By Michael N. Ciampo
Going to the floor above the fire floor is always a dangerous activity. Often the conditions on the floor are very dangerous and punishing because of the natural tendencies of heat, smoke, and gases to rise. The fire could be hidden and extend vertically up the wall studs, pipe recesses, and shafts or horizontally across the ceiling or floor joists bays; it could also autoexpose to the floor above through the windows. Prior to going to the floor above, the inside team should inform the firefighters operating on the fire floor that it is proceeding to the floor above. It is especially important that the engine company advancing the hoseline knows that firefighters are operating on the floor above. If a length of hose bursts, there is loss of water, or the fire is too large to continue with an aggressive interior attack and the engine company members pull back the line to safety, they must ensure that the firefighters operating on the floor above aren’t stranded or unprotected.
Proceeding up the stairs on our way to the floor above, we passed the nozzle firefighter, who was beginning to size up his drop point to flake out the lead length of hose on the floor below. We told him so he could inform his officer that we were making our way to the floor above. We also noticed that the half landing’s windows were old wooden ones with a hundred coats of paint. When going to the floor above, determine if the window is old and painted; you might have to break it to ventilate instead of simply pulling down the top portion. On half landings with low windowsills, ventilate only the top portion of the window. If you ventilate the entire window, a firefighter could possibly fall out because of the low sill and the firefighter’s higher center of gravity. Plus, if a firefighter had to retreat down the stairway rapidly and follow the wall, he might plummet right out of a low window opening.
Stopping to don our masks, we scanned the fire floor for the fire apartment’s location; this would tell us how many doors down the hallway it would be on the floor above in the zero visibility. Luckily, the hydraulic forcible entry tool made quick work of forcing the apartment door. After entering the apartment, we began our search and checked behind the apartment door, where victims often are found; more importantly, sometimes the open door closes off the access down a hallway or into another room or section of the occupancy. Also, as we search on the floor above, we are more inclined to start an immediate search for life and fire extension (prying off baseboard moldings). Using the thermal imaging camera has helped to speed up searches because we can quickly scan rooms as we search. Remember, if the victim is on the opposite side of the bed, you could overlook him; search all parts of the rooms.
Searching deeper into the apartment, we came across glass doors that led into the main living room. Entering the room’s right door, I told my partner I would search off the right wall and he should go left. I scanned the area behind the door with a hand tool and felt nothing. Using the wall as a reference point, I searched with my hand tool. After I made four lefts and returned to my starting point, the glass door seemed to disappear. Like most of us would do, I took another breath from my mask and decided to take another “spin” around the room and look for that glass door. However, this time I would come up more on one knee and scan the walls better with my tool, tapping the walls, looking and listening for the sound of the glass door. After another trip around the room, I still came up empty. At this point, I told myself, “Come on, you’re better than this. Use your senses and think.” Then I realized that although I was in a small area, my landmarks were disorienting me, and all I was doing was wasting precious air and time. It was time to ask my partner for help. Within a second, he responded, “Over here,” and I heard the distinct sound of a door pop open. We regrouped and continued with our primary search, which was negative.
After the fire, we investigated the location of the “incident” and found that the room was subdivided, with each glass door leading into smaller rooms. In the storage room to the right, a dresser on rollers accidentally got pushed and wedged in the door frame, blocking off the exit and the main point of reference on the wall. Remember, tossing furniture around the room while searching can cut off other areas that need searching, cut off access and egress, bury a victim, and make it more difficult to navigate over the clutter in the darkness. Firefighters can get turned around and lost in smoky environments, regardless of how small or large the area. It’s easy to deny that you may be in trouble and hard to ask for help because you think you can get yourself out of the situation. Most of us think we’ll be able to save ourselves; sometimes that’s too long to wait and a chance we shouldn’t take. Would you rather transmit the Mayday or ask, “Hey, where are you?”
MICHAEL N. CIAMPO is a 24-year veteran of the fire service and a lieutenant in the Fire Department of New York. Previously, he served with the District of Columbia Fire Department. He has a bachelor’s degree in fire science from John Jay College of Criminal Justice in New York City. He is the lead instructor for the FDIC “Truck Company: Essentials” H.O.T. program. He wrote the Ladder chapter and co-authored the Ventilation chapter for Fire Engineering’s Handbook for Firefighter I and II (Fire Engineering, 2009) and is featured in “Training Minutes” truck company videos on emberly.fireengineering.com.
