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December 3, 2009 marks the 10th anniversary of the Worcester Cold Storage Warehouse fire that resulted in the line of duty death of six courages brother firefighters.
The Worcester Six;
Firefighter Paul Brotherton Rescue 1
Firefighter Jeremiah Lucey Rescue 1
Lieutenant Thomas Spencer Ladder 2
Firefighter Timothy Jackson Ladder 2
Firefighter James Lyons Engine 3
Firefighter Joseph McGuirk Engine 3
Overview
On Friday, December 3, 1999, at 1813 hours, the Worcester, Massachusetts Fire Department dis¬patched Box 1438 for 266 Franklin Street, the Worcester Cold Storage and Warehouse Co. A motor¬ist had spotted smoke coming from the roof while driving on an adjacent elevated highway. The original building was constructed in 1906, contained another 43,000 square feet. Both were 6 stories above grade. The building was known to be abandoned for over 10 years. Due to these and other factors, the responding District Chief ordered a second alarm within 4 minutes of the initial dispatch.
The first alarm assignment brought 30 firefighters and officers and 7 pieces of apparatus to the scene. The second provided an additional 12 men and 3 trucks as well as a Deputy Chief. Firefighters encountered a light smoke condition throughout the warehouse, and crews found a large fire in the former office area of the second floor. An aggressive interior attack was started within the second floor and ventilation was conducted on the roof. There were no windows or other openings in the warehousing space above the second floor.
Eleven minutes into the fire, the owner of the abutting Kenmore Diner advised fire operations of two homeless people who might be living in the warehouse. The rescue company, having divided into two crews, started a building search. Some 22 minutes later the rescue crew searching down from the roof became lost in the vast dark spaces of the fifth floor. They were running low on air and called for help. Interior conditions were deteriorating rapidly despite efforts to extinguish the blaze, and visibility was nearly lost on the upper floors.
Investigators have placed these two firefighters over 150 feet from the only available exit.
An extensive search was conducted by Worcester Fire crews through the third and fourth alarms. Suppression efforts continued to be ineffective against huge volumes of petroleum based materials, and ultimately two more crews became disoriented on the upper floors and were unable to escape. When the evacuation order was given one hour and forty-five minutes into the event, five firefighters and one officer were missing. None survived.
A subsequent exterior attack was set up and lasted for over 20 hours utilizing aerial pieces and del¬uge guns from Worcester and neighboring departments. Task force groups from across the State of Massachusetts responded to initial suppression and subsequent recovery efforts. During this time, the four upper floors collapsed onto the second which became known as “the deck”. Over 6 million gallons of water were used during the suppression efforts.
According to NFPA records, this is the first loss of six firefighters in a structure fire where neither building collapse nor an explosion was a contributing factor to the fatalities. (Excerpt from USFA report )
Take a moment to reflect on the events of December 3, 1999 and what they may mean to you. Consider your knowledge and understanding of buildings and structures within your district and surrounding response areas. Remember; “Building Knowledge = Firefighter Safety”. For those of you who do not know about this incident, attached is the USFA Incident Report that provides insights into the event and the lessons learned. Also check out the NIOSH Report and numerous archived articles on the web and within various journals.
Take at look at The Worcester Telegram & Gazette which has an archived webpage; http://www.telegram.com/static/fire/video.html
HERE ARE THE LESSONS LEARNED FROM THE 1999 USFA REPORT
1. Abandoned buildings remain a serious threat to the fire service and a danger to the communities in which they stand.
Fire departments have long recognized the danger of abandoned buildings in their communities, and fires in these structures have to be approached with a certain amount of caution and restraint. If questionable structural integrity, unknown hazardous materials, unusual dangers to firefighters, or other extreme risks exist, the buildings should not be entered. It is paramount that the fire service apply tactical risk assessment in its daily operations.
Because of the building design, the fire’s magnitude and location could not be ascertained from the exterior, and the Incident Commander had to assess the risks of sending in teams to evaluate the fire and sending in firefighters for suppression. Initial interior reports did not indicate a serious threat to personnel, and operations were conducted accordingly. To assist arriving crews, a placard system should be instituted which clearly defines the risks at an abandoned building. Subsequent to the fire, Worcester Fire put such a system in place. The process has an added benefit of placing firefighters and/or inspectors on locations which might be at risk and where prefire planning should be initiated.
Risks are not limited to the fire service. Homeless people and drug addicts have been known to inhabit such buildings out of necessity. Ordinary citizens can be impacted by increased crime, and these properties can become a very dangerous playground for inquisitive children. Efforts should be made to renovate or demolish such places even if public funding is not required.
2. Firefighters must make a concerted effort to know the buildings in their response districts.
Commercial buildings, by their very nature, pose additional dangers to firefighters, and their familiarity with any given fire building will help to lower these dangers. Company tours are an excellent way to accomplish this goal, and can serve to strengthen the bonds between firefighters and business owners. Such efforts must be conducted with sensitivity, and observed conditions or problems within a business should be conveyed in a helpful rather than confrontational manner.
3. Fire prevention efforts should be maximized in abandoned and temporarily vacated building to avoid fires in the first place.
Even temporarily vacated properties can be at risk if utilities like water for a sprinkler system or electricity for an alarm system are disconnected. Although service cessation often occurs when properties are the subject of financial problems it may also take place at the end of a lease or during the sale or renovation of a commercial building. Every effort should be made to forward change of occupancy or use information to first response stations.
4. Fire departments should continue to grown their file information on buildings in their communities.
Through the use of mobile computer systems, much information can be forwarded to responding companies and Incident Command during an emergency. Data could include floor plans, occupancies, hazardous materials, water supplies, special hazards, and much more. A system of this type would certainly not be limited to abandoned buildings, but it could be invaluable at such a scene since the probability of an owner showing up is unlikely.
Although this is laborious process, it may also be a valid use of on duty personnel who can gather information during regular shift time and either forward it to fire prevention or enter it themselves on provided computer terminals. Data could be gathered during in-service inspections and tours.
5. Delayed reporting allowed the fire growth to exceed the capabilities of aggressive interior attack suppression.
The exact time of ignition remains an unknown, but it has been established that the fire was burning for a minimum of 25 minutes before smoke was observed venting from the roof. It could have been burning for over an hour and a half. The huge volume of air in the warehouse could supports a large fire without any additional air from the outside.
Because flames weren’t visible from the exterior, passers-by did not recognize the presence of the fire, and it wasn’t discovered until smoke vented from the roof. Even that was apparently not enough to motivate the hundred of average citizens driving on I-290 that evening to call 9-1-1.
The trained eyes of public safety professionals were needed to separate this from “the ordinary” and then react appropriately. By this time, however, most of the second floor of B-building was burning, and few barriers were present to prevent further growth.
The initial report from Ladder 1 on the second floor describes a “room full of fire” in B-building beyond the door in the party wall. This location is some 30 feet from the room or origin, so a one room fire had enough time to engulf the entire floor. A sustained flow of 1000 GPM for 20 minutes had virtually no effect on the fire, and conditions deteriorated around attack crews.
6. Combustible interior finishes contributed to the rapid fire spread.
The concept of having 18 inches of combustible materials on the inside of all exterior walls of a building is almost unthinkable to firefighters. The original cork insulation which appears to have been attached with a tar-like substance provided a large volume of fuel, and additional layers of polystyrene and polyurethane with there ferocious burn characteristics gave this fire enormous intensity.
The area of origin was office space converted from a cold storage area. Under its original design and intent, insulation would only have been placed on exterior walls since the third floor was also cooled. Large amounts of insulation were put into place during the transition and would have included heavy insulation above the suspended ceiling on the underside of the third floor deck. An easily applied insulation would have been sprayed-on polyurethane foam which would have adhered to the wood joists and girders. Once the ceiling tiles were in place, it would not be noticed. The southern wall of the office space would have also required substantial insulation to keep out the cold and to retain the forced hot water heat from the radiators.
The fire fed on ordinary combustibles during its initial growth, but once the ceiling tiles were breached, flame contacted combustible wire insulation and ceiling insulation. The stubborn flames observed by fire crews and the smoke conditions described on upper floors are consistent with the sustained burning of petroleum based products including rigid polystyrene, polyurethane, tar, and glass board.
Proper permitting and on going inspections for construction changes within business occupan¬cies can help reduce non-complaint interior finishes.
7. The fire service should initiate life safety activities early on at a fire scene.
The concept of a Rapid Intervention Team was known to the Worcester Fire Department and was being implemented before the Worcester Cold Storage Fire, but it was not put into place until the 5th alarm on December 3rd. Firefighters had entered an unknown structure over one hour before the team was assigned. It is now standard procedure in Worcester to assign a RIT at the onset of each structure fire attack.
The first radio transmission by the Safety Officer was 10 minutes after the RIT was assigned. For control and monitoring of personnel, structural integrity, and other safety concerns, this position should also be filled early on. In an ideal fire scene, the Safety Officer and RIT would be in place before the first firefighters enter the building. Command should strive to have these jobs filled as early as possible even if doing so escalates the event to a higher alarm level to provide sufficient personnel. A system of personnel accountability should be in place. Someone should be tracking who enters the building, the time of entry, and time of exit. Firefighters who are nearing expected times of air exhaustion could then be contacted to ascertain their safety. The establishment of a Safety Officer at the onset of an event can work towards the goal of accountability. The Safety Officer need not be a department officer but could be a chief’s aide or available firefighter familiar with the duties and responsibilities of the assignment.
