BY MICHAEL N. CIAMPO
Receiving a call in the early morning hours for a reported structure fire is enough to make anyone’s blood pressure rise. As the Fire Department of New York turned out of quarters into the direction of the reported address, I glanced down to look at the computer-generated run ticket. I read the assignment of three engines, two trucks, and the battalion chief to the reported address for a “possible fire.” Those two words “possible fire” would change my mindset and size-up as we proceeded to the location. As we began our response, the dispatcher’s high-toned voice relayed additional pertinent information: “Be advised we’re receiving numerous calls and we’ve added the rescue and squad to your assignment.”
 (1) A section of the stairwell that is missing stair treads. Note the high heat level present, as evidenced by the discolored metal. (Photos by Chuck Brodil.) |
When we were about two blocks away from the reported address, the smoke condition in the street became very heavy; within an instant it began to rise, and the street was virtually clear. Not seeing any visible smoke, flames, or people on the fire escapes on either side of the block ahead of us, I asked the chauffeur to slow down immediately. Quickly, I asked him the following question: “Do you think there was a fire in one of the stores that had its roll-down gates down and we passed it?” After all, the run ticket did say a “possible fire.” Just then the portable radio crackled, and a voice blurted out, “It looks like it’s up there on the left.” As we exited the apparatus, a column of smoke was rising high over the corner building and the building next to it, which was the reported address. Just then a civilian grabbed my bunker coat; in a highly excited voice, she told me, “It’s in my building!” as she frantically pulled me in that direction.
 (2) Another section of the stairwell missing treads. Note the dangerous condition of some of the marble tread still attached to the riser on the second stair. |
Now I know what most of you are thinking: Is listening to this highly agitated civilian the right thing to do at this moment? I had mixed feelings on the proper direction in which to proceed but succumbed to her pressure and persistence. I radioed to the engine that the fire may be on the side street and not at the reported address. As this woman led us into the building, my gut was still churning from the decision that we follow her. I know from sizing up that the smoke column rising over the rooftops could be from a fire venting out a few windows into the shaft and up and over the roofs, from either building. Then again, it could be a rubbish fire in the alleyway or even a shaft fire, but very soon we all would know. Plus, there have been other instances throughout my career when a “reliable” informant had misguided a company or two.
THE WRONG BUILDING
As we went into the lobby with our “informant,” I quickly realized that I had chosen the wrong path. The building was a corner tenement with a very short entranceway; the stairwell was straight ahead with windows on the half-landings. An eerie glow of bright orange was very noticeable through the first landing’s window. Luckily, there was a door leading to the outside alley and rear yard under the stairs. We opened this door. Our worst fears were confirmed: We were in the wrong building. The fire was blowing out a side doorway of the building across the short six-foot alleyway. Fire was also out the second- and third-floor half-landing windows and was already autoexposing to the fourth floor. In addition, you could see the fire swirling up the stairs through the half-landing windows. I quickly radioed the chief of the fire’s correct location and size and our incorrect positioning. I also informed him that I thought that the magnitude of the fire would require an extra engine and truck added to the alarm assignment.
Although we were in this position for only a few seconds, we were able to quickly size up the fire and the fire building’s characteristics from this exposure. Since it was built into a hill, the line of windows didn’t line up with the adjoining building, and many of the first-floor windows in this alleyway were either blocked up with concrete blocks or covered with plywood and a layer of thin-set concrete. Such installations are commonly found on the rear or sides of commercial occupancies for added security. They are also commonly found in multiple dwellings with commercial occupancies on the ground floor or street level in our neighborhoods. From the radiant heat we felt across the short six-foot alleyway, we all had hoped for an easy attack as we repositioned to the fire building.
As we came around the corner making our way to the fire building, we noticed that the front fire escape was now packed with fleeing tenants. The drop ladder was being released and other portable ladders were being raised to alleviate the overcrowding. As we began to force entry to the building, the second-due truck officer asked us if there was anything that he and his crew could do to assist us. From the size-up of the fire conditions in the alleyway, I wondered if the street-level storefront had an access doorway at the rear that led to the building’s lobby, which was where some of the fire was originating. I relayed this information to him and asked him to gain access to the store as we were forcing entry into the tenement. In many of the tenements throughout the city, street-level storefronts may have a secondary means of egress into the lobby or out into the alleyway, rear yard, and possibly into an apartment.
