BY JACK J. MURPHY
Over the years, the need for preincident building information has been cited in National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) line-of-duty death reports. NIOSH noted that the fire departments involved were deficient in conducting a preincident survey prior to the fatal incidents. Developing and improving building intelligence skills enhance firefighters’ tactical capabilities of anticipating fire behavior and water supply needs, preparing for search and rescue, meeting forcible entry challenges, placing hose and ladders, performing ventilation, containing the fire, and improving firefighter safety and survival.
A preincident plan also gives the incident commander (IC) “inside information” about the structure and its contents and allows fire officers to use their resources more efficiently, improving overall fireground strategy, tactics, and the application of risk management.
Each year the construction industry has been coming up with ways to lighten construction structural members, reduce fire protection redundancy through trade-offs, and limit safety enhancements to lower construction costs or make up for revenue lost by reduced rental spaces.
This is a call for all fire departments to gather preincident intelligence by performing a building reconnaissance, so that firefighters can be prepared for emergency incidents that might occur in a structure. The preincident plan should address floor and roof assembly construction, live and dead loads, as well as obvious signs of deterioration or structural weakening. These conditions affect fire spread; personnel’s ability to access the building to rapidly and safely perform interior operations; the potential for collapse or falling materials such as glass, curtain walls, exterior ornamentation, parapets, and overhanging components; and exposures.
GATHERING BUILDING INTELLIGENCE
Begin your preincident planning in buildings that present major life safety concerns for firefighters and occupants or a significant tactical challenge. Gathering this critical building information is similar to an Army squad’s gathering intelligence on the enemy before an attack: It gives firefighters the upper hand in the firefight.
Prior to conducting a building reconnaissance survey, make an appointment with the building owner. Keep in mind that this is not a fire inspection, where the objective is to enforce the fire code. The code inspection should be done on a separate visit, which is usually not preannounced to the facility. A fire inspection has due process protections for the building owner, including the right to refuse entry to the inspector.
Gather information about the structure’s exterior and interior. Information about floor layouts, exits, and construction will enable firefighters to perform a search and rescue more efficiently and to improve their chance for survival. The key elements of a response intelligence plan include but are not limited to incident management system (IMS) fireground layout of the structure and the immediate exposures; the type of construction; the type of occupancy; life safety features such as building entrances, number of stairs (access to roof and basement), fire protection systems, window and door gates; and building features such as utility shutoffs, furnace room, ventilation systems, and elevators. Also include unique characteristics that may be potentially dangerous such as hazardous materials, lightweight construction, and an above-ground fuel tank in the basement area (existing buildings).
EXTERIOR BUILDING RECON
Begin with an exterior recon of the building. If possible, perform a 360° degree survey around the structure. Draw a square in your preplan; identify the four sides of the building in accordance with the incident management system (A, B, C, D). Note what is adjacent to each side of the structure and whether the exposure building is attached or detached (if detached, note the distance). Indicate the height of the building, the type of construction, the type of occupancy, and the topography on each side if it differs from side A. Indicate whether the side is adjacent to a vacant lot, a parking garage, a street, or a public park.
Divide the building’s interior into divisions (floors)for example, 7th Division). For large buildings, further divide the interior into sectors. Indicate the exposuresside A (236 Overlook Ave.), two-family house/2½ story/wood frame; side B, three-story detached (20 feet away) tenement (seven apartments)/ordinary construction; side C, one-story detached (50 feet away) mercantile stores (four)/noncombustible; and side D, public park.
In addition to the address of the building, note the names of the cross streets and the vanity name of the buildingthe Pentagon, for example. Note also the following information: if the building has a fire department key box system for off-hour access or whether a “master key” system is readily available; the condition of the exterior construction; any obstructions to the buildingtrees, land depressions, overhead wires, roof setbacks, cell towers, or vehicle barriers, for example; the number of stories of each exposure building; the building’s primary and secondary entrances; the basement’s exterior entrance, if present; the exterior fire escape/fire stairs; windows and door gates; the fuel tank fill pipe location, the tank capacity, whether the tank is above or below ground; the HVAC air intake locations; the primary and secondary hydrant locations as well as the size of the water mains or the nearest water supply for a rural area; and the type of fire department connections for a standpipe, sprinkler, or combination sprinkler/standpipe system.
