Ten Minutes in the Streets: First-Due on a Saturday Morning-Smokin'

Aerial Over View of the Building

Overview of the Occupancy Structure Alpha View

Alpha/Bravo Conditions

Alpha Side Smoke Showing Upon Arrival

It always starts out this way…..a quiet Saturday morning. The shift tour is just getting started or you just happened to stop into the fire station for a cup of coffee and some kitchen table talk in the day room. The bells/tones come in for a report of smoke coming from a building located in your outer first-due area. The address is for a multi-use occupancy that houses a number of storage, distribution and office businesses.

• The structure is two stories and is approximately 45 feet wide x 450 feet in length.
• It was originally constructed in 1924 with significant modifications, additions, renovations, alterations and add-ons. It stated out as Type III Ordinary Construction but has some Type V Wood Frame and Type II, Non-Combustible features added over the years. It’s generally in good shape, but does show its age and wear.
• There is a mixed staff of warehouse, office and maintenance personnel working on premises this morning. (assumption ~ 12 employees)
• The call originates from a passerby and is quickly followed up by a report from a loading dock employee reporting smoke present at the far end of a product storage area ( More on this as the scenario unfolds)
• Weather conditions are unremarkable, slight breeze, moderate temperatures, clear skies…
• Your resources ( personnel and apparatus) are what you typically would have in your jurisdiction.
• The building does not have a fixed suppression system
• The area does have hydrants at both ends of the street coming in on the Alpha side.

You have a seven minute response time.

Let’s take these operations thru the first ten minutes of operations;
1. Take a role; First-Engine Company OR First-Due Chief Officer…..
2. What are your Risk Assessment and Size-Up Considerations?
3. What do you Know, What are you assuming, What do you need to know?
 Pose your questions….I’ll respond to the questions as they relate to the strategic and tactical inquiries and your developing IAP.
 More photos of the expanding conditions after some FFN engagement
4. What is the Building and Occupancy Profile suggesting to you?
5. Incident Action Plan thoughts?
6. What do you need now, (that’s hopefully enroute), that needs to be requested or that you’re hoping is available?
7. Where can this incident end up going?
8. What’s the Safety Profile?
9. What is the projected fire flow needs for this incident?
10. What’s projected for the first ten minutes..?

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Permalink Reply by Smoke Eater on July 30, 2009 at 9:33pm

Well I'm glad I looked on down before posting on this one!!! I will give it a whirl cause I love these posts. I will take command of scene. Upon going enroute, I would call for mutual aid (manpower from 2 stations and a snorkel from the next). First in engine would wrap the hydrant on the way in and 2nd in would hook up and get water flowing to 1st. I would have tried an interior attack with ventilation over the bravo side of the structure. As well as search and rescue. Once determined that the building was unoccupied attack would continue, however, crews would be pulled from the interior prior to the 2nd picture. Now I would call for another ladder to come in and set up on the A-B corner of the building, disconnect the line from the engine and use it to supply the ladder. Tanker operations would start with a dump tank at the engine and shuttling from the next hydrant that isn't sharing the line with the ones on the A side of the structure. Deck gun operations would soon follow.

Something else to keep in mind is, What are we going to do about all of those vehicles right next to the building? What is stored in the building? And we have to look at the runoff caused by the fire. If there are nasty chemicals in there, we may have to get the EPA for air and water quality checks.

Just my opinions. Take em or leave em. I'm easy.

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Permalink Reply by Ruslan Fatykhov on August 1, 2009 at 4:55pm

We would like: 1.find who message, and that he knew. 2.conduct reconnaissance and attack, while the second machine is installed at the hydrant. Transportation to evacuate from the danger zone.
Increased level of fire and caused additional work. This, I wrote a brief that we are going to do.

Ten Minutes in the Streets: First-Due on a Saturday Morning-Smokin'

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