Ordinary Buildings and Considerations

Looking at these pictures shows us a building of ordinary construction. These are usually older buildings and the building we see is typical of many downtown areas. This particular building has storefronts on the main level with multi-family units above.

What are the main characteristics of ordinary construction and how do they relate to fire operations?

What are some problems we face with this type of building in many downtown areas that will cause us concern?

What are the challenges with apparatus placment, not just with this buildling, but with many small, downtown buildings?

What are our challenges in regards to exposures and how do we address them?

These are just a few issues we face with this type of building. It is important to be prepared for a fire in this type of occupancy. It will be challenging, especially late at night when that upstairs is occupied and as you can see, access is not necessarily fast.

Share your thoughts and experiences and as always, train hard and thanks for reading.

Jason

http://firefightersenemy.com

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Permalink Reply by Ben Waller on August 6, 2011 at 5:23pm

Just a few quick considerations:

1) The trees and the wires will cause ladder access problems regardless of the building construction type.

2) The brick facade in the third photo may be a fairly recent addition following a renovation. It may not have a great system to tie it into the main structure. A fire can damage those connections and make the entire facade vulnerable to collapse.

3) These buildings usually have a parapet around a flat roof. The parapet may be short or it may be 6 feet tall. This can be a problem for firefighters dismounting an aerial to do roof work, especially if vision is obstructed by darkness or smoke.

4) If the structure is more than two floors in height, there may be an elevator shaft present. These elevator shafts are almost always against exterior walls and they may be additions behind existing windows. VES in one of those windows can result in a serious fall down the shaft, depending on the elevator car's location.

5) There are often open interior stairwells in addition to the elevator shafts. That can lead to rapid vertical fire and smoke spread, and it can limit occupant ability to self-rescue.

There are many more considerations, but I'll leave them for someone else.