Tips on Taking Up
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FIRE FIGHTING
We in the fire service spend a great deal of time, or should, training our personnel. Hose stretches, ladder placement, apparatus positioning, search and rescue, etc., all demand long hours on the drill field. Classroom sessions are concerned with strategies, attack proceciures, collapse indicators, safety considerations, to name just a few.
When properly conducted, these training sessions and evolutions result in an aggressive, alert, quick-thinking, safety-conscious firefighting team.
However, one area that is invariably overlooked in nearly all training sessions is the factors to check and consider before taking up.
Obviously, having the fire extinguished initiates leaving the incident scene. But there is more to controlling a fire than just extinguishing it; and there is more to taking up than just controlling the fire. A systematic approach to taking up should cover four areas:
- The fire
- The property
- The people
- Your equipment.
THE FIRE
During overhaul, keep in mind that a rekindle usually starts in an unobvious place (see FIRE ENGINEERING, “Rekindle —An Old Problem with a New Twist,” December 1985). Therefore, use all your senses to locate hidden fires as well as other problems.
Looking and feeling for hotspots (discoloration, peeling paint, dried wallpaper, smoke emissions from cracks, etc.) is a common and effective overhaul procedure, but firefighters should also be taught to listen for unusual sounds and to use their sense of smell. At one fire, an alert member heard a slight hissing noise while preparing to take up. Closer investigation of the area disclosed an odor of gas. When the wall was opened, an old capped gas line was found with a crack in the piping.
Another consideration when searching for hidden fires is a building’s construction features. Double stud areas around doorways and window frames require close inspection, as do double joists, joists whose charring extends into the joist socket, or joists that have a common wall socket and abut the joist ends of an adjoining building. It’s not unusual to find that fire has traveled along the horizontal roof joists and burrowed into the wooden covering at the joist ends.
Voids or concealed spaces are an inherent part of almost any type of construction. Even modern fireresistant buildings can have ceiling and floor voids loaded with combustible wiring. Therefore, any place where horizontal and vertical members meet, especially concealed areas, deserve a second look before you leave. (See “Void Spaces,” FIRE ENGINEERING, September 1984.)
Above all, remember to determine the structural condition of the area to be overhauled before firefighters enter the building.
THE PROPERTY
The next factor to consider in the taking up process is the property. Has all debris been moved outside? Has broken glass been removed from windows, and have openings (windows, roofs, etc.) been covered and secured to protect the structure from weather and / or vandals? Check and secure utilities and notify proper authorities of any problems and/or potential problems.
If there are structural defects or if the structural soundness of the building is questionable, a building inspector should be called to the scene and the area barricaded to define the possible collapse zone and to prevent access by unauthorized personnel.
If the fire is suspicious or under investigation, take care not to destroy evidence during overhaul and, if at all possible, leave the evidence untouched and undisturbed and secure the property. If evidence cannot be left at the scene, it should be properly marked, tagged, identified, and safeguarded, making careful notation of the date, time, and place it was found.
Again, never leave a fire scene unsecured, particularly if there are suspicious circumstances. Wait for the police to arrive and deny unauthorized entry in order to preserve the evidence’s “chain of custody,” which is necessary in criminal investigations.
THE PEOPLE
Handling the occupants of the fire building is the next step in taking up. Before leaving the incident scene, make sure that they understand the status of the property (liveable/unliveable), the utilities (what’s on/off), and the area affected by the fire. Sometimes when we’re cold and wet, we forget about the very people who we dedicated our lives to protecting.
Take the time to not only explain things to the affected civilians, but determine if they need relocation or temporary housing and, if so, notify the proper agency (Red Cross, Welfare Department, etc.).
This is also a good time to gather any information you might need for your reports: the names of the owners/occupants, a description of the property, correct addresses, any statements that might be pertinent to an investigation, etc.
YOUR EQUIPMENT
Train your members to take care of and account for their equipment both in the station as well as on the fireground. For example, when a firefighter enters an upper-story window for search, he usually marks his point of entry by leaving a tool on the floor under the sill. Make sure that he takes it with him when leaving the area.
Check the apparatus and look around the fire building for any misplaced or forgotten equipment before you leave. This will save a lot of paperwork, phone calls, and money. It gets expensive if every time you have an extensive working fire you lose equipment or can’t account for an item.
SUMMARY
Taking up involves a lot more than simply repacking the hose, returning the tools to the rig, jumping on the truck, and putting it in gear. It’s a major responsibility of the last remaining supervisor, usually a company officer.
Training all firefighters to properly take up will make for a more effective and thorough firefighting team; and those members called to be acting officers will be better prepared to accept this responsibility by leaving no loose ends in wrapping up the entire firefighting operation.
