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Five Minutes in the Street: You're On-Scene-Now What?
You’ve arrived on-scene at a Commercial Occupancy, Type V, wood frame construction located in the middle of the block.
You observe smoke showing from the front door, the occupants were flagging you in as you arrived. You have an active and progressing fire visible through the front window on the Alpha side.
• You arrive with an Engine Company, Truck Company and the Battalion Chief. You can assume the role of any of the Company Officers, including the BC if you’re so inclined to do so…
Given the series of images, discuss your projected Incident Actions Plan (IAP)
What are the Risks with this incident?
Give us your Risk Profile?
What are either Strategies OR Tactics that will be deployed?
The Safety Profile and indicators?
The building is expected to react and perform in what manner?
Assignments for the companies, teams?
Resources…?
Timing?
Hazards?
You’re in the street…so tell us what’s on YOUR mind?
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Ben Waller on
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Chris,
This appears to be a small fire on arrival. This fire should have been easily controlled with one line and tank water (Fast Attack)...unless we're missing something.
Given the fire's apparent rapid spread in a row of stores, here's my take:
Building Profile - ordinary construction, building of considerable age. Bravo and Delta exposures with common, unreinforced masonry walls. Wooden dimensional lumber floors and ceilings with fire cuts at the beam ends. Partial-width Division 2 exposure - may be an office or small "overnight" apartment.
Water Supply - probably good, given the urban setting.
Risk Profile - unkown building age and condition. Likely Hazmat storage in the rear - jewelers almost always have cyanide and hydroflouric acid on hand. Probable natural gas or propane supply on Side Charlie. Possible armed owner somewhere inside. Probable open stairway to Division 2. Given the rapid fire spread, I might consider arson as the cause, but the initial smoke doesn't look like hydrocarbon accelerant smoke. Alcohol accelerants, maybe???
RECEO - VS Profile
Rescue - this is a daytime fire in a probable occupied structure. Rescue problems are likely.
Exposures - Side B, Side C, vertical
Confinement - The masonry walls should help keep the fire out of the exposure for a while. Delta masonry wall may be only one story in height. The Division 2 apartment/office may be a lightweight wood add-on with no masonry divider to keep the fire from the Side D, Division 2 exposure.
Extinguishment - attack through the front doors - this is likely at least a two-line fire now.
Overhaul - later
Ventilation - NOT a big problem right now -it's horizontally vented. Redirect the Truck 1 crew from placing ladders for vertical vent that isn't needed right now and get them started on search and rescue. Truck 1's driver can do outside vent work at the front if more glass removal is needed. Truck 1 is getting ready to roast their wooden ground ladders as they're currently placed, too.
Salvage - later, but is critically important, given the high property value of the precious metals, gems, expensive watches, crystal, and other typical jeweler merchandise. The cops, the owner, and the owner's insurance representative will be critically important for this. There will likely be critical paperwork in the safe - I hope it's fire-resistant.
IAP
Request a 2nd alarm, at least one ALS ambulance, and three additional chief officers.
All firefighters in SCBA, hoods, and zipped and clipped prior to making entry or going to the roof.
Engine 1 - Attack with 2.5 inch line through the front doors, with the officer and two firefighters.
Truck 1 - forget the vertical vent. Split the crew. The tillerman and irons reposition a ground ladder to the Division 2 windows, take a TIC, irons, and search rope, and conduct VES. The driver enters with the engine as the hookman. The truck officer establishes Command.
The rest of the box - Engine 2 - establish water supply if not done by Engine 1. The crew takes a second line off Engine 1 and takes it in the front. If Engine 1 has the fire knocked on Division 1, Engine 2 finds the stairs and takes their line to Division 2 for extension and possible fire attack.
Truck 2 - goes to the rear, gets the utilities and forces entry for secondary egress on Side C. Once this is complete, Truck 2 ladders the rear roof to check for extension or occupants that may have bailed from the Division 2 apartment onto the roof.
Engine 4 - Staging/On Deck
Rescue 1 - RIT
Battalion 1 - Command transferred from Truck 1 officer, establishes fixed command post across the street from the D/A corner.
Battalion 2 - Division C
Battalion 3 - Safety
Battalion 4 - Accountability
Medic 1 - Rehab/Medical
Second alarm - Division 2 staging down the street. This alarm should have at least 3 engines, a truck, and a chief. Truck 3 searches the Delta exposure with Engine 5 in support. Engine 4 moves up and searches the Bravo exposure. Engine 6 and 7 stage, one ready as On Deck.