8. Large buildings such as warehouses and highrise merit unique search techniques and tools.
While the standard air bottle for SCBA has a 30 minute capacity, it might be necessary to have available 60 minute bottles for extended search situations and/ or RIT use. Some fire depart¬ments have obtained 60 minute systems for use in confined space rescues or other unusually long events. The 30 minute system has remained the norm in recent years as the necessity of Rehab time has gained prominence, and it would not be advisable to use longer air supplies on a regular basis.
In high rise incidents, it is common practice to carry in extra SCBA bottles. The same can be done in large space searches. Development of equipment and techniques to change bottles in a hot environment would give extra range to rescuers, and it could prolong their survival should their own rescue be required.
Long lifelines should be maintained for entry crews in these types of structures as well as marking devises for the interior. These devices include luminescent stickers to show direction, labels to signify searched areas, and other commercially available products. Their effectiveness, how¬ever, depends on their use. And the fire service should incorporate these procedures into more common firegrounds, such as single family houses. The time to try out a new technique is not during a major fire scene.
For searches involving extended distances, it might be helpful to position secondary search teams part way into a search area. They can wait in reserve in case they are needed, and they can serve as a rescue team for civilians or firefighters.
Finally, all firefighters who enter a structure must be wearing an SCBA. Worcester Fire has such a policy. Although the facemask and air may not be needed, it must be available. This includes chief officers, aides, and ladder personnel. Even firefighters who are outside structure like apparatus drivers should have SCBA protection available in case of wind shifts or air born particles and debris. With the preponderance of hazardous materials in businesses and residences, SCBA’s use is an essential.
9. Techniques must be improved to better track the movements of firefighters within a structure.
Under current technology limitations, Incident Command is essentially limited voice communication/radio to track the movements of firefighters once they enter a building and disappear from sight. IC normally knows where a crew entered and possibly what their destination is, but without good radio reports, the exact movements and locations of crews are uncertain at best.
Rescue 1’s crew and Engine 3’s Lieutenant both had difficulty communicating their positions which complicated and delayed rescue attempts. Crews continued to search multiple floors in the warehouse because of this uncertainty tying up precious personnel resources and adding more congestion to Stairway 3.
Despite all lost firefighters wearing integral PASS alarms on their SCBA’s, no surviving firefighters recalled hearing them at any time. The building insulation may have absorbed much of their sound, and the ever present background noise of the fire scene itself may have obscured the rest.
10. Radio channels are often overloaded at multiple alarm fires, and alternatives must be explored.
The 800 Mhz trunked radio system used by the Worcester Fire Department had several major failures during this event. Mechanical failure of individual units occurred when the “emergency alert” button on the hand microphone shorted out on contact with water. Fire Alarm repeatedly ordered individual radio operators to shut down, and this took precious air time during an escalating multiple alarm event. In some cases the microphones were detached in the field at which time they functioned normally. Microphones without the alert button were placed on all radios after the conclusion of this fire. During interior operations, there were 1,000 “push-to-talks” registered for the Operations A talk group, the assigned fireground channel.
Like many progressive fire departments, Worcester has taken steps to insure that all crews enter¬ing a fire building have radio communications. A typical piece of apparatus carries one portable for the officer and one for a second firefighting crew. All members of the Rescue Company carry portables. Having multiple radios is good for safety, but their use requires significant training and discipline. It is all too easy to clog up the air with nonessential transmissions.
In some events it may even be necessary to use more than one radio and frequency to properly manage the incident. This would require someone to assist the Incident Commander and keep communications in order. If nothing else, a fireground frequency must be adopted by Command and all working units. One possible way to limit talk time would be to have a staging officer communicate with, and pass along assignments to incoming companies on a frequency other than those used for dispatch and fireground command. Once an assignment was initiated, the company would switch over to the fire- ground channel.
Departments must also choose their radio equipment carefully. The band used must be the best for the standard physical environment in which operations are conducted. Urban departments working inside cement buildings have requirements that contrast greatly with a rural department operating over long geographical distances. If transmission quality continues to suffer, the use of mobile repeaters or other devices might need to be explored.
11. The use of Thermal Imaging Cameras should be further developed.
The Thermal Imaging Camera has become a useful rescue and investigative tool for the fire ser¬vice over the past six years. Although early models had some operational problems, the latest versions are reliable and offer more options such as transmission capabilities. It is a device that belongs in every fire department, but its high cost has prevented the purchase by many agencies. Sales volume will hopefully bring down the price of this beneficial tool.
The camera used at the Worcester fire failed to operate properly, and the manufacturer attributed the problem to thermal overload. This was an early model, and the rescue crew using it was nearly prevented from entering the warehouse by the high heat. Their attempt to enter was one of the last, and no other crews made significant interior progress.
Under this high heat, the effectiveness of the device is questionable. Thermal imaging devices work well in cooler environments where the body temperature of a victim is higher than the surrounding air or a hot spot within a wall is warmer than the abutting construction. At high heat levels, these cameras will often “white out” because everything in its view is hot enough to affect the imager. If a victim was down in elevated heat, he would absorb the thermal energy of his environment. The turnout gear, for instance, would get hotter and the camera would not be able to differentiate between it and its surrounds. The survivability of a person in high heat for an extended time is negligible.
NIOSH investigators concluded that, to minimize the risk of similar occurrences, fire departments should
ensure that inspections of vacant buildings and pre-fire planning are conducted which cover all potential hazards, structural building materials (type and age), and renovations that may be encountered during a fire, so that the Incident Commander will have the necessary structural information to make informed decisions and implement an appropriate plan of attack
ensure that the incident command system is fully implemented at the fire scene
ensure that a separate Incident Safety Officer, independent from the Incident Commander, is appointed when activities, size of fire, or need occurs, such as during multiple alarm fires, or responds automatically to pre-designated fires
ensure that standard operating procedures (SOPs) and equipment are adequate and sufficient to support the volume of radio traffic at multiple-alarm fires
ensure that Incident Command always maintains close accountability for all personnel at the fire scene
use guide ropes/tag lines securely attached to permanent objects at entry portals and place high-intensity floodlights at entry portals to assist lost or disoriented fire fighters in emergency escape
ensure that a Rapid Intervention Team is established and in position upon their arrival at the fire scene
implement an overall health and safety program such as the one recommended in NFPA 1500, Standard on Fire Department Occupational Safety and Health Program
consider using a marking system when conducting searches
identify dangerous vacant buildings by affixing warning placards to entrance doorways or other openings where fire fighters may enter
ensure that officers enforce and fire fighters follow the mandatory mask rule per administrative guidelines established by the department
explore the use of thermal imaging cameras to locate lost or downed fire fighters and civilians in fire environments
In addition,
manufacturers and research organizations should conduct research into refining existing and developing new technology to track the movement of fire fighters on the fireground.
http://www.cdc.gov/niosh/fire/reports/face9947.html
Derelict buildings marked after Mass. LODDs
Haunting memories spurred Mass. chief to positive action
Thank you for your sacrifice and duty to country
Ten Minutes in the Street: On-scene, with Engine 13…..Ten Minutes in the Street: On-scene, with Engine 21, Second Alarm…
Ten Minutes in the Street: “Dispatch to Chief..You’ve got Two Working Fires…”
Buildingsonfire.com
Launching January 2010
An Informational, Reference and Training web site Dedicated to the Art & Science of Building Construction, Firefighting and Command Risk Management to promote Firefighter Safety
Advancing Training, Knowledge, Skill Development and Safety Focus for the Fire Service, and Supporting the NFFF Firefighter Life Safety Initiatives & EGH program
Check out Buildingsonfire now on Facebook, HERE
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Buildingsonfire.com planned features will include:
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Watch for upcoming annoucements
Building Knowledge = Firefighter Safety
During this week, there were on average, over 10,173 structure fires in the United States. According to NFPA statistics the following occur on average in the U.S;
• A fire department responded to a fire every 20 seconds.
• One structure fire was reported every 59 seconds.
• One home structure fire was reported every 79 seconds
• One civilian fire injury was reported every 30 minutes.
• One civilian fire death occurred every 2 hours and 33 minutes.
• One outside fire was reported every 41 seconds.
• One vehicle fire was reported every 122 seconds.
There are on average of Eight to Ten Firefighter Line-of-duty Deaths each month. There have been two LODD’s reported this first week of November alone.
The fire service continues to struggle with the challenges, opposition and merits in adjusting, altering, and changing our strategic and tactical ways of doing business in the streets. Some disagree others are indifferent, but regardless of your positions; the business of firefighting is changing, to some it’s just not being recognized or acknowledged. The traditional attitudes and beliefs of equating aggressive firefighting operations in all occupancy types coupled with the correlating, established and pragmatic operational strategies and tactics MUST not only be questioned, they need to be adjusted and modified; risk assessment, risk-benefit analysis, safety and survivability profiling, operational value and firefighter injury and LODD reduction must be further institutionalized to become a recognized part of modern firefighting operations.
Fire suppression tactics must be adjusted for the rapidly changing methods and materials impacting all forms of building construction, occupancies and structures. The need to redefine the art and science of firefighting continues to be a passionate discussion point.
The demands and requirements of modern firefighting will continue to require the placement of personnel within situations and buildings that carry risk, uncertainty and inherent danger. As a result, risk management must become fluid and integrate all personnel. We must manage dynamic risks with a balanced approach of effective assessment, analysis and probability within command decision making that results in safety conscious strategies and tactics.