THE FIRE BUILDING
As we made our way down the long hallway, we felt a great deal of heat and had good visibility. The fire conditions began to change on the ceiling ahead of us. Now, instead of burning toward us and over our heads to the front door, the flames seemed to stop and burn back toward the original fire area and stairwell. We believe that the introduction of air from the main entrance, factored in with the windows venting on the stairwell and the roofman’s opening the roof’s bulkhead door, caused this change in flame direction.
As we got down toward the stairwell, we noticed a pile of debris burning under the stairs; the flames were racing in a swirling pattern upward, and there was a high heat level. In addition, the single apartment door and door frame on the first floor were burning and were already warped. Using the pressurized water extinguisher did little to extinguish or control some of the fire at this location. At this point, we still weren’t sure if this first-floor apartment was the source of the fire. Possibly the tenant had exited the apartment and left the door open; this had been the case before in numerous fires.
Now we found ourselves and the companies assigned to search the floors above in a holding pattern until the hoseline was stretched to our position. Just at this moment, the roofman reported that the bulkhead was open and that fire was shooting out both of the doors and over the bulkhead. It had only been about a minute or two since we had entered the building, and the fire was already up the stairs and out of the bulkhead of this five-story tenement.
Once the nozzleman reached us, we informed him of the pile of debris under the stairs and reminded him to direct the stream up the stairs as quickly as he could to knock down some of the fire’s rapid advancement. Once he did that, he needed to knock down the door and doorframe that were on fire. As soon as he pulled back on the nozzle’s handle, many of us shrugged our shoulders upward, hoping to seal off any imperfections at the fire-resistant hood and coat collar line in our personal protective equipment. Judging from the high heat level in the stairs and the structure’s plaster-over-brick construction, we all knew that hot water would be dripping down on us shortly.
As the nozzleman knocked down the fire at this location, he directed the stream up the stairwell at the advancing fire. Of course, just our luck, the stairwell didn’t have a well hole; if it did, the nozzleman could have directed the stream up the well hole, and the water would have expelled on the floors above to assist in extinguishment. Also at this time, we felt as if we were being hit by shrapnel, but it wasn’t the normal plaster or debris falling from the ceiling.
Not paying much attention to it, we forced entry into the only apartment on the first floor. Visibility was great in the public hallway, but it became poor once we entered the apartment. As we proceeded farther back into the apartment, we ran into a tenant carrying a five-gallon bucket of water. He said he didn’t want to leave and lose his apartment. We placed him on the rear fire escape, and he climbed down one floor to safety.
TREADLESS STAIRS
As we came out of the apartment and began climbing up the stairway with the hoseline to the floors above, we noticed that many of the stair treads were now missing. We relayed this information with an “Urgent” message over the portable radio to the battalion chief, who relayed it to all of the units operating on the fireground. We didn’t realize it at that moment, but the shrapnel we felt hitting us was actually the slate stair treads shattering once the water came in contact with them. Now our task of climbing upward and attacking the fire was actually going to be much more dangerous for a number of reasons.
First, the stair treads were missing. Members needed to balance themselves on the metal stair risers, which were hot and only about an inch wide. Kneeling and crawling up the risers or even leaning on the newel post for support was not an option because of the heat retained by the steel. In a few areas, as many as four treads in a row were missing, leaving a big gap through which a firefighter could fall.
Second, the stair’s wooden handrails were all charred and bright orange. Grabbing these with a gloved hand for balance could mean a burn.
Third, the walls were brick covered with a layer of plaster and retained a lot of heat. Leaning on them for support and balance as you climbed or tried to advance the hoseline was difficult.
Adding all this plus the fact that the fire was burning so hot and was difficult to control with the slow advance of the hoseline up the damaged stairwell caused us to fear that some type of stair or landing collapse would occur.
