In light of the recent earthquake in Haiti, FireRescue is sharing some past articles related to structural collapse, earthquake response and USAR teams.

Searching High & Low: How to conduct search and rescue over large urban areas
Story & Photo By Fred LaFemina
July 2008, p. 44


Author's note: This article uses the March 15 crane collapse in Manhattan as an example to cover the basics of large-scale urban search and rescue. As I wrote this, on May 31, a second deadly crane collapse occurred just miles from the first. Both events received wide coverage, and in the wake of the second, the events were often linked in reports. However, the events were fundamentally different. Although the second collapse required the search of an adjacent building, there was no building shearing or collapse. What these events underscore: the need for all fire departments to train for crane collapse.

It’s a nice sunny afternoon and your drill period is complete. As you sit around the kitchen table telling jokes, the shift is suddenly interrupted by dispatch reporting a crane collapse. As you don your protective clothing, the wheels in your head spin. You’ve noticed numerous cranes across the skyline during daily inspections. What could have happened?

En route, additional information from the dispatcher confirms the collapse of a tower crane from a building under construction. Units on scene report multiple addresses on different streets and numerous injuries with the possibility of many trapped victims.

Your mind is racing and, as the incident commander (IC), you begin to develop a strategic plan. From the initial reports, you’ll probably need a lot of technical assistance. You wonder: How big will this incident be? How much manpower do I have responding? What resources are readily available in my area? What resources will be available as the incident progresses?

You may even question your own ability to handle an operation of this magnitude. Remember: You didn’t just arrive here; the knowledge, skills and leadership you’ve acquired throughout your career will shine through and allow you to effectively supervise operations.

As It Happened
The incident described above played out in my jurisdiction not too long ago, receiving national news coverage. Construction crews were adding sections to a tower crane at the 19th floor of a building under construction. Preliminary information indicates that the workers were lifting collars to extend the height of the crane when one of the slings securing the collars failed. The plummeting collars sheared one of the supporting ties that secured the crane to the building. One section of the crane hit a 19-story residential building, shearing off a piece of the penthouse apartment that came to rest upright on the side of the building. Another section fell directly onto the roof of a four-story townhouse, causing a pancake collapse of that building.

The first battalion chief on the scene made critical decisions that dictated the tone for the rest of the incident. One survivor was extricated from the townhouse early in the operation. Unfortunately, despite our efforts, seven people were killed. The last body was recovered from the debris pile approximately 48 hours after the collapse.

This incident not only involved the New York City Fire Department (FDNY) but also the police department, the Department of Buildings, utility companies and construction crews, as well as other agencies. The Office of Emergency Management coordinated these resources, as they do at all major incidents in my jurisdiction.

Commanding Operations
Crane incidents are manpower-intensive. In fact, more than 300 firefighters operated at the incident I’ve described. As the IC, you must establish a command post and start to delegate some of the functions needed to conduct operations. This is where your incident command system (ICS) skills come into play because, without ICS, chaos will rule the scene. First, stop and take a breath. Listen to reports over the radio, and get a grasp of what’s going on and formulate your strategy.

Despite the size of such an event, there is only one IC—you—who ultimately makes all operational decisions, so get your bearings and begin to plan and request needed resources. One of the most important questions to ask: What level of training and expertise will the responding members need to conduct operations? You can only perform operations according to your level of training; meaning, you may need to bring in some outside resources to perform certain duties. My motto: Certified does not always mean qualified.

Again, you will probably need a lot of help. A simple recon of the area, for example, may entail many units and tax your personnel very quickly. Hopefully, you have emergency management people on scene that can coordinate securing resources for you. But until sufficient resources can be secured, you must operate safely with the personnel and equipment available to you.

Define Your Area
The first operational task at any major incident: define the area of operations. In this case, several blocks were involved and many units were dispatched to multiple locations simultaneously to determine life hazards as well as areas of probable survivors. It’s critical that you identify all areas involved and allocate necessary resources, which may take a while as reports are received from operating units. Pertinent information, such as victim location, injury reports and where survivors might be trapped in the rubble, will become an important factor when laying out your strategy.

