ON FIRE | by MICHAEL N. CIAMPO
As you survey the buildings in your response district, you’ll see the small convenience store located on the first floor of a two-story wood-frame dwelling, inside a three-story brick mixed-occupancy building, or even a smaller-square-foot storefront in a larger taxpayer or strip mall. Many of these occupancies are open 24/7 and often cater to the patrons through revolving merchandise-dispensing windows or doors. If the place does allow patrons to come inside during the late hours, don’t be surprised to find the cashiers behind bulletproof enclosures that protect them from being robbed. The doors leading inside these “shelters” are often beefed up with added security and substantial locking devices, creating another forcible entry challenge for firefighters.
Incident 1
In the early morning hours, we responded to the report of a fire in a bodega and arrived on scene with smoke showing from the occupancy. There was no need to force entry into the structure because the business was open 24/7. Making our way inside, we saw a fire in the cashier booth, but there were no store attendants behind the glass enclosure. Immediately, our search efforts focused on locating them and gaining access to the fire. Forcing the door into the shelter wasn’t so difficult because most of the heavier smoke was behind the sealed glass area.
As the door popped open, we began to hit the fire with the pressurized water can and heard screams of panic. Moving forward into the booth, we got lucky when the first member through realized there wasn’t a floor. Unbeknownst to us, right behind the door, the floor had a hinged plywood trap door built into it that led to the basement, and it was wide open. Luckily, none of us tumbled down the narrow stairway into the basement stockroom below.
While the engine was stretching to our location, a member proceeded down the stairs to find the two store attendants huddled in the rear of the basement. The engine made quick work of the fire and the occupants were removed once the fire was extinguished. They let us know that they were fire-bombed through the dispensing door, tried to use their fire extinguisher, and retreated to the safety of the basement.
Lessons learned: Always assume these occupancies will have some type of access door leading to the basement storage area. It may be in the rear or side of the store, or it could be a trap door built into the floor and located somewhere in the occupancy. We’ve come across ones covered with an area rug and others with self-closing, spring-loaded hinges. Sounding the floor as you proceed may help you locate these doors. When you are going into the basement through the trap door access point, ensure you spin around and face the stairs and go down feet first. If a stair tread is loose, snaps, or breaks, you’ll be in more control of your descent than you will be if you go down face first.
Incident 2
Basement fires in bodegas can be very challenging because of the stock stored below. Access to these areas can be difficult to locate inside the store, but if you have a sidewalk hatch, consider this avenue of attack as a prime location to start the firefight. Normally, the basements in these occupancies aren’t gigantic like those in other stores and may have less of a fire load stored in them. However, trying to locate and descend a narrow stairway into an inferno can be more complicated than entering from the sidewalk hatch.
When you size up the hatch, look for additional locks mounted on the outside cover. Prying up on the cover may also reveal a locking bar, chain, or cable attached on the underside of the hatch cover. Using a forcible entry saw to cut the hatch’s hinges may be your best course of action and may allow you to remove the cover from the opening completely, permitting easy access into the basement. Once you create the opening, ensure the hatch doors are secured in the open position and won’t interfere with access and egress.
Always beware of the stairs being in poor shape—water can leak through the cover and rot them. Ensure you also proceed downward facing the stairs and with slow and deliberate movements.
Another item to be aware of is a slide. Many of these occupancies may have a narrow metal slide next to the stairs or one that goes over the stairs, used to rapidly unload stock. Older, roller-type conveyor slides may also be in place. Prior to descending into the basement, size up whether you need to remove the slide to provide access.
As our first member proceeded down the stairs into the smoky environment, we heard a sudden snap. Luckily, he was able to stop his descent as he fell only to the next step below. Immediately we called for a closet/attic ladder so we could put it over the broken stair tread and have unimpeded access below.
Once the forcible entry team was in the basement, the thermal imaging camera revealed a fire toward the rear of the basement. Making our way toward the location, we moved stock and boxes to allow the engine to advance easier.
During our search, we located a small closet that had a single mattress thrown on the floor and a small television mounted on the wall. Luckily, the room was unoccupied but proved to us that with a 24/7 business, storekeepers who work long hours may set up an area for catching up on rest.
Lessons learned: In older hatch installations, we’ve been able to pull the entire frame from the sidewalk, providing us access. Using fire department specialty ladders will ensure we have ample access and egress into these areas. They are also easier to climb than some of the vertical “staple” ladders mounted on the interior walls. Always search these establishments and be mindful that “Open 24/7” also means “Occupied 24/7.”
MICHAEL N. CIAMPO is a 38-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.
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