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Ten Minutes in the Street: The Triple Decker with Fire in the Attic
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Report of Heavy Fire Upon Arrival
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Alpha Street Side
The bells come in right after your last bite of dinner for a reported fire in multiple-occupancy residential. The building is located on a steep sloping road that you know all too well. The address sounds like it’s in the middle of the block and you start thinking about the other series of large houses located on the street and the exposure issues each provides. It sounds all too familiar, as you’ve “been down this road before”.
As the Engine Company winds down the street you can see that unmistakable glow in the night sky, slightly blurred by the street lights. It’s no mistake; you know you’re going to be rolling in on a working job in a few seconds.
As the Engine slows at the bottom of the street, you take a glance up the road and you know you’ve got a working structure fire. The Engine comes to a stop at the bottom of the road and you confirm the order to pick-up the hydrant. You’ve got a four staffed company and you’re ready for some work.
Engine Company 21 comes to a stop on street side and looks like you’re going t establish initial command. You observe from the Alpha side the glow of heavy fire in the rear (Charlie-side) and can readily see fire somewhere on the roof from your current vantage point of the front seat of the Engine.
Here’s what we have ahead of you;
• Large wood frame residential, with multiple occupancies.
• Actual occupancy load, undetermined at present
• Heavy fire, extending
• Balance of alarm assign is coming ( Based upon what you would have on the box)
• There are/may be exposure concerns at some point that you’re thinking about
• It’s night time shortly after dinner, on a Friday evening.
• The temperatures may be dropping rapidly due to an ensuing cold front coming in soon
• Your immediate next incoming company is the Truck Company, four person staffed
As the First-Due Engine Company Officer;
• What’s your radio transmission upon arrival for conditions and status?
• What are the immediate priorities that must be initiated?
• Describe what you see related to Building Profile, Occupancy Profile and Fire Conditions?
• How will this type of building perform, and what can be expected based upon its “Predictability of Performance?”
• What do you expect your assignment and task(s) to be after you turn over command?
• What does the Engine Company need to do and when?
• What’s the Risk Assessment and Risk Profile telling about this structure?
• What do you expect to happen in the next ten minutes of operations?
• What are the Two (2) most significant safety concerns to firefighting personnel at this type of fire, occupancy and structure?
"Did I hear that Second Alarm get transmitted yet?".....
...oh, BTW, Dispatch just transmitted there may be unaccounted for occupants based on a cell phone call from distressed occupants in the street.....
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Bravo-Charlie View
The bells come in right after your last bite of dinner for a reported fire in multiple-occupancy residential. The building is located on a steep sloping road that you know all too well. The address sounds like it’s in the middle of the block and you start thinking about the other series of large houses located on the street and the exposure issues each provides. It sounds all too familiar, as you’ve “been down this road before”.
As the Engine Company winds down the street you can see that unmistakable glow in the night sky, slightly blurred by the street lights. It’s no mistake; you know you’re going to be rolling in on a working job in a few seconds.
As the Engine slows at the bottom of the street, you take a glance up the road and you know you’ve got a working structure fire. The Engine comes to a stop at the bottom of the road and you confirm the order to pick-up the hydrant. You’ve got a four staffed company and you’re ready for some work.
Engine Company 21 comes to a stop on street side and looks like you’re going t establish initial command. You observe from the Alpha side the glow of heavy fire in the rear (Charlie-side) and can readily see fire somewhere on the roof from your current vantage point of the front seat of the Engine.
Here’s what we have ahead of you;
• Large wood frame residential, with multiple occupancies.
• Actual occupancy load, undetermined at present
• Heavy fire, extending
• Balance of alarm assign is coming ( Based upon what you would have on the box)
• There are/may be exposure concerns at some point that you’re thinking about
• It’s night time shortly after dinner, on a Friday evening.
• The temperatures may be dropping rapidly due to an ensuing cold front coming in soon
• Your immediate next incoming company is the Truck Company, four person staffed
As the First-Due Engine Company Officer;
• What’s your radio transmission upon arrival for conditions and status?
• What are the immediate priorities that must be initiated?
• Describe what you see related to Building Profile, Occupancy Profile and Fire Conditions?
• How will this type of building perform, and what can be expected based upon its “Predictability of Performance?”
• What do you expect your assignment and task(s) to be after you turn over command?
• What does the Engine Company need to do and when?
• What’s the Risk Assessment and Risk Profile telling about this structure?
• What do you expect to happen in the next ten minutes of operations?
• What are the Two (2) most significant safety concerns to firefighting personnel at this type of fire, occupancy and structure?
