November 2016
FireNuggets, Inc
crew’s awareness of window and door locations for rescue and
emergency egress.
The Building
An outside ramp to a door can indicate a disabled or bariatric
occupant is trapped inside. Raised front steps or small light
fireground. Be knowledgeable of building codes and construction
in your area. Read the buildings construction type, era, number of
windows in the foundation can be signs of a basement.
floors and footprint. Observe the roof, exterior walls, exterior doors,
windows, and indicators of interior stairwell location. Having this
Smoke & Fire: Reading smoke and understanding fire behavior is
paramount for an effective, efficient and aggressive primary search.
Being able to read interior and exterior smoke characteristics will
assist in locating the seat of the fire, increase the crews safety, aid in
prioritizing the primary search by predicting fire progression and the
most hazardous areas for potential victims. (Read David Dodson's:
Art of Reading Smoke)
Sizing up the building itself is beneficial to every assignment on the
knowledge prior to committing to the interior will assist your crew in
performing an efficient and effective search, finding egress and
staying oriented.
Construction Type: Construction type provides search crews of proper
tool selection, expected fire behavior, type of structural members
and materials used in the structure. Each type of construction has its
typical fire behavior, but human actions
may influence
unpredictable behavior, such as fire doors being blocked from
closing or open windows. Knowledge of the structural members
By Firefighters, For Firefighters
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