BY BOB PRESSLER
It has been an uneventful tour so far-just a couple of “routine” runs, some “bells and smells” and a couple of EMS responses. The afternoon silence is interrupted when the alarm office receives a call for an unknown type of fire, followed by another call reporting a motor home on fire. Your standard vehicle fire response starts out for the incident. Additional calls are received, but none give any other significant information.
ON ARRIVAL
A column of smoke is visible on arrival. As you approach the scene, you find a heavily involved motor home; extension to a one-story, wood-frame garage; and another vehicle and some out buildings as secondary exposures. A civilian has a garden hose in operation in a futile attempt to slow down the rapidly advancing fire.
As an engine company officer, what should your size-up indicate to you? Are there any specific concerns that you need to address? Any “extra” problems visible? Where should the first handline go?
Our five-point size-up (see my article “Five-Point Size-Up” in the February 2001 issue), or B.E.L.O.W., includes Building, Extent and location of fire, Life hazard, Occupancy, and Water supply. The main body of fire in this case involves a motor home. Closer observation of the motor home shows a propane cylinder visible at the front of the trailer, just below the fire venting from the window. The exposed building becoming heavily involved is a wood-frame garage. The fire has spread from the motor home to the side wall and eave line of the garage, with probable extension to the attic area. The only visible life hazard on arrival is the civilian trying to attack the fire with the garden hose. But as soon as you arrive, the life hazard increases, especially with the propane cylinder and the yet unknown contents of the garage.
The occupancy of the exposed building appears to be a garage for car storage or repair, judging by several cars surrounding the building in various degrees of repair. But the possible use of the garage for anything but storage raises the question of what types of materials are present inside the building. Auto repair or restoration involves several hazardous operations, including the use of acetylene and flammable solvents and the possible storage of gasoline and oil.
The last component of size-up is water supply. How much water does the first-arriving engine have on board? Are other companies responding, or is this still a single-engine response to a vehicle fire? How many and what size handlines do you want to stretch as your initial fire attack? These considerations are part of the initial size-up and have a bearing on the incident’s outcome.
THE ATTACK
Handline selection depends on how much water the first engine carries and how far away in terms of time and distance the additional water supply is. The amount of fire is within the knockdown capabilities of a 13/4-inch line, but consider the use of the 21/2-inch handline. The exposed propane cylinder and the now well-involved garage with unknown contents would justify pulling the 21/2-inch line. Remember, the objective in firefighting is to stop the fire where it is as quickly as possible after you arrive on the scene. If the fire grows and spreads on your arrival, you are losing. The 13/4-inch handline will knock it down, but the 21/2-inch will do it faster and will afford operating personnel more protection.
Use the handline to protect the propane cylinder, and then move it to knock down the fire extending to the garage. This position puts the line between the main fire and the most severe exposure. From this vantage point, you can attack the fire on both fronts.
As more help arrives, what other concerns must you address?
Water supply must be near the top of the list. You must back up the first line as quickly as possible with additional personnel on that line and with a second line. With fire in two areas, the motor home and the garage, you will need at least one more line in addition to the backup line. You must establish and sustain a constant water source, either by supply line or tanker shuttle.
Other fireground tasks include forcing entry into the garage to check for extension. The building has conventional as well as overhead doors. Enter through the easiest door, usually the regular entry door. In most cases, the lock assembly on the “man” door will be easier to force than an overhead door. The exception is if any of the overhead doors are partially open. Make sure the door is fully opened and blocked or chocked open before bringing in the line. Once you have opened the door and gained access, you must pull ceilings to expose any fire in the attic area.
If the attic area has been finished and a floor has been installed, there is a good chance that the area will be used for storage. This increases the fire load and will make extinguishment that much more difficult. Perform vertical ventilation to make conditions inside the fire building more tenable. This will require personnel to place ladders for access as well as personnel to operate on the roof.
Since the pitch of the roof permits walking on it, you will not need a roof ladder for stability, but you could use one to help distribute the venting firefighter’s weight. Cut the ventilation hole high up on the roof and toward the end where the fire had entered the building. The “walkable” roof coupled with the use of a chain saw makes the louver-style cut a good choice. Firefighters can gain access to the roof, make the cuts, and flip the pieces quickly. Once they rotate the cut pieces on the beams, members can safely evacuate the roof area.
With roof ventilation accomplished, interior crews should have an easier time accessing the loft area. Once you knock down the fire, be sure to overhaul all areas for any hidden fire.
BOB PRESSLER, a 23-year veteran of the fire service, is a retired lieutenant with Rescue Company No. 3 of the Fire Department of New York. He created and produced the videos Peaked-Roof Ventilation and SCBA Safety and Emergency Procedures for the Fire Engineering video series “Bread and Butter” 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