Don’t mistake determined, effective and proactive firefighting with that of reckless, baseless and risk-preferring and self-indulging firefighting. There is a difference, a big difference! When we address relationships of Building Construction, Command Risk Management and Firefighter Safety with the occupancy and structural environment, all personnel, regardless of rank, need to equate the occupancy risk with strategic and tactical incident action plans.
These safely compliment the identified firefighting operation risk, with the projected building risk profile and interface appropriate behavioral characteristics in the task level firefighting activities. Again, equating building, occupancy risk profiles with determined, effective and proactive firefighting.
Stop and reflect today, where do you stand? What are your true beliefs and convictions in regards to the developing safety culture that is being forged and institutionalized within our fire service?
A recent posting by Chief Ben Waller on the Candle-Moth Syndrome and the reference to Target Fixation brings to light some very important insights related to buildings, occupancies and the risk assessment process.
The relationship of target fixation and faulted size-up that ultimately progresses to faulted tactics and the potential for detrimental incident outcomes is typically overlooked and seldom discussed.Target fixation is a process by which the brain is focused so intently on an observed object that awareness of other obstacles or hazards can diminish.
Also, in an avoidance scenario, the observer can become so fixated on the target that the observer will end up colliding with the object. How many times have you been “drawn” towards a specific tactical sortie, or have disregarded mission critical indicators that were so obvious, after the incident that you wondered what came over you in the heat of the battle? The Candle-Moth Syndrome is just the start of it.
In the realm of building construction, occupancy profiling and risk assessment, company and command officers must strive to develop astute and clear observation skills to quickly scan for key visual indicators that provide validation points on possible inherent building and construction type and systems, looking beyond the obvious at times and quickly processing that data and assumptions into definable strategic plans and tactical assignments-all with the appropriate balance of risk.The ability to move past target fixation attributes; and the skills to balance presumptive or validated past experience, street level assumptions and intuitive decision-making whether it’s recognition primed decision-making modeling and approach (RPD) or naturalistic decision Making (NDM), scan your operational field broadly and look over your buildings and occupancies with a wider field of vision and beyond.
Recognize that some “target fixation” points are very important in the overall processing and assessment of an incident, but are a part of the overall sum of the equating and evolving incident scene. I’ve spoken about the Predictability of Performance in building construction and occupancies a few times, and the challenge it presents in the context of present day fire suppression operations. Although experience drives a lot, there are times in which past experiences may not be the only recommended force that drives the incident action plan.
Be cognizant of the fact that similar building types can perform differently under what may be derived as similar fire conditions. Don’t get caught in target fixation and above all, have an understanding of building construction systems, their correlation to occupancy configurations and ultimately how they perform under fire (conditions). Know your buildings, expand your knowledge, develop your operational skills and enhance your tactical capabilities. It all starts with the structure….at a structure fire.
NFPA Responds to Flawed Justifications for Proposals RB53, RB54, RB56 and RB57 from IRC Fire Sprinkler Coalition. The National Fire Protection Association has analyzed substantiation statements by anti-sprinkler interests in their proposals to diminish or delete the IRC’s fire sprinkler requirements.
Read the NFPA Report HERE
IRC Sprinkler Coalition, HERE
The following are quotes from Fire Chief Anthony Aiellos (ret) Hackensack (NJ) Fire Department, Fire Chief during the Hackensack Ford Fire, July, 1988…
“If you don’t fully understand how a building truly performs or reacts under fire conditions and the variables that can influence its stability and degradation, movement of fire and products of combustion and the resource requirements for fire suppression in terms of staffing, apparatus and required fire flows, then you will be functioning and operating in a reactionary manner.”
“This places higher risk to your personnel and lessens the likelihood for effective, efficient and safe operations. You’re just not doing your job effectively and you’re at RISK. These risks can equate into insurmountable operational challenges and could lead to adverse incident outcomes. Someone could get hurt, someone could die, it’s that simple, it’s that obvious.”
Risk Based Response Assignments
The buildings, structures and occupancies that comprise typical response districts pose unique and consistent challenges during structural fire attack. The variety of occupancies and building characteristics establish varying degrees of risk potential, with defined and recognizable strategic and tactical measures to be taken-sometimes uniquely to each occupancy type. Although each occupancy type presents variables that dictate how a particular incident is handled, most company operations evolve from basic principles rooted in past performance and operations at similar structures. This is based on what I define as; “predictability of performance.”
When we look at various buildings and occupancies, past operational experiences; those that were successful, and those that were not, give us experiences that define and determine how we access, react and expect similar structures and occupancies to perform at a given alarm in the future. Naturalistic (or recognition-primed) decision-making forms much of this basis. We predicate certain expectations that fire will travel in a defined (predictable) manner that fire will hold within a room and compartment for a given duration of time, that the fire load and related fire flows required will be appropriate for an expected size and severity of fire encountered within a given building, occupancy, structural system.
We used to know with a measured degree of predictability, how our buildings would perform, react and fail under most fire conditions. This is what our years of fireground experience provided us, and how we ultimately would predict, assess, plan and implement our incident action plans and ultimately deploy our companies-based upon the predictable performance expected. Conventional Construction Structures (CCS) had this “predictably of performance.” You know, that typical residential structure, the 2-1/2 story wood frame, the three story brick and joist type III occupancy, the four story frame multiple occupancy, etc., etc.
Unlike Engineered System Structures (ESS) whose predictability is rooted in the fact that they are unpredictable.The emerging fire service issues affecting buildings, occupancies and structural systems related to ESS is only beginning to take hold a prominent role and level of significance that is long overdue. The fire service has been dealing with the operational issues and line-of-duty deaths related to ESS since the 1980s and now in 2009, we’re finally raising these ESS issues to a dialog point that is influencing firefighter safety, survival and operations. ( Refer to the Underwriters Laboratory’s (UL) UL University on-line training module for a state-of-the art presentation on Structural Stability of Engineered Lumber in Fire Conditions and performance results that correlate towards redefining fire suppression operations)
The fire service is beginning to fully recognize the merits in adjusting, altering, and changing our strategic and tactical ways of doing business in the streets. It’s becoming self evident in the fire service that it’s no longer acceptable to think that ESS buildings and occupancies will perform in the same manner as CCS buildings and occupancies and that tactics deployed in both CCS and ESS buildings and occupancies will react under similar strategic and tactical plans and tasks. These unique and inherent factors within the ESS profiles must give us a new standard for operational deployment; strategies and tactics that are defined by the risk profile of the building, its engineered structural systems, materials and methods of construction and the fire loading present.
Considerations for changing fire flow rates, the sizing of hose line and the adequacies for fire flow demand and application rates, staffing needs for safe operations, considerations for defensive positioning and defensive operating postures must be considered, and it warrants repeating again; Reckless-Aggressive firefighting must be redefined in the built environment and associated with goal oriented tactical operations that are defined by risk assessed and analyzed tasks that are executed under battle plans that promote the best in safety practices and survivability within know hostile structural fire environment- with determined, effective and proactive firefighting.
I’ve commented with more than a few postings on the issues related to engineer building construction components and assemblies. I posed some questions related to Engineered Structural Assemblies & Systems (ESS) and asked if you knew what they represent and how these components, assemblies and systems may affect or influence incident operations.
I also presented some information on the pioneering efforts and quantitative results of the Underwriters Laboratory (UL) engineers and fire service representatives from the Chicago Fire Department, HERE and HERE.
If you’ve spent any amount of time reading through the NIOSH Fire Fighter Fatality Investigation and Prevention Program, LODD Reports or have invested time and effort to look through the data base of near miss reports and ROTW at the National Firefighter Near-Miss Reporting System, you’d recognize the magnitude of the issues and multi-faceted challenges confronting the U.S. Fire Services in the areas of engineered structural assemblies, components and building features.
Paul Comb’s editorial image provides a poignant and distressing reality that the fire service needs to come to terms with, addressing and implementing the necessary components that assimilating refined combat firefighting techniques and methodologies; that align with the risks and hazards presented by current and emerging construction techniques, materials and consumer lifestyles that comprise our buildings and occupancies. We need to start looking over our shoulders; we need redefined strategies and tactics for today’s buildings and occupancies. When we do have the opportunity to engage in firefighting with the dragon; we may not recognize the dragon has changed, it has evolved. Yet we stand poised to engage or take-on the dragon with faulted incident operations, strategic plans and tactical intentions that provide less than adequate results.
In those situations where we are deficient or we achieved less than expected results, we continue to miss the apparent or root causes and fall back on perceived notions and excuses. Building Knowledge = Firefighter Safety; Understanding today’s building construction, fire dynamics, fire loading and behaviors and instituting appropriate firefighting methodologies, we can achieve safe and successful fireground operations. Remember, the Predictability of Performance and the combat firefighting based upon Occupancy Risk not Occupany Type.
Have you and your company, battalion or department discussed limiting factors, enhanced firefighting tactics or operational experiences related to engineered systems, past fires, observed new construction or renovations and what it all means to your assigned duties or company assignments?
Are you and your company adequately trained to address “modern” construction, occupancies and conditions or is a much bigger dragon lurking in the shadows?
With continued emphasis on alternative energy systems and applications, the newest feature to hit the American market place is thin film amorphous solar products. These products are individual solar panels that look like standard shingles, but are actually solar cell panels that can produce electricity. A recent posting from Firegeezer brought these units to the fire service attention.
