PHOTO SIZE UP:


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Posted by Don for John Vigiano on October 20, 1998 at 23:52:17:

PS not every unit put the OV in the telephone booth. In fact many trucks in
the 15th division put the can man in the phone booth...interesting???

PHOTO SIZE UP:

Based on your picture, here is a quick way to make a size up

Definition" A pretty good definition of size up would be "An ongoing
evaluation of problems encountered in a fire or an emergency situation".

That is quite a mouth full. How do you teach a "proby" to make a good size
up? How do you teach the detail from an engine company how to size up a
tenement fire (pictured here) working in a ladder company.

There are so many things to take in and such a short time to do it. Getting
off the apparatus for a top floor fire in a tenement demands many instant
decisions. Each member has a position and an assignment, and it must be
covered. This is critical.

In the attached photo, "what do you see"???

What type of building?

I see a row of frame multiple dwellings. Why frame and not old law tenements?
This is an educated guess based on 36 years of fighting these fires. As a
rule, OLT (brick front) usually are not covered with siding. Generally siding
is put over frame buildings. The buildings in this photo appear to have
siding on them. A quick and simple size up!

Multiple dwellings because they are four stories high.

How many windows across the front?

Again this is important. Most row frame and many old law tenements have a
similar floor layout. This is usually related to the amount of windows across
the front of the building.
á A three-window front is laid out like a "Brownstone" or one-occupancy per
floor.

á A four-window front usually means two apartments running front to rear with
a center public hall and stair to the top floor. At times this may extend to
the roof and exit through a bulkhead. Or it may terminate at the top floor
with only a vertical ladder leading through a scuttle to the roof. Another
step in your quick size up.

Fire escapes: what do they tell you?

á A front fire escape should tell you there are two apartments per floor. One
apartment in the front of the building and another apartment in the rear of
the building. In most cases, all four-story frame or old law tenements should
have a rear fire escape since they are considered multiple dwellings.

á No fire escape in the front of the building: This is quite common. However,
the height of the building has to be considered. Most four story and higher
tenement buildings are multiple dwellings. Hence they are required by law to
provide two means of egress for all occupants of the building. The interior
stair is one and a fire escape is the other. Usually this fire escape is in
the rear of the building.

á Front fire escape: Occasionally there may be a building with only a front
fire escape. As a rule, this would be on a three-window front building three
or more stories. It was once a private dwelling and when the owner decided to
convert this to a multiple dwelling, he added the fire escape to the front of
the building. Two means of egress is the law not a front or rear issue.

Positioning and Assignments

Earlier I mentioned how important positioning and assignments are to a
successful operation. The only members of the team that can confirm the
presence of fire escapes are the Roofman or the OV. It is very important that
they give an immediate report when there is no rear fire escape.

Example: The fire photo, no front fire escape on the fire building. It is a
four-story frame, it should have a rear fire escape, or it could have a party-
balcony fire escape or it could have been removed for renovation or repair.
Anything is possible.

Operating forces would enter through the front window of the adjacent
apartment (via an aerial and search toward the rear of the apartment.
Thinking they have another means of egress if they get cut off from returning
to the aerial. The roof man's report of "no rear fire escape" would be vital
to this operation.

Fire Extension

This same building tells the Engine Company they have two apartments per floor
and there is a good chance that fire will get across the public hall and into
the adjacent apartment if it enters the cockloft.

The incident commander must be aware of this same fact and have another line
taken via the interior to the adjacent apartment.

If it does enter the cockloft, we could possibly have fire in two or three
buildings. Frame building fires, especially top floor fires have to be
considered "exposure fires", meaning fire may enter one or both exposures. A
Chief officer will need reports immediately if he is to "pro-active" and call
for more units immediately.

If this building had a front fire escape and a rear fire escape, it could have
four apartments per floor. This brings up the problem of life and fire
extension even greater. Now we can fire in front and rear and the exposures,

Light and airshafts: Most of these buildings will have some sort of shaft.
These buildings are approximately 100 years old. Built before electricity.
In order to get light and ventilation into the interior rooms, shafts were
built. Over the years, some of these shafts get covered over. As a rule, if
there is a shaft and fire gets into it, it also can lead to an exposure
problem without getting into the cockloft.

In fact, this photo could very well be a shaft fire in a lower floor that has
extended to the top floor and entered through an open window. Shaft fires
travel quickly and upward without venting through the front immediately.
Again, reports from the units make this determination very quickly

So how do you teach the proby and or the detail to read this building quickly?
Answer the following questions as you get off the rig and approach the fire
building.
á What kind of building?
á How many stories?
á How many windows?
á Fire escapes? (yes /no/where are they)

This will help him initially. The rest comes with time and experience.

JTV


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