"Did I hear that Second Alarm get transmitted yet?".....
...oh, BTW, Dispatch just transmitted there may be unaccounted for occupants based on a cell phone call from distressed occupants in the street.....
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Ben Waller on
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Jeff, I've never heard of the technique which you describe. I'm studied SOGs from dozens of fire departments and several state fire academies. Every one has an absolute "No interior operations while master streams are in use" policy.
Looking at the position of the fire and the limited access, it appears to me that you're going to have a difficult time getting a master stream where it can reach the Side C fire even if you'd want to put one there. The wires in front will block aerial ladder access and the enclosed rear yards will keep engines out of effective positions. You may be able to get an engine to the rear of the Bravo 2 occupancy, but in the time you could get it positioned you can probably have most of the fire occupancy searched and the search crew out. The first engine should be able to get a 2.5 inch handline on the Side C fire a lot quicker than either the first or second engine can get a master stream going effectively from two driveways away.
Am I missing something in your plan?
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Permalink Reply by Smoke Eater on
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Hey Ben, looking at the airiel shots, it looks like there is a road or some type of drive on the Charlie side of the house. Wouldn't we be able to position a truck or engine there to knock down the fire on that side as well as cover the exposure on the Charlie side?
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Cap, the Charlie-side trees are in the way. Even if we could put a truck there for an "up and over" with the ladder pipe, it would tend to drive the fire directly into the house and onto the interior crews.
I don't mind transitional attacks at all, but in this case, the exterior attack will probably take more time than the interior search and a couple of handlines to protect the search crew. If a master stream could be positioned quickly and get a quick knock on the exterior fire, I might be persuaded, but I don't see a "quick" position for a master stream here.
I don't see risking master streams on the outside with crews on the inside, regardless.
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Permalink Reply by Jeff Cole on
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Well Ben I didn't just fall off the ol' rag truck either, and have also spent about most of my adult life in study, training, as well as working "da job" in a few different departments. No pissin' contest here though.
I don't see any difficulty at all in placing a deck gun between the involved building's D side, and the exposure building. I see no problem at all getting under the wires, either, with a deck gun.
The building has to be searched, correct? Now I am not an avocate of using small lines for large bodies of fire. So, in that case, the line stretched to cover the initial search is gonna be 2.5" I figure it'll take a few minutes...not TOO long to make the stretch up those stairs, get into position, charge the line. Make pretty quick search, cause let's not forget what we have in the rear.
That's it. Ya see I am giving up the floor after that. Now I COULD be wrong, MAYBE it could be stopped, but I am calling it DOUBTFUL. Now, that third flor/attaic area, that IS heavily involved, and looks to be out of the question for any search, or survivors. TO ME at least.
Rapid, primary search, out, open the deck gun. Im even betting an aerial can get under those wires and sweep the top floor. You can try the 2.5" handline from the rear, but I'm also going with it not doing the job. I'd prefer a 3" line to portable monitor, specifically maybe as the preconnected 'blitzfire' we carry.
What I was speaking of, in question, was using a deck gun to hold, or knock down fire away from where the interior crews are working, and protecting the exposure. NOT operating near where the interior crews are.
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Permalink Reply by John Crabbe on
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Question for Chris
Where are you getting these scenarios from? Are these from your dept or area, or from all over?
curious.
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Ok, I think I see what you're saying. But in the second picture, it would be the first aireal pic, it looks like there is an alley or drive between the structure and the trees. If that's the case, would we be able to put an engine there and use tank water through the deck gun to knock that down on the C side then send a search team as well as an attack team in to finish up the job? I'm just curious. I've never dealt with something like this and that's what I love about these posts. I actually learn from them.
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Triple deckers burn quickly and they burn really hot from what I've seen. Admittedly, it's been a while. I wouldn't put an apparatus between the primary fire and one of the adjacent exposures. That's a good way to make the apparatus an exposure and damage it from the heat...or ignite it.
Remember, I'm a fan of transitional attacks where they're appropriate. I'm just not sure that his one is it.
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Jeff, I've never fought a triple-decker fire, just visited a few when I had relatives living in Boston, so I don't know much about using master streams in combination with interior lines on this one.
As I've stated elsewhere, I'm a fan of the transitional attack, but generally those are fires that can be hit quickly from the front, and the building construction was different - strip malls, taxpayers, big boxes, and garden apartments/mid-rises.
Is there some reason that operating a master stream and a simultaneous attack is OK on a triple decker when there are so many bad outcomes from combining the two in so many other construction types?
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Ok gotcha!!! Thanks.
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