UniSolarUnited Solar Ovonic LLC is the world’s largest manufacturer of thin film amorphous solar products. In plain English, Uni-Solar makes roofing shingles that look like standard shingles, but that are actually individual solar panels. When installed, you can network these shingles together to generate electricity to power a house or other occupancy setting. These shingles do not require support structures and are installed like conventional asphalt shingles to blend with existing shingles when installed.
The Dow Chemical Company announced on October 5, 2009 its line of DOW™ POWERHOUSE™ Solar Shingle, revolutionary photovoltaic solar panels in the form of solar shingles that can be integrated into rooftops with standard asphalt shingle materials. The solar shingle systems are expected to be available in limited quantities by mid-2010 and projected to be more widely available in 2011, putting the power of solar electricity generation directly and conveniently in the hands of homeowners.
Groundbreaking technology from Dow Solar Solutions (DSS) integrates low-cost, thin-film CIGS photovoltaic cells into a proprietary roofing shingle design, which represents a multi-functional solar energy generating roofing product. The innovative product design reduces installation costs because the conventional roofing shingles and solar generating shingles are installed simultaneously by roofing contractors. DSS expects an enthusiastic response from roofing contractors since no specialized skills or knowledge of solar array installations are required.
A little research reveals a number of similar products making their way into the market place and in a variety of applications. As with any building and occupancy, stay alert to building and architectural features that “look” different or don’t appear to be conventional in what you may have experienced prior. Although there is little fire service experience to draw from in these particular applications, operational issues related to roof area footing, ladder placement and integrity, penetration and cutting factors related to tactical assignments on roof decks all present additional situational awareness and hazard assessment when confronted with these or similar features during incident operations.
Stay alert and make sure you get out in the street and examine construction sites for potential installations as well as individual residential or commercial renovations that may have retrofitting installations on roof systems by adding these solar shingle systems in these challenging economic times.
Here’s a few additional sites to check into:
- http://www-personal.umich.edu/~bgoodsel/solar/2005/06/solar-shingles-installed.html
- http://hubpages.com/hub/Solar-ShinglesMultitasking-for-the-Off-Grid-Lifestyle
- http://www.dowsolar.com/
- http://www.alphasolar.com/alpha_solar_005.htm
- http://www.roofery.com/shingles/brands/uni-solar.html
- http://www.solar-components.com/pvshingl.htm
- http://greeninc.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/10/07/dow-unveils-solar-shingles/?em
Remembering the One Meridian Plaza High-rise Fire,1991
Ceremonies took place on Wednesday October 21 in Philadelphia, PA unvieling a memorial honoring PFD Fire Capt. David P. Holcombe, Firefighter Phyllis McAllister and Firefighter James A. Chappell who died in the line of duty while conducting operations at a high-rise fire in what is known as the One Meridian Plaza Fire which occurred on February 23, 1991.
A fire on the 22nd floor of the 38-story Meridian Bank Building, also known as One Meridian Plaza, was reported to the Philadelphia Fire Department on February 23, 1991 at approximately 2040 hours and burned for more than 19 hours.
· The fire caused three firefighter fatalities (LODD) and injuries to 24 firefighters.
· The 12-alarms brought 51 engine companies, 15 ladder companies, 11 specialized units, and over 300 firefighters to the scene.
· It was one of the largest high-rise office building fire in modern American history –completely consuming eight floors of the building –and was controlled only when it reached a floor that was protected by automatic sprinklers.
· The Fire Department arrived to find a well-developed fire on the 22nd floor, with fire dropping down to the 21st floor through a set of convenience stairs.
· Heavy smoke had already entered the stairways and the floors immediately above the 22nd.
· Fire attack was hampered by a complete failure of the building’s electrical system and by inadequate water pressure, caused in part by improperly set pressure reducing valves on standpipe hose outlets.
The USFA published a technical report (USFA-TR-049) on the One Meridian Plaza fire that is still available for download from the USFA web site, HERE. The report clearly defined the need in 1991, for built-in fire protection systems and reiterated the fact that fire departments alone cannot expect or be expected to provide the level of fire protection that modem high-rises demand. That fire protection must be built-in to the structures. This was clearly illustrated in this event when the One Meridian Plaza fire was finally stopped when it reached a floor where automatic sprinklers had been installed.
One Meridian Plaza was a 38-story high-rise office building, located in the heart of downtown Philadelphia, in an area of high-rise and mid-rise structures. The building had three underground levels, 36 above ground occupiable floors, two mechanical floors (12 and 38), and two rooftop helipads. The building was rectangular in shape, approximately 243 feet in length by 92 feet in width (approximately 22,400 gross square feet), with roughly 17,000 net usable square feet per floor. Site work for construction began in 1968, and the building was completed and approved for occupancy in 1973.
Construction was classified by the Philadelphia Department of Licenses and Inspections as equivalent to BOCA Type 1B construction which requires 3-hour fire rated building columns, 2-hour fire rated horizontal beams and floor/ ceiling systems, and l-hour fire rated corridors and tenant separations. Shafts, including stairways, are required to be 2-hour fire rated construction, and roofs must have l-hour fire rated assemblies.
The building frame was structural steel with concrete floors poured over metal decks. All structural steel and floor assemblies were protected with spray-on fireproofing material. The exterior of the building was covered by granite curtain wall panels with glass windows attached to the perimeter floor girders and spandrels. The building utilized a central core design, although one side of the core is adjacent to the south exterior wall. The core area was approximately 38 feet wide by 124 feet long and contained two stairways, four banks of elevators, two HVAC supply duct shafts, bathroom utility chases, and telephone and electrical risers.
SUMMARY OF KEY ISSUES
· Origin and Cause: The fire started in a vacant 22nd floor office in a pile of linseed oil-soaked rags left by a contractor. Fire Alarm System The activation of a smoke detector on the 22nd floor was the first notice of a possible fire. Due to incomplete detector coverage, the fire was already well advanced before the detector was activated.
· Building Staff Response Building employees did not call the fire department when the alarm was activated. An employee investigating the alarm was trapped when the elevator opened on the fire floor and was rescued when personnel on the ground level activated the manual recall. The Fire Department was not called until the employee had been rescued.
· Alarm Monitoring Service The private service which monitors the fire alarm system did not call the Fire Department when the alarm was first activated. A call was made to the building to verify that they were aware of the alarm. The building personnel were already checking the alarm at that time.
· Electrical Systems Installation of the primary and secondary electrical power risers in a common unprotected enclosure resulted in a complete power failure when the fire-damaged conductors shorted to ground. The natural gas powered emergency generator also failed.
· Fire Barriers Unprotected penetrations in fire-resistance rated assemblies and the absence of fire dampers in ventilation shafts permitted fire and smoke to spread vertically and horizontally.
· Ventilation openings in the stairway enclosures permitted smoke to migrate into the stairways, complicating firefighting.
· Unprotected openings in the enclosure walls of 22nd floor electrical closet permitted the fire to impinge on the primary and secondary electrical power risers.
· Standpipe System and Pressure Reducing Valves (PRVs): Improperly installed standpipe valves provided inadequate pressure for fire department hose streams using 1 3/ 4-inch hose and automatic fog nozzles. Pressure reducing valves were installed to limit standpipe outlet discharge pressures to safe levels. The PRVs were set too low to produce effective hose streams; tools and expertise to adjust the valve settings did not become available until too late.
· Locked Stairway Doors: For security reasons, stairway doors were locked to prevent reentry except on designated floors. (A building code variance had been granted to approve this arrangement.) This compelled firefighters to use forcible entry tactics to gain access from stairways to floor areas.
· Fire Department Pre-Fire Planning: Only limited pre-fire plan information was available to the Incident Commander. Building owners provided detailed plans as the fire progressed. · Firefighter Fatalities: Three firefighters from Engine Company 11 died on the 28th floor when they became disoriented and ran out of air in their SCBAs.
· Exterior Fire Spread: “Autoexposure” Exterior vertical fire spread resulted when exterior windows failed. This was a primary means of fire spread.
· Structural Failures: Fire-resistance rated construction features, particularly floor-ceiling assemblies and shaft enclosures (including stair shafts), failed when exposed to continuous fire of unusual intensity and duration.
· Int
erior Fire Suppression Abandoned: After more than 11 hours of uncontrolled fire growth and spread, interior firefighting efforts were abandoned due to the risk of structural collapse.
· Automatic Sprinklers: The fire was eventually stopped when it reached the fully sprinklered 30th floor. Ten sprinkler heads activated at different points of fire penetration. · The three firefighters who died were attempting to ventilate the center stair tower: They radioed a request for help stating that they were on the 30th floor. After extensive search and rescue efforts, their bodies were later found on the 28th floor. They had exhausted all of their air supply and could not escape to reach fresh air. At the time of their deaths, the 28th floor was not burning but had an extremely heavy smoke condition.
· After the loss of three personnel, hours of unsuccessful attack on the fire, with several floors simultaneously involved in fire, and a risk of structural collapse, the Incident Commander withdrew all personnel from the building due to the uncontrollable risk factors. The fire ultimately spread up to the 30th floor where it was stopped by ten automatic sprinklers.
Take the time to review this report and examine some of similar issues affecting the fire service today in the areas of staffing and resources, construction and materials, building codes, built-in fire suppression systems, training, pre-fire planning, fire load, fire dynamics and the current methodologies on wind-drive fire theory. Also take a look at the issues that affected operations at the 1988 Interstate Bank Fire in downtown Los Angeles, California.
