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In the Street with the Safety Officer
You’re the on-duty Senior Incident Safety Officer. You've responded on a first-alarm assignment to a working fire at a large car dealership. First-due companies have arrived and are encountering heavy fire in one of a number of service bay areas, with heavy and rapidly extending fire. Companies are going to work and are committing to an aggressive interior operation at the present time.
The entire large complex is over 30,000 SF and is has mixed construction and features, with a number of additions and expansions added on over a period of forty years. The fire is beginning to extend (arrow) into the adjacent bay as engine companies are pushing in and working the fire with multiple handlines.
You’ve arrived on scene on the Delta Side, with most companies committed to the Alpha Side. A second alarm is being transmitted as you get your gear on and start for the command post.
What should you be considering related to this fire at this point?
What needs to be done?
What is your risk profiling of the building telling you?
After a quick face-to-face with the Incident Commander, your assignment has been given to you to provide the IC with recommend actions regarding suppression operations and for a risk assessment profile report.
What information do you think you need to get ? What are you thinking about - might be happening now and what may be happening in the next 10 minutes? What's the biggest concern you have regaring personnel safety?
All hands [companies] are working, with some progress, but doubtful….
What’s your safety gauges starting to tell you ……
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Ben Waller on
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You're KILLING me. :-)
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Chris,
I misread one thing in your scenario...
You stated that most of the firefighters are committed to Side A.
I missed that.
Looking at the birds-eye view, I mistakenly thought that the most firefighters would be committed through the Side D service access. That was because it's the best access that's between the main body of the fire and the uninvolved part of the structure.
With the big group of firefighters committed through the front (Side A) we have an even bigger problem than I thought. Those firefighters are at immediate risk due to the large body of fire in the overhead, the numerous HVAC units on the roof, and the ladder pipe streams.
Not only that, but they are probably driving the fire into the uninvolved part of the building.
We need to get the ladder pipes shut down and pull any firefighter attacking through Side A out.
I can see how "Candlemoth Syndrome" would make firefighters attack through the front on this one, but from what's showing in the photos, that is a big tactical mistake. One of the issues for the Incident Commander is going to be thinking strategically and using good strategy to dig out of the hole the poor tactical decisions by earlier-arriving companies have put him/her in.
This scenario was even tricker than I thought.
Keep 'em coming.
Ben
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Permalink Reply by Asst Chief Tim Cook on
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Metal truss roof. Heavy fire/chemical loading. If you can(safely) get some side openings in b&c and place some unmanned monitors.And order up some help you're gonna be here awhile. From the picture,fire already has a good headstart with heavy possession of the A quadrant. My OPINION of this job is it's going to go bad and relatively quickly.Glad this one's NOT in my district. A lot of units(weight)on the roof.What time of day is the call and what day of the week.Fire thru the roof isn't a good sign.
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Permalink Reply by Doug on
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That's why I stated to redeploy them from side A to either side D or B. There is WAY too much danger involved in attacking from the A side.
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