Interior Fire Safety Tips

• In buildings with large, odd shaped apartments, it may be a good idea, time permitting, to stop at the floor below and get a quick visual layout of the apartment below before fire operations begin.
• When possible perform forcible entry using the conventional tools, the ax and haligan tool under actual fire conditions. One day at the worst possible time, the rabbit tool will malfunction. Proficiency in the old fashioned way will be needed.
• Never lose control of the fire apartment door after completing forcible entry. Set the deadbolt so it will not relock, but use the 6’ hook or a hose strap to keep the door from swinging open when it’s popped. A blast of heat or fire may be waiting behind that door. Remember to chock all doors you pass through on your way to the fire area.
• In fireproof structures such as project type MD’s, alert occupants of the adjoining apartment of the situation, tell them to stay inside and open the door if we return. Force adjacent door if no one is home. If the truck is met by fire may be waiting behind the door. Remember to chock all doors you pass through on your way to the fire area.
• When space on the fire floor is a problem, e.g. the top floor of a brownstone, an OLT and some PD’s, you can remove the spindles or balusters on the stair landing as an easy way to get by members operating on the fire floor. If fire subsequently vents out the apartment door, rather than trying to pass in close proximity to the fire, simply pass through the opening you created and if need be, roll onto the stairs and safety below. An injured member could also use this method of egress if he needs to get outside without trying to climb over members on the floor landing and the stairs.
• To chock open a door and at the same time preventing someone from subsequently knocking the chock out of its position, place the axe flat on the ground with the blade underneath the door. Many times members crawl in and out of the apartment and they disrupt the door causing it to close when it is supposed to remain open.
• In large area apartments, carefully plan your search and always keep in close proximity to a familiar wall or other point of reference. Turn on the light in the apartment entrance hallway. This may serve as a beacon on the way out. If you get turned around inside the apartment, lift the linoleum in a corner of the room to check the run of the floorboards. In some buildings, such as OLT’s the boards run from the front to the rear of the apartments. This may help you to get reoriented if you’re running out of options.
• When searching around large pieces of furniture in the middle of a room, such as a dining room table, leave a tool such as a 6’ hook pointing in the direction of egress. If you momentarily lose your bearings, the tool will be pointing the way out for you.
• The second due engine officer can serve as the water resources officer in the street and the safety officer on the fire floor. He can ensure the first pumper is supplied with water from a working hydrant before entering the building. His firefighting team will be helping with the stretch at this point. Once a good water supply has been established, he enters the building and proceeds to the fire apartment door. He can remain at this location at the outset to ensure that the operation is progressing well and keep track of any members going above the fire. If need to withdraw becomes apparent, he can notify the members to evacuate via handie talkie and ensure they have gotten out of their position.
• Don’t forget to vent windows from inside as you conduct your search. By doing so, you familiarize yourself with their location and will be able to return to them for a way out if need be. Keep you hands high enough on the wall to feel for the presence of windows, approximately 3’ to 4’, and remember to keep a hand/tool probing for victims on the floor at the same time.
• The decision to vent any windows, especially at fires where thermopane windows are present, must be more carefully controlled by the truck officer after conditions are evaluated by him from inside the fire apartment. Once the order to vent is given, take everything out including window glass, double hung sashes, curtains, etc. If encountering a child guard type gate or other window gate, remove it early in the operation. Do not wait until you are bailing out of the window to think about these gates. It will be too late at that point.
• If opening windows is the appropriate action rather than complete removal, this information must be communicated to the company members and acknowledged.
• In the absence of an immediate life hazard that has to be dealt with upon arrival, indiscriminate venting is rarely justified. When evaluating conditions, the outside team member about to vent should consider forcing window locks and slightly open the window to judge heat and smoke conditions inside the building to determine the viability of a search. Communication between the inside and the outside team is of paramount importance at this point before any glass is removed.
• When weather conditions are adverse, and there are strong winds present, consider closing the fire apartment door upon entry. If thee are severe fire conditions inside and the windows fail, there is a strong chance that the fire may chase you down the apartment hall and into the hallway if the door remains open. The draft created by an open window, apartment door and a stairway door especially a high-rise type building is tremendous. This draft can be held somewhat in check if the apartment door, another horizontal opening, is kept closed.
• Consider stairways inside brownstone, row frames and OLT’s as directional arrows. When visibility is poor remember that in many of these structures if you are descending the stairs, you are heading towards the front of the building. Likewise, when ascending you are likely heading towards the rear. If you become disoriented this may help you find your way out in a smoky environment.
• Small amounts of water, even the contents of the can, may be just enough to delay or suppress flashover. The water from the extinguisher will absorb hear, create steam and just might disrupt the gases that are about to ignite long enough to safely exit the immediate fire area.
• Get back to the basics: Stay low, stay calm, and stay oriented. The safest way out of an area is usually the way we came in. Always have at least one tool close by when operating inside the fire apartment, as we may need to breach a wall, vent a window or force entry through a locked door.