INTERIOR BUILDING RECON
Once inside the recon building, confirm the building statistics: the number of stories, the levels above grade and below grade, and the type of occupancy (assembly, business, education, factory, high-hazard, institution, mercantile, residential, storage, utility, or miscellaneous). Refer to the building code chapter on “Use and Occupancy Classification.”1 For details on special requirements based on occupancy use, refer to the Fire Code2 for fire service features, building services and systems, and fire-resistance and fire-rated construction. In multiple or mixed occupancy buildingscommercial, hotel, and residential under one roofnote and rank the highest threat to your response.
Identify one of the five basic types of building construction: fire-resistive; noncombustible, ordinary, heavy timber, and wood frame. Refer to the building code chapter on “Types of Construction.”3 Note any preengineering construction methods. Indicate any alterations and renovations that may have affected construction, the means of egress, and fire protection systems.4
LIFE SAFETY FEATURES
Confirm the occupant load for the daytime (normal business hours), night, and weekend hours. Note whether the building staircases are open or enclosed and which stairway leads to the roof and basement. If an access or convenience stairway is present, indicate the floors it serves. It is usually an open staircase located between two or more common tenant spaces.
A disabled person may pose a challenge to firefighters. Knowing ahead of time the location of such a person within a building will enable you to plan for a more effective evacuation. In many new construction building groups, note the Area of Rescue Assistance, which enables a physically challenged person to seek refuge and await instructions or assistance during an emergency evacuation. For existing buildings, local fire departments may create a safe haven area for a person with special needs, to implement an effective rescue.
When starting an interior risk assessment walk-through for tactical operations, start at the basement level and work your way up. Most building utility functions and systems are housed in the basement. If a building heating system is present, it may be powered by electricity, natural gas, liquefied petroleum (LP) gas, oil, high-pressure utility steam lines, a combination gas/oil supply, or solar power energy with high direct current voltage. Locating the building’s main utility emergency shutoff valves and fuel tanks will assist in isolating the energy power supply source. Determine how to access the basement. Check for an interior staircase or an exterior access door. The fire department could access by both means. Note if the basement or other subbasement levels run the full length and width of the building or only part of the way. Also note any crawl space and entry locations.
As you go upward in the building, identify the type of material that supports the horizontal load of the roof and floor, such as metal/wood (light/heavyweight) truss, cold-formed galvanized steel, poured concrete/rebar, precast concrete, solid wood rafter/joist, laminated wood I-beams, and steel I-beams. What is the type of floor or roof decking? Is it precast or poured concrete, metal decking, wood such as tongue-and-groove planking, plywood, or oriented strand board (OSB)?
If the building has an elevator or a group of elevators, note the location of the elevator mechanical room (EMR), the pit room (usually found below the elevator). Some elevators may not have a pit room access port. At the lowest floor level, the elevator car needs to be lifted above floor level for access into the pit. Although the Firefighter Phase II Elevator Key access control is usually on the main floor, it could also be found elsewhere. For tall buildings, note the presence of blind shafts and sky lobby areas. A building may have MERs for motorized equipment such as heating, ventilation, and air-conditioning (HVAC); air compressors; and chillers.
FIRE PROTECTION SYSTEMS
The Fire Detection and Alarm System (FAS) is a building or local fire alarm system that provides an audible or visual signal. It may range from single-station smoke detectors found in residential occupancies to single and multipanel hardwire fire alarms present in various buildings. For the larger FAS, note the location of the main building panel and see how the fire detection devices report to the panel; this information will help to locate the device that has activated. Note also the locations of any FAS subpanels that may monitor sections of the building should the main FAS fail.
Determine the type of sprinkler system (wet, dry, deluge) in the building. Is it a full or partial system? If a partial sprinkler, note the areas it covers. Also note if there is a smaller, limited-area sprinkler system consisting of 20 or fewer sprinkler heads that may be connected off the domestic water line.
Although a standpipe and hose system is usually within a building staircase, some auxiliary standpipe connections in larger buildings may be found within the floor area. In either case, identify the hose size and thread connection so firefighters can deploy hoselines. Firefighters can calculate the number of hose lengths needed to connect off the standpipe and make it onto the floor; for buildings not equipped with a standpipe system, calculate from the street.5
Where is the building’s main fire pump located? What is the gallons-per-minute (gpm) capability? Are there other fire pumps (a secondary pump or a jockey pump), particularly in a large complex?
Other than for a limited-area sprinkler system, is there a fire department connection that augments the interior fire pipelines by supplying more water off supply hoselines connected to an engine company pumper? This extra water pressure will supply one of three types of systems: a sprinkler, standpipe, or combination sprinkler/standpipe. Also, note the information on the exterior FDC sign and verify that the building standpipe or sprinkler system confirms what is on the sign.