Have you dropped in on the EGH web site recently and made use of the vast array of resources and media that can support a wide latitude of firefighter safety, health and survival initiatives?
Everyone Goes Home® is a national program by the National Fallen Firefighters Foundation to prevent line-of-duty deaths and injuries. In March 2004, a Firefighter Life Safety Summit was held to address the need for change within the fire service. Through this meeting, the 16 Firefighter Life Safety Initiatives were produced and a program was born to ensure that Everyone Goes Home®.
Have you made use of the Firefighter Life Safety Learning Media Center?Using variations of the Courage to Be Safe…So Everyone Goes Home® field program, along with material from the Firefighter Life Safety Initiatives Resource Kit the EGH program develops and deploys a new online learning segment each month. These online learning segments allow personnel to expand upon thier personal and professional development on demand. For more information regarding the EGH presentations or if you have additional comments please write to Robert Colameta, National Courage To Be SafeSM Program Manager at bobc@publicsafetyedu.com
Check out the NFFF’s Firefighter Life Safety Initiatives (FLSI) Research DatabaseThis database was created to support NFFF/FLSI goal of reducing firefighter deaths and injuries and, more specifically, partial fulfillment of FLSI Initiative 7: “Create a national research agenda and data collection system that relates to the initiatives.” There is a wealth of information available to support a wide range of firefigher safety, health and survival initiatives and programs within your organization.
If this is new to you, become aware of the 16 Firefighter Life Safety Initiatives , increase your knowledge and understanding of the efforts needed to support the injury and LODD reduction efforts that all begin at the department level and extend to the company level and ultimately to the individual firefighter level. YOU have the power to progress change and to support making the job safer. Take advantage of the opportunites before you, each and every day.
It’s all in your hands…
Here’s another prominent and important program that each of you should be visiting on a regular basis, The National Firefighter Near-Miss Reporting System.
The National Fire Fighter Near-Miss Reporting System is a voluntary, confidential, non-punitive and secure reporting system with the goal of improving fire fighter safety. Submitted reports will be reviewed by fire service professionals. Identifying descriptions are removed to protect your identity. The report is then posted on this web site for other fire fighters to use as a learning tool.
Check out the 2009 October Calendar Module on Decision Making on the resources page under 2009 Near-Miss Calendar or click on the featured resources on the NMR homepage. This interactive PowerPoint was created by Program Advisor John Tippett and can be used along with the case study and photo provided in the offical calendar. HERE
Did you know that the NMRS publishes a Report of the Week?ROTW 100809: What flashover? (09-171)ROTW 100109: The 35’ Ladder Raise Gone Wrong. (09-355)Past Reports Of The Week
Featured ReportsReport 09-433: Coupling disengages during hose testingAll Featured Reports
Featured ResourcesOctober Module: Decision MakingSeptember Module: Operational Readiness PowerPoint
There are three main goals of the reporting system:
1. To give firefighters the opportunity to learn from each other through real-life experiences;
2. To help formulate strategies to reduce the frequency of firefighter injuries and fatalities; and 3. To enhance the safety culture of the fire and emergency service.
The information is used in a variety of ways. Fire fighters can use submitted reports as educational tools. Analyzed data will be used to identify trends which can assist in formulating strategies to reduce fire fighter injuries and fatalities. Depending on the urgency, information will be presented to the fire service community via program reports, press releases and e-mail alerts.
What is a near-miss event?
A near-miss event is defined as an unintentional unsafe occurrence that could have resulted in an injury, fatality, or property damage. Only a fortunate break in the chain of events prevented an injury, fatality or damage.
Why should you submit a near-miss report?
A near miss experienced by a firefighter can improve the knowledge, skills and abilities of everyone who is made aware of it. Reporting your near-miss event to http://www.firefighternearmiss.com/ will help prevent an injury or fatality of a firefighter. Near-miss reporting has worked effectively in other industries, especially aviation, since team members have more knowledge. Industries using near-miss reporting systems have lower injury rates and fewer worker fatalities.
These are the kinds of questions that are asked on the report;
Section 1: 7 questions about the reporter (title, years of fire service experience, department type, etc.)
Section 2: 9 questions about the event (type, cause, etc.)
Section 3: Event description: Describe the event in your own words.
Section 4: Lessons Learned: Describe the lessons learned, suggestions to prevent a similar event, etc.
Section 5: Contact Information (OPTIONAL and CONFIDENTIAL)
Looking for Resources, take a look at the materials HERE
Each year a NMR Calendar is published and distributed nationally, the NMR web site provides monthly power point programs and references that align with each month’s near-miss case study report to provide you with training materials that can use to support training programs and drills at the local level to increase awareness and support injury and LODD reduction, HERE and HERE.
Look for the 2010 calendar coming out in December 2009.
For more insights on the NMRS, HERE
Many of us may have had someone in our career that provided influence, guidance and offered reinforcement, feedback or constructive criticism when needed. You know; that chief or company officer, who seemed to take you under thier wing and watchful eye in the street or at the least, spoke to you in the back of the apparatus bay when everyone else was in the day room.
It was that seasoned veteran or senior member who always seemed to have a bigger picture and insights on what was happening both on the fireground as well as in quarters, who shared words of wisdom or nuggets of information that helped in our individual progress, development and growth. Many of the lessons and insights related to me, both as a young firefighter and as I transitioned to an officer have stayed with me to this day.
Formal or informal, recognized or unacknowledged; mentors play a very real and important part in the development of a firefighter, company officer and chief officer. The opportunities for mentorship never pass with rank or position. On the contrary, the need magnifies and grows as you transition and move through the ranks and positions of responsibility and authority.
Definition of Mentoring
Mentoring is a developmental partnership through which one person shares knowledge, skills, information and perspective to foster the personal and professional growth of someone else. We all have a need for insight that is outside of our normal life and educational experience. The power of mentoring is that it creates a one-of-a-kind opportunity for collaboration, goal achievement and problem-solving. Traditionally, mentoring might have been described as the activities conducted by a person (the mentor) for another person (the mentee) in order to help that other person to do a job more effectively and/or to progress in their career. The mentor was probably someone who had “been there, done that” before. A mentor might use a variety of approaches, eg, coaching, training, discussion, counseling, etc. The Merriam-Webster WWWebster Dictionary defines a mentor as “a trusted counselor or guide
What is a mentor?
A mentor facilitates personal and professional growth in an individual by sharing the knowledge and insights that have been learned through the years.(DOT Mentoring Handbook, p2 http://www.au.af.mil/au/awc/awcgate/mentor/mentorhb.htm)
Teacher; share your knowledge and experience as a former USC student.
Problem solver; refer mentees to resources and offer options.
Motivator; when mentee is facing a challenging class, for example:This is done through encouragement, support, and incentives.
Coach; help mentee to overcome performance difficulties through positive feedback (reinforce behavior) and constructive feedback (change behavior).
Guide; help mentee to set realistic goals. Five goal setting factors: specific, time-framed, results oriented, relevant, and reachable. “If you don’t know where you are going, you won’t know how to get there.”
What is a mentee?
A mentee is an achiever–”groomed” for advancement by being provided opportunities to excel beyond the limits of his or her position.(DOT Mentoring Handbook, p3 http://www.au.af.mil/au/awc/awcgate/mentor/mentorhb.htm)
Learner; a strong desire to learn new skills and abilities
Decision maker; take charge of your education
Initiator; mentee is willing to explore challenges on their own initiative.
Risk taker; “If you want to increase your success rate, double your failure rate,” quote by Thomas Watson, Sr., founder of IBM.
Goal setter; if you know where you are going, people are willing to help guide you.
Mentorship refers to a developmental relationship in which a more experienced or more knowledgeable person helps a less experienced or less knowledgeable person—who can be referred to as a protégé, or apprentice — to develop in a specified capacity.”Mentoring is a process for the informal transmission of knowledge, social capital, and the psychosocial support perceived by the recipient as relevant to work, career, or professional development; mentoring entails informal communication, usually face-to-face and during a sustained period of time, between a person who is perceived to have greater relevant knowledge, wisdom, or experience (the mentor) and a person who is perceived to have less (the protégé)” (Bozeman, Feeney, 2007).
Think about where you fit into this process. Is there someone in your company, station or department that you see some potential in? Is there someone who could benefit from some level of encouragement, support or direction? Are you in need of some advice, feedback or guidance? Think about the possibilities, start communicating, get involved.
Ralph Waldo Emerson stated that, “You cannot do a kindness too soon, for you never know how soon it will be too late.” And indeed, mentors are doing kindness when they take on the responsibility of helping other people learn from their experiences. Through this, they can give back to society and make career growth, personal development, or intellectual achievement possible for the person they are mentoring.
“What we have done for ourselves alone dies with us. What we have done for others and the world remains and is immortal.” ~ Albert Pine
Take a look HERE for some insights on Life…..
