A number of combustible homes are erected as close as six feet from each other, generally in areas being rehabilitated but already provided with infrastructure, water sewer, and schools so they are a counter to “Suburban Sprawl.” However, some have been erected also in far suburban areas, where response times for the resources needed to control a fire in the unit of origin may be excessive.
An officer of a county fire department asked me to provide some suggestions by considering possible tactics. Here they are.
If sprinklers are installed, back them up. However, bear in mind that the modified sprinkler standards for residences are provided to protect escaping residents from flashover and do not cover truss voids or attics. At Solomons, Maryland, a mulch fire entered the voids through the exterior wall and destroyed the building, including the operating sprinklers.
Know the buildings. For instance, a door next to a living room showing fire may lead to an apartment on the other side of the next floor. On any fire worth laying a line, call for help immediately. If you wait until you are sure you will need it, you may have “the biggest fire in (fill in the blank) years.” If the assistance is to come from mutual aid, be sure to discuss this plan with the providing fire companies to cut off the possible, “Over there in Cluster Town, they panicked and called for a third alarm for a one-line fire, and we missed the best part of the Mets vs. the Jets.” 1
Set up for big lines downwind and upwind. Six-foot spacing can readily permit extension by radiation without or even against any wind. If the water supply is limited, determine what can be done to improve it. If opening certain valves will do it, get the water supply people onboard in the planning. If there is a swimming pool, be sure the units can get to it, or get the management to put in a suction hydrant. A Navy base once objected to such a recommendation until I produced a copy of its original request, which cited the value of the pool in case of fire.
Drill on covering exposures. It seems everybody wants to put the wet stuff on the red stuff. Wet the exposed surfaces. Foam, if available, can extend the water supply.
Drill personnel on how to avoid getting into narrow spaces between buildings. There is a big collapse hazard and a history of fatalities. Set up a second line of defense downwind. There is probably nothing worse than to have to relocate lines when the fire jumps over you. This is a potential urban forest fire. Get a competent overhead observer up in a chopper. Be sure the dispatcher knows the exact procedure for calling the Federal Aviation Administration to establish a no-fly zone overhead to keep news choppers from going for close-up shots. Prepare legible maps for mutual-aid units. It is not much help for the incident commander to tell an incoming mutual-aid chief, “You are the south side commander on Daisy Street” when he does not know the area. Units at the World Trade Center were often unfamiliar with the building designations.
CITIZENS
Be straightforward with the citizens relative to the hazard of fire spread. Stress the necessity for an immediate 911 call before using extinguishers or looking for the source of the smoke. Tell them specifically that it is a fire department function to determine if smoke is friendly or unfriendly. Never use the insulting term “unnecessary alarm.”
Precious time was wasted in many reports I read when I was on the NFPA’s extinguisher committee. Be sure employees are authorized to call the fire department for smoke or fire without first having to contact their supervisor.
As is the case with townhouses, getting around to the rear may be a problem. Think out an evolution for getting a big line with a manifold to the rear. Organize the residents, and train them sufficiently to assist in getting the line placed properly and kink free. If they are not trained, they would still be trying to help in a real fire, but the disorganized effort of untrained but eager citizens may do more harm than good. Stress that they are limited to setting up a water supply. Firefighters do the firefighting. ■
Endnote
1. I know who plays whom. This is a “universal” reference to the afternoon TV vs. drills.
Author’s note: For years FDNY dispatched using a complete bell code, a 30-company assignment. The fifth-alarm assignment from midtown Manhattan could be dispatched to Coney Island in less than a minute, and the same signal would order designated relocations. For a copy of “Bells,” contact me at Fbrannigan@comcast.net; indicate “Bells” in the subject.
