ON FIRE ❘ by MICHAEL N. CIAMPO
Many fire departments across the country have “bread and butter” operations in buildings in which firefighters are very familiar operating. We’ve stretched enough hoselines in a Cape Cod-style dwelling to know when we go through the front door and up the interior stairs there’s usually a bedroom to the left and right with a bathroom straight ahead. If we didn’t pick up that there was a dormer addition on the backside, we can expect peaked ceilings with knee walls in the front and rear. If you’re a city firefighter and multiple dwellings are your standard, you’re pretty accustomed to stretching up the well hole, having at least 50 feet of hoseline for the fire apartment and hope the fire hasn’t extended into the walls, a shaftway, or the cockloft. Things we’re used to become second nature when we do it all the time. Unfortunately, we’ll all encounter the “oddballs.”
Single-Room Occupancies (SROs)
An SRO can be in either a multiple dwelling or a private dwelling. Long gone are the days of saying it was only a big city problem. More and more towns across the country are seeing private dwellings being chopped up into multiple-room occupancies. This is especially true in college towns, areas with large hospitals, or sightseeing areas with illegal Airbnbs. Owners of these dwellings are in it for one reason—to make money—and if it involves renting out bedrooms to strangers, then so be it. When a truck company or engine company is searching these dwellings and notices the door handles are all different styles, the rooms are numbered, and there are padlocks or deadbolts on the doors to individual rooms, it’s a good bet that they’re SROs.
RELATED FIREFIGHTER TRAINING
- Dissecting Buildings: Creating a Mental Blueprint
- Fire Without Water: Todays Truck Company
- Brennan: THE MORE SUBTLE FIREGROUND SURPRISES
If the truck is searching and the padlocks aren’t on the doors but the hasp and shackle are, ensure you force the door to check for victims. The exterior locks won’t usually be in place when someone is occupying the space but will be when it’s unoccupied.
If an engine company is operating without a truck, it’s very important to carry a tool to force the door to gain access to the fire room or search it as the line moves forward. In most legal SROs, expect to find sprinklers in the individual rooms or in the public hallway.
The main area to expect fire alarms or a fire to start in is the shared kitchen. Most fires in these occupancies are controlled by the sprinkler and are in the smoldering stage. Wear self-contained breathing apparatus because the carbon monoxide levels could be very high because of the smoldering ruins and cold smoke.
Engine company chauffeurs should look to see if these buildings have a siamese to supply the sprinkler or combination sprinkler and standpipe system. Some of these buildings’ systems may be fed only by the city water main.
A lot of these SROs are in renovated or old buildings and dwellings. If the fire extends in the walls, expect rapid extension and difficulties in opening them up. Plus, the searches can be arduous because of narrow hallways, multiple areas to be searched, and difficulty in removing victims.
Duplex Apartments
These apartments can be a difficult firefight for even the most seasoned firefighters. Fire resistive and nonfire resistive multiple dwellings can have these styles of apartments, which feature two levels within individual apartments. Knowing of their presence before responding to them will be the first line of defense, enabling us to have a preplan in the way we’ll attack the fire.
The duplex apartment can be a difficult fire to put out, depending on the layout. If the apartment is an “up” apartment, the second floor is accessible by access stairs inside the apartment. If the apartment is a “down” apartment, the access stairs go down a floor. The access stairs are usually of the open design and not enclosed. Not only does this allow smoke to permeate to both floors, it also allows for rapid fire spread.
When we’re proceeding downward in these apartments, it’s like fighting a basement fire. Unfortunately, the stairs aren’t usually a straight run like in a private dwelling. At duplexes, they usually go down a short flight to a landing, then turn and go down another short flight. These turns make it harder for the engine to advance and require good hoseline management. One firefighter may have to stay at the top of the stairs, feeding the hoseline down as the nozzle firefighter moves down the stairway.
Some of you may be saying, “Why not just go down a floor and come in from that direction?” Unfortunately, there may only be one means of egress into the apartment. Some buildings don’t even have public hallways for the upper or lower level because of their design. Hooking up to the standpipe may require multiple lengths of hose to reach these apartments. Learning this information on drills will enable us to be prepared for this scenario.
When duplex apartments mirror each other, firefighters may be able to stretch to an adjoining apartment and breach a wall to attack the fire. In renovated nonfire resistive buildings, it’s not uncommon to find these duplexes with entrance doors on both floors. This makes stretching easier because the engine can enter a “down” apartment from the same level. Where it makes a difference is when the second-due truck forces the apartment above. If members don’t know it’s an upper floor of a duplex, with open access stairs, this can put them in great danger operating on the floor above. In past experiences, the floor above apartment is lettered and numbered with no indication it’s a duplex, either for security or unknown reasons. Luckily, with newer building codes and construction, the apartments are marked with a reflective directional arrow on the lower part of the door frame, informing firefighters if it’s an “up” or “down” apartment.
The oddballs are out there. Don’t be surprised if you run into one when you least expect it.
MICHAEL N. CIAMPO is a 36-year veteran of the fire service and a lieutenant in the Fire Department of New York. Previously, he served with the District of Columbia Fire Department. He has a bachelor’s degree in fire science from John Jay College of Criminal Justice in New York City. He is the lead instructor for the FDIC International Truck Essentials H.O.T. program. He wrote the Ladders and Ventilation chapters for Fire Engineering’s Handbook for Firefighter I and II (Fire Engineering, 2009) and the Bread and Butter Portable Ladders DVD and is featured in “Training Minutes” truck company videos.
