HIGH-RISE FIRES

NOZZLE TIPS: For high-rise fires use a smooth bore nozzle (or a break-away). In addition to a better stream and less friction loss, it allows the debris and sediment from inside standpipe risers to get flushed out through to tip. This should also be done at the outlet. Make sure before entering the fire area, flake excess hose on the hinge side of inward swinging apartment doors to keep it from catching, or closing behind you. 

When advancing a handline down a long hallway with low or zero visibility, try and keep the line taut and stay in contact with that line. If a hostile event occurs or the low air alarm is sounding, following that hoseline will lead right back to the stairwell for safety. If too much line is flaked into the hallway, it will make following that line out much more difficult. 

TIP: If you see excess or tangled hose off the standpipe, unfuck the line! Make sure the first line is flowing water at proper pressure and ready to go before focusing on the second line! 

When arriving at the fire apartment, don't just crack the nozzle to bleed the air out. FLOW the line (away from the elevator shaft) for several seconds. This will ensure that you flush out any sediment, ensuring an adequate stream before entering the apartment. Opening the line up only to discover the stream is "pissing" on the fire as it rolls out into the hallway over your head will have you retreating. There could be a problem with water pressure caused by kinks, pinched hose, PRD's, FDC's, fire pumps, or the standpipe.

DANGERS: Firemen face many of the dangers fighting a highrise fire as they would a mid-rise fire or finished basement fire. These dangers include flashover, localized ceiling collapse (drop) heat exhaustion, steam burns, difficult stretches, disorientation (closets, dead end hallways). 

We must also consider the following:

FALLEN GLASS: Windows in high-rises are thick and heavy. Large shards of glass falling down 20-30 stories can kill civilians on the ground AND the pump operator at the FDC. Venting windows in MOST high-rise fires is dangerous and not recommended. Firemen have no control over a window failing on its own from the fire, which is why the IC should immediately assign a safety officer to keep the street/sidewalk area under the fire side of the building clear of onlookers. 

There are some situations and conditions where you can vent the windows in a high-rise fire such as the presence of outside balconies, setbacks, or if the sidewalk/street area has been closed off preventing anyone from walking into the hazard area. If the glass is going to land on a nearby buildings roof, it's safe to break a window. Most modern high-rise buildings have impact-resistant glass which is extremely difficult to break. A key or wrench is needed to open them.

TIP: I always make it a habit to look up and check for balconies as I exit the apparatus and approach the building. In addition, I also note wind conditions, and the setback to estimate the maximum floor height that our 100' ladder can reach. I do this at every high-rise building I respond to no matter what the call is.

ELEVATORS: Check the status of the elevators and assign a fireman to the elevator control position. If the elevators are not automatically recalled to the lobby (or designated area for that building) do so with the FF service key (Phase 1) The elevator keys are usually in the knox box. REMEMBER to use 'Firemen Service' elevators only. A general rule of thumb is if the fire is reported below the 8th floor, take the stairs and if it's above the 8th floor, take the elevators two floors below the CONFIRMED fire location. This isn't a hard fast rule and there will be exceptions so we have to be flexible depending on other factors. 

Always check the shaft for smoke/water (sprinkler activation) and the "blinking white helmet" on the display panel before using an elevator. Do NOT get in the elevator if the fire helmet is flashing. The shunt trip breaker has tripped and will stop the elevator. A heat detector, sprinkler or smoke condition in the hoistway or machine room will shut down the mainline power prior to a sprinkler activation trapping firemen inside with no control. Firemen will have to force their way out, or rescued by other firemen. Some elevators may continue to the next landing, open doors and go OOS.

 Identify elevators servicing a blind shaft and elevators that service only the floors ABOVE the fire. Never take elevators directly to the reported fire/alarm floor or a subdivision. If you're not sure of the fire floor, prioritize locating it! 

Coney Island Brooklyn NYPD LODD Taking Elevator To Fire Floor

WARNING Be aware of open shafts! Many urban areas have vacant highrises and midrises. Scrap thieves and vandals remove hoistway doors leaving open shafts. In addition, be careful with outward opening doors in hallways as these can be "swing" doors leading to an open elevator shaft when crawling down hallways in poor visibility conditions. 

 A firefighter in Chicago was killed searching for the fire on the second floor of a vacant warehouse and fell down the open shaft to the basement in low visibility. 

Chicago Firefighter killed falling down elevator shaft

A firefighter in Cincinnati was killed in 2015 doing just that AFTER it had been marked "do not enter" by a prior crew. The fireman was looking for his crew and opened the door falling 24' to his death landing between the elevator and wall. 

Cincinnati Firefighter killed in unsecure elevator shaft

Elevator Use During Fire: An 8 year study of 179 major fires in buildings where elevators were present revealed that elevators failed at 59 fires. That's one-third of the major fires. Fire, heat and water caused electrical malfunctions in those elevators. 

 Click here for our elevator page. 

ENTRAPMENT: In residential high-rise fires, firemen have become lost/disoriented in dead end hallways, ceiling collapses, bathrooms, trash chutes, elevator shafts and janitor closets. While crawling around in commercial buildings, especially core construction, it's easy to get tangled up in wires from the plenum space above  suspended ceilings, in addition to the many partitions, computer equipment, power strips-cords, desks, and chairs in an office building.   

Asheville NC Highrise Fire LODD Mayday "Alarm Activation" 

WIND DRIVEN FIRES: The biggest danger of fighting an upper floor high-rise fire is a wind-driven fire pushing the inferno down the public hallway like a blowtorch. Described as "blowtorch" fires by the firemen who have survived these incidents, they are caused by strong winds entering the fire compartment through open (broken) balcony sliders or windows, and driving the intensified fire through the open door leading to the public hallway. The hose team will be overwhelmed as the fire blows towards them. See videos below on wind driven fires. (Flow paths)

When it comes to high-rise buildings, the wind will most likely be stronger on the upper floors and along coastlines. Companies arriving on scene at a reported high-rise fire could have slight wind conditions at the ground level, but upon arriving to the 28th floor they are met with strong wind conditions blowing fire out of the open apartment door into the public hallway. 