Staff Chiefs take Liaison and PIO on arrival.
Support units have air supply and the Hazmat team if necessary. We'll need utility companies (gas, electric, water/sewer, additional cops for crowd control and shutting down the Alpha street and the Charlie alley or street, and possibly Public Works for sand if we have to block storm drains from contaminated runoff.
If it's very hot and humid, I'll consider a 3rd alarm for overhaul and salvage.
The owner is important - we need to know what chemicals he has on site, where his most valuable merchandise is located, and if the safe is fire resistant and open or locked.
The Level II staging area is critical, even if we block the street.
Once we get the fire out and overhauled, investigators are needed, and we need to get the street back open so we don't close the neighboring busnesses any longer than absolutely necessary.
As always, there are other considerations.
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Typo alert - I didn't give Engine 3 an assignment. That's because they were at the training center drilling. :-)
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Chris,
One further thought after re-reading your scenario: you state that this is a Type V structure. In my experience, these are almost always Type III ordinary construction. I can't tell which one it is from looking at the front, but it appears that this might be an ordinary Division 1 with a lightweight addition that includes the 1/2 Division 2 penthouse. The Side D dividing walls look like masonry Division 1 and wooden Division 2 to me, but I may have missed something.
I'm not too familiar with S.F. construction types - the closest thing to this in my experience are the row houses in Baltimore and Philly and taxpayer Type IIIs in southeastern city downtowns like Atlanta, Chattanooga, and Columbia.
From the red/white checkerboard atop some of the helmets, I surmise that this is a San Francisco incident. I know that I have all of the resources listed if I'm there - their web sit lists 10 battalion chiefs, 2 heavy rescues, and lots of engines and trucks.
Good scenario, as usual.
Ben
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Permalink Reply by Jay Nicholson on
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I've tried to park in SF and it's not easy. The empty meters tell me this is not a M-F incident. Most likely the business was closed at the time of the alarm.
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Permalink Reply by Jeff Cole on
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Although taking out the front showwindows is the best way to vent this fire, it should be done with a charged hoseline in place, which it appears the first line is still being stretched. Although occupants are scene and reported fleeing, the presence of the window above the store indicates an area of immediate concern for a search. It is very common for extended families to have residence or small apartments in the business, and this is an immediate concern. Likely the stairs for this area are inside, possibly towards the rear. This is the most exposed area, besides the fire floor. It provides for a VES using two members of the first-due truck.
This is a row/strip mall/taxpayer-type construction. There may or may not be block fire walls partially or fully extending to the roof line. It doesn't appear to be so given the pictures suppled. We should expect a common ceiling, cockloft with horizontal fire spread. From the time frame of the first pic, with the ladder coming in, to the last pic after the vent, it is obvious that fire is developed and spreading. With no view of the rear, it is hard to gauge the extent of the fire. It is possible fire could have originated in the basement.
Since alarm assignments vary from community to community, generic assignments would indicate the need for engine and ladder comapnies assigned to the rear, which may likely be accessed by an alley, and common box-alarm assignments provide for "two and two" on the initial, with one and one in the front, and one and one in the alley., Regardless, size-up from the rear "C" side for access/egress and presence of of basement and conditions will require sectoring command.
Given the potential for rapid fire spread, and likely hidden extension, a second alarm will be struck, and the appropriate RIT assignments made. While the conditions showing may indicate a contollable fire with the first two lines, limited view and potential fire spread due to construction dictate that additional companies will be needed to enter and operate in the immediate "B/C" exposures. Use of TIC will be valuable.
If the presence of fire spreading through the common ceiling or cockloft is found, the third alarm will be struck. Aggressive vertical ventilation will be reuired to control any horizontal fire spread, with handlines placed to operate ahead of the fire spread. High-value items found in jelwery stores indicate the need for working with police for securing any merchandise slavaged or removed/recovered during any part of the operation.
Judging by the helmets, and those beautiful wooden ladders, I'd say we are looking at San Fransisco.
We do have overhead obstructions, with the tress and power lines. The tress can be removed, if needed.
Time of day looks to be during business hours, obviously.
2.5" Through the front door. Water supply established. Any conditions indicating fire in the basement will require withdrawl from the ground floor, considering amount of involvement and inknown time of ignition.
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Permalink Reply by Christopher J. Naum, SFPE on
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This was a "fill-in" occupancy and construction....
