BY GLENN P. CORBETT
Photo 1: Commercial buildings usually come to mind when we think of steel as a structural member. Steel frames have become a staple in the single-family home arena as well. This “Fred Flintstone” home presents an unusual situation for firefighters.
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Photo 2: The 1835 “Great Fire of New York” was Manhattan’s biggest, consuming nearly 700 buildings in the Wall Street area. As this month’s “History on Fire,” this conflagration reminds us of firefighting efforts of the 19th and early 20th centuries. Explosives were used in most conflagrations (including this one) to create fire breaks, very often actually increasing the spread of the fire. Ironically, this issue is still with us today: Most of today’s fire insurance policies specifically exclude payouts to property owners who have had their home destroyed or damaged as the result of an “order of a public authority.”
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Photo 3: Water from sprinkler systems protecting high-rack storage areas must be capable of penetrating through to the burning materials in the lower levels of the rack, hence the need for open metal mesh shelves as seen here. If wood panels (plywood, etc.) or closely spaced boards are used as shelves under the stored commoditya storage arrangement known as “solid shelving”“in-rack” sprinklers are then required at each level of the rack under each shelf.
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Photo 4: If you are a pump operator and are in search of a water supply in an old industrial complex, stay away from this type of hydrant! It is a “yard hydrant,” intended to supply directly attached handlines exclusively with its two 2 1/2-inch outlets.
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Photo 5: This is a decorative cover below a roof-mounted smoke and heat vent in a hotel atrium. Smoke approaching this fusible-link-activated vent will be blocked by this cover, negating its effectiveness. Firefighters on the roof should be very careful when approaching these vents, as they are spring-loaded (to throw off a substantial snow load) and will cause severe injury if a body part comes in contact with the rapidly opening panels.
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Photo 6: Slate roofs are often thought to be predominantly in the north, but this one is in the heart of Texas in downtown Houston. When loosened by the collapse of the roof or when struck by an aerial stream, the slate tiles can become “flying razors” and cause severe injuries to firefighters below.
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GLENN P. CORBETT, PE, is an associate professor of fire science at John Jay College of Criminal Justice in New York City, is a technical editor for Fire Engineering, and was an assistant chief of the Waldwick (NJ) Fire Department. He previously held the position of administrator of engineering services with the San Antonio (TX) Fire Department. Corbett has a master of engineering degree in fire protection engineering from Worcester Polytechnic Institute in Massachusetts and is pursuing a Ph.D. in public administration from Rutgers University. He authored two chapters on fire prevention/protection in The Fire Chief`s Handbook, Fifth Edition (Fire Engineering Books, 1995) and is the coauthor of the late Francis L. Brannigan’s Building Construction for the Fire Service, 4th Edition. He is editor of the upcoming book Fire Engineering’s Handbook for Firefighter I and II. Corbett is an FDIC Executive Advisory Board member. He has been in the fire service since 1978.