Firemen must be prepared for "blowtorch" fire conditions in high-rise fires on the windward side of the building, especially if the windows in the fire apartment fail due to fire, are left open by fleeing occupants, or prematurely vented by firemen.

Door control is also very important, but if the occupants left the door open, the fire has the potential to enter the hallway continuing a dangerous path that can reach temperatures of 2,500° F. Taking a fire with that intensity HEAD ON with a 150-180 GPM line will be difficult, if not impossible. Several factors must to be present to create the blowtorch effect, but firemen still need to recognize the warning signs. Reduce the path by controlling the doors and coordinating with the vent team. These wind-driven fires can occur with gusts as low as 10-15 MPH. 

PRESSURE REGULATING DEVICES (pictured above) are pressure-restricting devices, pressure-reducing valves, and pressure control devices that are designed for the purpose of regulating, controlling, or restricting water pressure in order to limit standpipe outlet pressure in flowing conditions. In 1991 after the tragic One Meridian Plaza fire in Philadelphia PA, these regulating devices became an essential part of high-rise operations, and many in the fire service starting recognizing these devices as a serious problem. For more on PRD's, PRC's, PRV's - CLICK BELOW

NATIONAL FIRE SPRINKLER ASSOCIATION 

ENGINE COMPANY STANDPIPE OPERATIONS: PRESSURE-REGULATING DEVICES

CHANGES IN HIGH-RISE BUILDINGS: IS IT TIME TO CHANGE YOUR PROCEDURES?

RECON: It's not always necessary to recon the floor below the fire. If the building occupant is telling the fire department that the fire started in their apartment which is 17B, and the alarm panel has activations from the 17th floor on up, there's a good chance it's apartment 17B. If the hallway conditions are tenable and visibility is clear enough to locate the fire apartment, there's no need to recon the floor below; UNLESS there's a need to check wind direction. Opening the window of an apartment on the floor below, or adjacent to the fire to check wind conditions is beneficial when checking for potential wind-driven fires. But, it's also very time consuming, if you can even access an apartment. The reflex time for high-rise fires is already long enough, so try to obtain wind direction from the IC or when approaching the entrance to the building after arrival. Cracking a hallway or stairwell window on the fire floor (if present) is quick and effective. If there's poor visibility on the fire floor, the officer can take a minute to recon the floor below to determine the location of the apartment, distance, and layout. The rest of the crew should be preparing for the standpipe stretch and "masking up."

In many cities, the Truck Company will recon the fire floor, force the fire door and refuge apartment door if needed for the engine company while they're making their connection and preparing the stretch. When deteriorating conditions and poor visibility exist in the hallway, using a thermal imaging camera can assist finding the fire area. The fire compartment will have high heat registering around (top) the door frame. 

TIP: If the stretch from the floor below to the fire apartment will not reach, but from the fire floor will reach, and the hallway is clear (fire apartment door is closed) if the strategy is to hook up on the fire floor standpipe to reach the apartment, it MUST be from an enclosed PROTECTED stairwell. This is unbelievably a controversial tactic and will depend on various factors the company officer must consider when making this decision (stretching from an enclosed stairwell, tenable conditions, sprinklered hallways, stage of fire, capability of his crew) Consider correctional facilities, nursing homes, hospitals, parking garages, arenas, stadiums, schools and other occupancies where this is the best or only option. Obviously, we don't consider this in open stairways tenements, etc.. Sadly, common sense, good judgement, and countering robotic tactics is also controversial in the fire service.

THE STAIRWELL STRETCH CLICK HERE

Alarm activations with smoke conditions in numerous locations will send firemen to multiple floors trying to locate the source. Checking the trash chute hopper doors in the hallways on each floor, can determine if the smoke is coming from the compactor room or incinerator area below. If there's an odor of burning garbage, it's possible it's a stuck trash bag between floors. Most compactor rooms have sprinklers directly above them (activated sprinkler is an indicator when reading the alarm panel) but smoke and carbon monoxide can still fill the upper floors. Have a company check out the compactor room.

REMEMBER: Most alarm panels will identify an alarm activation in the compacter-chute room. Some trash chutes have are equipped with sprinklers, while others have been taken out of service, with the hopper doors permanently closed shut. 

See how modern  trash chutes work.

COMPACTORS: Small compactors and dumpsters with wheels can be rolled out onto a nearby loading dock and extinguished, but others are heavily secured commercial compactors that will need to be extinguished in place. Working around compactor machines can be very dangerous as they can lead to crush injuries. Secure the power AND movement of a compactor and be careful where you place pike poles/hooks arms and hands when attempting to remove a blockage in the compactor/chute. 

INCINERATORS: Incinerators are supposed to burn. The problem with incinerators are obstructions in the chimney when improperly used as a trash chute, causing smoke to exit from open hopper doors BELOW the blockage point. To located a blockage, check the lower floors/chutes and work your way up until there's no smoke exiting from the hopper doors. The blockage will be below that location. Try to dislodged with a pole/hook/chain or by other means. Bring the water can.

7 DIE AS TRASH FIRE RACES UP TRASH CHUTE IN SKYSCRAPER
2 INJURED IN SOUTHSIDE INCINERATOR FIRE

PARKING GARAGES: Fires in parking garages adjacent to high-rises buildings.

PARKING GARAGES CLICK HERE