IT`S ABOUT BASICS!
Photos 1 and 2. Basic engine company operations are the backbone of the fire service. What is burning, how much water will you need, and how do you deliver the water to the seat of the fire? This fire is in a commercial building renovated with a false front that limits access from the front of the building. You are unable to determine the location and extent of the fire. You may be faced with large uncompartmented areas on the second floor, a common feature of two-story taxpayers. The front has covered-over openings that will restrict the points for stream application. Handlines have been stretched and operated into the first floor, and the fire has extended into the second level. Renovations and fire load may make the building unsafe for interior firefighting.
With fire extending into the second floor, what options does the engine now have? First, abandon all small handlines! A single 112-inch or 134-inch line will not deliver the needed amount of water to reach the seat of the fire, especially when delivered from ground level to second floor or roof level. Even with a 212-inch line, what are you trying to accomplish by throwing water 25 to 30 feet in the air? The water will fall harmlessly onto the roof or, worse, may fall into the ventilation opening and help spread the fire throughout the cockloft. No water will reach the seat of the fire. If nothing else, it is a great waste of water.
How do engine companies train to operate handlines? As a unit. The nozzleman and the backup firefighter should be on the same side of the line. This puts the backup firefighter in position to do the most for the nozzleman. If the backup does the job correctly, the nozzleman will not have to fight all of the backpressure and will be able to concentrate on directing the stream. Even though this stream is being operated from the outside and not being advanced, bad habits tend to show themselves at the worst times. Train on the basic positions and use them at all times.
In fires of this magnitude, where the entire building is being threatened and the incident commander has gone to a defensive operation, shut down the handlines and go to the master stream. Aerial platforms or deck guns will deliver greater amounts of water farther into the building toward the seat of the fire. You can also use the platform or aerials to try to open up the front of the building by removing the panels and exposing the old windows underneath (if present). Once the building has been written off, bring the big guns to bear and try to stop the fire where it is.
Photos 3 and 4. You are the officer of the first-arriving ladder company at this fire involving an old inn-style complex. The complex consists of several individual buildings of varying heights and configurations. Fire is in the section to the right in photo 3. What are your priorities? If the fire has started in the first-floor area rather than the attic, what type of ventilation should be your first choice? If the fire started in the attic or you suspect it is extending to this area, what type of vertical ventilation will be required? The attached exposure is of a different height. Does this configuration work for or against you at this fire?
Hopefully, you chose horizontal ventilation. Venting windows does wonders for most fire operations. Remember that there are two kinds of horizontal ventilation: venting for fire and venting for life. Do not encourage indiscriminate venting; however, most working fires will need some type of window ventilation. The practice of saving the glass but burning down the building should have gone the way of the horse-drawn steamer, but it is alive and well in the hearts of misinformed ICs. If any trapped occupants still remain in the building, they too will benefit from horizontal ventilation.
How about positive-pressure ventilation (PPV) instead of breaking all the windows? This is still a relatively new idea in the fire service. Proponents swear by it, and opponents swear at it. There are some points to keep in mind if your department uses PPV as part of an initial attack.
PPV works best when all ventilation openings are controlled. This may be fine in the northeast in the cold winter months or down south in the summer heat with homes cooled by air conditioning. In both cases, most windows will be found in the closed position. But in most fire situations, you do not know the status of all openings. A civilian who has made it to and partially opened a window has created a ventilation point that will become an exhaust point once the fan is started.
If any member of the first-due truck company is attempting vent-enter-search (VES) of any windows remote from the main body of fire, he also will create an avenue for fire spread. Any civilians on the far side of the fire area who have been overcome while trying to escape will be in the path of the exhaust opening that is necessary for PPV to work properly.
Even without a known life hazard, fires in wood-frame structures are open for more rapid fire spread in their void spaces when the fire has penetrated the ceiling or wall coverings. The positive pressure created by the fan will accelerate fire spread in these hidden voids. And PPV should never be used in buildings of balloon-frame construction.
There is no denying that PPV makes fire operations more tenable for operating forces. But this luxury should not be at the expense of the homeowner`s life or property.
As this fire rapidly spreads into the attic area, vertical ventilation becomes a necessity. As with all roof operations, first open or remove any natural openings or covers such as scuttle covers, skylights, and manual turbines. Once you have discovered fire in the attic area and have used all natural openings, start ventilation holes. Start main ventilation holes on peaked roofs as high as possible on the roof surface. The main hole should cover as many roof bays as possible. Extending the hole down toward the outside walls of the building is not as important as covering several bays up high near the ridge line. Once you have cut and enlarged the main hole and fire is venting from it, you can plan secondary cuts.
The use of trench cuts has become very popular. Unfortunately, most times they are used improperly–either without a main ventilation opening or they are too narrow or too close to the main body of fire. For a trench or strip cut to be effective, place a main vent hole over the main body of fire. This gives the fire somewhere to vent to the exterior of the building and slows down the horizontal spread through the attic or cockloft area.
If the first hole(s) does not work in limiting the fire spread and the fire starts to spread toward the adjoining building, the focus of your roof operations should switch to the exposure building. Fire spread to the adjoining building becomes a greater problem if the roofs are of different heights and the fire building is the lower of the two.
Make the first hole in the adjoining building as close as possible to the area where the buildings are joined. Making the opening anywhere else in the roof will only pull any fire spreading into the attic farther into the structure. If fire conditions prevent you from operating right where the buildings join, try to make several inspection holes at this location and then drop back 10 to 15 feet and start on a regular, large ventilation hole. The inspection holes will tell you when the fire is starting to enter your attic space, and the large vent hole may buy the interior forces enough time to get the ceilings down and get water into the attic area.
Ventilation is an integral weapon in the IC`s arsenal. Improper ventilation practices not only will endanger interior forces but will eventually spread the fire throughout the entire building. n
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Photos 1 and 2 by Adam Alberti.
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Photos 3 and 4 by Bob Fleming.
BOB PRESSLER, a 22-year veteran of the fire service, recently retired as a lieutenant with 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 “Bread and Butter” Operations. Pressler has an associate`s degree in fire protection engineering from Oklahoma Sate University, is a frequent instructor on a wide range of fire service topics, and is a member of a volunteer department.