For a different look at things, check out Randy Pausch’s “The Last Lecture”
http://www.blogger.com/img/videoplayer.swf?videoUrl=http%3A%2F%2Fvp.video.google.com%2Fvideodownload%3Fversion%3D0%26secureurl%3DqAAAAPEbdexZYqODP9Nt5kZfcH34HcrE1NkMlRf1z9L5802W6MRijrAOIqO4Khc8a-iyiU21BLipII46M6bwZzj2TMNlHvVIWradMjQfMmmqAZEv905jcQfEl1E7fymwM_S3dI8kqJRYY3rQzZNp616CfDzDEq39EvRHJ6nhTvmOnyAvD-mC9i0e1oEoGH04l_f2CuEbEAiYgiCGcvLHq5_UZBhAOvCiwATEG0tBpQxqlBQj%26sigh%3DbXt_-I5jjPPpFwQVenZawE7KhzY%26begin%3D0%26len%3D86400000%26docid%3D0&nogvlm=1&thumbnailUrl=http%3A%2F%2Fvideo.google.com%2FThumbnailServer2%3Fapp%3Dblogger%26contentid%3D5b9468a8794109e2%26offsetms%3D5000%26itag%3Dw320%26sigh%3DES-m6qqvkxWeZue7lJt8TvhsWXk&messagesUrl=video.google.com%2FFlashUiStrings.xlb%3Fframe%3Dflashstrings%26hl%3DenTwo common Structure Fires; one in Syracuse, New York, the other in Yonkers, New York. Both involving residential occupancies of legacy construction, both requiring tactical deployment assignments for search and rescue under heavy fire conditions; but each incident having profoundly different outcomes. One a close-call and near-miss, the other a LODD.
The Syracuse fire evolved into a firefighter mayday, when a firefighter’s air supply apparently became inoperable or depleted during primary search and rescue operations resulting in a maycall and subsequent rapid exit through a narrow upper window in the attic. The video clearly depicts the tense minutes during which time the mayday was transmitted and firefighter Ray Duncanson bailed through the attic window.
The Yonkers fire (HERE) also involved an early morning response to report of a structure fire in a multiple occupancy residential dwelling. Firefighter Patrick Joyce, a 39-year-old city firefighter and a 16-year veteran of the department, either jumped or fell from the top floor of the burning 2-story multi-family home and was pronounced dead at the hospital. Two other firefighters were seriously injured as they also searched for tenants in an early morning house fire. The cause for the bailout has yet to be determined.
Both bread and butter and common fires, that many of us have experienced in our years on the job; yet the unique circumstances of each building, of each occupancy, the fire behavior and incident parameters resulted in vastly different outcomes.
It continues to be all about doing the right thing, at the right time for the right reasons. Unfortunately, that also involves calculate risk, measured determination and circumstance that are reflected by who and what we do on every alarm, at every call, on every shift. Just as Buffalo, New York FD Lt. Chip McCarthy and Firefighter Jonathan Croom were doing the right thing, when deployed on the primary search and rescue assignment on the first-due, and the subsequent search and rescue on the RIT/mayday assignment at the August 24th fire in the City of Buffalo, NY. Their sacrifice in the line-of-duty, reflected the honor, courage, protection, fortitude and duty of the fire service, just as Yonkers (NY) firefighter Patrick Joyce displayed in the course of his assignment on October 2, 2009.
On any given day, at any give alarm, the dynamics around us at times may be in or out of our direct control. We may not be able to see what the cards have in store for us, BUT we must ensure we use every fragment of training, fortitude, knowledge, skills, courage, bravery, insights, luck and sometimes (other divine) intervention to get us through. We must have the fortitude and courage to be both safety conscious and measured in the performance of our sworn duties while maintaining the appropriate balance of risk and bravery.
· The demands and requirements of modern firefighting will continue to require the placement of personnel within situations and buildings that carry risk, uncertainty and inherent danger.
· As a result, risk management must become fluid and integrate all personnel.
· We must manage dynamic risks with a balanced approach of effective assessment, analysis and probability within command decision making that results in safety conscious strategies and tactics.
We don’t know what’s in the cards on any given day, but the citizens we protect can rest assured, we will do our job, as firefighters to the best of our abilities, because of who we are.
Firefighter Spot videos: Syracuse Fire HERE, Yonkers Fire, HERE
The 28th National Fallen Firefighters Memorial Weekend takes place this weekend at the NFA. The National Fallen Firefighters Foundation (NFFF) and the Department of Homeland Security’s U.S. Fire Administration are conducting the 28th annual National Fallen Firefighters Memorial Weekend this weekend, October 2-4, 2009. A plaque with the names of 103 firefighters who died in the line of duty in 2008 will be added to the National Fallen Firefighters Memorial, located at the National Fire Academy campus. The names of 19 firefighters who died in previous years will also be added. The plaques surrounding the Memorial, which was established in 1981, will contain the names of more than 3,300 firefighters.
Every October, the National Fallen Firefighters Foundation sponsors the official national tribute to all firefighters who died in the line-of-duty during the previous year. Thousands attend the Memorial Weekend in Emmitsburg, Maryland. The weekend features special programs for survivors and co-workers along with public ceremonies. New survivors will have the opportunity to meet fire service survivors from across the country so that you can share experiences, make lasting friendships, and begin to look ahead. The Memorial Weekend is a time for sharing and healing for the families of our fallen firefighters. Representatives from Honor Guard and Pipe Band Units participate as part of this solemn tribute and commemoration of your loved ones.
- Thirty-six states experienced line-of-duty deaths in 2008. Deaths resulted from many causes, including vehicle accidents while enroute to or returning from emergency calls, training incidents, building collapses, diving incidents, natural disaster response, being struck by objects (vehicles, trees, waterway from aerial devices, and gunshot wounds) at the incident scene, falls, heart attacks, helicopter/air tanker crashes, and burns.
- Five multiple fatality incidents accounted for 17 deaths.
- Two multiple fatality incidents occurred at structural fires, one in an apparatus crash after a bridge collapse during heavy smoke conditions at a wildland fire, one helicopter crash during a wildland fire, and one air tanker that crashed on take-off.
- Wildland fires, controlled burns and training/certification for wildland protection resulted in 15 fatalities.
- Oregon and North Carolina suffered the Nation’s greatest number of line-of-duty firefighter deaths in 2008 with 9 in each state, while Pennsylvania and New York had 8, Missouri had 7, and California had 6.
- The names of those fallen firefighters being honored at the memorial are posted HERE.
Chief Dennis Compton, Chairman of the NFFF Board of Directors, stated: “Our country’s firefighters make a commitment day in and day out to protect others from the ravages of fire and many other life threatening hazards. Each year we gather at the site of the National Fallen Firefighters Memorial in Emmitsburg, Maryland, to pay tribute to those firefighters who paid the ultimate price in the performance of their duties. The fire service is honored and humbled to memorialize these fallen heroes and show our sincere appreciation for the sacrifices made by those they left behind.”
For the third year in a row, STATter911.com has joined forces with Firehouse.com to bring you live coverage on the web of the events from the National Fallen Firefighters Foundation Memorial Weekend, October 3 to October 5. 103 firefighters who died in 2008, along with 19 who died in previous years, will be honored in Emmitsburg, Maryland.
There are a series of special live web streaming available for this weekend’s memorial services from: Firehouse.com and Statter911 as well as WeekendFireHero.com and FireEngineering.com.
Take a moment out of your schedule and participate in this solemn memorial honoring our brother and sister firefighters who died in the Line of Duty. Watching the National Fallen Firefighters Foundation Memorial Weekend service will leave an indelible impression upon you going forward. Its’ all about trying to do our jobs better, being a bit safer, understanding the risks and implementing the appropriate measures to address the incident demands we most often are confronted with.
Remember, We may love the job of firefighting, BUT there are those that love- US.
Remember who they are and what it takes to ensure that we do go home after those calls and shifts. This weekend, honor those who did not have the opportunity to make it back home, for their sacrifice and for the honor they have bestowed upon this great profession of the Fire Service and for the legacy that they have left behind to their survivors.
You can tune here to STATter911.com or to Firehouse.com to watch the Candlelight Service on Saturday evening and Sunday’s Memorial Service.
Live Video Broadcast of the Services:
» Candlelight: Oct. 3, 2009 – 6:15 – 7:30 pm
» Memorial: Oct. 4, 2009 – 9:30 am – 12:30 pm
Photos from the 2009 Memorial Weekend, HERE
Ways to Observe the Memorial:
- Download: 2009 Memorial Wallpaper»
- Pay Tribute: Issue a Proclamation»
- Honor: Lowering the U.S. Flag
Here are some other important links.
There’s been some recent issues that have centered on adequacy of existing water supply systems and pre-fire planning information that should be available to incident commanders and company officers to assist in the identification of appropriate or alternate water sources and systems to support the fire suppression demands of incident operations and strategic and tactical Incident Actions Plans.
Check out the central issues affecting one agency at Statter911 HERE, HERE and HERE and at Firehouse.com, HERE.
When ever there is an incident requiring Fire Department intervention that in turn requires water for application or in support of operational demands; incident command needs and requires timely, accurate and accessible information that can be retrieved for; water supply source(s), availability, reliability, sustainability, capacity, flow rates, gallons-per minute, location, limitations, etc. Pre-fire planning and coordination with other local agencies responsible for the area water systems must be instituted and maintained.
Here’s some useful information for you to look at further and assess your capabilities and limitations;
· NFPA 1720, Standard for the Organization and Deployment of Fire Suppression Operations, Emergency Medical Operations, and Special Operations to the Public by Volunteer Fire Departments, 2010 Edition
· NFPA 1142, Standard on Water Supplies for Suburban and Rural Fire Fighting, 2007 edition.
· Fire departments, when conducting pre-fire planning, should use NFPA 1620, Recommended Practice for Pre-Incident Planning, 2003 Edition for fires and other related emergencies.