Safety on the fire floor

• The two most important factors that must be weighed before conducting a dangerous search are: 1) your own personal safety and that of your company, and 2) can you reasonably expect to reach your objective upon commitment of the members. Risk versus reward shall be considered thoughtfully before plunging into an inferno. Professionalism and discipline must be exercised when a hopeless situation is encountered.
• At vacant buildings, the time spent on size-up versus an occupied building of normal stability should be doubled at least. Look for indications of building stability problems, e.g. the markings placed by fire department members, rotted fire escapes, signs of previous collapses, missing floors etc. The trucks main goal should be facilitating the engines access to the fire. Going to floors above at a vacant building is rarely justified during early stages of the fire. Be especially aware of collapse potential in bathrooms due to heavy weight of fixtures and the expected water seepage over time which compromises the stability of the supporting joists below.
• The decision to keep a fire apartment door open after entering, or closing it momentarily until the engine company is ready to begin the operation is a decision that has to be made based on many factors that are difficult to predetermine. The truck officer on the fire floor must evaluate each situation that develops and act accordingly based upon sound judgment. His choice has to be made known to his members before the search begins.
• Truck companies must be more cognizant than ever of the water supply before conducting deep, complicated searches. With the advent of companies performing EMS duties and the decrease in engine company staffing levels in some cases, it’s safe to assume that the time it takes to get a hand line in position and ready to operate may be greater than before. This situation could translate into the truck being in harms way without water a greater percentage of the time.
• When is it preferable to leave a man at the fire apartment door for safety, using the two other members to conduct the search? When heat and fire conditions are severe and the search will be limited in scope because of these conditions, it’s a good idea to leave someone at the door. The man at the door could monitor heat conditions and communicate verbally with the remainder of the inside team while the search is under way.
• To monitor heat conditions inside the fire apartment, one may place an ungloved hand overhead, or uncover an ear form under the protective hoods or earflaps momentarily.
• At what point due you abandon search operations and exit the fire area? When you’re on your belly or even on your hands and knees and it is uncomfortably hot, whether by real heat or perceived heat it is time to evacuate. If you are feeling heat at this point, you will certainly be burned. If you ears feel hot, they are already burned. Any delay in evacuation may cause sever injury or even death. When the fire is ready to take off, some members have reported feeling waves of radiant heat traveling up and down from floor to ceiling and vice versa. If small flashes of flame are seen in the smoke, the fire will be imminently flashing over. We know that one can only be 5 feet from the exit in a flashed over room and expected to escape with full protective firefighting gear.
• If despite all your best efforts, you find yourself in a bad situation, where you are trapped by fire and remote form a safe means of egress, you may make the decision to single slide out of a window to escape the fire. In the absence of a reliable substantial object on which to tie off your personal life saving rope, you may be able to successfully exit the fire area using a haligan tool in conjunction with the rope. Place the haligan on a diagonal in the corner of the lower section of the window frame. Set the pike solidly into the window frame or the adjoining wall if it’s not masonry and outwardly is not crumbling or weak. By keeping tension on the rope and holding the tool in place, you may be able to escape using the haligan as your substantial object and slide safely.
• If you ever become lost or disoriented during a search, don’t be afraid to announce on your handie talkie, “I am lost” or even turn your PASS alarm to the “ON” position to clue in nearby members to your plight. Many members have been lost at fires that were only a small distance away from rescuer or a safe way out.

The Floor Above the Fire

• In the absence of an engine company, where fire traps people on floors above, rather than waiting for the engine to commence VES, use alternative means to effect rescues. Consider FD aerial or portable ladders for performance or removal operations, giving up the interior attack via the stairs, which could be performed by the 2nd due truck upon their arrival.
• Stop at the fire floor and personally contact members there of your intentions to go above, either by handie talkie or fact to face contact before going above. Little is to be gained by venturing above a fire that is burning out of control with no engine company advance and water application forthcoming.
• Before going above, try to ascertain the exact location of the fire so you can make responsible judgments about where and how to operate.
• On the way to the floor above, if operating in a NFP MD, have a member take out the windows on the half landing to the floor above. This will channel smoke and heat to some degree if these products of combustion travel up the stairs.
• Ensure a second means of egress on the floor above. In large H type buildings for example, there are long hallways with stairs at the other end of the hall. Besides an adjoining apartment on the floor above, these hallways leading to stairs, other than the one we used to go above should be considered.
• When at the floor above, force an adjacent apartment door before forcing the apartment door directly above the fire. Doing so will leave you an out if fire has already extended to the apartment above and you need an area of refuge. Don’t forget to immediately call for a hose line on the floor above if one is needed.
• Consider the use of a search rope in large area apartments above the fire floor. If you hear water splashing around on the floor above and the engine company is advancing the hose line, you can be a little more aggressive in conducting your search.
• If serious fire conditions exist and you are going above to deal with a known life hazard, consider leaving one member of the search team on the fire floor to personally observe conditions there and immediately notify the remainder of the inside team of the necessity to withdraw if conditions warrant such actions.
• Firefighters going to any position other than the one they are assigned to must notify their company officer and get permission to do so. Freelancing, even though well intentioned, is dangerous and cannot be accepted.
• If the fire appears beyond control of the firefighters operating the hose lines, do not go above. Understand the priorities of risk taking. Do not risk your life on vague pleas help. There must be a real chance to save a persons life, e.g. cries for help or observing a person on the floor above.
• Always communicate your intentions to go above to as many members as possible on the fire floor and get a positive acknowledgement from them. If conditions force the units to abandon their efforts on the fire floor, maybe one of the people you notified will remember your company above and notify you of the situation. More is better in this case.