Why We Need Building Intelligence
The fireground is a poor environment for firefighters to be making decisions based on guesswork as an incident is rapidly unfolding. Gathering preincident building intelligence (BI) for high-rise environments means being prepared for worst-case scenarios so as not to be overwhelmed by circumstances or caught off guard with the unexpected. Fires and all-hazard (non-fire) emergencies are like engaging in a skirmish that may challenge even our best efforts to protect occupants’ life safety. The need for building intelligence, especially for high-rise structures, is much greater than the battlespaces in one- or two-family homes.
Book: High-Rise Buildings: Understanding the Vertical Challenges
- Fire Service Recon of High-Rise Building Construction Sites
- Response to High-Rise Buildings Under Construction
- What Firefighters Need to Know About High-Rise Building Systems
- High-Rise Building and Large Complex Systems: Heating Appliances
Command Use of Building Intelligence
Incident commanders (IC) and firefighters are becoming better acquainted with tall (vertical) buildings and large box-style (ground-scraper) warehouses and the fuel contents they expect to encounter during fire engagements. Having prior knowledge of the battleground will enhance an agency’s ability to mitigate emergencies and extinguish fires in these spaces.
Building intelligence in the form of an electronic database being readily accessible to an IC is vital for an incident process system (IPS). BI can assist in the means of evaluating and verifying building components and systems as well as any potential reactions during an incident. BI data can support the IPS process with the potential magnitude of the emergency, determining if it is a life-threatening situation as well as any firefighter safety and precaution concerns.
Rethinking Battle-Ready Intelligence for High-Rise Buildings
Fire departments must rethink their current standard operating procedure and guidelines and perform a risk-based building analysis for firefighter safety, similar to a “Community Risk Reduction Plan” to reduce the fire and all-hazard threats pertaining to the fireground. Having a sound “Firefighter Risk Reduction” brainpower data program of gathering and distributing relevant building data with a battle-ready intelligence mindset (“Know Before You Go”) will prove to be a game changer in preparedness, affirming strategies and facilitating tactical decision making.
Jack J. Murphy and Jerry Tracy: Battle-Ready Intelligence
See Jack and Jerry Tracy at FDIC International 2023 on Thursday, April 27.
JACK J. MURPHY, MA, is a fire marshal (ret.) and a former deputy chief of the Leonia (NJ) Fire Department and a former Bergen County deputy fire coordinator. He is chairman of the Fire/Life Safety Directors Association of Greater New York and an adjunct professor at John Jay College/Fire Science Institute (NYC). He is a member of the NFPA High-Rise Building Safety Advisory, 1620 Pre-Incident Planning, and Fire/Life Safety Director committees and a representative on the ICC Fire Code Action Committee. He is the author of many articles; a field handbook on the Rapid Incident Command System; co-author of Bridging the Gap: Fire Safety and Green Buildings; and author of the Pre-Incident Planning chapter of Fire Engineering’s Handbook for Firefighter I and II. In 1997, he was appointed an FDNY honorary battalion chief. He is a member of the Clarion Fire and Rescue Group Advisory Board and a presenter at FDIC International. He was the recipient of the 2012 Fire Engineering Tom Brennan Lifetime Achievement Award. He is the co-author of the upcoming book High-Rise Buildings–Understanding the Vertical Challenges (Fire Engineering, 2022).