Once the total area affected is defined, it can be divided into independent operating areas (geographical work zones), in essence, creating multiple rescue operations under one command for more effective span-of-control.

Finding Survivors
Life is our No. 1 priority at any incident. Once you have defined your area of operations, interviewing witnesses is an important part of your ongoing size-up and will assist in finding victims and unaccounted survivors. A competent person at the scene—in the example I cited, the construction foreman—can assist in this process. Have fire officers conduct interviews. If they are too busy, this can be done by law enforcement personnel. Try to locate someone with knowledge of who was working where in the building at the time of the accident, as well as all employees who reported for work that day. You do not want a relative to approach you days later saying their loved one is unaccounted for.

Further complicating issues, undocumented workers may be present at work sites, making it difficult to obtain an accurate number of how many persons were working at the time of the incident. This may take some time to obtain and require several interviews, but good, solid information will provide a clearer picture of confirmed victims and missing people. In our case, several construction workers were trapped under the rubble pile and not extricated for some time, but thanks to the foreman’s help, we knew to be on the lookout for them.

Control Utilities
Since we are dealing with a major structural collapse, utilities must be immediately addressed. Request that utility companies deactivate the main lines of transmission into the structures. Units on the scene initially should attempt to control the utilities before the utility companies arrive.

Until the utilities are addressed, they may present hazards during the initial search such as leaking gas and exposed electrical lines. When gas and electric mains are shut down, new hazards can be created. Without electricity there won’t be lights, creating a hazardous condition for evacuation. Furthermore, consider that there may be people in the area dependant on life support equipment who will now be affected by the lack of electricity.

Ensure that utility personnel are available as the incident progresses. This will allow them to address any concerns and monitor the evacuated building. Remember: Utility service should be restored only by utility personnel, and only after the incident is over and the building is deemed safe.

Evacuate the Area
Next, evacuate the building. Identify persons needing additional help to assist in a smooth evacuation of the building. The evacuation of this building was a large undertaking and had to be carefully considered. All apartments had to be searched to ensure no one was left behind. Building personnel, such as superintendents or a doorman, can be used to help locate residents. These personnel will usually have a good idea of who will need assistance and who may be away from home on vacation. The use of the building intercom system, the apparatus PA system or even a bullhorn can greatly assist in the evacuation. Tip: Recommend that evacuees take any needed medications with them.

Ensure evacuees remove their pets as well. Leaving pets behind may create additional work that first responders cannot address in a timely manner.

The entire building will still have to be searched to ensure all occupants are out of harm’s way. Depending on the damage, a shelter-in-place may be more effective than evacuation, but that decision will be incident-driven.

Another issue that will arise when large numbers of people are evacuated and searches are required: accusations of missing property. Some people, sadly, will view this tragic time as an opportunity to steal from unsuspecting victims, and whether it’s theft or insurance fraud, this must be anticipated. Document any valuables removed and secure them; if valuables are transferred to anyone else for any reason, try to obtain a receipt of this transaction. If this isn’t possible, at least write it down in the run report or log book. Only essential personnel should be allowed in the building. It’s also advisable to have law enforcement on the scene to secure the building and provide security. Their presence will make evacuees feel more secure leaving their belongings behind.

The Search
In the March 15 crane collapse, there were multiple areas of operation that needed to be searched: the building under construction from which the crane toppled; the 19-story, high-rise multiple dwelling; the collapsed townhouse; and the perimeter of the established collapse zone. The search also included all streets, backyards and rooftops of adjacent structures.

The building from which the crane fell was under construction and would require a thorough and exhaustive search. Primary searches would need to be conducted, and then secondary searches to ensure there was no one left in the building needing assistance. Your primary search is an immediate search for life, in which time is critical. It should be rapid but also thorough and systematic. The secondary search is painstakingly complete to ensure that no victims are overlooked and includes the entire perimeter of the building. Construction workers were present and operating at the time of the accident. Unfortunately, these workers rode the crane down from the structure into the townhouse building or into the street and did not survive.

