Main Street Memo: Half-Stories

Main Street Memo on half-stories

By Joe Pronesti, Chris Tobin, and Alexis Shady

Download a training PDF as a refresher on some of the construction dangers your firefighters may encounter with “Main Street” buildings.

This bulletin concerns half-story buildings, namely any structure with a top floor that starts at the roofline (that is, without a full wall between floors to the roofline).

Download as a PDF.

RELATED FIREFIGHTER TRAINING

Killer in the Attic: Fire Operations in Half-Stories

Fires in 2½-Story Wood-Frame Dwellings

Jonathan Hall: The Hazards of Knee Walls

JOSEPH PRONESTI is a 31-year veteran of the Elyria (OH) Fire Department, where he is a shift commander. He is a graduate of the Ohio Fire Chiefs’ Executive Officer program and a lead instructor at the Cuyahoga (OH) County Community College Fire Academy. He is a contributor to fire service publications and sites, including Fire Engineering, FireEngineering.com, and FirefigherNation.com.

CHRISTOPHER TOBIN is a firefighter assigned to St. Louis (MO) Fire Department Rescue 2.

ALEXIS SHADY is a firefighter/paramedic with the Richmond Heights (MO) Fire Department.

MORE MAIN STREET MEMOS

Main Street Memo: Transom Windows

Hand entrapped in rope gripper

Elevator Rescue: Rope Gripper Entrapment

Mike Dragonetti discusses operating safely while around a Rope Gripper and two methods of mitigating an entrapment situation.
Delta explosion

Two Workers Killed, Another Injured in Explosion at Atlanta Delta Air Lines Facility

Two workers were killed and another seriously injured in an explosion Tuesday at a Delta Air Lines maintenance facility near the Atlanta airport.