a working fire and establishes command. The rest of the units arrive with no delaysa total of four engines, three ladders, and a rescue squad. The battalion chief arrives and takes over command. As the chief, I would do a quick size-up using the COAL WAS WEALTH acronym:

Construction: Fire resistive
Occupancy: Multiple dwelling
Apparatus: Four engines, two ladders, and one rescue squad
Location: Seventh floor, A/B corner
Water: Two hydrants
Auxiliary Appliances: Standpipe
Street Conditions: No problem; can get ladder in front
Weather: Possible high winds
Exposures: None
Area: 100 × 50 feet
Life hazard: Severe; many elderly occupants have begun to self-evacuate
Height: Eight stories, within reach of ladders

(4)

To determine the interior conditions, I use another acronym that outlines the information I expect from the first-due ladder. I call him, and he will hopefully get back to me with LO DANCE:

Location: Apartment 7K, A/B corner (photo 5)
Occupants: None in fire apartment, but numerous elderly coming down A stair and in the hallways on seventh and eighth floors
Difficulty or delay: Civilians in attack stairs above fire delaying the stretch
Access: The A stair will be the attack stairs
Number of apartments on floor: 12
Conditions: The door to the fire apartment is open, and the hall is moderately hot and very smoky.
Extension: The outside team reports that fire is autoexposing to apartment 8K.

(5)

So at this point, as the incident commander (IC), the conditions, actions, and needs (CANS) report to my incoming chief will be as follows:

Conditions: There is a fire on the seventh floor of an eight-story fire-resistive multiple dwelling. Numerous people are self-evacuating.

Actions: All companies are working: The trucks are performing searches and sheltering in place; a 2½-inch line is stretched and putting water on the fire; a second line is stretched to the floor above to deal with the extension problem.

Needs: We need a second alarm to help with the searches and stretch a third backup line.

In this scenario, we went by the book; we didn’t cut any corners, and we didn’t have any problems. It was a serious fire with a lot of potential for serious injury and even death for fire personnel and civilians, but members followed their department’s standard operating procedures (SOPs), the fire was extinguished, and no one got injured.

FIRE-RESISTIVE MULTIPLE DWELLING SOPs

Let’s review the accepted SOPs in a fire-resistive multiple dwelling, starting with engine operations.

Engine Company

The first rule at any fire is to stretch the first line and get it into operation before stretching any other lines, even if that means every engine assigned on the box needs to do it. Do not stretch any other lines until you have this first line in operation.

In a fire-resistive multiple dwelling, if the building contains a standpipe and you will be operating off it, do the following:

Supply the siamese with large-diameter hose from a pumper that is on a positive water source.
Use a 2½-inch line with a smoothbore 11⁄8-inch tip to reduce friction loss and maximize water flows.
Get to the floor below the fire and get ready to operate from that standpipe outlet.
Test that outlet first before attaching any hose.
Use a pressure gauge on the outlet, and pressurize the line to 70 psi with the nozzle open. Using a 2½-inch hose and 11⁄8-inch nozzle provides 250 gpm (photo 6).

(6)

Determine the attack stair: If occupants are still coming down the stairs, hold off the attack until stairs are clear.
Attach the line together on the floor below, in the hallway and stairways if necessary (photo 7).

(7)

Have water in the line before you enter the fire area. If the door to the fire apartment is open, treat the entire hallway as part of the fire area and call for water at the stairwell door (photo 8).

(8)

Make sure the line is straight with minimal kinks and, most importantly, take it directly to the door to the fire apartment from the stairwell. This is important: If it is urgent that members get out, the line will lead directly to the stairs (photo 9).
Monitor your air consumption, and respect your SCBA low-air alarm. If it is going off, get out. You will not be able to breathe this smoke.
If it is impossible to attack the fire directly, then find an alternate indirect means, perhaps by breaching a wall of an adjoining apartment. If the fire is within reach of an outside stream, use a tower ladder.

(9)

Ladder Company

For ladder company operations, your job is to support the engine company. The building is fire resistive so, generally speaking, there should be no exposure problems. Your only job at a particular fire may be just to get control of the fire apartment door. This alone may be a daunting task if the door to the fire apartment has been left open.

You will also be dealing with numerous civilians self-evacuating. Since September 11, 2001, it is harder to convince civilians that they will be safer in their apartments than outside the building. Recently, we had a fire in a fire-resistive multiple dwelling. I had to help three handicapped people who decided to leave their apartment and started to come down the stairs for no reason; the same situation occurred at a similar incident a few months earlier. These poor people took a great risk; they should have sheltered in place. When I asked the people why they left their apartment where they were safe, they responded they thought they had to get out. You will probably have your hands full if you get a fire in one of your fire-resistive multiple dwellings.

Shut down the HVAC systems if the building has a central system. Also, get control of the elevators.

The ladder company needs to do the following:

Position apparatus in front of the building. If it is a large frontage building, position as close as possible to the side of the building where fire is. If the fire floor is out of the reach of the ladder, don’t raise your aerial.
Get control of the building’s elevators and HVAC systems.
If the fire is below the seventh floor, use the stairs. If it is above the seventh floor, take the elevator two floors below the fire floor, and make sure you use the fire department service if the elevator is so equipped.
If staffing permits, use one firefighter to control the elevator.
Verify the fire floor. Some buildings use different numbering systems and have mezzanine levels, penthouses, and so forth. If the report says the fire floor is the sixth floor, verify its location; everyone needs to be on the same page. The sixth floor could be eight stories up if there is a mezzanine level. Some buildings may have no 13th floorfloors run from the 12th to the 14th floor.
Determine which stairs will be the attack stairs, and let the engine officer know your decision. He may have a better idea, or there may be a problem with that stairway that you don’t see. Once you agree with the engine officer on the designated attack stairs, communicate the location to the IC, and he will communicate this information to incoming units.
Make sure the evacuation stair door remains closed on the fire floor. If it is opened, it will be contaminated, and people who have self-evacuated will be exposed.
You need to locate the fire apartment door. If the fire apartment door is left open, it may be difficult to find because of smoke. Use the thermal imaging camera if your department has one. However, the problem may be that heat will be coming from both directions. Use a search rope if necessary.
Gain control of the fire apartment doorthis is critical to the operation.
Search the fire apartment if possible, the fire floor hallway, the floors above, and the stairwells, too.
Firefighters on the floor above the fire should check the wind direction and report any adverse conditions to the engine company, the truck officers, and the IC.
If the ladder company is having difficulty locating the apartment or the fire, the firefighters on the floor above may be able to direct those firefighters on the fire floor to the location.
Control ventilation of the fire apartment. The IC should control all other ventilation.
Monitor your air consumption, and respect your SCBA low-air alarm. If it is going off, get out. You will not be able to breathe this smoke.