At any collapse, the perimeter area around a collapsed building requires an extensive search because large quantities of debris will be cast down into the street and adjacent roof areas. Visualize the buildings as they fell and consider the aftermath of their toppling. This will give you a better idea of where victims might be. Often, the perimeter search will turn up victims not expected to be in the area, such as homeless people or walkers.

The high-rise, multiple-dwelling building that was damaged from a section of the crane required different types of search techniques. The severely damaged areas of the building where the roof was sheared off required immediate search, as did the penthouse on the top floor because of the numerous voids that existed in these areas and the high probability of victims. Luckily, no one was found in this area. Other areas of the building suffered broken windows and compromised walls that could have produced many victims. Fortunately, again, that was not the case, and there were only minor injuries in these areas.

Another area of search at this incident was the collapsed four-story townhouse. At collapsed buildings, the collapse rescue plan should be implemented immediately. This entails:
1. Recon of the area;
2. Utility shut-down;
3. Removal of surface victims;
4. Search of void areas;
5. Selected debris removal; and
6. General debris removal.

An assessment should be made and units commence with a search for victims. A good amount of size-up must be conducted: loose debris and unstable overhead conditions present constant threats.

Pancake collapses in buildings of ordinary construction have a high likelihood of containing survivors. Initial units should conduct a surface search of the rubble. Once completed, specially trained rescue personnel should commence void searches. These types of collapses result in voids that may shelter survivors.

In our case, sure enough, a male victim was located in the rubble and required a lengthy extrication using hand and hydraulic tools. It took approximately 3 hours to extricate, package and remove the victim to the hospital. The victim was conscious and indicated that a friend of his was in the house at the time of the collapse as well. Additional units were put to work to address the many hazards that still existed in this area, such as removing hanging debris and securing parts of the structure while simultaneously removing the victim. The condition of the building continued to deteriorate, and rescue personnel were removed to conduct a risk assessment. Monitoring devices were already in place and were fixed to the pile to monitor movement. Thermal imaging cameras, listening devices and K-9s were placed into operation to continue the search with the minimum amount of personnel as command reviewed their strategy. The search of this structure continued for days, and heavy equipment was eventually brought in to de-layer the building and enable a thorough search. The rescued victim’s friend was located during this search, as well several of the construction workers, none of whom survived.

After all the primary searches were completed, a thorough secondary search of all areas affected, both high and low, took place. If possible, secondary searches should be conducted by units other than those that have already conducted primary searches. Different crews will have different perspectives of the area, and may employ different search methods, thus creating a more effective search.

Conclusion
Although this incident required a lot of time due to its complexity and size, all missing and unaccounted persons were eventually located and removed. When supervising these operations, you can’t leave any stone unturned.

Incidents that require multiple methods of search over large areas will challenge responding rescue personnel. Be aware of the resources needed, as well as the resources available, when conducting the size-up. Municipalities with limited manpower and resources must determine search priorities and consider the life hazard of operating in areas of confirmed and possibly trapped victims. In all cases, extreme care must be taken to protect the lives of first responders, as well as trapped victims.

No matter how large or small the incident, life safety is your No. 1 priority. Expect the unexpected, train and educate yourself about the many hazards you might face so you are ready when tragedy strikes your jurisdiction.

Chief Fred LaFemina is a 23-year veteran of the New York City Fire Department (FDNY), presently serving as a battalion commander for Rescue Operations Battalion #1. He has been with Special Operations for more than 19 years and is the task force leader for New York’s Task Force 1 Urban Search and Rescue team. He is also the operations chief on the USAR IST White Team. LaFemina has written many articles on fire operations and technical rescue and lectures throughout the country. He is a technical editor of FireRescue.