BY SCOTT LYONS
In the infancy of our training, we learned that fire structures have at least four sides: the front, two sides, and the rear. We expanded this figure by including the floors below and above the fire as sides, too. The designation of these areas may vary from region to region, department to department, but they are commonly referred to as sides 1 through 4 or sides A through D. At larger incidents, these areas may be designated by street names, adjoining addresses, occupancy or business names, geographic areas (north, south, east, west), and sectors of operation—roof sector, for example. However, as well versed as we are in describing the building and where we are operating, we sometimes have difficulty getting to one of the most important areas: the rear of the property.
The reasons we have to get around the building and get a look at the rear are many and include life safety issues, construction features, and a myriad of other concerns. The responsibility for gathering information does not fall just on incident commanders (ICs), sector chiefs, or company officers. All members, not just those in supervisory roles, are responsible for gathering information, acting on it, and conveying it to those making decisions.
 (1) The front of this multiple dwelling shows one story. |
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 (2) The rear of the dwelling reveals several belowgrade levels. (Photos by author.) |
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FACTORS THAT PREVENT GETTING TO REAR
Some of the reasons we do not get to the rear are conquerable; some are not. The obstacles we can overcome include the following:
- Tunnel vision. Even the most experienced members will on occasion be overwhelmed by the sheer volume of the fire or smoke issuing from a structure on arrival. In the haste of trying to initiate an attack, members may choose to concentrate their efforts on getting companies into the building through the front or main entrance while neglecting the possibility that entering a structure through the rear may be less of a challenge and a more tactically sound move. It is in our nature to want to charge headlong into each incident, but we must temper our aggressiveness with some discipline at such fires. Slow down, perform a thorough size-up, gather information, and then act on it.
- Standard operating procedures. Many departments and companies have standing orders or procedures to ensure that a member assigned to a certain riding position (such as an outside vent man) or an entire company (such as the second- or third-due engine) report to the rear or at least do reconnaissance around the building to take action or convey information to the IC or ranking officer. Unfortunately, many departments may not be able to spare the extra firefighter or company to tackle such tasks, but every effort must be made to get a look at the rear.
- Do a 360° walkaround. Before establishing a command post, the IC may want to walk the perimeter of the building to gather information. Granted, this is not always possible at all incidents, but for the majority of private dwellings and small commercial occupancies, “taking a lap” takes very little time and gives the officer a better sense of the task ahead of the members.
- Know your locality. We all like to think we know our first-due areas very well; becoming intimately familiar with them puts you ahead of the game. Consider apparatus placement, and make mental notes of the properties in your area that have rear access such as an alley, a court, or a large parking lot. Also, consider geographic features, such as steep hills, that may make buildings appear as a specific number of stories in the front but in reality reveal multiple belowgrade stories in the rear. Anticipate the need to assign companies to the rear. Many incidents have run less than smoothly as commanders in the front of the building were not able to visualize what was occurring at the rear, because they did not take a walk around or were provided with information that did not match what they saw in the front. One way to gain some sort of consensus relative to the building’s varying height is to describe the floor about which you are talking in relation to the roofline. Hopefully, the roofline is as constant in the rear as it is in the front; counting the floors down from there may lead to clearer communication.
- Use common sense. For properties such as row homes, townhouses, taxpayers/commercials, and strip shopping centers, getting to the rear does not mean having to run to the end of the block and then around to the back. Consider going through the neighboring buildings to reach the rear. And while doing so, note the layout and any exposure or extension problems you encounter. Let someone know of your success or difficulties so that your path may be followed or another avenue sought. If storefronts or other properties are heavily secured, which may take time to open, consider using a portable ladder to climb to the roof, pull a second ladder up after you, traverse the roof with it, and then descend at the rear.
Assess the rear also in restaurant fires. Typically, the fire is in the kitchen, which is located in the back. If grease accumulation or fire is on the roof, consider going to the rear of the establishment.
- Never leave the apparatus empty handed. If you are assigned to get to the rear, take tools—a set of irons at the minimum. On your way to the rear, you may have to overcome obstacles such as locked doors, fences, and gates. Know what tools are at your disposal (forcible entry saws, bolt cutters, and the maul, for example) to help you in your endeavor. As previously mentioned, if your path of travel is blocked or if there is some other impediment, let someone know so they may assist you or find an alternate route.
 (3) These vacant storefronts are secured in the front but are open in the rear, as the plywood has been removed |
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 (4) In addition, companies doing building inspections found that homeless people inhabit the building and sleep just a few feet from the rear entrance |
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 (5). |
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SOME CONSIDERATIONS FOR ASSESSING THE REAR
What should you look for once you reach the rear? What information should be passed along to the members and the IC? Unfortunately, the answers may be as diverse as the hundreds of types of buildings to which you respond. Let’s look at some of the things that may be going on at the rear.
