MORE TWO-MINUTE DRILLS
BY BOB PRESSLER
Photo 1. Fires in private dwellings require searches of all levels above the fire area as soon as possible. Due to the open, unenclosed stairway in these homes, smoke, heat, and fire have an easily accessible path to extend to the upper levels, trapping civilians and searching firefighters. Firefighters arriving at this early afternoon fire were met with a heavy body of fire venting out the front door and front windows. While conducting a search above the main body of fire, these firefighters were forced out on the front porch by rapidly extending fire.
The first-due engine company stretched a handline to the front door. Once the line was charged, engine company members moved in on the now rapidly extending fire. The first-arriving ladder company found its normal access point blocked by fire.
In fires such as this, the inside team has two options. First, the officer and remaining members can stay at the front porch and wait for the engine to get water, then move in behind the engine to conduct searches. Second, the officer and one firefighter (if the inside team has three members) can go to the rear of the house and see if they can make entry from there. Even if they are able to gain only limited entry to the rear rooms, any trapped civilians trying to exit toward the rear may be found.
Any time they make entry from the rear of a house that has heavy fire toward the front, searching firefighters must keep in mind that as the engine company gets water and starts the advance, heat, smoke, and even fire can be pushed in their direction. Coordination between the engine and truck is extremely important so truck personnel can avoid being overrun by fire.
If the department uses positive-pressure ventilation as part of initial attack procedures, rear entry is virtually a suicidal move. Once the fan is started, it will push fire toward the opening that firefighters are using for rear entry.
When the ladder company is fortunate enough to have three firefighters, the remaining member should stay with the engine and search off the line as the others advance; or, he can perform vertical ventilation for the engine once those members get water. If the inside team has only two members, both should go to the rear to search and then return to the front when the engine gets water, performing vertical ventilation as they return.
The outside team should be placing portable ladders at any windows remote from the fire area that they can access, with special attention directed to the level above the fire. These ladders may be used for firefighter access or any trapped civilians` egress. Prior to the engine company`s getting water in the first line, members must accomplish window venting with the know-ledge that the fire will start to spread in the direction of this new supply of fresh air, especially on the floor above. With a heavy fire condition at the front door, rapid spread up the interior stairs is almost guaranteed. Opening a window in any room in the vicinity of the stairs will turn the staircase into a virtual flue.
If any trapped victims are reported to be on the floor above, members may choose to vent windows and attempt to enter these rooms (VES). On entering the room, the firefighter should attempt to reach the door and close it, if possible. This will slow down the “draw” on the fire. After searching the room, the firefighter may choose to crack open the door to the hallway to check on conditions or just leave the room via the ladder and then move the ladder to another window. At all times, try to keep in mind the location of your second means of egress.
Photo 2. As the small room at the front of the house on the second floor flashes over, firefighters are forced down the ladder to safety. A handline that was being stretched into the exposure building to check for extension is pressed into service to shield the retreating firefighters.
Firefighters searching above the fire should always take time during their initial size-up to determine which building features may be used if an emergency escape is required. These include porch roofs, fire escapes (if present), and even windows that are closer to the ground in case members have to hang from them and then drop to the ground.
During your building size-up, windows often can be an indication of the building`s layout. In this house, the single window sticks out from the adjoining group of three windows, indicating a separate room. Even if only three individual windows are present, the window over the front door will normally be in a small room that is served by only that window. (Even in this house, a closer look will show that the porch appears to be an add-on or recently enclosed area. The front door is at the left of the photo and is indeed under the single window.)
Other windows that are easily (most times) identifiable from the exterior are stairway windows, which are usually out of line with other windows, and bathroom or kitchen windows, which often are smaller or horizontal or–in the bathroom–frosted.
Place portable ladders adjacent to and above all fire areas. These will serve as escape routes for all firefighters operating in the building. If anyone gets trapped above the fire, many times members–even one member–can roll a ladder already in place to the trapped person`s window.
Photo 3. Even at fires in taxpayers or strip malls, the placement of portable ladders is extremely important. When placing ladders at windows, put the tip just below or at sill level. This is the proper level for rapid egress from a fire area. If the ladder is adjacent to or in the window proper, any movement out of the window will require the firefighter to get his body up high into the window area. This may needlessly expose the firefighter to high heat conditions. By placing the ladder low in the window, the firefighter can slide out to the ladder either head first or, in real emergencies, leg first. Either way, the firefighter is only as high as his body is wide in the opening.
When placing portable ladders to a roof, the general rules of ladder placement apply. Try to pick a ladder that is long enough to reach the objective and that has enough left over to extend at least five rungs over the parapet. This makes the ladder easier to spot when conditions deteriorate on the roof and immediate escape is required. The ladder pictured is only one rung over the parapet. It is also at the highest spot in the wall. If the ladder is moved just five feet either way, two rungs will be exposed. This is better than one but still way short of the required five. The six firefighters and officers on the roof will have a hard time finding and getting down this ladder if the fire continues to spread.
Photo 4. As in most fires, good practice dictates that ladders be raised to as many areas as possible. A wider view shows that in addition to the original portable ladder, two aerials and one tower ladder also are raised. The tower ladder is being used to darken down fire that has spread out of the interior and is burning across the roof surface and threatening the adjacent apartment house.
Be careful when using exterior streams at roof level. Do not direct streams into any ventilation openings, whether burn-throughs or cuts made by firefighters. This will only drive the fire farther into the cockloft.
The additional aerials are placed to the rear of the operating roof teams, giving team members an area to which to “retreat” as they continue to ventilate the roof. Working toward these secondary escape points stops the firefighters from having to pass any fire or ventilation openings en route to their original portable ladder. n
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BOB PRESSLER, a 22-year veteran of the fire service, is a firefighter with Rescue Company No. 3 of 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 State University, is a frequent instructor on a wide range of fire service topics, and is a member of a volunteer department.
