BY WILLIAM C. PETERS
Apparatus placement at the scene of a fire or emergency is one of the company commander’s first considerations on arrival and when sizing up. Each type of apparatus will set up in a different location, depending on operational criteria. Aerial units obviously need to be located where their aerial ladder or platform can be positioned for rescue, ventilation, or possibly aerial master stream delivery. This translates to, “Leave the front of the building open for the truck!”
While pumpers must be close enough so personnel can stretch lines into position, they should not be located where they obstruct ladder company operations. Engineers must avoid the temptation to stop at a hydrant in front of or before the fire building, especially on narrow or one-way streets. I have seen an engine company stop at a hydrant before the fire, drop a four-inch large-diameter hose supply line in the street, and continue on past the fire building. Before the supply line could be charged, an approaching truck company picked up a coupling in between the dual rear tires and wrapped the hose around the axle. Both companies went out of service.
Some departments have standard operating procedures that instruct the engine to set up at least two buildings past the fire scene. This gives the officer the added advantage of being able to see three sides of the structure when giving a size-up report. There is an old saying in the fire service, “You can always stretch hose, but you can’t stretch ladders!” Rescue trucks, chiefs’ vehicles, and other specialty units must stay clear of the operating area around the building.
In apparatus placement, serious consideration must be given to firefighter safety. Every year, firefighters are injured and killed while operating at vehicle accidents and fires on public roadways. Several placement methods can help avoid such a tragedy, such as diagonally blocking lanes with apparatus or having the police actually stop all traffic until the scene is stabilized. You really don’t need cars whizzing by at 50 mph as you try to extinguish a vehicle fire on the side of the road! Don’t rely solely on warning lights and traffic directing arrows. Some drivers are actually drawn to all the excitement.
Another safety consideration when placing apparatus is the possibility of building collapse, explosion, or radiant heat exposure from a major fire extension. The key elements to apparatus setup location are conditions on arrival, the progress being made in knocking down the fire, and the type of structure. Obviously, you can’t be positioned outside the “collapse zone” on every call, or your aerial ladders would be useless and you would have to carry a mile of hose! However, the smart incident commander must be able to recognize the signs of impending collapse and get the personnel and apparatus out of the zone in an orderly fashion. Fire Officer’s Handbook of Tactics, by John Norman, lists the following indicators of impending collapse:
 1. Occupancy by problem business: heavy floor loading. |
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 2. Construction: old bowstring truss construction, as well as new lightweight wooden trusses being used in large-frame dwellings. |
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 3. Overloaded floors: heavy equipment or water absorbent stock (baled paper, rags, for example). |
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 4. Heavy fire burning for more than 20 minutes. |
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 5. No appreciable water runoff. |
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 6. Cracks or bulges in walls. |
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 7. Water or smoke seeping through a solid brick wall. |
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 8. Roof pulling away from the wall. |
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 9. The roof is sagging or feeling abnormally soft or spongy. |
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 10. Any obvious movement of floors, walls, or roofs. |
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 11. Noises: creaking or groaning sounds or deep rumbling noises. |
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 12. Plaster sliding off the wall or plaster dust hanging in the air. |
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Many firefighters have been killed or injured while investigating a “routine” gas leak. If gas leaking in a building is within its explosive limit, any spark can detonate an explosion that can level the building. Exercise caution when placing apparatus and personnel during such a call.
Photo 1. In Buffalo, New York, five firefighters were killed and their apparatus was destroyed when a propane leak they were investigating detonated and caused the building to collapse.
There is the possibility that your apparatus might become exposure 1 if the radiant heat of the fire becomes intense. Once again, size-up is critical; the incident commander must remove personnel and apparatus when conditions become untenable.
INCIDENT 1: NARROWLY ESCAPING COLLAPSE
The following photos depict two incidents where apparatus placement became a serious concern. The first fire took place in 1995. The building was a three-story ordinary brick and frame corner building, with two businesses on the first floor and apartments on the second and third floors. In the front part of the building, the apartments were boarded up and used for storage. Access to the upper floors was by a door and stairway on the “B” side of the building.