To get the water supply needed to control a fire, approximate the structure’s measurement (length and width). This will provide you with the needed water flow for a fire on a floormultiply length × width, and divide by three to get the total gpm per floor involved. This information will also enable a fire officer and pump operator to effectively supply the water flow. If less than the total floor is involved in fire, reduce accordinglyi.e., if 25 percent of the fire floor is involved, decrease the water supply needed. If more than one floor is involved, increase the fire flow accordingly. For each exposure problem (building), add 50 percent to a building involvement figure for the gpm discharge figure.
Note if a chemical extinguishing system is present. These systems may be dry or wet chemical, carbon dioxide, clean agent, or halon. They protect kitchen cooking hood systems, computer data centers, rare book storage rooms, and electrical and electronic equipment. Identify the type of system, its location, and the hazard the chemical extinguishing system protects against.
Are there fire walls and fire partitions? Knowing the locations of fire walls is helpful when devising tactical plans for restricting fire spread. The fire wall is intended to allow complete burnout and possibly collapse on one side, but it prevents the fire from affecting the other side of the wall. At the roof level, fire walls that begin at the foundation usually protrude no less than 18 inches above the roofline. A fire partition, on the other hand, is a fire-rated assembly designed to restrict the spread of fire from one area of the building to an adjacent areai.e., a one hour-rated partition corridor wall below a drop ceiling. Fire walls and partitions have openings (fire doors, fire-rated glazing, fire-rated rolled gates) that are protected.
What types of ventilation and air-cooling systems are in the building? Many buildings may be cooled or heated with an individual air-conditioning package unit (IACP) or an HVAC system. The IACP units usually cover a limited area or a floor. An HVAC system may cover a floor or several floors through a duct system; fire and smoke damper limit air movement. Some fire alarm systems may have a smoke-management system to purge a smoke condition from the fire floor and pressurize the HVAC zones around the fire area. This can be achieved once the IC has received reports from the fire companies on the conditions in the affected areas. Understanding how the building IAPC/HVAC system operates will further assist in controlling a fire. Other buildings may have a building management system (BMS) that automatically controls the warm and cool temperatures, lighting, and other building systems within a structure. The BMS system may assist the IC by shutting down the affected system from a remote location within the building or from off-site locations.
Are hazardous materials present? The use, dispensing, and handling of hazardous materials within a building should be regulated by the fire department and restricted to storage and areas approved. Note the locations of and amounts of hazardous materials in the buildingi.e., a building maintenance shop, flammable/combustible liquids, or fuel oil tank. Have your department’s hazmat unit assist in assessing the risk. Each hazardous material should have a material safety data sheet (MSDS) and other hazardous materials documents as required by the authority having jurisdiction.
BUILDING TACTICAL INFORMATION POINT SYSTEM (TIPS)
Create a TIPS evaluation system to list the unique characteristics within the building that are potential threats to firefighters and occupants. Independently rank them according to their threat potentiali.e., truss rooflightweight metal; 1,500-gallon above-ground oil tank in basement; side D, Sector 4 off Stair B, an open vertical roof shaft, for example.
ROOF LEVEL
How is the roof accessed? Check for an interior staircase or a roof hatch on the top floor. Exterior access may also be achieved by a fire escape gooseneck ladder. In some buildings, if a staircase does not enter into an attic space, look for an access port at the top-floor level for entering an attic or a cockloft area (void space between the roof and the top-floor apartment ceiling). When checking the roof areas, notice the condition of the parapet. Also look for automatic or manual smoke-removal vents; building exhaust vents; the staircase penthouse door; EMR; and other heavy equipment such as refrigeration, cell phone tower equipment, and HVAC units. New “green” roof materials may consist of several layers of membrane as well as several inches of dirt, along with grass and plants. While this type of roof effectively reduces cooling or heating, it adds a new challenge to ladder company crews venting the roof.
COLLECTING DATA
To collect the data for the preincident plan, develop a standard recon form on which to include the information gathered in the field. The data should include quickly made sketches of the building plot plan, primary and secondary access routes into the structure, fire department connections, stair and elevator locations, photographs of the four sides of the building, and the unique characteristics within the building that pose potential threats to firefighters.
