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Up Above the Ceilings

This is a picture of a fast food restaraunt after a fire. The fire got into the void space and spread very quickly. Crews were pulled out early and there were no injuries. The building was a total loss.

The focus of this picture is the fall out of from the ceiling. As you can see, when these suspended ceilings fall, many opportunities for entanglement fall with them. A firefighter may not see these hazards because of conditions but are still in danger of being trapped by the fallen materials.

In addition, some of the wires could still be “live” and could energize other conductive materials that have fallen with them. Be aware and prepared. This is why you need tools and a radio when entering hazardous conditions. Stay safe and have a great week.

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Posted by dc802 on December 7, 2009 • Filed under: buildling construction, command-leadership, engineered lumber, fire-rescue-topics, firefighter-safety-health, firefighting-operations, fires, training-fire-rescue-topics, trusses • Tagged: bowstrings trusses, building construction, building inspsections, ceilings, drop down, fire codes, fire department, fire fighters, fire inspections, fire pictures, preplanning

Bowstring Trusses

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Most of you know what this is. This is a picture of a building with bowstring trusses. We have all heard about the dangers of these buildings and how they can collapse quickly during a fire.

Many of these buildings have large storage capacities and in many cases are used as automotive repairs and sales shops. The quantity of combustibles and flammables can be large, greatly increasing fire intesity, thus making the failure more imminent. Make sure that you are aware of these buildings and plan accordingly before there is a fire. I can’t impress enough, even if you don’t have an official inspection program, you can still look at these buildings during regular business hours.

In most cases, the owner is not going to say a whole lot if you explain that you are just familiarizing yourself with the building so you know how best to handle an incident at their business. We talk on that another time, but get out and see what is in your area. As always, stay safe.

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Posted by dc802 on December 4, 2009 • Filed under: administration-leadership, buildling construction, command-leadership, fire-prevention-education, firefighting-operations, training-fire-rescue-topics, trusses • Tagged: bowstrings trusses, building construction, fire codes, fire department, fire fighters, fire inspections, fire pictures

Routine Preplanning

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This picture doesn’t show anything spectactular or out of place. What it does show is what every community in every jurisdiction has; subdivisions.

These subdivisions will have dozens to hundreds of houses built by a single contractor or just a handful of the same contractors. These are prime locations for EMS calls. Those EMS calls are prime times for preplanning these residential occupancies. Many fire departments do not regulate or permit the construction of single-family construction and therefor we don’t get into these buildings unless there is an emergency, which is sometimes too late. We have an opportunity to get a good look at building features when we enter these structures for EMS calls.

You don’t have to go snooping around, but you can get a pretty good idea of the layout just from seeing the inside. You can know where the stairs are and how many bedrooms. These features will likely be the same or very similar throughout the entire subdivision. When driving in and out, take the time to look for hydrants and alternate access points. As always, stay safe and be careful.

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Posted by dc802 on November 27, 2009 • Filed under: buildling construction, command-leadership, engineered lumber, fire-prevention-education, firefighter-safety-health, firefighting-operations, fires, training-development, training-fire-rescue-topics, trusses • Tagged: building construction, building inspsections, fire department, firefighter, inspections fire inspections, preplanning

Overhangs, Concealed Spaces, Facades

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Here is a look at a concealed space on a mercantile building that is being added on to. This is not built into the building, but hangs on the outside.

Fire can race through here and collapse on firefighters entering and leaving the building during suppression operations. Care must be taken to open this space up to extinguish any fire and determine extent of damage. If there is any doubt about the integrity of this component, avoid it.

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