FireNuggets , Inc November 2016
alarm , even on many floors above the fire . This requires action to be taken . One option is the balcony . This is fine if the weather is nice and the apartment is not in line with venting smoke from the fire . The other is to move the human load to a tenable side of the building , often on the same floor ( horizontal evacuation ). If the building has automatic closing fire doors around the elevators ( which mostly all now have ), it might be best to move the exposed humans to a remote apartment on the other inside of the fire doors . At the fire depicted above that did the trick . Even if no jacketmounted meters are available , hand-held metering as a matter of routine above the fire activities ( SAE operations ), now becomes a necessity . If the equipment is available , it must be utilized to its best advantage . Just imagine , residents on the upper floors were affected or even overcome by smoke and the ensuing investigation revealed that the department should have metered the atmosphere and did not …. sounds like a lawsuit to me !!
Equipment Requirements
If we are going to need a mountain of firefighters , we are going to need a mountain of equipment . That , like everything else , not just in a high rise , but in any fire , is critical to the smooth execution of the action plan . A tool pool or Resource Division must be established one floor below the Operations Division . This location may be two to three floors below the fire depending on conditions and possible reverse stack effect adjustments . The High Rise SOP must address who carries what equipment . The operations will demand not only the need for additional hand tools and hose , but an abundance of extra SCBA cylinders to allow the operation to continue to move forward . Without this vital resource , the operation and attack will grind to a halt . For this reason , Mask Service Units ( MSU ) companies should get a key positon at these fires . In North Hudson , with the arrival of the second alarm companies and all subsequent additional alarms , personnel are required to bring SCBA cylinders to the Resource Division . Companies are also directed to “ liberate ” carts such as those used by building maintenance to stack cylinders and move them upstairs .
Two options open up to make this operation more efficient . One , which has been adopted as an ordinance for all new high rises in Jersey City is for the builder to include fire equipment closets on specific floors so that firefighters do not have to lug so much equipment to the upper floors . There is a mechanism in place for
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responsibility for the equipment such as testing , inventory control , and upkeep . Some of the equipment stored there could be lights , hand tools , and hose and appliances . It is a good idea and will cut down on the firefighter fatigue .
The other issue is the SCBA dilemma . The introduction of cascade rooms and air standpipes will revolutionize the high rise operation , providing the ability to continue operations without the concern of running out of air in the operational areas . I don ’ t know about you , but at all the high rise fires I have been to , there always seemed to be a scramble to secure enough SCBA cylinders at the Operations Division . Then , once you have them there , there is a further scramble to get the depleted cylinders back down the elevators to the MSU at the street to refill the cylinders . It is a delicate dance to keep up with this demand , especially in an escalating fire where many floors have to be searched and operations are such a challenge due to heat conditions that it is a slow go on the attack , requiring relief and rotation of firefighters . From my experience , both as a firefighter , Company officer or Chief in the operational areas or as an Incident Commander who has the burden of coordinating all these activities and providing the required resources to the trips in a timely fashion , I wish that either the cascade room and / or air standpipe were available . It would have made operations that much easier to manage and keep the attack from stalling due to lack of air cylinders available . There are cities that have already adopted this air standpipe / cascade room policy . They are ahead of the curve . This innovation , like the fire service itself , will move us forward in our never-ending quest to “ do da job ”
People and stuff are what is required to address high rise fires ( and all other fires as well ). Fire departments must seek ways to minimize effort while still getting the job done safely . Don ’ t be afraid to embrace new ideas as it is what has moved us forward . Otherwise , we ’ d still be going to fires by horse-drawn apparatus and eating smoke .
Be safe out there .
Quote of the day : Curiosity and Innovation : Millions saw the apple fall , but Newton asked why . ~ Bernard Baruch
Questions , comments , column suggestions , kudos , or criticism – email is deputy1 @ optonline . net
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