ON FIRE ❘ by MICHAEL N. CIAMPO
Responding to a report of a vehicle on fire is a common call for all fire departments. Vehicle fires have changed over the years, and firefighters are now seeing alternative-fueled vehicles. Whether the vehicles are dual-fueled, operated with compressed natural gas, or powered by lithium-ion batteries, our firefighting tactics have changed with some of these “troublemakers” we’ll respond to. Another issue with vehicle fires is the exposures. During the response, firefighters must not think, “It’s just a vehicle.” Fire can quickly extend to the surrounding structures.
When faced with a heavily involved vehicle on fire in the driveway between two closely spaced 2½-story dwellings, we’ll encounter many issues. Our first size-up point better be the time of day. If it’s during the “sleeping hours,” we could have residents trapped in both dwellings, unaware a fire even exists on the outside of the structure.
Another major issue is the construction. Wood-frame dwellings with vinyl siding over insulation, wood clapboard, cedar shakes, or “gasoline siding” (asphalt shingle siding) can allow the fire to rapidly extend into both structures through the failure of any window. The fire can also extend into the attic through an attic vent and, with newer dwellings, the soffits may not be made of a solid material; they may just be vinyl that could melt and also allow rapid extension into the attic.
It’s not uncommon to find residents’ work vehicles in driveways. Many work vehicles of plumbers, ironworkers, exterminators, and roofers will have hazardous materials, flammable materials, or pressurized tanks of gas (acetylene, propane) in them for their occupational needs. These factors, in addition to the vehicle’s physical makeup, can contribute to a large volume of fire when the fire department arrives. When both dwellings are well-involved, transmitting an additional alarm on arrival is very much warranted!
A quick assault when encountering these types of fires is a necessity. Doing so may prevent the fire from entering both of the structures and extending to even more exposures. There aren’t many engine company apparatus these days without a deluge gun, a deck gun, a monitor nozzle, or an elevating master stream on top of the pump deck. Many departments train on a “blitz” attack—dropping the booster tank’s water through the deck gun for a quick knockdown. However, some units resist the tactic, saying they can’t perform it because they are short-staffed or they don’t want to run out of tank water.
If you think you’re short-staffed and it’s difficult to have a firefighter jump up on top of the pump deck to direct the monitor at the fire, consider putting an inline gate valve prior to the stream shaper. This way, the monitor can be charged, and it won’t flow until a member or the chauffeur jumps up there to open it and direct it at the main body of fire.
A gate valve used in this position limits the possibility of creating a water hammer that a ¼-turn ball valve could cause if it was shut down too quickly. When installing the valve, ensure the handle won’t come in contact with any part of the monitor nozzle’s body and limit opening it.
The monitor’s straight stream can now be directed onto the vehicle and onto the siding of the homes to cool the radiant heat and extinguish any siding that is on fire. Of course, we only have a few minutes of water, but we’re trying to get the biggest bang for our buck.
While this is going on, other firefighters could be performing other tasks. If a supply line was laid on the ride in, then we should be establishing a positive water source and another firefighter should be stretching the initial attack hoseline. If your unit didn’t lay a supply line, one of the members may have to hand-stretch to a hydrant or another engine is going to have to supply the unit with water.
Some departments “back-stretch” to the hydrant, meaning they have “dead-loads” of hose on the rig and the engine proceeds to the hydrant after sufficient attack hose is pulled off the rig. If that’s the case, don’t forget to drop two attack lines so you can have one for each dwelling, since the bulk of the fire was knocked down by the blitz attack.
Another tactic if you perform this kind of stretch is to drop a supply line for a tower ladder or an aerial pipe. If it hasn’t arrived, the hose can be wrapped around a tree, signpost, or even a car’s tire. Dropping the line allows the rig to get into position quickly and be able to put its stream into service that much faster.
Once the two attack hoselines are stretched, the officers have to decide where they should go. We’re already thinking about both exposures on each side of the vehicles, but if the vehicle extended to another vehicle in the driveway, we may have to have one line extinguish that fire before committing inside the building.
These fires can be labor-intensive firefights requiring rapid water; we have to be prepared. If you’d rather wait for the 200-foot preconnected hoseline stretch to be maneuvered around the typical obstructions in the street, on the sidewalk, and in the yard (parked cars, street signs, light posts, mailbox posts, trees, and shrubs) and have a firefighter chase the hoseline’s kinks because the stream looks like it’s coming from a garden hose, then feel free to do so. However, I’m sure many of us would rather pull a handle, spin a valve, or press a button on the pump panel and have a valve open to get water up a mere couple of feet of piping to the deck gun than be the next YouTube firefighting bloopers video star.
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.
