TWO-MINUTE DRILLS
BY BOB PRESSLER
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Photo 1. Heavy smoke pushes from the attic of this 212-story wood-frame private house. The fire, which started on a lower floor, has spread upward into all levels of the building. The fire on the lower floors has been extinguished, but operations in the attic must now start. What factors should the IC take into account before committing companies into the attic area?
The fire appears to have been burning for some time; the first and second floors both show where fire has vented out the windows. As the fire spread toward the attic area, what structural damage has been done? What avenues of travel has the fire followed? If the fire has spread up the open, unenclosed stairway usually as-sociated with private dwellings, are the stairs too weak to support interior op-erations? Operations may need to be conducted via aerial or portable ladder, or a small, straight ladder may be needed to span the weakened staircase. If the building is deemed safe for interior operations, companies working inside the building will have to open ceilings and walls to expose any hidden fire.
The volume of smoke showing at the front windows indicates a large body of fire in the attic. With narrow staircases and limited horizontal ventilation points, roof operations to provide vertical ventilation to support an interior attack will be needed. Overhead wires, trees, and other apparatus may hamper the positioning of the aerial apparatus. When access is unobstructed, the aerial should be spotted in such a manner that the ladder can be raised alongside the roof line. This way, the firefighter may be able to operate right from the ladder. When access to only the peak is available, the firefighter will be required to inch out onto the roof surface along the ridge pole to the area where the hole is to be opened. If a valley, created by a dormer or an “L”-shaped roof exists on one side of the roof, preference should be given to this side when positioning the apparatus.
If aerial access is obstructed, operations must be conducted from ground ladders. A roof with this steep a slope will require the use of a roof ladder. First, raise a 35-foot ladder to the gutter line. Next, push up a 20-foot straight roof ladder until you can engage the hooks on the ridge pole. Remember, if new lightweight truss construction is involved, there is no ridge pole on which to engage the hooks. The hooks are only on the roof decking, and any failure of this deck will cause the ladder to drop into the attic.
Engine company operations in fires such as this one depend mainly on fire conditions. Most fires in private houses only require the use of 134-inch (or comparable size) handlines for extinguishment. An exception is when first-arriving units are met with a heavy body of fire involving several rooms or an entire floor. In this case, large volumes of water are needed to darken down the fire. The 212-inch handline is a good choice. After the main body of fire has been darkened down, you can either reduce the size of this line or stretch additional handlines as needed.
Fires that burn through three floors of any building require frequent relief of operating companies. Relieve engines as soon as you have control of the fire area. Relieve truck companies as needed. Frequently rotating companies makes for a safer overall operation.
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Photo 2. As the first-arriving engine officer, you are confronted with the following scene: Fire has complete possession of this attached garage. The fire is rolling out the open overhead door, extending under the attached porch roof and up the side wall of the house. What are your priorities? Where should the first handline be stretched, and what size should it be? Where would you put second and third lines, if needed, into operation? What about water supply? Weather conditions are less than favorable with a temperature of 2217F and a windchill of 2717F.
The water supply problem at this fire scene is easily solved as long as this hydrant is in good operating order and is on a water main of sufficient size for the required fire flow. The engine company arriving on the fireground should be able to take this hydrant and, due to the heavy fire condition, place at least one handline into operation, preferably a 212-inch. This line can be operated by two firefighters in a fixed position or, if necessary, one firefighter in a prone position. Remember, this line will not be advanced; it is going to operate from a fixed position. The relatively shallow depth of the garage will enable the stream from the 212-inch line to penetrate and cover the entire fire area from one spot in the driveway. Use the “big” line, as it will quickly darken down the fuel and prevent further extension. This should be accomplished with booster tank water. Regardless of which fire flow you use, 500 gallons of water should be able to “knock down” a fire area of approximately 25 3 30 feet, as long as it is applied correctly. When the fire is darkened down, this line can be broken down into a smaller line for final extinguishment.
After helping the chauffeur hook up to the hydrant, the fourth member of your team (if you`re lucky enough to have four) can start a second, smaller handline toward the front door. When additional personnel arrive, this line should be stretched into the interior of the home to check for and head off any extension. Depending on conditions in the house, the two most likely spots for this second line will be either at the door connecting the garage to the house, usually in the kitchen area, or on the second floor, to be used in the area of the exposed side wall. This line on the second floor can also be used to cover any extension to the attic by pulling the ceilings on the top floor where they abut the outside wall. If fire is found extending into the house on the first floor, stretch a third handline when reinforcements arrive. Truck company operations will concentrate on the inside of the structure. The early morning hour necessitates that an aggressive interior search be performed in all the sleeping areas, and the greatest area for extension problems is into the interior of the building.
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Photo 3. Heavy fire vents from what appears to be the rear window of the extension of a private house. The fire, which originated in the basement, rapidly extended to the floor above. As mutual-aid companies arrive on the fireground, the IC assigns them to various tasks, including vertical ventilation. As the truck company officer, what factors must you take into account before committing personnel to the roof position?
The heavy smoke pushing from the eaves coupled with the heavy fire condition on the first floor shows that the fire is rapidly extending through the numerous channels found in wood-frame construction. This section of the house also looks as if it might be an extension of the original house. The possibility exists that this section was built using lightweight truss assemblies instead of sawn lumber. Being a mutual-aid company, your notification, travel, and setup time must all be taken into account when you consider what the fire has done to the structural integrity of the fire building before you start operating.
If you determine that the fire building is safe for interior firefighting operations as well as outside support operations, such as vertical ventilation, you should ensure that more than one firefighter covers the roof position. One firefighter should bring the saw; the other can bring hand tools, including a six-foot hook and halligan.
Even though the roof slope is not too steep, consider using a roof ladder. If there is a ridge pole, the hooks will engage should the roof deck fail. If the house is of truss construction, the ladder will serve to distribute the weight of the operating firefighters, even though the hooks will only engage on the roof deck itself.
Personnel operating on the ground should raise at least one additional portable ladder so the roof team will have an additional way off the roof. With this heavy a fire condition, members should perform operations quickly and then withdraw from the roof unless the engine companies are able to move in and darken down the fire. n
n BOB PRESSLER, a 22-year veteran of the fire service, is a firefighter with Rescue Company No. 3 of the City of New York (NY) Fire Department. He created and produced the videos Peaked-Roof Ventilation and SCBA Safety and Emergency Procedures for the Fire Engineering video series OBread and ButterO Operations. Pressler has an associate?s degree in fire protection engineering from Oklahoma State University, is a frequent instructor on a wide range of fire service topics, and is a member of a volunteer department.
