- Which way to go? To the left, or to the right?
This is a fire in a breezeway on a single family home. As you can see, the garage is on the right and the home is on the left.
We have doors from the breezeway to both the house and the garage.
Smoke is issuing from the attic vent on the house and windows are dark. All occupants are out of the house. Side C has a deck off of the kitchen that is about five feet off the ground.
The front door is locked, the family was called by neighbors and they are all together at the store.
This is a fairly simple fire, but some responses I got in a tactics class made me curious how it would go over here.
- What size and where is your first line going?
- Where will your second line go?
- How will you ventilate and why?
- What else do we need to consider, if anything?
Okay, I know this is not a real challenging scenario, but, the first line answers may be diverse. They were in the tactics class I taught.
So, have fun, be creative and take it for what it is, just a scenario to practice.
Sometimes you need to practice the short shot too, not just the three-pointers.
Take care and thanks for visiting.
Also on FirefightersEnemy …
- Balloon Frame Construction: From the Inside – November 18, 2011
- Size Up Drill – November 28, 2010
- How Many Uses Can You Come Up With? – May 29, 2011
- Basic Tactical Considerations – July 23, 2011
1st line through the front door to protect the main house.
2nd line where it is shown in the picture.
Horizontal vent first, then the roof of the main house near the breezeway end.
Some concerns are the overhead doors in the garage. Both forcing them and making sure they stay open.
The grade difference between front and rear is a concern also, not a huge one as it is only a couple of feet.
1.5″ – 1.75″ going through the front door.
Second line is going in right behind the first line. I am writing off the garage in this scenario.
Ventilation is going to occur vertically on the roof. This fire has probably gotten into the attic through the gable and soffit so it would be important to open it up as close to the gable as possible. Obviously it will be important to be ahead of it, so make sure you are looking before completely committing to your cut.
Couple of concerns for me here would be the garage doors, the chimney stability, and the contents of the garage. What’s in there that’s going to kill me?
Things to remember: Code in most jurisdictions require doors entering to or from a garage into a structure be fire rated. In this set-up I would assume that would be the case, this means that the door entering the residence from the breezeway is likely not a fire-rated door. It’s important to get a line into position to keep minimal fire spread into the residence.