NFPA Journal - September/October 2012 - (Page 36)
>>structural ops
firefighting in buildings
BEN KLAENE + russ sANdErs
Cellar Threat
The challenge of fighting basement fires
ighting basement fires is notoriously difficult and dangerous. The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) has investigated 18 incidents resulting in firefighter on-duty fatalities at basement fires since it began its investigation of firefighter fatalities in 1997. An Underwriters Laboratories (UL) report earlier this year documented full-scale and laboratory tests comparing dimensional lumber THE FIRE SERVICE should develop training programs and guidelines for fighting basement fires. and lightweight engineered support systems. As noted in the National Engineered Lightweight Construction Fire Research Project sponsored by NFPA in 1992, the lightweight support systems failed much earlier than the dimensional lumber, raising serious concerns about firefighters working on the floor above a basement fire. This doesn’t mean firefighters should never enter a building with a known basement fire. Basement fires range from small, confined fires to blazes that involve the entire basement of a large industrial building with extra-hazard contents. Obviously, a small fire could become a larger fire, but a small contained fire should not, in most cases, affect the structural stability of the floor above. Various tactics have been used to fight basement fires. One of the most frequently used—and the most difficult and dangerous—is advancing a hose line down a basement stairway.
F
Opening the door at the top of the stairway creates a vertical vent, in which the fire and products of combustion will flow toward, into, and out of. If there is an advanced fire in the basement, it may be impossible or illadvised to use the basement stairway. Unless the ventilation is coordinated with fire control, venting the basement using the stairway, or by other means, may cause a rapid increase in fire intensity, leading to a rapid collapse of the flooring system. The fire service should become familiar with construction methods used in the response area and use this information, along with the UL report, to develop training programs and guidelines. Several NIOSH studies showed that firefighters did not know the fire was in the basement. Procedures and training objectives must address the need for an adequate size-up that includes making every effort to determine the location of the fire and access to the fire area. If the basement is partially above ground, additional tactics may be available, such as operating hose streams through a basement window. This tactic may allow entry into the basement by the stairway for final extinguishment. Pulsing, transitional, and indirect attacks could
this column is adapted from the authors’ book Structural Fire Fighting, available at www.nfpa.org.
36
NFPA JOURNAL SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2012
Photograph: AP/Wide World
be used to knock down the main body of a fire in a basement that is partially above ground. According to the UL study, standard measures that firefighters use to test a floor for structural stability, such as sounding the floor, thermal imaging, and floor sag, give some indication of an impending collapse, but are late indicators that are not entirely reliable. If these procedures reveal a weak flooring system, a prompt and immediate withdrawal from the area should be compulsory. The offensive/defensive decision sets the stage for the entire operation and is crucial to firefighter safety. This decision is often made by the first-arriving company officer, who must decide whether to enter the building, but many of the indicators present at an aboveground fire may not be visible at a basement fire. It is important to have as much information as possible before committing to an offensive operation and to use the available information to evaluate the risk to firefighters.
http://www.nfpa.org
Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of NFPA Journal - September/October 2012
NFPA Journal - September/October 2012
Contents
First Word
Mail Call
In a Flash
Perspectives
Firewatch
Research
Heads Up
Structural Ops
In Compliance
Buzzwords
Outreach
Electrical Safety
Wildfire Watch
Lessons of Comayagua
After Waldo Canyon
Catastrophic Multiple-Death Fires in 2011
Fire Loss in the United States in 2011
Section Spotlight
Research + Analysis
What’s Hot
Looking Back
NFPA Journal - September/October 2012
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/nfpa/journal_2024fall
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/nfpa/journal_2024summer
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/nfpa/journal_2024spring
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/nfpa/journal_2023winter
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/nfpa/journal_2023fall
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/nfpa/journal_2023summer
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/nfpa/journal_2023spring
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/nfpa/journal_2022winter
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/nfpa/journal_2022fall
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/nfpa/journal_2022summer
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/nfpa/journal_2022spring
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/nfpa/journal_2021winter
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/nfpa/journal_2021fall
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/nfpa/journal_2021summer
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/nfpa/journal_2021spring
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/nfpa/journal_20201112
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/nfpa/journal_20200910
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/nfpa/journal_20200708
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/nfpa/journal_20200506
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/nfpa/journal_20200304
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/nfpa/journal_20200102
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/nfpa/journal_20191112
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/nfpa/journal_20190910
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/nfpa/journal_20190708
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/nfpa/journal_20190506
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/nfpa/journal_20190304
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/nfpa/journal_20190102
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/nfpa/journal_20181112
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/nfpa/journal_20180910
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/nfpa/journal_20180708
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/nfpa/journal_20180506
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/nfpa/journal_20180304
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/nfpa/journal_20180102
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/nfpa/journal_20171112
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/nfpa/journal_20170910
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/nfpa/journal_20170708
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/nfpa/journal_20170506
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/nfpa/journal_20170304
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/nfpa/journal_20170102
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/nfpa/journal_20161112
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/nfpa/journal_201610_sprinkler
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/nfpa/journal_20160910
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/nfpa/journal_20160708
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/nfpa/journal_20160506
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/nfpa/journal_20160304
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/nfpa/journal_20160102
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/nfpa/journal_20151112
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/nfpa/journal_20150910
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/nfpa/journal_20150708
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/nfpa/journal_20150506
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/nfpa/journal_20150304
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/nfpa/journal_201501
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/nfpa/journal_20141112
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/nfpa/journal_20140910
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/nfpa/journal_20140708
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/nfpa/journal_20140506
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/nfpa/journal_20140304
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/nfpa/journal_20140102
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/nfpa/journal_20131112
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/nfpa/journal_20130910
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/nfpa/journal_20130708
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/nfpa/journal_20130506
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/nfpa/journal_20130304
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/nfpa/journal_20130102
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/nfpa/journal_20121112
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/nfpa/journal_20120910
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/nfpa/journal_20120708
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/nfpa/journal_20120506
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/nfpa/journal_20120304
https://www.nxtbookmedia.com