- Life safety. The most obvious concern is the rescue and removal of occupants who may be showing at the rear windows or inhabiting rooms or areas in the rear that will have to be accessed. Access to upper floors most likely would have to be made from portable ladders, but you may be able to use fire escapes, aerial devices, setbacks, or a rear porch roof. If you encounter victims in peril, communicate your findings so that all members are aware. Possibly, it may be easier for crews operating inside to remove the victim(s) or protect in place as they proceed with interior functions. Also, be on the lookout for occupants who may have jumped from the building before you arrived; search nearby bushes, courtyards, and roofs and overhangs above street level to ensure they did not land in those places. Take into account that not everyone works a regular 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. schedule and that some commercial occupancies operate around the clock, presenting life hazards well into the night. Opening the rear may enhance occupants’ chances for survival. Be aware that even if an occupancy appears closed, employees may be spending the night within the property to ensure its security or just to bed down for the night. Lastly, not everyone has a home to retreat to at the end of the day. Even though they may appear vacant, such buildings can still pose a life safety hazard. As long as the reward outweighs the risk, conduct a search for life.
- Our safety. Finding additional means of entry and egress at the rear of the structure is a safety consideration for all of the members operating at the scene. In addition to providing entry for search opportunities, these pathways, provided Command and those working at the scene were advised of their existence, will prove extremely important should firefighters have to make a hasty retreat from the building or call a Mayday and a rapid intervention team have to use that alternate path into the building.
- Fire conditions. Conditions in the front of the building may vary greatly from those at the rear. What appears to be a small fire with light smoke showing in the front may mask heavy involvement at the rear or in other areas such as garages or belowgrade basements, which cannot be seen from the street. In addition, some of those light smoke conditions and odors for which we are called may be exterior fires in rubbish or brush or from neighboring buildings. A survey of the exterior and the rear may uncover the source. Conditions at the rear may even dictate that the first line be brought to the rear, depending on involvement, exposure problems, and the need to protect occupants trying to escape or awaiting rescue.
- Construction features. At the top of this list is our number-one menace: the truss. One truss in particular, the bowstring, is common to all regions of the nation and for the most part can be identified by its large arched shape. The problem here is that many occupancies that have such roof assemblies may have what appears to be a flat roof from the street side because the roofline is obscured by a parapet, signage, or heavy smoke conditions. Conducting a survey of the sides and rear may reveal the arch. Communicate its presence to the IC and crews immediately! Get on the radio, run back to the front if you have to, but let what you are dealing with be known to all. Other building features to note and communicate include multiple addresses, setbacks, shaftways, unanticipated building depth, change in height from front to rear, lack of entrances, underground garages, missing or damaged parts of the structure, and any construction/rehabilitation underway.
- Be observant. Try to absorb as much information about the building as possible as you travel. Other items of importance to note include stored hazardous materials/National Fire Protection Association 704 markings, liquefied petroleum cylinders, downed electrical service connections, wires that prohibit aerial placement, signage
Staffing is always of great concern. Since you are trying to accomplish several tasks at once, you may find it difficult to spare at least one member to get to the rear. Having said this, you need to make sure the person you send is experienced, observant, determined, and resourceful. This assignment may entail scaling fences, hauling ladders, forcible entry, and radio communications. Getting to the rear is not a task to assign to the junior person on the back step as an afterthought.
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(7).
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(8) The front to these townhouses shows three stories;
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(9) there are four stories in the rear. The change in the building’s height can be seen at the roofline.
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(10) Signage on the front of this supermarket hides the arch of the bowstring truss, which can be seen from the rear
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(11).
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(12) This multiple dwelling is in the rear of a property with no driveway and can be accessed by foot only.
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(13) A large shaft partially hidden by plywood and siding at the roof is at the rear. Members working on the roof at night or in heavy smoke could fall into the shaft.
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Conditions at the rear may change as the suppression efforts evolve, and there must be a continuous flow of information from the rear sector/side. If you cannot create a sector in the rear with an assigned officer or post a member there to monitor conditions, you may want to use the FAST or RIT team or a two-in/two-out backup crew as a set of eyes. Consider this at smaller buildings, such as private dwellings and stand-alone small commercial buildings, where the members of the team can maintain sight or sound contact with the rest of the team and the IC. Larger buildings may prohibit this action, since the team members would be away from the command post and may not be able to be immediately available if an emergency were to arise.
There are as many differing concerns at the rear of a structure as there are types of buildings. This information is intended as a primer to raise awareness of some of the considerations. The only uncontestable fact is that the conditions that can affect firefighter and occupant safety and security must be communicated to the IC and crews on the fireground. Let somebody know! This is not to say that you must be on the radio giving reports every time you encounter something or return to the command post to deliver a dissertation on what you have found. Be conscientious, clear, and concise when gathering and delivering the information.
SCOTT LYONS is a member of Fire Department of New York Tower Ladder Company 79. Previously, he served in the City of Reading (PA) Department of Fire and Rescue Services. He has a B.A. in fire science/public safety from Holy Family College in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and is working on a master’s degree in public safety management at Saint Joseph’s University in Philadelphia.
