"On Scene; Two Story Wood Frame, visible fire, extending, on the number two floor"....

"On Scene; Two Story Wood Frame, visible fire, extending, on the number two floor"....
You have a structure fire located within Type V Residential occupancy. The structure is a duplex occupancy, with both dwellings occupied. Numerous power and utility lines transverse at street side.

The structure was built in 1932 and is a typical Four Corner Design with a pyramid roof. The fire (A-B quad) is extending from the room of origin into the interior hallway and is observed upon arrival to have extended through the window. It’s an afternoon, manpower and alarm assignment resources are what (you) typically have.

The hydrant is located across the street (arrow location).

Discuss the characteristics expected by a building and occupancy of this type.?
What is the projected fire behavior and travel paths?
What tactical options are available to you to implement?
What is the safety risk profile?

Share any pertinent experiences or lessons-learned you may have had in similar structures...

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Permalink Reply by Ben Waller on January 31, 2009 at 8:02pm

Jeff,

Thanks for the answer and the specifics.
The additional explanation was very helpful.

If you get the cutoff point at the top of the stairs controlled with the interior line, the Side B vent may or may not be needed, depending upon where the smoke is inside Division 2, how heavy it is, and whether the autovent in the friont is an adequate exhaust point. The reason I asked about the Side B vent is that with the fire under control, PPV with the autovented windows as the exhaust point might be an option. An additional vent opening might take that option away. With the number and size of the autovented windows, one of them may need to be controlled with a tarp to maintain PPV pressurization anyway.

Just as with the manpower and whether or not to give the flashover a shot from the outside prior to the interior attack, the vent issue is going to be situational.