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Ten Minutes in the Street: "Fire on the Charlie Side with Truck 2 On-Scene"
You’re in your station having just completed a drill when you’re ears perk up to the dispatch that went out for the Lakeview Apartments, Box 7248. You recall the last time your company was sent on mutual aid for a third alarm fire at that address a number of years back. Maybe you'll get a run on the box as they add more alarms.
You’re listening on the tactical fireground channel as the Officer of Engine Co. 21 is getting ready to transmit her initial command and run-down, when dispatch sends the tones and the bells hit for a report of a fire in an apartment. You’re the acting officer of the truck company and this is in your first-due area. You have a five staffed company; the box that’s being dispatched has three engines, two trucks, a chief and EMS unit responding. You’re on the street responding, it's a quick couple of turns and you can see smoke in the air as you turn the corner and have a full view of the Charlie side with fire showing from the lower apartment and extending upward.
Here’s what we’ll focus on in this Streets Scenario;
• What’s obvious and what isn’t?
• What’s the type and profile of the building and the occupancy?
• What do you expect the fire to do and why?
• What would your radio transmission consist of; What would you say upon your arrival?
• As the first-due Truck Company, what are you going to do first in your expanding sequence of tasks, what else should you be prepared to do? What assignments are you going to give your crew?
• Provide a risk profile and size-up the incident as you see it.
• What else do your observations provide you with?
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Smoke Eater on
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What is obvious is that there is heavy fire on this end of the structure. I also noticed lighter smoke from around the A-D side of the structure as well. What we don't know is if anyone is still inside.
There doesn't appear to be much wind so I anticipate the fire burning straight up into the next floor.
My radio transmission would sound like this: "Dispatch, truck 2 is arriving. Have a 2 story residential structure with heavy smoke and fire showing on bottom floor of the C side of the structure. Truck 2 will have Lakeview command."
My crew would throw ladders on the A and C side of the structure to the second floor for additional means of egress. Then they will enter the structure to the B side of the fire and search for victims and fire extention. First in engine will grab the hydrant on the way in and begin an attack. The second in will back up the first in. The next truck company will cut a trench on the B side of the fire to try to stop it from spreading through the attic space. The third engine will be my RIT team. As soon as chief shows up, I will pass command off to him/her.
I will also have dispatch get ahold of the electric company to turn off the power to this whole building.
Something else to think about is the D side wall. If it becomes too unstable that chimney is comming in and probably bringing in that wall with it, possibly with little to no warning.
That's all I've got till Chris posts more pictures of the scene getting larger and needing more resources.
Stay safe all!!!
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Permalink Reply by Shareef Abdu Nur on
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What I notice is an end of the row 2.5 story newer construction residential with fire showing from the 1st floor "C" side during the day w/ unkown occupants and 1 Eng Co scene operating.
I would report, "Dispatch...Truck 2 on scene at ****Lakeview reporting to Command on Tactical Fireground Channel ***." I would then radio to Command, "Lakeview Command, Truck 2 is on scene w/ 5 members. Fire showing from the 1st floor "C" side and lapping up to the 2nd floor." My Crew would split up into 2 teams. Forcible Entry team(myself and 1 member) would force entry for the Eng Co and go in to search and help open up for them and the Ventilation team would through ground ladders and VES the 2nd floor. I do not believe that we need to pop the top on this building just yet. It seems like a workable amount of fire especially if the Eng Co is already on scene. The risk profile is hard to determine because it is unknown of there are occupants, but with this amount of fire and with 5 members, we can search this entire residence relatively quickly.
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Permalink Reply by Reg Mathis on
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Ahhhhh...the luxury of time.
Okay, I agree with the Cap'n on the fire assessment. We got a hot one with room&contents involved. My pre-plan will verify the age, but my guess is this complex is less than 12-15 years old. So we're dealing with stick-built, no balloon and prolly pre-"engineered components" construction. One thing that strikes me is that if the small dark boxes beneath the windows of each unit is a heat pump, that would put these windows about 8-10' AGL. One thing we have going for us(for the moment) is that it's already auto-vented and it looks like a majority of the heat is going towards liquifying the vinyl siding up the C side. But once that siding is in nice pools on the ground, that particle board sheathing is gonna light up pretty easy. So second priority is some exposure protection. The small outbuilding on the end is either a storage space or a utilities space, so we may need to force entry on that door to shut off gas and power. Here's one small point on which I disagree with the Captain. That chimney is an 8" galvenized duct inside a cosmetic box. It's all 2x4 frame(or 2x2 if they had a cheap builder) and siding.
The smoke venting from the D side as C'703 pointed out, needs to be investigated soon, but with the snow on the ground, it may also be steam, not smoke, so we gotta look.
Radio traffic should go:
"2131 to dispatch"
"2131 is on scene at 7248 Lakeview. We have a multi-family dwelling with heavy smoke and fire showing. Please page Tanker 8 and Station 3. 2131 is establishing Lakeview Command"
We need to drop the LDH at the closest hydrant and get to the A side right now! First two guys off the truck will pack up and head to the adjacent unit to clear it of occupants. The other three will deploy a 1.75 crosslay and get to the front door and prepare to make entry to began a search/attack. I've got the A-board with all the tags in the right columns and completing my 360. I want to know what all that stuff is at the C-D junction!
Radio E-3 and advise them of my need for a search team for Zone B and a RIT for occupants.
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Permalink Reply by Sean McAdoo on
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I'd have to agree with the initial assignments from Captain 703, but would add calling for a second alarm immediately -- the way that fire is spreading, it is very possible it will be into the second floor through the sheathing and probably into the attic through the soffits before first units can deploy.
I would not worry too much about the chimney -- it appears to be a stainless steel chimney, as the brick-veneer entry vestibule on the D side would not be able to be there if it was a masonry chimney. In fact, that vestibule suggests the building is laid out in a corridor-style apartment.
What concerns me is the smoke showing on the A side, if indeed its a corridor style apartment building. I would expect heavy smoke conditions, and not sure how far down the corridor may go down before a fire wall with doors.
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Ah ha! After zooming in closer on the picture, I now see what the chimney really is. Thanks for pointing that out Reg and Sean.
Stay safe brothers!!!
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Hey Sean,
I don't believe that is a vestabule. I think it is either a storage unit for the apartment involved, or a utilities space(phone/cable connections, etc). I say this because there is no glass in the door. That would indicate that the room is secured for a reason. An entry door would have, at the very least, a 6x18" viewport so you don't open the door on somebody.
I believe that this is a quad-plex apartment building with the only doorway being on the A side. But without SEEING the A side, we can only speculate...
TCSS
Reg
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Reg,
That's a good point -- and you're probably right on that. Proof of the importance of a good 360 size up!
Sean
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