ON FIRE | by MICHAEL N. CIAMPO
Hazards are abundant in all response districts across the country. We can all point out a similar hazard that we’re all fearful of but don’t pay much attention to. Gas stations or service stations have certainly changed over the years—from using them to repair automobiles to using them to get a tank of gas and run in for coffee and a snack while you get a free car wash after filling up. These places are “revolving door” occupancies, with vehicles coming and going daily, just waiting to create an incident for us.
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A call for a fire in these occupancies will usually come in as a fire at a gas station. Knowing which type of station you’ll encounter prior to getting there will help you formulate a mental size-up during the response. A fire inside a mini mart or a car in a service station bay can be much different than a vehicle next to a gas pump. Having preincident guidelines or dispatch information on hand before the call is vital for all responding units.
Stretching a hoseline into a mini mart will be different than stretching into a repair shop. The mini mart could have numerous small aisles and displays to stretch around to reach the rear office, supply room, bathrooms, or mezzanine/attic area. You may want the mobility of a smaller handline to navigate these obstacles and stretch to the seat of the fire. On the other hand, you may want a larger-caliber hoseline for a fire in a repair shop with numerous vehicles with flammable liquids, auto parts, and tire storage on racks along the walls. A mini mart may have cooking appliances and grease ducts that penetrate through the ceiling or wall, so check for extension even if the dry chemical extinguishing system discharged. Don’t hesitate to remove a ceiling tile, ladder a roof, or open up the ceiling if the thermal imaging camera gives you reason to. When operating, be aware that older buildings will usually have nominal lumber, but many newer stations are constructed with lightweight materials.
Fires in a repair service area have a lot more hazards. Don’t operate under vehicles up on lifts. Although the lifts might have safety mechanisms, those can fail or might not have been manually set. Mechanics removing a fuel tank from the undercarriage of a car have been the cause of many fires.
Although not as common, a service pit is another hazard. This “trench” allows mechanics to operate under a vehicle to perform maintenance or an inspection. Firefighters must be aware that service pits exist in repair shops. If operating inside at a repair shop fire, slide a tool in front of you or move with one foot forward to avoid falling into these holes.
Depending on the volume of fire inside the occupancy on arrival, deploying a monitor nozzle into a well-involved service station may be a good tactic. Stretch a hoseline at the same time to knock down the residual fire and extension.
The truck company must not just focus on opening up to check the ceiling for extension. Before marching inside the occupancy, be fearful of the garage doors suddenly closing off the means of egress. Placing portable ladders at the ends of the door frame will assist in keeping the doors open. In some locations, don’t be surprised if you see roll-down security gates adding to your forcible entry duties.
Roof ventilation isn’t normally a primary concern because the large oversized garage door openings will allow plenty of ventilation. However, it may be necessary to open up the roof to remove smoldering roofing materials and sheathing if fire has penetrated the ceiling. Many garage ceilings may have tin placed over lath and plaster if they’re older occupancies; newer ones may only have a heavier gauge drywall. Larger repair shops will have confusing layouts. Make sure you’re operating with a search rope and be aware that these establishments may have workers inside 24/7.
A vehicle with mechanical problems can ignite, causing a fire at the gas pumps. Many gas stations have a dry chemical extinguishing system at the pumps. There is a fusible link that will detect the heat level and trip the system into discharging the agent down onto the pumps and surrounding area. The system’s discharge ports are usually covered with plastic caps to prevent dirt and insects from entering the tubing. They will be forced off the ports when it is activated. The attendant inside the cashier booth or store may also be able to manually activate the system in a fire. Sometimes activation of these systems is tied into the automatic fire alarm system, so we could be responding to a “fire alarm,” unaware that there is a fire. Most of these systems are tied in together, and if discharged, all the island’s ports will flow extinguishing agent. Sometimes the extinguishing tanks are visible on the canopy’s columns, but sometimes the tanks may be mounted on top of the canopy. In some places, these systems are prevalent; at others, they aren’t, but dry chemical extinguishers are located at the pumps.
Auto accidents around the pumps also occur, and pumps have been dislodged. There is a shear-off valve safety mechanism that shuts off the supply of gasoline to the pump. If that fails, a manual emergency shutoff switch is located on the exterior wall of the station or on both sides of an attendant booth. Normally, there is one inside the occupancy, too.
A fire involving a gas station can be very dangerous. Size it up the next time you fill it up!
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.
