Firefighters responded to this fire incident in Spring Garden Township, York County, Pennsylvania, on April 8, 2021. Fireground video from Deputy Chief 1 Thomas Dunn of the West York Fire Department. The structure is a two-story, lightweight wood, single-family dwelling with fire in the attached garage on the Delta side. A second, smaller garage is slightly set back and attached to the primary garage. Aside from a short wall between the two garages, there is no fire separation between the garages.
Analysis
The base fire clearly originates in the garage. Fire at the garage door opening is indicating bidirectional flow; air is coming in near the bottom of the opening and fire/smoke is exhausting out the top of the opening.
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It appears the fire door between the mud room and garage did its job, but in part of the video, it looks as if the top portion of this door burned away. A fire door between the garage and interior home needs to have a minimum fire protection rating of 20 minutes. The door burn could indicate the fire had lead time before it was noticed and prior to fire department notification and arrival.
Interior home conditions show moderate volume, low velocity, moderately dense black smoke, and some heat damage to the bathroom near the garage fire door. Smoke at the front doorway indicates a neutral plane within the top two thirds of the doorway, indicating a fire at or near the level of the first floor. The garage floor is slightly lower than the interior first floor.
The primary garage does not have a vehicle but appears to have had storage/supplies. The secondary garage appears to have a vehicle present. Garages normally contain highly flammable/combustible materials to include vehicles, propane tanks, flammable liquids, compressed aerosol cans, plastics, storage materials, etc.
Lightweight wood structures are:
- energy efficient;
- contain less wood;
- use engineered lumber (wood I-beams, trusses, laminates);
- contain open horizontal truss void spaces along floor, ceiling, and attic spaces;
- use synthetic/vinyl materials;
- contain an abundance of plastic contents;
- produce higher heat release rates;
- and generate high volume smoke leading to ventilation-limited fires, high radiant heat, and early collapse.
Strategic/Tactical Considerations
The garage fire is an oft-debated incident with respect to hoseline deployment. Does the first line go to the garage fire or to the interior to protect the search and the rest of the house from fire? Many of us were taught in recruit school to never pass fire. In my opinion, a garage fire is no different. We know if we get sufficient water on the fire, we will resolve a substantial percentage of the problems caused by the fire.
- The Second Line: A Backup Line or a Second Attack Line
- Modern Wood-Frame Construction: Firefighting Problems and Tactics
- Size-Up and Tactics for Structures of Lightweight Construction
- Ventilation-Limited Fire: Keeping it Rich and Other Tactics Based Off Science
We know there is supposed to be a fire door separating the garage from the interior living space. If this door is closed and doing its job, it should hold fire to the garage. If it’s not doing its job, we should see indications of extension to the interior of the home. In this case, the moderate smoke on the interior should cause us to suspect the fire door has at least partially failed. Had we seen fire or heavy black smoke banked down lower to the floor, we should suspect a complete failure of the fire door or the possibility it was open.
The thought process used to be that it was important to get the first line to the interior to hold fire to the garage and to allow for a primary search. Fighting the garage fire from the interior side stops the fire door from doing its part once the door is opened. It also subjects the living space of the home to fire, heat, and smoke damage. This will increase the spread of products of combustion, which will not be good for savable trapped occupants or firefighters. Lastly, if your backup line is delayed, firefighters are protecting the interior garage door while fire continues to intensify and spread above them.
Smoke is fuel, so while hot smoke collects within the living space and mixes with air, it begins to become primed to light off once the air/gas mixture is right or in the presence of an ignition source for cooler smoke. Cooling the smoke can reduce and stop its ability to ignite.
At the moment, the flow path is contained to the garage. Opening the front door and fire door to the garage will complete another flow path, which can draw fire from the garage to the interior…and to the front door. This places firefighters within the flow path. While gaining entry to the living space is essential to complete the primary search, firefighters must get initial water on the actual fire as quickly as possible to shut down the fire, to cool the environment, and to reduce the products of combustion.
There are a number of ways to achieve the primary fireground goals including, but not limited to:
- Get sufficient water flowing on fire, while officer completes 360° size-up with thermal imager to gain big picture view and to determine fire location and extent.
- A coordinated attack in which simultaneous actions (fire attack/search/ventilation) occur when adequate staffing is available.
- Immediately put exterior water on visible, reachable fire at the garage door. Relocate initial line to interior once garage fire is knocked down to initiate search and complete extinguishment.
- Initial hoseline/appliance to garage fire with second line deployed to the interior. Can be completed by first-arriving company or coordinated with second-due engine company.
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Do not pass fire! If the fire is within the garage, this is where the firefight needs to begin. The faster we get adequate volume water on the fire, the faster firefighters gain control and stop the forward progress of the fire. Gain the knock down, gain the control, then get to the interior to complete search and extinguishment. Firefighters and trapped occupants are much less vulnerable within these lightweight wood structures if the fire is immediately controlled. If not, conditions can rapidly escalate, and conditions and structure deteriorate. Early, well-placed, sufficient-volume water will gain the win!
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).
