Do you see anything different here?

Do you see anything different here?

I  was out of town most of this past week for class and noticed this building on the first morning I drove in.

The first morning they had only installed the wall to the “r” in Performing.  The second day I realized that I needed to snap a picture of this to share.

This false wall is about four stories tall and covers the entire length of the building.

What challenges do you see?

What challenges do you see?

As you can see, this wall definately would challenge any rescue efforts were there victims in the windows.

Not only will it hamper rescue efforts, performing ventilation or suppression from this side of the building would be challenging at best.

The frame of the false wall is set off of the building wall at a distance of approximately two feet.  That is just a guess, but operating ground ladders here is almost impossible.

Interior crews would need to know that this side is limited access and egress because of the wall.   It will certainly challenge our strategies and tactics should an incident happen here.

This is one good example of why you need to get out and see your area.  Know what’s going on and get involved.  As a crew you can preplan this building by just parking out front, take a picture or two and go back and have a discussion about how you would operate at this building.

Stay safe and be careful.


http://firefightersenemy.com
.

Views: 160

Reply to This

Replies to This Discussion

Jason, excellent! Scary stuff. I agree, the best way to know this stuff is through pre-planning. What is that exterior wall covered with? is it something that can be attacked by the firefighters easy anough to effect a rescue, such as lite plastic or glass that can be smashed to bits in a hurry? Makes a person wonder how much thought goes into these projects in terms of safety etc. Picture speaks volumes!
Yeah, it could be breached easy enough. It is thin stuff, but it would be time consuming. Thanks for the replies.
While looking at the ladder aspect of it my question would be this: how is this false wall anchored to the rest of the structure? What would the heat do to it and how long would it take before it failed and would it be a potential blocking of any main exits nevermind emergency exits. Or would it fall as a unit posing a danger to personnel and trucks on the ground so we would have to take that into consideration on arrival. Personally I wish they would do away with those things or at least make them much more stable.
These are common not only in the rehab of old Type III (ordinary) construction, but as the facades on rehabbed strip mall occupancies.

Some of the steel framework for these false walls is mounted by simply drilling through the masonry and boltling it on.

An 800-degree fire can damage the steel connectors enough to collapse the false wall and possibly pull down the masonry wall behind it, part of the floors, masonry parapets, and even the roof.

If the false wall connectors are aluminum, they can fail even more quickly than steel connectors.

Some of these are covered in fine steel or aluminum mesh that lets light into the windows behind the false wall but that obstructs firefighter access and civilian egress. This construction can also help a fire extend vertically if it autoventilates by preventing hose stream access from the outside but allowing the fire to continue to extend vertically behind the false wall.
A fire in that building could get ugly real fast, and a rescue attempt could be slowed from someones ideal that they wanted a sign put up. Preplanned should be in place for this type of building, if not.. you'd be behind the eight ball!
I'm surprised that building/fire codes would allow such a facade. That it would hinder both fire suppression and rescue seems both patently obvious and dangerous. I guess architectural design purity is more important than personal safety (or occupants and firefighters.)

Reply to Discussion

RSS

Find Members Fast


Or Name, Dept, Keyword
Invite Your Friends
Not a Member? Join Now

© 2024   Created by Firefighter Nation WebChief.   Powered by

Badges  |  Contact Firefighter Nation  |  Terms of Service