Once we arrived on the second floor, we found that the doors and door frames of three apartments were severely scorched, warped, and still smoldering. As the nozzleman directed the stream up to the third floor, we performed a primary search in these apartments, which proved negative. But when we were ready to advance up to another level, the stairwell was becoming jammed with the arrival of the second hoseline and additional units. We considered going up the fire escapes, but the front one was being used to stretch the third handline. Other firefighters were using the rear fire escape to enter the floors above for search; the remaining civilians were also using it to exit the building. Shortly thereafter, while we were doing secondary searches, checking for extension, and overhauling the first and second floors, we heard the interior chief report that the fire had been knocked down in the stairwell and that the fire extension into the front apartments on the fourth and fifth floors was also extinguished.
LESSON LEARNED AND REINFORCED
• With the heavy fire load present in the stairwell, searching ahead of the hoseline or getting onto the floors above from the interior stairs was not an option. Firefighters assigned to outside positions were able to cover this assignment using the fire escapes, portable ladders, and aerial and tower ladders.
• Placing additional portable ladders to a fire escape to relieve overcrowding can sometimes be difficult. At this fire, the storefront’s awnings interfered with this job. With vinyl awnings, tearing the vinyl between the cross members with a hook can assist in ladder placement.
• Ladders placed to the fire escape will relieve overcrowding and the weight load on the fire escape. These structures have been exposed to the weather’s elements for many years, and their stability may be questionable when bearing a heavy load. It is also important to quickly remove the tenants so that other firefighting operations can take place. At this fire, the fire escape was used to stretch a hoseline to the upper floors.
• When a firefighter is assisting with the hoseline’s advancement up the stairwell in a building with brick or concrete walls that are retaining heat, placing the SCBA’s bottle up against the corner of the walls will help him remain off the hot wall and thus reduce the chances of his receiving a burn.
• Unfortunately, because of the nature of this job, burn injuries are never going to be totally erased from our injury statistics. At this fire, incidental contact with the stairs’ superheated treads, risers, balusters, stringers, and newel posts accounted for some of the burn injuries; others resulted from the hot water runoff. Numerous burn injuries were avoided because members used the “duck walk” maneuver while advancing.
• Since there were so many stair treads missing and the stair’s structure was exposed to such high heat, units were advised to reduce the weight on the stairs and landings by working from the safety of the apartment’s door frames. This was also the case as units performed overhaul. A collapse condition can be a real threat in a stairwell fire, especially if the stairs are constructed of wood.
• All firefighters operating on the stairs behind the hoseline can assist in the line’s advancement as it proceeds up the stairs. Having the second hoseline back up the first hoseline and then spilt off to knock down the fire extension in the apartments played a big role at this fire.
• When numerous stair treads are missing, this will delay the advance of hoseline and members to the floors above. There was a backlog at this fire because members could not balance themselves or work expeditiously on the thin metal stair risers. Using portable ladders over a burnt-out stairwell may work in certain situations.
• Searching the apartments as you proceed upward is a primary concern. The initial fire’s origin could have been in one of these apartments, and the search for life is always one of our primary concerns.
• Highly flammable, vandal-resistant paint may be used in the stairwells of multiple dwelling occupancies, which adds to the fire load. A few years back, this paint was responsible for fast-moving and fatal fires in our city.
• Throughout our careers, we’ll need to weigh the information passed onto us from “reliable” informants or other sources. Unfortunately, sometimes this information is correct; at other times, it’s not.
• When faced with heavy fire conditions and a high heat level at a stairwell fire, be aware that there is the possibility that concrete, marble, or slate stair treads may shatter or explode when water is introduced to the fire.
• • •
The fire discussed above was fought by a third-alarm assignment in the early-morning hours in the hot summer at a five-story multiple dwelling. Engine companies had to stretch numerous hoselines to extinguish the fire in the stairwell and its extension into some apartments on the upper floors, while ladder companies placed ladders to the front and rear fire escapes to remove the numerous tenants fleeing down their only means of egress and performed primary and secondary searches and overhaul operations. All the companies performed in unison and were quickly able to successfully control this difficult fire.
Although stairwell fires may not be daily or routine fires, they do occur, and we should have some knowledge and insight into them. As with most fires throughout our careers, we either learn from them or they prove to be a refresher. ■