· NFPA 1620, Recommended Practice for Pre-Incident Planning, 2003 Edition
· Fire protection systems and water supplies should be determined in the development of, and specifically noted in, the pre-incident plan.
· Adequacy of Water for Fire Fighting. The adequacy of available water for sprinkler systems, inside and outside hose streams, and any other special requirements or needs should be considered when evaluating a site for its fire loss potential.
· Required Fire Flow. The required fire flow should be determined by evaluating the site in terms of size of the building (e.g., height, number of floors, and area), construction type, occupancy, exposures, fire protection systems, and any other features that could affect the amount of water needed to control or extinguish the fire.
· A water supply test should be conducted in accordance with NFPA 291, Recommended Practice for Fire Flow Testing and Marking of Hydrants, 2010 Edition
· NFPA 1710, Standard for the Organization and Deployment of Fire Suppression Operations, Emergency Medical Operations, and Special Operations to the Public by Career Fire Departments, 2010 Edition
· Initial Full Alarm Assignment Capability. The fire department shall have the capability to deploy an initial full alarm assignment within a 480-second travel time to 90 percent of the incidents. The initial full alarm assignment to a structure fire in a typical 2000 ft2 (186 m2), two-story single-family dwelling without basement and with no exposures shall provide for the following:
· Establishment of an uninterrupted water supply of a minimum of 400 gpm (1520 L/min) for 30 minutes with supply line(s) maintained by an operator.
· Establishment of an effective water flow application rate of 300 gpm (1140 L/min) from two handlines, each of which has a minimum flow rate of 100 gpm (380 L/min) with each handline operated by a minimum of two individuals to effectively and safely maintain the line.
Also, check out this informational web site on Fire Hydrants and Water Supply issues, HERE.
NFA Alternative Water Supply: Planning and Implementing Programs (Q217) free On-line course on alternative water supply that is designed to assist fire chiefs, water authorities, public policy officials, and others whose responsibility it is to plan for and implement programs that allow for the use of alternative water sources during structural firefighting operations. HERE
NFA Testing and Evaluation of Water Supplies for Fire Protection (Q218) This course offers the opportunity to understand the testing and evaluation of water supplies, and also provides reference resources and several printable graph forms. The course covers the following areas: testing and evaluation of available water supplies for water supply systems; on-site storage systems; and rural areas not served by a water supply; determining water supply for automatic sprinklers, standpipe systems, and for fire suppression activities. HERE
Bottom line: You need to understand your buildings, occupancies, fire load and fire demand; coupled with knowing the charactoristics of your water system(s), it’s capabilities and limitations, and your district or response area’s risk and operat
ional needs.
ional needs.
Maybe it’s the right time to plan for some much needed training in this operational area?
Do you have any “gaps” that need to be addressed?
Without understanding the building-occupancy relationships and integrating;construction, occupancies, fire dynamics and fire behavior, risk, analysis, the art and science of firefighting, safety conscious work environment concepts and effective and well-informed incident command management, company level supervision and task level competencies…You are derelict and negligent and “not “everyone may be going home”.
How much knowledge and formal training have you had as a Commanding Officer or Company Officer on Building Construction?
Have any clue on the performance of Engineered Structural Systems….? Are your strategic plans and tactics aligned with Occupancy Risk and Building Performance Profiles AND the projected fire load/heat release rate?
If you think these factors are not important OR you dismiss them as being non-material-think again; They are Mission Critical for firefighter safety and incident mitigation.
How much thought and efforts do you place on looking beyond the routiness of our response operations? You know, the redundancy, routiness and frequency of typical calls you run, the types of fire you engage in and the manner in which your company interfaces with the balance of the alarm response when working a good job or multiple alarm operations.
When things go wrong, they can go wrong at an escalating rate that may at times not be apparent.Think about the issues that affect Errors, Omissions, Unknown or Unrecognized Building Profile or Construction, Wrong Tactics, Lack of Resources, Dysfunctional Command, Inadequate skills, High Risk-No Value, Situational Awareness, Tactical Entertainment…From a company level, what are your concerns related to the routiness of your operations?
How would you relate to the fact that: “It’s NOT always business as usual”.
Look HERE for a NIOSH LODD report that was recently published
Yvorra Leadership Development FoundationI had the pleasure of knowing and working with Chief Yvorra back in the early 1980′s when I bunked in and rode with PGFD Station 14 in Berwyn Heights, Maryland during my many trips to the MFRI and the UofM at College Park.
Here’s an exceptional opportunity that continues to honor the memory of an exceptional fire service leader.YLD is accepting applications for the 2009 scholarship award competition. The application deadline has been extended to October 5, 2009. The organization was founded in 1988 in memory of Deputy Fire Chief James G. Yvorra, who was killed in the line of duty. Since that time, YLD has awarded $88,000 in scholarships to members of the fire and emergency medical services.YLD’S Goals and Objectives.
The primary goal of YLD is to promote the importance of leadership as a key element in developing and improving emergency services in the United States. The Foundation works toward this goal by pursuing two basic objectives.The first objective is to provide limited financial support to qualified applicants to pursue advanced leadership development training and education. YLD achieves this objective primarily through its scholarship program. Since its inception in 1988, the Foundation has awarded $88,000 in scholarships to members of the emergency response community.
Recipients represent a wide range of emergency service organizations including volunteer, part-paid, and career personnel from fire departments, rescue squads, and emergency medical services.
The second objective of the Foundation is to promote a general awareness of the need for leadership development and training programs in the fire and emergency medical communities. YLD achieves these objectives through its press releases and by promoting and supporting special studies which improve leadership development.
Web Site HERE
You should make time this weekend and slide on over to the United States Fire Administration (USFA) web site HERE. USFA Report HERE
The United States Fire Administration (USFA) released the report Firefighter Fatalities in the United States in 2008. The report continues a series of annual studies by the USFA of on-duty firefighter fatalities. The USFA is the single public agency source of information for all on-duty firefighter fatalities in the United States each year.An overview of the 118 firefighters that died while on duty in 2008:
The total breakdown included 66 volunteer, 34 career, and 18 Wildland agency firefighters.
There were 5 firefighter fatality incidents where 2 or more firefighters were killed, claiming a total of 18 firefighters’ lives.26 firefighters were killed during activities involving brush, grass or Wildland firefighting, more than twice the number killed the previous year.
- Activities related to emergency incidents resulted in the deaths of 75 firefighters.
- 28 firefighters died while engaging in activities at the scene of a fire.
- 21 firefighters died while responding to, and 3 while returning from, emergency incidents.
- 12 firefighters died while they were engaged in training activities.
- 13 firefighters died after the conclusion of their on-duty activity.
- Heart attacks were the most frequent cause of death for 2008 with 45 firefighter deaths
Take a look at the issues, the factors and the causes. Take the time to think about what you can personally do to make a change, and what your company or agency must do, to support LODD reduction. Especially for those situations that are in OUR control.
Don’t forget about the resources at the Everyone Goes Home Program, HERE.
As well as the The Near Miss Reporting System, HERE
The fire service is beginning to fully recognize the merits in adjusting, altering, and changing our strategic and tactical ways of doing business in the streets. The traditional attitudes and beliefs of equating aggressive firefighting operations in all occupancy types coupled with the correlating, established and pragmatic operational strategies and tactics MUST not only be questioned, they need to be adjusted and modified; risk assessment, risk-benefit analysis, safety and survivability profiling, operational value and firefighter injury and LODD reduction must be further institutionalized to become a recognized part of modern firefighting operations.
Fire suppression tactics must be adjusted for the rapidly changing methods and materials impacting all forms of building construction, occupancies and structures.The need to redefine the art and science of firefighting is nearly upon us.
Some things do stand the test of time, others need to adjust, evolve and change.Not for the sake of change only, but for the emerging and evolving buildings, structures and occupancies being built, developed or renovated in our communities.It’s no longer just brute force and sheer physical determination that define structural fire suppression operations.
Aggressive firefighting must be redefined and aligned to the built environment and associated with goal oriented tactical operations that are defined by risk assessed and analyzed tasks that are executed under battle plans that promote the best in safety practices and survivability within know hostile structural fire environments, while maintaining the values and tradition that defines the fire service.There are clearly defined areas for the fire service to draw its attention and efforts for firefighter safety.
The 16 Firefight Life Safety Initiatives provides that clarity, unity and purpose. The responsibility is thrust upon each and every one of us to recognize, we have a duty and obligation to work collectively towards these mutual goals and objectives of fire service and firefighter safety, health and survivability.There are no days of rest; there is no waiting for “next year’s” Fire/EMS Safety Week.
There is only the recognition and realization that we still have a long road ahead of us, and yes we may be running against the wind, but we know we can institute the cultural safety changes necessary to have the wind at our backs.
There are 99 days of opportunity remaining in 2009. There are approximately 258 days of opportunity until the 2010 Fire/EMS Safety, Health and Survival Week. Don’t miss these opportunities to make a difference or to influence and change destiny; You have that ability.
You have choices and decisions to be made, they all have ramifications; Like choosing the red or blue pill…..
Going Forward in the remainder of 2009 and Beyond-Protecting Yourself: Your Safety, Health and Survival Are Your Responsibility. Take that responsibility and run with it…even if you’re running against the wind.
