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Five Minutes in the Street: The View from the Front Seat
Let's take a look at a Type III building with a mixed occupancy.
A three story, 30 x 100 structure. Observations and analysis of building features, conditions and situations are mission critical when addressing an evolving and dynamic fire incident scene. Risk Assessment skills are important and must be expanded well beyond the limitation of conventional size-up alone.
Here we have a structure, that has no immediate fire conditions obvious, however you’re in the front seat , and here's your view…. Looking at the images presented;
What are you seeing, what is a concern, what’s your risk assessment and analysis of this structure and the occupancy?
What’s Obvious in your view, What isn’t?
Describe what you can assume about the Building
What are the expected hazards for this type on structure?
What's your view telling you?
How will this building perform under fire conditions?
How will this building perform under normal, non-fire conditions?
Just give us your view (point)
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Ben Waller on
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The Obvious
I'm seeing a crumbling old ordinary construction building that has overt signs of pending structural collapse.
The exterior masonry is seriously cracked and crumbling.
A particularly ominous sign is that some of the masonry is cracked through the blocks, and not just along the mortar seams.
The roofline is sagging.
The windows are trapezoids or parrallelograms when they should be rectangles.
Window lintels are fractured and starting to slide out of the walls.
There appear to have been shoddy attempts to hide the damage through patching.
Division 1 has heavy security gates on the door and plate glass window, which mean delayed entry.
What Isn't Obvious
The roof is leaking and rotten, which has created secondary damage to interior floors, ceilings, and walls.
The windows are open/broken, which has created secondary water damage and rot to the interior.
If the stairs are wood, they're wet and rotten.
If the stairs are metal, they're rusted and rotten.
The tin parapet cap support structure is wood. It's wet and rotten, and the parapet could fall on its own.
The Videorama sign is attached with bolts that are probably rusted and the sign could fall on its own.
The interior has probably been ripped out by thieves seeking to salvage the plumbing and electrical.
What We Can Assume
We can assume that this is a long-derelict building that was old when it was abandoned.
We can assume this building is home to squatters and/or is a crack house.
The occupants may be drugged, armed, or both, so law enforcement will need to be involved in clearing the building before it is demolished.
Expected Hazards
Unsavory occupants are possible.
Entry will be tough and delayed due to the security gates on the front of Division 1.
The building may fall down on its own in a heavy rain, snow, or wind storm...or just from being overcome by gravity.
The interior is rotting and falling apart. We can't trust the stairs, floors, or roof to support a single firefighter or hoseline.
If there is a fire, the occupants may be dead before the 911 call, let alone before we get adequate truck and rescue companies in to make the grab(s).
The interior walls may be open, causing rapid firespread.
There may be exposed asbestos, especially on the pipe lagging if this building had steam heat. Can you say HAZMAT?
RATS?
USED NEEDLES?
My view is telling me that I don't want any people in this building right now or ever.
How will this building perform under fire conditions - the open interior walls will rapidly spread the fire horizontally, there are probably open pipe chases and stairs that will spread the fire vertically, and the building will collapse early in the fire.
One thing that may not be obvious is the metal stars at the Division 3 floor level on the front wall of the B exposure.
Those stars are the anchors for a post-tensioning system - likely steel rods or cables that are tensioned with turnbuckles to similar metal stars on Side C. That means that the exposure is structurally weak. A collapse or fire in the scenario structure could bring down the B exposure with it. Fire on Division 2 of the exposure could weaken the post-tensioned steel and collapse the exposure, bringing the derelict down with it. We really have at least a two-building problem here.
We need to check the rear and see if it looks even worse. We particularly need to see if the rear has an intact fire escape that has been used for squatters, drug dealers, etc. to access the upper floors from the exterior, and if the fire escape is structurally sound or not.
We also need to check the D exposure, since it's attached. It looks pretty solid, and isn't the first priority, but we need to take a look anyway.
How will the building perform under non-fire conditions - it may fall down on its own, without much warning.
Actions
Call the Building Codes Department and have the structure condemned - five minutes ago, if possible. :-)
If that's not possible, right now will suffice. Is the demolition contractor here yet?
If we can't get this one demolished quickly, we need to post a "No Firefighter Entry" marking on Sides A and C, similarly to what Detroit FD is now doing with their abandoned structures.
If that doesn't work, how about a quick transfer to a nice, quiet engine company in the suburbs where we just have to worry about lighweight construction homes and strip malls.
If this one is on fire, it's time to protect exposures. Rescue will be mega-dangerous with a high percentage chance of multiple LODDs. Then again, between the fire and the master streams, we can probably just knock this one down ourselves.
Ben
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Permalink Reply by Christopher J. Naum, SFPE on
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Thanks Chief...A very complete and authoritative response.
Let me add this question to the equation for everyone.....Do the rules of engagement related to the risk profile change, if we mention that the Videomania storefront is operational and functioning as a business? Normal operations, mid day to late night...usually an average of 15-25 patrons ( higher on the weekends)
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If that's the case, we need to add one strategic goal to the equation - contact the Business License Department and get Videomania's business license revoked while Building Codes is condemning the building and the Police Department is evacuating it.
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Spoken like a true and pragmatic risk manager
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A while back, I learned a very important lesson from the exellent management team at Guilford County EMS in Greensboro, N.C.
It's called "load shedding".