Photo 2. On arrival, units encountered heavy, dark smoke issuing from all areas of the building. The stores on the first floor had security gates that posed a forcible entry challenge. An aerial was placed to the roof, and ventilation was started immediately.
Photo 3. Ground ladders were placed to the windows to allow firefighters to ventilate and to provide a second means of egress from the building. Members prepared for an offensive attack.
Photo 4. This engine was positioned on a narrow side street on the “B” side of the building, close to the entrance. When the windows were vented, heavy fire was showing, and a defensive attack was made to darken down the fire before beginning an offensive attack on the upper floors.
Photo 5. A very perceptive deputy chief (who was the acting chief of department on this day) decided that the offensive attack had gone on too long without appreciable change in conditions and ordered all personnel out of the building. The aerial set up for roof ventilation was moved. Suddenly, there was a thunderous roar, and the roof and second floor collapsed into the first floor, pushing the sidewall out into the street. There were no external signs of impending collapse such as cracks or bulging walls. The only indicator of possible collapse was the period of time that the fire was burning.
Photo 6. An accountability roll call was immediately ordered. For-tunately, all personnel were accounted for. The pump operator of the engine in the collapse zone fled as the wall came down. He was struck by falling bricks but sustained only minor injuries.
Photo 7. This is a view of the collapse zone after the engine was removed. The only things “lost” in this collapse were some hose, ladders, and equipment—fortunately, no lives.
INCIDENT 2: RADIANT HEAT DAMAGE
In this example, a ladder truck was badly damaged as a result of radiant heat from a building fire.
Photo 8. A well-advanced fire in an auto dealership presented quite a challenge for responding firefighters. The ladder truck (with flags) was positioned in front of the building before the fire gained in intensity.
Photo 9. When the showroom windows failed, the radiant heat from the fire placed the truck in peril.
Photo 10. The truck was quickly removed from its position in front of the building. Notice the wheel chocks in the street (just above the hose stream). The chocks on the right side of the truck (facing the fire) had to be pulled out from the other side of the apparatus with a pike pole because of the excessive radiant heat.
Photo 11. Extensive damage to the side of the apparatus is evident from the radiant heat. Although the cab and body required a great deal of work to repair, the aerial ladder was tested and found to be undamaged.
Photo 12. Much of the equipment contained in the compartments was damaged or destroyed.
 Photo 13. The last thing that you want to do is “overhaul” the compartments on your apparatus with a pike pole! |
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OTHER OBSTRUCTIONS
When positioning the apparatus, also consider obstructions around the vehicle. Opening hinged compartment doors is sometimes a problem on narrow streets, which makes a good case for the use of roll-up doors. The stabilizers on aerial apparatus require a free area to be deployed. On some models, “short-jacking” (where the stabilizers are put straight down without extending) is possible on the side opposite where the aerial is being operated.
 Photo 14. This highway divider is preventing the outrigger from being properly deployed. It would be extremely dangerous to operate the tower on this side of the truck. |
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If you are approaching the rear of a parked ladder truck, avoid getting too close. It takes 20 feet more of free space to remove ground ladders from the rear ladder tunnel and maneuver around the truck.
Finally, there are times when you encounter immovable objects that take creativity to operate around!
 Photo 15. “Man-made” obstacles (like this first-due cop car) need to be dealt with in any way possible! |
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WILLIAM C. PETERS recently retired after 28 years with the Jersey City (NJ) Fire Department, having served his last 17 years as battalion chief/supervisor of apparatus, with the responsibility of purchasing and maintaining the apparatus fleet. He served as a voting member of the NFPA 1901 apparatus committee for several years, representing apparatus users. He is the author of Fire Apparatus Purchasing Handbook (Fire Engineering 1994); two chapters on apparatus in The Fire Chief’s Handbook, Fifth and Sixth Editions (Fire Engineering, 1995); the instructional video Factory Inspections of New Fire Apparatus (Fire Engineering, 1998); and numerous apparatus-related articles. He is an advisory board member of Fire Engineering and the FDIC and lectures extensively on apparatus purchase and safety issues. Peters can be contacted through his Web site FireApparatusConsulting.com.
Photo by Richie Sikora; all other photos by Ron Jeffers.
