FIRES IN BUSINESS DISTRICTS: INITIAL SIZE-UP CRUCIAL

FIRES IN BUSINESS DISTRICTS: INITIAL SIZE-UP CRUCIAL

BY WILLIAM SHOULDIS

At 0902 hours on January 3, 1999, the Philadelphia (PA) Fire Department Fire Communication Center received a 911 call for a fire in an automobile repair facility. A first-alarm assignment of four engines, two ladders, and two battalion chiefs was dispatched. As the first company, Engine #28, arrived on-scene, heavy smoke was coming from the cornice of a large one-story garage. As the company officer was giving the required initial status report, a large fireball exploded from the front overhead door. The seasoned fire officer retained his composure and demonstrated the skills needed for successfully managing this escalating incident.

Recognizing that this fire would quickly grow from a single-unit response to a multiple-company deployment and eventually to a multialarm fire, he took certain calculated actions as part of his fireground plan. He called for help, established a reliable water supply, stretched a large-diameter hose to a fixed appliance, and protected the critical exposure.

A battalion chief briefed me when I arrived on the fireground. I made no changes in the ongoing operation. After the fire was under control, I interviewed the first-arriving company officer and found that many deliberate actions were taken in the hectic first few minutes–conscious steps that could be engineered only with insight and an ability to make logical predictions based on actual fireground conditions and resource capabilities. Unfortunately, these knowledgeable “field-tested” fire service individuals are becoming a vanishing breed.

OPPORTUNITIES FOR GAINING FIREGROUND EXPERIENCE DECREASING

With the national and local data showing a downward trend in the occurrence of structure fires, the challenge in most departments is providing enough realistic training for younger firefighters and newly promoted commanding officers. The burning question is, How can these inexperienced individuals gain the necessary street wisdom to read critical cues and make the correct initial decisions? These judgments can ultimately determine confinement or conflagration in a business district.

Certainly, reading, hands-on training, and attending trade conferences will help professional development, but more is needed. Research has shown that the real-world fireground is filled with many variables and is never routine. One way to acquire some realistic training and improve competency is to use simulated training exercises. Instructors are able to share their valuable experiences, and students gain experience in selecting a proper sequence of fireground actions. This combination of feedback and learning creates a solid foundation for better job performance. The approach to simulated training should be rudimentary, easy to communicate, systematic, and presented in a uniform manner that incorporates personnel safety and operational efficiency. Additionally, it should encompass a basic plan that can be used in all types of calls (fire, EMS, haz-mat, technical rescue, and so on). It should be a guide for translating priorities into specific objective, “action-oriented” steps.

FIREGROUND FORMULA: FUNDAMENTAL DUTIES

My fireground formula is easily executed and focuses only on fundamental duties. It mandates certain conduct. It consists of four steps that should be taken before beginning the initial decision-making process on the fireground or assuming command.

1. Size up the situation. This is the mental process to “sort out” details. This step of rapidly evaluating the situation on arrival has not changed since our forefathers were first responders. It is a way to identify critical factors that will dramatically affect the final outcome of the operation. Key factors are properly examined to gain a greater awareness of circumstances and an increased understanding of strategic problems. This is a brief opportunity to gather information based on observable clues before committing personnel. Many articles and some textbooks cover different size-up systems. In a business district fire, however, the essential elements are often condensed into the following:

–Occupancy. The products of combustion have drastically changed over the years. Very few natural materials (such as wood and cotton) are found in these occupancies. Many commodities are petroleum-based and will violently “take off” with a small amount of heat. Storage space is usually very limited. It is common for stock to be stored on all levels of the structure and merchandise to be piled from the floor to the ceiling.

–Protection system. Components of the system would include automatically activated alarms to alert employees and shoppers, sprinkler systems to extinguish incipient fires, controls on HVAC units to aid in ventilation, and annunciators to identify the exact location of the trouble.

