Enclosed Structure Dangers A New Approach for Firefighter Life Safety

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Enclosed Structure Dangers A New
Approach for Firefighter Life Safety

• By
• Chief Gary Bowker
• Kansas EGH Advocate
• Information presented in this program was largely
  obtained from research conducted by Fire Captain
  William R. Mora (Ret)
• San Antonio Fire Department

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Background

• Fire Marshal with the City of Arkansas City
• Retired Fire Marshal for City of Winfield
• Retired Fire Chief with U.S. Air Force (McConnell
  AFB)
• Past Fire Chief for Sumner County Dist. 10
• Lead Kansas Advocate for Everyone Goes Home
  Program
• Associate Instructor with KU Fire Rescue
  Training Institute
• Certified as Fire Officer II, Inspector II,
  Instructor II, and Certified Fire Explosion
  Investigator

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Course Overview

• The Firefighter LODD problem
• Lessons learned about Enclosed Structures
• The Firefighter Disorientation Sequence
• Proposed Risk Management Solutions

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This class meets 7 of the 16 Firefighter Life
Safety Initiatives1,2,3,4,8,9, 11
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The Problem

• US Firefighter LODDs continue to increase
  despite national efforts starting in 2004 with
  the introduction of the 16 Firefighter Life
  Safety Initiatives developed at the Firefighter
  Life Safety Summit .

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LODDs To Date_____
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US LODDs Past Decade
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Why???
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Top 3 Killers of Firefighters

• 1 Cardiac/Stress/Over-exertion (Approx 48)
• 2 Traffic AccidentsResponding to and returning
  from alarmsexcessive speed, lack of seatbelt
  use, failure to stop at controlled intersections.
  (Approx 31)
• 3 Failure to know or react to hostile fire
  events .i.e., Approaching flashover or backdraft
  conditions, Collapse, Failure to understand
  changing fire conditionssmoke resulting in
  Firefighter Disorientation. (Approx 21)

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Top 3 Firefighter Killers
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48
31
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Again.Why?
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A culture change is needed

• Complacency
• Competency
• Cockiness

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Things will not get better until there is a
culture change
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Terminology

• Open vs. Enclosed Structure An enclosed
  structure is a structure where there is an
  absence of useable doors and windows of
  sufficient size and number to provide prompt
  ventilation and emergency evacuationThis include
  s basements.
• Enclosed structures are highly prone to produce
  life threatening hazards are directly linked to
  LODDs
• These structures exist in tremendous numbers, in
  every community, and can be of any size, type,
  age, and occupancy. They can be occupied,
  unoccupied or vacant.

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What type of structure do we fight most of our
fires in?
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Open Residential Structures
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Enclosed Structures can be any size, any age, or
any occupancy and theyre found in all
communities
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The Enclosed Structure is a specific and
extremely dangerous type of structure and is
killing firefighters at a disproportionate rate
in multiple ways

• Floor/Roof Collapse
• Falls through fire-weakened floors
• Disorientation
• Depletion of Air Supply
• Flashover
• Backdraft

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12/99 Worcester, MA 6 Firefighters Killed
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Charleston 6/18/079 Firefighters Killed
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Why is this continuing to happen?
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The problem

• One common problem cited in firefighter fatality
  investigations is
• Failure to Follow or Adopt Standard Operating
  Procedures/Guidelines

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The Problem

• The US Firefighter Disorientation Study
  published in 2003 (Mora) found that many of the
  SOPs in use at the time of the LODD were
  actually ineffective, unsafe, or needed
  operational revision.

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Terminology

• Prolonged Zero Visibility Heavy smoke conditions
  lasting longer than 15 minutes.
• Why 15 Minutes?
• Do you know your air consumption rate?

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Lessons Learned

• Moras 2003 US Firefighter Disorientation Study
  spanned 22 years of LODD data from 1979-2001
  included 17 case studies.
• The study found
• Enclosed Structures are directly linked to
  Firefighter Disorientation
• In 100 of the cases studied when a fast,
  aggressive interior attack was used at enclosed
  structures, firefighter disorientation occurred
  100 of the time in which a LODD or serious F/F
  injuries were involved.

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Lessons Learned

• Moras 2nd Study-The Analysis of Structural
  Firefighter Fatality Database 2007 (1990-2006)
  found
• 444 LODD occurred 176 were structure fires
• 77 occurred in Enclosed Structures where a fast
  aggressive interior attack was utilized

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The Disorientation Sequence
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Why is this being repeated?

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A few of the lesson learned from Charleston

• Culture Change needed
• Competency, complacency
• Risk Assessment
• Construction type dangers
• Enclosed structure dangers
• Code Enforcement
• Preplanning
• Utilize latest technology

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Lessons Learned

• The fire services lack of knowledge about the
  extreme dangers posed by the enclosed structure
  and the disorientation sequence.
• Add to this the failure to recognize or react to
  the dangers of lightweight construction,
  pre-flashover backdraft warning
  signsMisinterpreting size-up
• Failure to Manage the Risk

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Lessons Learned

• When the downed Firefighter is not quickly
  located serious injury or death results.
• RIC on scene ready?
• Minimum of 90 seconds before RIC can enter
• Trapped firefighter usually not found until 3rd
  or 4th attempt.
• Do you have adequate staffing on-scene?
• Do you know your Air Consumption Rate?

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Proposed Risk Management Solutions

• Firefighters must be warned about the extreme
  dangers enclosed structures present and that an
  aggressive interior attack immediately upon
  arrival may be ineffective and unsafe in many
  cases.
• SOP/SOGs must be re-written adopting new tactics
  and strategies for enclosed structures,
  lightweight construction, basement fires, etc.