Their call volume was increasing every year, and their funding was not increasing to match. Every unit had more call volume, higher vehicle mileage, and longer response times. They also had a local rescue squad that could no longer operate with volunteer staffing. They created a win-win scenario. The county advertised a non-emergency franchise bid that required an up-front deposit by the potential franchisee. The rescue squad won the franchise bid, paid the initial deposit with venture capital, hired career staffing, and went to work. The result - EMS call volumes decreased, the rescue squad stayed in business, added career staff, and became profitable, and the county had another agency pay to reduce it's mission demands. The lesson I took away from this was to look for ways to have other agencies help you with your problems.
Getting Building Codes, Business License, and the Police Department involved in your scenario is just one example of how working together can help us with common problems. In this case, the load shedding is the reduced chance of fire-rescue running a bad fire and/or structural collapse in that derelict building you trolled up.
I'm interested in other FFN members' take on this scenario. I'm sure I missed some important points. Given that it's been around 15 years since I've fought fire in this type of construction, I'd like a refresher.
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Permalink Reply by Paul Young on
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I don't think I could add much to Chief's assessment. A good strong wind might take care of the problem all together. But, the risk of an agressive interior attack is in my humble opinion, not worth it. Better to protect the exposures after a thorough evacuatuion.
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Chris,
Thanks for the scenarios.
These challenge a lot of traditional assumptions, make us think, and come from someone who has "been there, done that".
Keep 'em coming.
Ben
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Ted,
Excellent points. The common walls left unsupported on one side can dramatically weaken the remaining structure even if it looks fairly solid.
Chris and I had a discussion about fire cuts in ordinary construction floors in one of his earlier scenarios.
Could you comment on these - you have a lot more ordinary construction in your area what we have here in lightweight construction land.
Thanks for the kind words...I just happened to be around when Chris posted this one.
I'm sure I still missed some things on this one, too. There are a ton of ways that building could kill us.
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Now we're really getting into the right risk assessment mode...looking well beyond the obvious. The adjacent exposures may very well be the primary objective of our response. Tunnel vision always seems to creep into the picture, directly or indirectly. The issues here could very well be the adjacent structures. Developing effective situational awareness is something we need to continue to strive to integrate into our emerging and evolving fire suppression methodologies.
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The safety issues affecting fire cuts that are inherent in type III structures of ordinary construction clearly establishes the unique risk factors to be considered in the risk profile and IAP. The fact the these buildings are designed to collapse, let me repeat this...these buildings were designed to fail and collapse when exposed to fire on purpose. Since fire was such a hazard and risk in all occupancies in the mid 1800 - early 1900's, and the potential for a fire occuring was more of a question of when not if.
The development of the fire cut came along, in which the fire cut floor and roof joists were designed to fail when fire impingment caused thier degradation and compromise, allowing the floor to fail, while retaining the ability of the bearing or party walls to stand generally in tact or with limited failures. The defining safety issues then were firefighters did not enter and operate within the structures.
Now fast forward 100 years, and we have modifications, degraded floor/roof joists that have minimal or no bearing surface left within the fire cut pockets, degraded bearing and party walls, structurally compromised, transfered loads and structural overloading...there are extensive issues that we could discuss about these structures....
We'll talk more about these issues and the inherent collapse factors after we get some more responses...
There are ISSUES with Type III Ordinary constructed occupancies, the biggest thing is these occupancies are anything BUT ordinary. More later.........
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Permalink Reply by FETC on
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It's a Taxpayer..... (LOL) some here are going to say what the hell is that FETC?
Obvious: It is also ready to fall down by the looks at the structural integrity of the floor's support system.
Hazards: Limited access; heavy fire load due to the residential over commercial; and the real issue is the integrity of the building.
Fire: with life safety issue; quick grab on early incipent fire/smoke conditions - OK
Heavy fire on one or more floors - no life safety issue? Then I am going to go Marginal Mode for a few minutes. Another what the hell is that? This is in the city. Most likely two minute response time. It is short offensive attack with 1.75" attack line to protect the main egress and provide rescue path for self rescue from above. Once we have completed the task of an all-out (if possible) I am pulling everyone out and immediately firing up the deck gun/aerial master streams to know it hard.
During the marginal mode I am placing my aerials for the ensuing defensive attack on intial arrival. So when I have an all clear of the building (fire personnel) we just turn on the pipes without any delay.
Oh yeah: COLLAPSE ZONE ON INITIAL ARRIVAL HERE... The building is screaming, I am falling down even on the day you pass when it is not on fire! Keep in mind the added weight of water from suppression effprts during a master stream assault that will ONLY expedite the collapse.
First engine and ladder company have the fire building; Rescue company is performing the primary.
I may use the next engine /ladder company to search/protect/clear exposure B and then the same with the next two engine company's for exposure D.
My water supply is hydrant and it is located right next to the fire building - hand jacked by engineer.
30' whip...
The real $100 dollar question for the non-city folk here on FFN is what are those gold stars on exposure B's facade?
do de do do do de doooo....
We will strike a second for the fun of hearing my name saying per the orders of BC: FETC (LOL)
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Permalink Reply by rfdjumper on
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Welcome to my local, not literally but close. 170 Smith St Brooklyn, NY
The taxpayer shown is in rough condition. . This building probally has between 4-8 apartments and there is an illegal electrical hookup visible in at least 1 apartment (3rd floor left window). I'd say the facade is ready to collapse because thats exactly what it did.
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