–Exposures. Exposures can be internal and external. Both types must be assessed to determine the most likely path of fire/smoke spread. Confinement to the smallest area is possible only when apparatus are positioned properly, maximum productivity is achieved from personnel, and the right equipment is available.

–Construction voids. It is rare to find a commercial property that has not undergone some type of renovation. Additions and partitions will often form voids. These concealed spaces can create a deadly ambush for unsuspecting firefighting crews.

2. Establish command. This area of the fire-rescue service has greatly evolved during the past several years. It is imperative that someone take the leadership role and not wait for a chief officer to arrive on-scene. Any delay in implementing the proper mode of attack (offensive or defensive) will result in confusion and duplication of efforts. Now that many departments have fully converted to an incident management system, progressive organizations allow company officers to make strategic and tactical decisions while being encouraged to call additional alarms when needed. This structured approach is more productive, because the scene is organized by definite roles and responsibilities from the time the first members arrive on-scene until the last unit departs from the scene.

3. Give assignments. Over the years, the method of allocating tactical and support units has significantly changed. Once it was acceptable and common practice to give assignments to individual members; today maintaining crew integrity provides a greater margin of safety and efficiency.

Orders can be dictated by a preincident plan. My department`s procedure is simple: first and third engine companies to Side A (usually the front or street side of a structure), second and fourth engine companies to Side C (rear of property), the first ladder company to the interior (when in an offensive mode), and the second ladder company covers the external exposures. Pumpers are connected to hydrants. Flexibility for unusual situations or information received from dispatch or a sector supervisor can modify this procedure at any time.

Setting up sectors and a staging area prevents freelancing and gridlock while ensuring coordination by giving specific orders and staying in constant communication with all operating units.

4. Track resources. Accountability policies have created enormous changes in the way an emergency response organization can operate. With the adoption of National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) 1500, Fire Department Occupational Safety and Health Program–1997, and the two-in/two-out federal regulation, a tremendous emphasis has been placed on documentation for members working inside a structure. A simple rule for the emergency scene is that the best recordkeeping system is uncomplicated. It does not prevent crews from quickly completing their tasks; yet it is sophisticated enough to keep an accurate list of units by name (for example Engine #1) and location (assigned to Bravo side). Tactical worksheets and incident command planning boards have become standard equipment at a stationary command post. These written records can be vital tools for an incident commander when a Mayday message is transmitted and a rapid intervention team (RIT) is deployed.

Today`s officers and firefighters need a lot of information to make the correct on-scene decisions. When a fire occurs in a store, the odds for success increase when there is an aggressive fire attack supported by quick ventilation. The chances of encountering large, open overhead spaces; shelving units with plastic containers; and display racks that set up a maze configuration add to the dangers posed by commercial establishments.

The first-in crews must have comprehensive information. Pre-emergency plans should include technical components (roof and floor assemblies, classes of combustibles, built-in fire protection features), as well as physical points (access, floor diagrams, open shafts, water sources, security measures) for successful mitigation. Other distinctive features that make business district fires complex include the following:

Structures are often interconnected below parapets.

They undergo continual remodeling, which adds to the fire load.

There are many mixed construction features because of the needs of the different tenants.

Every community has a business district. Some are connected storefronts with living units above; others are modern strip malls; still others are massive enclosed shopping centers with anchor and linking stores under a single roof.

Each business district has unique firefighting problems. Yet, statistically, emergency responders are at greater risk than the public in any store fire. Within the past year, firefighters died in the Polly`s Flower and Gift store fire in the small town of Markes, Mississippi, and in the Beverly Tire store fire in Chicago, Illinois. Two firefighters died in each of these fires. Both of these incidents dramatically demonstrate how rapidly fire conditions can change. Both show that every firefighter needs a special understanding of business occupancies because these fires do not distinguish between paid and volunteer firefighters or chiefs, company officers, and firefighters.