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Solutions

• The SOP/SOG must call for the utilization of a
  Cautious Interior Assessment (CIA) instead of the
  traditional quick hit.
• Quick Access Pre-Fire Plans must be developed for
  high-risk structures
• Officers must routinely integrate risk management
  into operations

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Officers must Integrate Risk Management by

• Using sound officer judgment at every structure
  fire to include
• Conduct Risk vs. Benefit Analysis
• SOG/SOPs must include a Defensive Fire Attack
  policy on structures that are fully involved, or
  where there is nothing left to save. Similarly, a
  primary search is not initiated.
• This policy must include abandoned, vacant, or
  dilapidated structures that are either partially
  or well involved.

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Risk Management Techniques

• Routinely assign Incident Scene Safety Officer at
  all enclosed structures
• Determine if basement is involved
• Utilize Thermal Imager
• Cut inspection holes in floor if needed
• Communicate information to crews
• Attack fire from safe positions
• Conduct Cautious Interior Assessment (CIA) at
  enclosed structures

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Cautious Interior Assessment

• The CIA is a process whereby
• First arriving engine company enters the
  structure with
• a. Thermal Imager
• b. Charged handline (w/ an established
  water supply)
• c. Backup crew
• To look into the structure and locate the
  seat of the fire.

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Cautious Interior Assessment

• 2. After the seat of the fire is located the
  officer makes the decision to
• a. Make an aggressive interior attack and
  call for additional resources, or
• b. Make a Short Interior Attack (SIA) or
• c. Go Defensive

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Short Interior Attack

• An SIA involves advancing handlines to the seat
  of the fire via the shortest distance possible by
  using existing windows, doors, or by breaching
  techniques.

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Benefits of the SIA

• Increases Firefighter Safety by minimizing the
  distance between the outside and the seat of the
  fire.
• It maximizes Firefighters Air Supply
• Prevents handline separation disorientation
• Helps avoid exposure to flashover/backdraft and
  collapse conditions.

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More Solutions.

• A Disorientation course must be provided to all
  firefighters
• Officers must be able to quickly identify an
  enclosed structure upon arrival and implement an
  Enclosed Structure SOP

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More Solutions

• Fire Departments must be advised that live fire
  training in acquired structures that are enclosed
  must be avoided.
• FD Inspections must insure the operational status
  of sprinkler and other suppression and detection
  systems in enclosed buildings.

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More Solutions

• Fire Departments should develop a list of
  Enclosed Structures in their communities with the
  addresses
• This information should then be provided to the
  dispatch center for immediate dissemination in
  the event of an alarm that address via CAD to
  Mobile Data Terminals in responding fire
  apparatus or via radio traffic.

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Not for a piece of property

• Firefighters traditionally serve our
  communities exceedingly well and save lives and
  structures that can be saved. However,
  firefighters can no longer needlessly place their
  lives in extreme danger for a piece of property.

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Closing Thoughts

• The firefighters who have died in enclosed
  structures over the past decades did precisely
  what they were trained, ordered, and expected to
  dothey implemented widely accepted tactics and
  strategies that have worked for them throughout
  their careers
• However, as long as we continue to fight
  fires in enclosed structures the traditional way,
  with complete confidence, by the book, from the
  unburned side, using a fast and aggressive
  interior attackwe will continue to die.

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The Times They are a Changin

• If your department routinely implements a fast
  aggressive interior attack without following a
  risk management statement and is not aware of the
  dangers associated with enclosed, abandoned,
  vacant, or dilapidated structures or maintained
  structures that cannot be saved, your
  firefighters run a high risk of serious injury or
  fatality.
• In the future, the high percentage of firefighter
  LODDs will only be reduced if local, progressive
  leadership institutes tactical changes more
  appropriate to managing todays risk.

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It takes a Tactical Cultural Change to Prevent
LODDs

• What were trying to do is change the culture of
  the fire service. Its no longer acceptable to
  put your life on the line for a piece of
  property. Yes, were going to save lives and
  were going to put our lives on the line to save
  someone else. But stop and think what your doing
  before you go into a burning building
• David Paulison, Former USFA
  Administrator
• To prevent the tragic loss of firefighters the
  safety culture must change. In this effort,
  Firefighters must understand that they are not
  required to sacrifice their lives to save any
  structure, regardless the type of occupancy
  encountered including residences, churches,
  restaurants, and even high rise buildings.
• Captain
  William Mora (Ret)
• San
  Antonio Fire Department

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Firefighters

• Stay together
• Avoid complacency
• Be a Leader
• Educate yourself and continue to do so
• If you see a problem take action to fix it
• Take ownership of this culture and change it
• Have the courage to be safe
• Stay Fit
• Drive Safe
• Tactics-Tactics-Tactics
• Make everyday a training day
• Your 1 PriorityGo home at the end of the day

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Fire Officers

• Your 1 Job is to insure Everyone Goes Home
• You must be an effective competent leader
• You must be prepared accountable
• You must be a good decision maker
• You must be an enforcer of policies and
  procedures
• You must be a good role model
• Nothing less than your crews life depends on
  it...

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Let me challenge you with this final thought..

• Firefighters-What are you doing both personally
  and professionally to avoid becoming a LODD
  statistic?
• Fire Officers-What is your department doing to
  avoid experiencing a LODD?

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For More Information

• Everyonegoeshome.com
• Firefighterclosecalls.com
• Firerescue1.com

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Thank You and Stay Safe