Just go with the Type V in this case.....
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Excellent observations, the window IS being taken out, PRIOR to the line being deployed. Please note the intensity and growth of the fire as a result of the vent in the next image series......
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Permalink Reply by rfdjumper on
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FFN CSI report first:
3214 24th St. San Francisco CA
Closest water supply is around 50 ft away at the corner of 24th and S. Van Ness Ave.
There is something odd about the architecture of this structure. Looking to the right and left the buildings appear to be Italianate Victorian. The fire building has equal ceilings on the first floor to the surrounding structures but the 2nd floor, which appears too small to be a tax payer apartment (in addition to a lack of 2nd floor exterior entrance.). My guess is that this structure originally was like the other two structures and at some time it was damaged by earth quake or fire. It was repaired to the current configuration, many years ago.
Risk:
Being a jewerly store and in San Fran it was probally heavy modifided by both reinforcement of the structural members (for earth quake) and reinforcement of the core of the store, and the rear for security. I'd be worried about doors that require someone to be buzzed through to get out, Lexan glass, glass block perhaps in the back, bars or a heavily fortified rear entrance. In addition there are safes throughout the store maybe even in the second floor, or a large vault. I'd be more worried about something coming through a floor from above or going to a basement than this building collapsing.
Truck Crew:
VES in the 2nd floor A side window.
Ventilation A side
Up and over. Ventilation if possible on the "C" side, also check feasibility of opening up the rear . Ladder second floor "C" side . VES if available.
Utility control if available from street or rear
I'd also send someone in the A exposure, looks like a cell phone store or something, to open up the ceiling to check for extension.
That's a start...
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Permalink Reply by Moose on
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Chief Waller...Again you hit just about everything. Great post Chief, the only thing left for the rest of us is overhaul and salvage!!! LOL
I will tackle some of the other, less discussed issues here, to kind of break it up some...
Salvage- After the truckies perform their VES operations and find no life hazards, they will finish the horizontal venting and than proceed to the jewelry store with tarps. Like Chief Waller mentioned, the salvage of this merchandise is going to be very detailed, including a working inventory of items covered and protected, than a voluntary search of the truckies after they leave the scene conducted by LEO on scene, to Cover Our Collective Rear Ends from possible accusations by the owner. Cover items in place would be my preferred method for those items not in the fires path. Removal of the items in the fires path to a secure police vehicle or Chiefs car until LEO arrive with proper chain of custody procedures taken, like with secure arson investigation evidence, with a evidence signature log. Try to remove file cabinets and computer equipment to a safe location, securing the paperwork as mentioned by Chief Waller.
Overhaul will be at a minimum to preserve the scene for investigation later on, using the TIC as much as possible with small inspection holes when there is a hit. Use minimum water for overhaul, try to remove smoldering debris to sidewalk for inventory, take pictures if possible during overhaul to preserve scene integrity for investigators later.
Just something different other than firefighting tactics, which are always covered very well by the time I get to answer!!! LOL
I appreciate these scenarios Mr Naum, very educational.
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Engine 1 - Attack with 2.5 inch line through the front doors, with the officer and two firefighters.
Truck 1 - forget the vertical vent. Split the crew. The tillerman and irons reposition a ground ladder to the Division 2 windows, take a TIC, irons, and search rope, and conduct VES. The driver enters with the engine as the hookman. The truck officer establishes Command.
I wonder why more incidents are hit hard and fast. I can count on one hand the number of times we hit a fire with an 1.5"(long time ago before 1.75 came around) when had we used a 2.5" it would have resulted in a quicker knockdown.
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Permalink Reply by Smoke Eater on
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Yeah, what he said.....
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Moose,
I've tried - unsuccessfully - to get that word "tarp" out of my vocabulary.
Something about those years on a rescue company when as soon as Command announced the "Fire Out" benchmark, the next thing heard on the radio was the "Take Up, Rescue" unofficial benchmark...LOL.
Of course, the last working incident I was on, I ended up as the Salvage Group officer with an engine and the driver and tillerman from a truck. Who woulda' thunk?
Seriously, as you've pointed out, you can throw tarps not only for direct salvage, but for merchandise security. That's a terrific point, given this occupancy. Having hazmat respond so we have a decon tent that can be used as a dry place to ensure that a bad apple doesn't yield to temptation is something I wouldn't have thought of, but maybe I'm too trusting in the good side of human nature.
Excellent points on a topic that exceeded my attention span on this one.
Ben
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