Ten Minutes in the Street: Report of Smoke in the Residence

You’re responding to a reported structure fire with a report of smoke in the residence. The occupant has reported they have an odor of smoke in the house and can’t locate the source. The occupant stated to the call taker that they first noticed the odor shortly after the heavy thunderstorm passed through the area, about fifteen minutes ago. They looked through the house, but nothing could be found.

As you arrive on scene, the dispatcher tells you that the caller stated the odor is getting much stronger and that there’s a slight “haze” present in the house. Well, after either getting out of your chief’s vehicle or as you are peering out of the officer’s cab window, you observe what could be best described as; “smoke showing” from the roof area. Yes indeed, there is a “haze” present you think…

The residence is sited on a slight hill, and is located in new residential neighborhood of homes built in the last eighteen months. The house appears to be somewhere between 5000-7500 square feet in size and is a two story wood frame (Type V). It has a large layout floor plan and there are three cars in the driveway. The response area is not adequately hydranted. This is predominately an area that the water services have not caught up to the construction growth and expansion. There is a slight breeze that is beginning to kick back up. Another storm front might be pushing in. The balance of the alarm response is coming (the response is what you typically have in your jurisdiction, along with company level staffing).

So... you’re on-scene as either the first-due chief or as the first-due engine, in either case, you are the incident commander.
• What’s your move?
• What are you confronted with?
• SUG: What’s the severity, urgency and growth potential for this incident?
• What are the KEY operational issues that you are confronted with and need to address in quick order as you formulate, develop and implement for your incident action plan (IAP)?
• What are some of the operational considerations that will impact your strategic and tactical objectives?
• Looking at the house; what are the construction, fire load/occupancy load and layout considerations, risk and demands.

Oh, incidentally, as you’re keying the mic to transmit your first communications and assignment, you observe visible fire now present in the roof line…..

If you're the Engine, the first line is being deployed up the Alpha side lawn from the street. If you're the chief, the first-due engine arrived behind you and is stretching a 1.75 inch line up the front lawn...you now are ready to transmit......
…. Is that thunder I hear in the background?

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Significant+Injury+Investigative+Report+-+43238+Meadowood+Co.pdf, 3.6 MB
LODDReport.pdf, 9.2 MB

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Permalink Reply by Michael C. Harrison on October 20, 2009 at 12:33am

The snorkel's flow rate depends on a number of factors, including (but not limited to) type of master stream appliance; length and size of the waterway; whether it has its own pump, or is pumped by another engine; and how high you've got it extended. Most will flow at least 1000-1500gpm.I know that flow rate depends on many factors, and I have no knowledge of the type (besides Snorkle) size, design, or pump capabilities of that apparatus.....thats why I was asking

Jet siphons simply transfer water from one portable dump tank to another, and typically flow 500-600gpm at 30-50psi through the 1-1/2" siphon line.I understand what jet syphons are , I just had no idea of their flow capabilities.......thanks

And the number of tankers in the shuttle depends on the desired flow, the distance to the fill site, fill time, and dump time. The size of the tankers is mostly irrelevant, except that a shuttle is most efficient when all the tankers in it are of a similar size. In other words, a shuttle will run better with four 2500- or 3000-gallon tankers than it will with three 1500-gallon tankers and one 3000-gallon tanker. The closer the sizes of the tanks are, the better the fill and dump times will match, so nobody ends up sitting and waiting to fill or dump.Cool....thanks, I have very limited tanker experience and was just wondering how much more in depth an operation like this would be after involving ladderpipes with no water

Or were those rhetorical questions?nope....just simple straightforward questions.....or so I thought

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Permalink Reply by Smoke Eater on October 20, 2009 at 12:45am

Sorry Mike. Just thought you were being sarcastic again. I wasn't trying to be an ass. Just know how some of your conversations go. I can be pretty fair and understanding. And I can try to help you understand what u want to know about rural firefighting. Truce?

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Permalink Reply by Rusty Mancini on October 21, 2009 at 3:08pm

Had a lumber yard fire a few years back where I was water ops. officer, I used the intersection in the roadway to utilize dumping water from three tankers at one time from the three sides of the potable tank itself. It worked out good because it gave you plenty of room to turn each tanker around to back in. It also increased the flow rate it was providing to two engines.
Eight tankers involved with about 1/2 mile from the fill site and never ran out of water! Ideally the tankers should be no more than 2000 gals. the larger the tanker the longer it's dump time. In this case when a 3000 gal. tanker was dumping it didn't take as long because of the flow rates.