Structural Firefighting: The Hat Trick

For many of us, successfullY GOING to three fires in a day or tour and winning at each one without an injury is an achieving moment-especially when each fire is different and requires different skills, tactics, and procedures. Let’s look at a play-by-play of these incidents.

Fire 1. Pulling up to a café in the early evening with light grayish smoke rolling out of the front door, we could see the fire toward the rear of the store. Making our way toward the back, we encountered a deep fryer engulfed in flames that were licking up the walls about four feet high. Radioing for a member to bring in the dry chemical extinguisher was our first course of action, as the engine company began stretching a line. Next, we scanned the area for the pull-pin control for the range hood’s extinguishing system but, just our luck, neither existed. At the same time, we were looking for a large platter or cover to place over the burning oil to smother and extinguish it; of course, there wasn’t one. When the dry chemical extinguisher arrived, we discharged it at a safe distance from the burning oil so it wouldn’t splatter on anyone or go flying, igniting more material. Initially, we directed it at the housing of the fryer appliance and worked toward the burning oil. Once the dry chemical reached the oil, the operator used quick bursts and a short sweeping motion to extinguish the flames.

Since the fire was under the hood and the rear wall had a stainless-steel backsplash, it was hard for us to judge if any extension had initially occurred. Once we slid the deep fryer out and the smoke lifted, we could see that the adjoining wall was only drywall and scorched. The thermal imaging camera (TIC) showed heat in the corner where the drywall and stainless met but none in the exhaust duct. The decision was made to open up the drywall; as the first hook went through the material, orange embers began to fall. Quickly, we notified the chief and the units operating on the floor above. In addition, the roof firefighter was asked to check the area of the exhaust outlet for any signs of extension via this grease duct’s exit point. Since no drywall existed behind the stainless steel, we had to cut it with a power saw to remove a section of it. Once it was opened, the hoseline stream was directed up the wall bays to extinguish the burning wood studs. After a thorough examination and overhauling, the fire was placed under control.

Key to success: using a dry chemical extinguisher and not placing water on an oil fryer fire; also, opening up the walls prevented fire extension.

Fire 2. Arriving as the second-due truck and going to the floor above, we found a moderate smoke condition in the two adjoining apartments on the floor above. After completing our primary searches and removing the occupants to a safe location, we began checking for extension. The first-due truck reported fire in two ceiling bays and that a line was needed to extinguish it. The TIC was showing signs of heat in a few areas, but our concern was that it was only the hot water pipes for the steam radiators. Although we asked the first-due truck members which room they were operating in and to hit the ceiling with hooks, we still sent a firefighter to the floor below to pinpoint where they were operating. We were in the process of pulling the baseboards when the firefighter got back and told us there was heavy charring of the beams and subflooring. Plus, we began to notice an area where the vinyl floor tiles had been heated and were peeling off the floor. Because of the depth of burning of the joist and subfloor and embers occasionally dropping down, a decision was made to use the power saw to cut the flooring out from the floor above. While this was being performed, the thermal pane windows were removed to vent the carbon monoxide from the gas-powered saw. Once the cuts were made and the flooring pulled, it exposed some burning of the floor boards where they sat directly above the joist. The hoseline was passed up from the floor below and the joist washed down.

Key to success: get the exact location of the fire and use the power saw to remove the flooring to extinguish the smoldering fire between the top of the joist and bottom of the subfloor.

Fire 3. Responding to a kitchen fire and having the occupant tell us the fire is out is a normal occurrence for many of us. What’s not common is when you go to walk inside and there’s heavy black smoke billowing out the door. Kneeling down and glancing under the smoke, we could see an orange glow down the hallway, three doorframes down on the right. Quickly donning our masks, we proceeded in and saw the oven door half open with flames shooting out across the small galley kitchen. Before discharging the pressurized water can, we looked to make sure it wasn’t an oil fire and noticed it was clumps of plastic products, pan handles, and pots burning in the oven. Since the door springs were broken, closing the door to control the fire or smother it wasn’t an option, so we used the pressurized water extinguisher. The firefighter initially gave it two straight stream blasts to knock back the fire, then put a gloved fingertip over the edge of the nozzle to disperse the stream and used short blasts on the trigger handle to extinguish the remaining fire.

Key to success: not to trust the occupant who told us the fire was out; always investigate, and draw your own conclusions.

Three incidents, three shots to achieve success. We scored as a team on all of them-even if they were routine calls.

MICHAEL N. CIAMPO is a 29-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 Truck Essentials H.O.T. program. He wrote the Ladder chapter and co-authored the Ventilation chapter for Fire Engineering’s Handbook for Firefighter I and II (Fire Engineering, 2009) and is featured in “Training Minutes” truck company videos on www.FireEngineering.com.

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