Video by Dustin Harris
This fire occurred in New York City on September 20, 2008, at W 48th and 10th Ave. in the Hell’s Kitchen area of Manhattan. The building is a five-story, mixed-use (apartments over ground floor retail), multifamily apartment building of ordinary construction. Fire appears to be in a second-floor apartment with smoke showing from the Delta side of the building.
- Don’t Get Mixed Up
- Ventilation-Limited Fires and the Influence of Oxygen
- Differentiating the “Fireground Phenomena”
At the time of this fire, the modern fire science findings we are aware of today were not known. Given this, crews did an excellent job getting the fire under control and made several rescues, which is not new for the Fire Department of New York (FDNY).
Analysis
From the start of the video, we notice the two front, second floor windows on the Delta side, Delta quadrant are soot stained. We also notice the four smoke attributes—Volume, Velocity, Density, and Color (VVDC)—from the vented window. Significant volume, fast-moving (under pressure), dense, black smoke is venting from this window, which appears to be unidirectional flow. This window is serving as an exhaust, indicating fire is getting its air from a level lower than the window. This can also suggest this compartment is not isolated by a closed door. It’s possible the interior entrance to this apartment may be open. The smoke at this window advances to vent point ignition and begins to autoexpose to the floor above, allowing fire to extend. All of this is predictable fire behavior.
The adjacent window to the right has gray smoke pushing from the top of the sash. These two windows are likely within the same compartment. The firefighter on the fire escape takes position to vent this window in a coordinated effort with the interior attack crew. As the window is ventilated, we soon notice a mix of steam coming from this window and the original vented window, which indicates the attack crew is advancing in on the fire.
Strategic/Tactical Considerations
The operating mode is offensive, given the size of fire and the high life safety profile. My intent with this video is not to judge or second guess the FDNY, but rather to consider the application of a modern tactic that we are aware of today to this incident. I ask readers to think outside the norms and apply tactics that support the offensive attack mode, gain control of fire faster, and reduce fire’s ability to advance beyond the room/area of origin.
Many fire departments have established operational standard operating procedures (SOPs) that may or may not include modern tactics. For those that do not, the first-in officer would make a judgement and call an audible to initiate tactics that may not necessarily follow the established SOP, but the action can efficiently improve conditions. Of course, the department must be open to empowering officers to make on-scene decisions and adjustments. As more departments evolve their knowledge and understanding of modern fire dynamics and tactics, perhaps established SOPs will evolve to take this information into account and allow it to be used for more efficient and effective operations, all while reducing inherent danger.
We know that black, turbulent smoke is on its way to lighting off. Imagine if the first engine on scene initiated an exterior attack on the black smoke venting from the window to initiate surface cooling? This action would immediately drop temperatures, cooling the smoke and surfaces in the compartment; would cause gases to constrict; would prevent the vent point ignition from occurring; and would improve interior conditions ahead of the interior attack crew. This action may also prevent the flashover from occurring, depending on the location of the seat of fire. Yes, venting fire is good, but if left to vent freely without being controlled with water, it rapidly intensifies and spreads fire and smoke.
- Today’s Evolving Fire Attack
- Lessons Learned from a Successful Transitional Attack
- Transitional Attack: When to Use It
Using a proper transitional attack method, solid/straight stream applied at a steep angle to the top of the window, just inside, water will efficiently map out along the surfaces while gases vent out the top of the window. This significantly reduces air entrainment into the compartment to prevent air from pushing fire and gases deeper into the building.
There are a number of ways to place the exterior stream in service:
- The first-due engine leaves one person outside to place a line in service while the remaining members advance to the interior.
- Any other available fire department member can place a line in service, but it is best to do this at the onset, as indicated above, to gain a sustained knock back.
- The first engine could initiate this as a company, working off tank water, and could also establish their own water. The officer would call the audible and incoming units would adjust.
- The first-due engine instructs the second-due engine to place a line in service at the window to buy time until they advance into position for interior attack.
Although thinking this way may be a change in how some normally operate, thinking about it and understanding the potential benefits is the first step. Often, putting water on visible, reachable fire can make a significant impact on improving interior conditions and begins the effort to gain control of fire.
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As fire science evolves, so too should the fire service. It can be difficult to break the molds of what we’ve done for years, but once we know and understand modern fire dynamics and tactics, and how to employ those tactics into our operational procedures, we can further improve our efficiency of getting sufficient water on fire, even if it looks a little different than our norms.
NICK J. SALAMEH is a 36 year veteran of the fire service. He was a Fire/Emergency Medical Services Captain II and previous Training Program Manager for the Arlington County (VA) Fire Department, where he served 31 years. He is a former Chair of the Northern Virginia Fire Departments Training Committee. Nick is also a contributor to Fire Engineering and Stop Believing Start Knowing (SBSK).
