ON FIRE | by MICHAEL N. CIAMPO
When firefighters talk about shafts, chutes, and voids, we have to know that there are differences between them, and communicating the proper title is very important during firefighting operations. Shafts can exist between buildings and inside buildings and can be enclosed or open-ended. Air and light shafts between buildings provide the same into the apartments, while a dumbwaiter shaft inside the building is usually a sealed shaft that now carries electrical conduit, cable wires, or gas lines or may have been turned into a kitchen cabinet or completely removed inside the apartment. Chutes are usually a type of shaft running from the basement to the top of the building constructed with brick or metal. Often, we’ll see these as a trash chute in large buildings or even a laundry chute in hotels. Void spaces are spaces or channels hidden behind walls or ceilings. They may encompass vertical columns, horizontal beams, plumbing pipes (aka the wet wall), electrical conduit, or boxed-out ductwork. All of these items can produce nightmares for firefighters searching for hidden fires.
Private-Dwelling Surprise
Operating at an older Victorian wood-frame structure for reports of smoke on the second floor, members were keen to point out that it was probably balloon frame (outside wall studs ran from the basement to the attic). One member was instructed to quickly gain access to the basement to ensure the fire hadn’t started there and traveled up the void spaces to the floors above. Delayed into the basement because of heavy security on the outside entrance, they made their way inside, only to find the doorway was sealed over and the building was now a rooming house.
There was a distinct odor of something burning—a smell of cloth and paper was lingering in the air—so the search continued on the second floor. Opening a small closet in the hallway, we found the odor and smoke were heavier inside as the materials were being removed from it. At first, we were going to pull the baseboards and see where the smoke was permeating from, but when we removed the items, we found a trap door built into the wall.
As we opened the small door, the smoke started pushing more, and we found a chute hidden in the wall. As access was gained to the basement, the search found a fire in the rear laundry room. Lint, paper, and clothes were burning behind the gas dryer, and the smoke was traveling up the laundry chute to the upper floor. Although not used or sealed off, the chute was wide open in the basement ceiling. If the fire had gained headway in the basement, this would have surely been an avenue of travel.
Rehabs
Whenever you get the chance to visit a building being renovated in your alarm district, it’s a good thing to stop and see the construction methods being used. When we receive run tickets with the words “Rehab” on them, it should throw the red caution flag in the air! Was there a previous fire in the building? Did they change the entire floor layouts? Where are the new voids located? Is it haphazard construction mixing lightweight materials with nominal lumber?
Pulling up to this rehab on the second-alarm compactor chute fire had us thinking we’d be searching smoke-filled hallways and apartments for victims. Little did we know that when we got to the top floor, we’d be pulling ceilings and walls in the kitchens of adjoining apartments for fire traveling across our heads and in the ceiling joists. Luckily, an engine company was just reaching the top floor and calling for water in their line.
As we opened up the old dumbwaiter shaft in the kitchen, we found that the newly installed circular metal chute was already separated at the seams, with flames lapping out of it. The wood framing of the chute was also burning, as were the ceiling joists above us. Fire wasn’t engulfing the cockloft yet, and the hoseline made quick work of knocking down the fire in the framing and ceiling.
Voids
When we think of a void, we often think of it running vertically, but we have to remember voids can also run horizontally. There have been instances where a concrete hallway was supposed to stop any spread of fire from one wing to another or one section to another. Unfortunately, in some instances, fire has traveled in the wooden sleepers used to construct the “box” that allowed fire to travel in a few inches of space from wing to wing or area to area. Whenever you encounter this feature, don’t just think you’re good and you shouldn’t have fire spread. It’s okay to punch some small inspection holes in the ceiling on the nonfire side of the hallway.
Voids throughout any building are a demon to firefighters. In construction, it’s not uncommon to find bathrooms and kitchens built on aligning walls. This allows the plumbing supply and drain lines to be run in one area (the wet wall). It’s also an area where water leaks will eventually occur and allow rusting of pipes or electrical conduit or wires to mix with water, eventually causing a fire.
Opening up kitchen walls will be difficult because of cabinets and tile backsplashes. In the bathroom, access to the area beneath the sink will be difficult to gain. Plus, most of the cabinets may have a back wall, which makes it hard to penetrate into the wet wall. Bathrooms can also be notorious for having wire mesh embedded in the lath and plaster behind the tile, which makes opening up the walls in these rooms very difficult. Don’t forget to call for some type of saw to help cut the mesh and make opening up easier.
Another area to always be concerned with is exhaust ducts. These are often in void spaces between joists and studs and contribute to fire spread.
Always be concerned when dealing with these three nemeses.
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.
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