Over the course of my fire service career, too many incidents have resulted in firefighter casualties from collapse or flashover while members were operating inside a store. Always weighing the risks against the rewards is the secret to successful structure firefighting. The potential for firefighter entrapment and disorientation is greater than ever with the size of today`s stores and the use of lightweight building materials. Encapsulated protective gear, space-age synthetic products, and smaller staffing levels on initial alarms make business district firefighting more dangerous than ever before.

An increased emphasis on personnel accountability is an attitude adjustment or paradigm shift that is long overdue in the American fire service. Thus, all incident commanders (ICs) must continuously evaluate the suppression effort against an acceptable level of risk to responders. Company officers must communicate with Command and always have an escape route for crews, and firefighters must always work with a partner. A fire department`s overall mission is to save lives and protect property. These goals must include a practical fireground plan that identifies operational mistakes before they have had a detrimental effect on life safety.

In Fall 1997, at Saint William`s Church in Philadelphia, Al Whitehead, president of the International Association of Fire Fighters, stated during the funeral service for Firefighter Jimmy Hynes, “No one deserves to die on the job. But since the earliest days of our profession, every firefighter has known that with each alarm, death may be around the corner.” Now is the time to extract the lessons from the tragic tales of the following fires: Philadelphia (PA) One Meridian Plaza high-rise office building, Seattle (WA) Mary Pang warehouse, Orlando (FL) Sunrise Gift shop, Chesapeake (VA) Advance Auto Parts, Shiller Furniture (outside Baltimore, Maryland), Waldbaum Supermarket in New York City, Hackensack Ford in New Jersey, and other significant fires along Main Street America. The common denominator among these incidents is that there were multiple firefighter fatalities.

Set aside training time during each shift to discuss controversial fires from across the nation. Remember that field firefighting experience is the best teacher but the least forgiving. Learn from the past, and internalize the lessons. Follow the example of the experienced fire officer at Engine Company #28 at the beginning of this article. Have an objective initial action plan that allows you to stay alert, keep calm, think clearly, and act decisively.

By continuously sharpening our decision-making skills, perfecting our on-scene performance, and creating a personal checklist, we will surely reduce injuries and deaths on the fireground. The challenge for the next millennium will be to balance the fire department`s front line (apparatus, personnel, and equipment) against the bottom line (the economic realities in our community). Without a healthy and prosperous business district, the entire tax base will suffer. Start today to prepare yourself for tomorrow`s business district fires.

(1) Today`s security devices require tools and techniques that were not even considered a decade ago. (Photos by author.) (2) Roof ventilators can rapidly spread a cockloft fire. They must be removed whenever a top-floor fire extends into a ceiling.

(3) Restaurants can take many forms and shapes. For a boat used as an eatery, technical and special information should be listed on a preincident emergency plan.

(4) Strip malls can be one- or two-story. Apparatus placement and access are much easier than at open or enclosed malls. (5) Strip mall fires require long hoseline stretches. (6) Some open malls are built with a center courtyard. Apparatus placement and access can be very difficult.

Life safety hazards vary with the occupancy. Firefighters must identify the hazard potential early in the incident; ideally this information is contained in a preincident plan. (7) This car dealership has a truss roof. (8) The haz-mat team should be called early in the incident to a fire at a nursery, which generally has pesticides, herbicides, and numerous plastic containers on-site. (9) The upper floors of a business structure are often used for storage, usually have limited access, and (10) are often interconnected. (11) Water-soaked stock can cause a bearing wall to shift. Create a collapse zone equal to the entire height of a structure.

WILLIAM SHOULDIS is a deputy chief and 26-plus year veteran of the Philadelphia (PA) Fire Department. He is an adjunct instructor at the National Fire Academy in Emmitsburg, Maryland, in resident and field programs involving fireground operations, health and safety, and fire prevention. He has a bachelor`s degree in fire science administration and a master`s degree in public safety and is an editorial advisory board member of Fire Engineering.