Have you stopped for a minute today and taken a good look around? Whether you’re sitting in the front seat at the stop light of an intersection or as you’re peering out the side cab window coming back from an alarm or while running errands in your POV; have you taken a good look around? As the Springsteen song goes; “this is your town”.
There’s a lot that can be gleaned from your surroundings on any given day. We sometimes take for granted the subtle changes that are happening all around us as we take care of business on our rounds, runs and calls. We tend to focus in on the immediacy of the events that are happening in front of us that demand our attention but fail to take a look around to pick up on information, data and insights that can help us on that next run or down the road in the future.
Take a look at the construction that might be going up in your areas. I’m certain you’re paying close attention to what’s happening in your first-due, but what about that third-due area, that neighboring jurisdiction or the mutual-aid area that you occasionally run in to? When you’re on that next EMS run or an investigation of an odor or alarm bells service call, take a few extra minutes to walk through the occupancy. Conduct your own mini company level pre-plan.
Look at the layout, features, access and construction features. If you have a chance, verify the structural support systems employed by the building for the floor and roof systems. If you have time, take the company on a quick site visit to that building that’s under construction or the renovations that are again underway in that commercial or business occupancy around the corner from quarters.
These continuing challenging economic times places a great deal of influence on what’s being built, how it might be constructed, the manner in which a building may be operational one day, vacant the other and under renovation the next. Sometimes these transformations occur literally overnight.
Take a good look around, this is your town…your district, your response area. Know your buildings, understand their performance profiles, and assess the predictability of performance. Remember; Building Knowledge = Firefighter Safety.
For many of us, the events of September 11th, 2001 will forever be etching into our minds and hearts. The magnitude and severity of the sacrifices made that day by the FDNY as well as the NYPD, EMS and PANY/NJ uphold the tradition, beliefs, values and ideals that the Fire, Rescue, EMS and Law Enforcement professions embrace.
The tragic loss of lives, the promise of the future; the unfulfilled opportunities and contributions that were yet to be recognized or made by many of those killed and the subsequent loss of completing life’s journey with their families, loved ones and comrades further magnifies the senseless and grief many of us share to this day.FDNY Assistant Chief Gerard Barbara , the Citywide Tour Commander on the morning of September 11th (Remembrance HERE) whose image was profoundly captured standing in the street within the shadow of the twin towers moments before the first collapse provides a poignant reminder of our sworn duty, obligation and responsibilities as firefighters.
As I was preparing to capture some thoughts that reflected upon this, the eighth anniversary of 911, I came across an article that I had written within the subsequent days of September 11th that was published shortly thereafter.
As I began rereading the narrative, the vivid emotions and sentiments that were present in such a raw manner on that day and in the days and weeks that followed came rushing back to the surface. I reflected on the thought that sharing this narrative once again would echo upon some of what we all shared that day and give rise to where we’ve been in our own personal journeys. This is why we must remember, this is why we must never forget.
The First Steps of Our Journey (originally written and published September, 2001)
Tuesday September 11th began unremarkably like many others. I began my instructional delivery of a course of instruction on Incident Command Management for Structural Collapse Rescue Operations as part of the National Fire Academy’s field delivery programs in Ft. Myers, Florida. The class was comprised of Special Operations Battalion Chiefs, Command and Line Officers from throughout the region. As we began our discussion on the needs for urban search and rescue preparedness and its relationship to strategic incident command management and tactical company level capabilities, the Ft. Myers Chief of Department came into the classroom and directed us immediately to the station day room. The time was 08:55 hours, and so began our journey.
The class immediately became transfixed upon the televised images streaming before us. The live coverage of the evolving sequence of events, the fire and emergency services responses and the devastation inflicted both in New York City and later in Washington, D.C., and the realization that this was a terrorist attack. For the next three hours we watched in disbelief the unfolding events in New York City at the World Trade Center, each of us fully realizing the magnitude and severity of the incident and the impact inflicted upon the fire, rescue, ems and law enforcement personnel operating at the scene.
The transmission of Manhattan Box 55-8087 to the World Trade Center Towers brought New York City’s Bravest and Finest. We witnessed the evolving events of the initial high-rise fires in WTC Tower #1, the vivid images of the second aircraft impacting WTC Tower #2 and shortly thereafter, the horrendous collapse of both towers.
We watched in silence, fully cognizant of the potential toll the resulting collapses could have on the operating personnel and civilians alike.Following numerous telephone calls home and to my fire station, with the impending arrangements and planning being undertaken for our fire department’s possible deployment to NYC, I began a twenty-two hour trek back home. The journey back was consumed with the constant reports filtering through the radio speakers of the ever increasing descriptions of the magnitude and levels of destruction at what has become known as Ground Zero.
The turnpikes I traveled were filled with the passing images of the initial public outpouring of emotions to the day’s tragic events. Lone individuals on overpasses and bridges, waving our nation’s flag. The flags drawn to half staff throughout the communities I passed through and the electronic message boards along the highway, with words of condolence and encouragement in this time of national grief. Still in my Fire Academy shirt with the embroidered words of the NFA and Structural Collapse, I was recognized as a firefighter and approached by numerous people along my route back who questioned the events of the day, who were seeking some sense of understanding for what was becoming recognized as a significant loss of life to unaccounted for fire, rescue, law enforcement and civilians.
There were the unsolicited words of thanks expressed by people at gas pumps and rest areas up the entire east coast, who acknowledged my fire service affiliation and connected to what they may have seen or heard in terms of the of the missing F.D.N.Y. firefighters and N.Y.P.D. law enforcement officers. This level of acknowledgement, seemed so strange, when any other time, we seem to blend into the back round of everyday life. All for having a fire service emblem on.
During my travel back to Syracuse, New York I listened to every report, every update and the ever increasing numbers of potential missing on the radio. Well after midnight I ran into a colleague of mine at a gas station, an Assistant Fire Chief from the Metro Dade Fire & Rescue Department, Florida who, along with four other urban search and rescue specialists were making their way to Washington, D.C. as part of the deployed FEMA USAR Task Force Team from South Florida. We shared in our grief over the immediate notification at a mayoral press briefing that our close friend FDNY Battalion Chief Ray Downey was identified as one of three chief FDNY Officers who died during the tower collapses.
We also shared in our grief in the initial reports of the over forty FDNY fire, rescue and support companies unaccounted for as a result of the fire suppression, rescue and collapse efforts. The continuing ride gave way to the thoughts and concerns of many of my friends within the FDNY. Were they on shift, are they accounted for, are they safe? I thought about everything that we have tried to prepare for, the years of developing our national urban search and rescue task force system, collapse-rescue training, terrorism preparedness and the images of the WTC events of the morning. I thought deeply of my twenty-six years of fire service involvement, my brother & sister firefighters, and again- the fate of my FDNY brothers and sisters in New York Ci
ty.
Subsequently in the days that followed, I became glued to the live televised images from Ground Zero and ever increasing reports of the search and rescue efforts deployed at the incident scene. As I watched alone into the early morning hours the images pouring across my television screen or at the fire station with my brother and sister firefighters, I began to contemplate the journey that lay ahead for our nation’s fire and emergency services. We will be forever changed by the events of 9-11. The most recent accounts have identified over three hundred thirty seven confirmed or unaccounted for firefighters, twenty-three law enforcement officers and over five thousand four hundred missing civilians. Rescue efforts remain the focus, with the realization that the probability of live rescues diminishes with each passing hour as the first week of Herculean efforts draws to a close.
The fabric that binds us within the fire and emergency services, the true bonds of brother and sisterhood in this proudest of professions can not be more poignantly depicted than the image of the three brother FDNY firefighters raising the American flag amidst the mountains of rubble and debris where once stood the World Trade Center. Each and every one of us understands the undertakings during the initial stages of operations at the WTC. We, the fire and emergency service providers protect the heart and soul of our respective communities. We understand the risks and challenges affecting our commitment to protect life and property and to meet those challenges armed with our training, preparedness and tools of our trade. We are the first ones in and the last ones out. The challenges ahead will be immense as the rescue efforts at Ground Zero evolve into the recovery mode of operation, and the continued efforts to bring home- back to quarters these missing firefighters.
In the days, weeks and months ahead, we will be witness to ever changing events in this continuing journey. We will share in the pain, grief and emotions that have become so deeply rooted inside of all of us in the course of these events in NYC and in our nations’ capital. For those who provided direct or support service to the events at the WTC, and those who may yet be called upon to render aide in the weeks and months ahead, each of us understands the calling and we also understand the pain. For each and everyone firefighter, rescue and ems provider would, if they could, would be side by side with those working at Ground Zero.
We must remain vigilant to our own community’s risk potential for future events and incidents and must strive to reduce the gap between our capabilities and those identified deficiencies. We must plan and train for the worst, for it’s not a matter of IF , it’s just a matter of WHEN. Our nation’s fire and emergency services have begun a journey, one that no one could have imagined, yet one that each will meet head- on. Remain safe, stay strong, and meet the challenges of your next alarm, with faith and the foundation of principles that have made our fire services what they are. We are all part of a brotherhood, we share a common belief and mission-we know our duty, we are firefighters, and will answere the call.
Remember and honor the sacrifices of 09.11.01 and the continuing sacrifices that are being made today by those fire and emergency services workers, support personnel and civilians that worked the recovery efforts at Ground Zero in the weeks and months afterwards who are dying or are afflicted by the lingering effects of exposure at the site. Remember the surviving families of those lost, remember the firefighters-who they were and remember who we are.
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