Do not limit building recon to occupied buildings. Vacant buildings present a high risk to responding firefighters. When feasible, enter a vacant building to perform an interior building reconnaissance. If the risk is too great, conduct an exterior ground-level recon and use a tower ladder to observe the structure from above. On completing the reconnaissance, mark the outside of the building accordingly:
- If the building is unoccupied and is structurally sound, use bright reflective paint to paint a square (box) on the structureno higher than one story above street level on the street side.
- If the building is unoccupied and a hazard exists, paint a square box with one diagonal line.
- If the building is unoccupied and more than one hazard exists, defensive outside firefighting operations are permitted. This is denoted by a square with an “X” inside the box (two diagonal lines). Also, paint above the box (square) other markings to indicate additional hazards. Examples would include “R/O”Roof open, “F/E”Avoid fire escapes; S/MStairs, steps, and landing missing; H/FHoles in floor.
BUILDINGS UNDER CONSTRUCTION AND DEMOLITION
These structures create a distinctive challenge to firefighters: The conditions foster fire’s rapidly spreading upward and downward. During building reconnaissance, note how vehicles can access the structure and the location and accessibility of the fire department connection. Also determine the following: if the standpipe riser is within two floors of the highest work level; if the top of the standpipe riser is open and if the riser has a shutoff valve; if floor outlet valves are closed, especially at the below-grade level; if there are stored flammable and combustible liquids/gases or explosive materials; if there is temporary heating equipment; if cutting and welding operations are being conducted; and the floor level at which the staircase ends before you encounter makeshift ladders to access upper floors.
Structural hazards are heightened by missing fire protection features such as spray-on fireproofing, lack of fire walls and partitions, temporary wooden mold forms, and steel bracing cables.
Buildings undergoing floor renovations pose even a greater life safety threat to occupants and firefighters. Egress paths may be temporarily altered and must be maintained during this phase of construction. Fire protection systems may be temporarily out of service; higher combustible and flammable loads are usually present; and, in many cases, hot work cutting and welding are ongoing.
FIRE DEPARTMENT RESPONSE
By incorporating preincident building intelligence into a fire department management system for buildings that are occupied, vacant, and under construction or demolition, the local dispatch center can provide more information on the building firefighters can use as a base for making decisions while they are responding. This critical building information will enhance the fire officer’s “thinking-in-time” process for his initial size-up and expedite the assignment of crews’ tasks within a specific structure. A dispatch communications center will be able to provide incoming fire companies with information on key building essentials such as water supply, fire protection systems, life safety, and potential hazards. When the incident becomes a working Alarm Box, the IC will receive other building intelligence information. Since the fire service is a supportive organization by default, a department mission preparedness statement should include preincident building intelligence to further safeguard firefighter and occupant safety.
Endnotes
1. International Building Code, 2006 Edition, Chapter 3 “Use and Occupancy Classification” or the National Protection Fire Association (NFPA) 101 Life Safety Code®, 2006 Edition.
2.International Fire Code, 2006 Edition, and NFPA 1, Fire Code, 2009 Edition.
3. International Building Code, 2006 Edition, Chapter 6”Types of Construction” or the NFPA 5000 Building Construction and Safety Code®, 2006 Edition.
4. During a Bronx, New York, low-rise tenement building fire (2005), six firefighters became entrapped inside a dwelling unit while searching for people on the floor. They had to bail out a fourth-floor window. This action resulted in the deaths of two firefighters and critical injuries to four other firefighters. On further investigation, it was revealed that construction alterations made within the dwelling unit changed the apartment layout, thus preventing access from the room in which they were entrapped onto an exterior fire escape.
5. During a 2008 building recon, the local fire department discovered that all standpipe hose threads did not match the department’s hose couplings. Fortunately, this building, which was constructed in the 1950s, never had a fire. The department employed alternative response operations until the upgrade was completed.
JACK J. MURPHY, MA, is the principal of JJM & Associates, a safety preparedness group, and fire marshal (ret.)/former deputy chief of the Leonia (NJ) Fire Department. He has a master’s degree and several undergraduate degrees. He serves as a NJ state deputy fire coordinator (Bergen region), the vice chairman of the New York City High-Rise Fire Safety Directors Association, and a member of the NFPA High-Rise Safety Advisory and the Pre-Incident Planning Committees. Murphy is a member of the Fire Engineering and FDIC editorial advisory boards and is the author of Rapid Incident Command System (RICS), a field handbook, and Chapter 3, “Pre-Incident Planning” of the Firefighter I & II series (Fire Engineering, soon to be released).
