ON FIRE | by MICHAEL N. CIAMPO
It has happened to all of us: You open the door and walk into the firehouse, and the pungent odor of “I missed a job” hits your nostrils. You walk in a few more feet and see turnout coats hanging on gear racks or on the rig to dry. You’re a bit upset you missed the fire, especially since you’ve been lacking in the fire duty arena.
You see one of the firefighters who caught the job and notice he looks like he went 10 rounds in a heavyweight fight. You ask, “How was it?” and, without hesitation, he answers, “You’re lucky you were off.”
Firefighters don’t often say those words, so why now? Probably because the cinderblocks at the opposite end of the hallway in the fire building were disintegrated and now just a pile of sand and grit because of fire conditions in the hallway.
Listening to the firefighters who were relieved from duty and seeing the two members who had the reputation of being very competent in operating the nozzle return from the Burn Center, we were fascinated by the details of the fire they had worked. Plus, we were very intrigued to see the site because of the members’ injuries despite wearing all their personal protective equipment. Anytime firefighters tell you that they were advancing down a long hallway with two 2½-inch hoselines in a fire resistant high-rise residential structure and weren’t making any progress, you have to question why. Engine companies with great reputations of getting the job done now looked like kids who just got detention after school for doing something bad.
Fire department tactics dictate that if a fire can’t be controlled or extinguished with the first line, a second line will be stretched and back up the first line. In many departments, the second line stretched will be the same diameter or larger, while other departments stress it should be a larger diameter because the first isn’t making progress. That the two lines were flowing and attempting to move but were unable to had us all questioning why. Was the fire load in the apartment heavy because of hoarding conditions? Did the windows fail and the wind push the fire back on the members with blowtorch conditions? Was the apartment door left open by the fleeing resident and the lower level of the duplex apartment on an upper floor became a basement fire?
The fire described above occurred before fire studies were performed by many agencies. Since then, firefighters have learned that an alternate means of fire attack and firefighting tactics may have to be considered for high-rise firefighting operations when they’re wind impacted. If you ask many seasoned firefighters who’ve been down a hallway or two in these concrete fortresses, wind is a real worrisome factor that can quickly turn a hallway from an oven into an incinerator. Unfortunately, we’ve lost firefighters when operating in these buildings’ hallways.
For the truck searching for the fire apartment, it should be a primary tactic that as you proceed in blackness, you locate an area of refuge on the floor. If the hallways are long; have complicated layouts like a T, L, or Z; and have stairwells at the end, don’t rely on the “We’ll make it back to the stairs in an emergency” mantra. It won’t work! Force a door as you proceed; don’t do it directly opposite the fire apartment so you don’t increase the “pull” of the fire in your direction.
Some buildings also have open-air balconies that can serve as an area of refuge; just be aware that the residents who live there also know that and may use them for safety. On upper floors, these balconies can be affected by the smoke travel on the skin of the building, making those who sought refuge there panic.
It’s also important to know your buildings and their construction features. Concrete, cinder, or tile block may be the physical makeup of the hallways and apartment walls, which may take a long time to breach. However, you may also encounter double 5⁄8-inch gypsum board walls in these buildings. Knowing that, you may be able to enter an adjoining apartment and breach the walls to perform a rescue, extinguish the fire, or escape the fire apartment.
Also be aware that plastic raceways attached to the upper area of the walls can melt and drop cable wires down onto searching firefighters, causing an entanglement hazard. Make sure you carry a cable cutter to free yourself if you become trapped.
Do not rely on the thermal imaging camera for a true read of the public hallway for a life hazard. There have been times when building occupants have opened their door and were overcome by the smoke. They’ve fallen to the ground and their bodies have caused the door to be ajar. Search the fire floor hallway as quickly as possible for victims and to cut down on the chances that this opening adds to any flow path situation.
When the wind is preventing the hoseline from making progress or has units pinned down in the public hallway, the incident commander may have to seek alternate strategies for fire extinguishment. The first concern is the safety of the members in the public hallway. If the apartment door was left open or is uncontrolled, the operating members will have to find a safe location before any water is applied with an exterior stream. There are numerous ways that a stream can be applied: an exterior handline from the ground, a setback, another building, or a wing; the engine company’s master stream; or from an aerial or tower ladder. If none of those are feasible, the floor-below nozzle is an option. Sound firefighting tactics afford everyone the opportunity to not want to miss going to any fires in their district.
MICHAEL N. CIAMPO is a 37-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.
