BY AARON HUMMEL AND ROB CHRISTENSEN

On August 1, 2013, Boise (ID) Fire Department (BFD) firefighters battled a three-alarm, three-story residential structure fire and came within inches of suffering a tragic loss. Five members narrowly avoided being buried when a structural collapse occurred. The 6,200-square-foot wood-frame home sat back on a corner lot. The residence was built in the late 1950s and had received approximately 4,000 square feet in additions throughout the years. The house was undergoing finishing work and was not lived in at the time of the fire. One of the captains assigned to the first alarm had seen photos of the interior on a real estate Web site two weeks prior to the fire.

The structure presented firefighters with a number of unique challenges. Generally, a residential structure of 6,200 square feet would fall more in line with a four- to six-unit apartment or a condominium building. However, when dealing with apartment occupancies, we find fire rated doors, walls, and compartmentalized interiors, which assist in slowing fire spread. This Hill Road structure had an open floor plan that provided large common areas through which fire could travel without being impeded throughout the structure. This is especially concerning when the fire is a wind-aided event, as this one was.

OPERATIONS Assignment

First-alarm companies assigned to the incident were Engine (E) 9, 16, and 2; Truck (T) 5; and Battalion Chief (BC) 2. For the BFD, each additional alarm mirrors the first with the addition of a medical supervisor and an ambulance on the second alarm. Apparatus staffing for the BFD is a minimum of three personnel on engine companies and four personnel on truck companies.

The Hill Road fire was dispatched at 2127 hours. The evening weather was stormy, there were high winds, the relative humidity was in the teens, and the temperature was 88°F. E-16 and BC-2 were just clearing a power line down call and were responding from the E. 48th Street area.

On-Scene Arrival

E-9 was the first to arrive on scene and encountered wind from the northeast blowing smoke toward the street and obscuring the view of E-9’s captain. He was able to see the reflection of fire off of a white vinyl fence that ran the length of the Delta side property line, which he believed indicated a fire on the Charlie/Delta corner of the home. During his walk-around, the E-9 captain noted that only the sunroom on the Charlie side was involved with fire. A full 360° size-up was not performed because of a locked gate along the Charlie side and reports from bystanders that the Delta exposure was catching on fire. The Charlie/Delta exposure, a neighboring house, was 20 feet away. The Bravo/Charlie exposure was within 15 feet of the fire building.

Exposures, Initial Line

After providing a size-up report, the E-9 captain ordered a direct attack on the Charlie side and communicated that personnel would be in a defensive mode initially. The mindset was that they might be able to knock down the fire from the exterior and then transition to an offensive interior attack. The captain indicated that he was concerned about protecting the Charlie/Delta exposure. He ordered his firefighters to pull a 1¾-inch preconnect [185 gallons per minute (gpm)] to the Delta side to begin fire attack. He said later that, in hindsight, he wished he had initially ordered a 2½-inch line.

The captain of E-16, the second engine to arrive, stated that he was familiar with this house from preplanning. It was vacant and for sale and had been remodeled multiple times through the years, adding large uncompartmentalized spaces. He also noted the possibility that this was a wind-driven event.

The E-9 and E-16 captains met face-to-face. E-9 asked E-16 to open the garage door on the Delta side, hoping that they might be able to stop the fire at that location. The E-16 captain initially ordered a second 1¾-inch preconnect as a backup line (per the E-9 captain) but then changed the order to a 2½-inch line, for greater knockdown power of the rapidly spreading fire. From that point, the E-16 captain and driver became “task driven” in gaining access through the garage door. The E-16 firefighter, without assistance, worked a 2½-line flowing 250 gpm with a fog nozzle. (http://bcove.me/fvr6vg92)

Ten minutes after the first fire unit arrived, the E-9 captain radioed the incident commander (IC) an urgent message advising that he saw evidence of an imminent collapse on the Charlie side. This was only 15 minutes after the first call reporting the fire was received in the 911 center. The IC immediately announced that all personnel should clear out of the collapse zone. Nine seconds after this transmission, a global collapse of the second and third floors occurred.

The E-9 captain reported the imminent collapse when he witnessed bare studs on the Charlie side glowing red and cracking, exposing visible air pockets. The collapse, he later reported, was like none other he had seen in his 25 years on the job. He expected an eventual collapse, but he thought it would be a local, not a global, collapse. Fortunately, he was in a position to observe collapse indicators and report them before a collapse occurred.

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AARON HUMMEL has been a career firefighter for 18 years. He is a battalion chief in charge of the 2nd battalion of the Boise (ID) Fire Department. He is credentialed through the state of Idaho to teach Brannigan’s Building Construction for the Fire Service. He has an AAS degree in fire science from Boise State University and is completing requirements for a BA/BS degree in management.

ROB CHRISTENSEN is in his 18th year as a career firefighter. He is a captain with the Boise (ID) Fire Department, where he is assigned to Engine 16. Previously, he worked three seasons with the Boise national forest, where he spent the majority of time with the Boise Hotshots. He is certified as a national wildland fire and wildland urban-interface instructor.