By Chris Willis
我的previous articlediscussed hazards firefighters might face when dealing with fires in agricultural barns. The second part of this article deals with cross barns, or “mega barns.”
Cross barns refer to a combination barn and living quarters. They are usually super-sized.
The first two photos below show the left side of the barn and the right side of a cross barn, respectively.
When facing these barns, be very careful in regard to operations, response, and size-up.
预备过程从建造谷仓的那一刻开始。当谷仓上升时，开始制定游戏计划以进行应急响应。让我们看一下这些“大型谷仓”之一的预备过程。
预备
When you learn about one of these mega barns going up in your area, you have a couple of options. Try to start preplanning as the structure is being built; be there to see the wiring going in, and determine how far the studs in the walls are set apart from one another (you can’t always go by code–if things aren’t being done by the book, here is your chance to catch it and put a stop to it). Otherwise, you must preplan after the barn is up and in place. I like to preplan from day one of the build, since I prefer to be involved with the blueprints and see how the barn is being constructed. This does a few things: You get to know the owners, which can help with public relations as well as allow you to do some fire prevention talks pertaining to the “mega barn.” It also allows your crew to become familiar with the structure: the builder knows his work inside and out. If your firefighters know the building layout and construction in the same way, they will be better prepared for an emergency at the structure. Some things to look for are the following.
Yes, pull stations in a barn.
Preplanning from day one helps familiarize your crews with the building construction. Some of these barns are heavy timber (Type 4) construction; others are built Type 1 or 2. In the following photo, note that the barn is a cross between a heavy timber and a lightweight steel truss barn.
确定您要处理的结构类型至关重要。您认为这张照片中哪个是木梁或钢桁架？在照片中间的左侧是一条走秀，这意味着它是两层楼的结构。
In this photo, we see a sprinkler line. Note that the steel trusses are just bolted to the I-beams .
Note how all the weight is BOLTED to the support. How long do you think this will last under heavy fire conditions?
谷仓中的轻质钢桁架。
以上照片是通用/储藏室的屋顶设置。在这里，我们看到了Breaker Boxes - 您在房屋中会发现的“老大哥”版本。所有这些都在谷仓里！
这张照片显示了看起来像一个随机的门,前女友cept it is the main point of access to the second floor; several full-style apartments are present. (I was unable to get pictures of the living quarters.)
This vehicle is not a tractor, but rather construction equipment loaded with fuel and hydraulics. This equipment under fire conditions could create a near-zero visabilty setting for your attack and search teams.
Yes, these are solar panels on a barn. Notice the windows above them, which are the windows to the previously mentioned apartments. There is nothing traditional about this type of barn.
HOW TO SET UP YOUR APPARTUS
At emergency calls in these structures, pay close attention to rig placement and approach. For example, are local roads and bridges going to hold responding apparatus? Don’t try to take a 40,000- or 45, 000-pound apparatus over a bridge rated for 38,000 pounds. This requires preplanning. I know of a certain bridge trucks cannot get across, but our engines can; this may require your engine crews to be ready to do truck work in some situations.
另一个问题是位置。有时，这些巨型谷仓距离主要道路，使通道和供水变得复杂。在某些情况下，多个设备可能无法开车到该物业。您将不得不上演他们。这可能会帮助您或伤害您：如果您必须继电器泵，很高兴连续将引擎插入，但是对于人员到达指挥所或从钻机上获取工具可能会带来问题。例如，如果您有快速的干预团队（RIT）职责，并且距离房屋正面50码或更多，则必须将所有工具带到RIT登台区。
钻机放置的另一个问题是供水。如果您在两车道上的道路上，并且需要进行水毛，则不想阻止您的招标通道。
请注意，当消防员准备为攻击线准备以脱离前保险杠排放时，司机如何检查他的间隙。司机确保他的招标可以在发动机后部设置一个垃圾箱。垃圾场，然后拉开是“面包炸弹”装置，用于水 - 毛刺行动。
一个主要问题是找到消防大楼的位置。例如，我看到一个农场散布在整个农场。有足够的街道似乎是一个小镇。作为第二和三点，如果您不熟悉该地区，这确实会造成问题，尤其是如果您是掩护人员。
What you see on that post is the number 13. This was a system that the Lexington (KY) Fire Department had set up for its coverage areas. It worked like this: when you had an incident on a farm, it would come up as incident at fire gate “blank” (in this case, fire gate 13). The farmers knew these gates well and could help firefighters get dispatched to the correct location
TACTICS AND STRATEGIES FOR THE FIRE ATTACK
After all the preplanning (and, hopefully, training) on what do to and how to set up at one of these mega barns, what do you do when you get there?
A thermal imaging camera (TIC) is extremely useful, but if you don’t have one, you can still manage. It is critical to locate the fire, even more so than in fires at homes. As you can see from the photo below, firefighters from Engine 13 are advancing down a long passageway that’s an easy stretch for their 2½-inch line, but if this is not an easy task for your crews to perform, get out and train hard.
Line selection is critical at these fires. On reason is water supply. If you are in an area that has no hydrants or sources of water to draft from, a 2½-inch attack line will be difficult to use unless you put in the work beforehand to make sure you have enough water. If you are flowing 180 gallons per minute (gpm), you can run through your tank water in a hurry. If you run a ram monitor or any other little blitz-style monitor, which can flow 500 gpm, you will empty your tank water very quickly. The plus side of this, however, is that, if your lines are placed correctly, you will knock down a lot of fire with that tank water and knock it down fast. One thing you can do to correct this situation is to have a water shuttle plan in writing so that if one of these mega barns goes up, your water supply is preset and ready to go.
Another reason line selection is so important is layout (remember the photo with the catwalk?) When you have to stretch around tight corners, navigate stairways, and then enter apartment rooms, your firefighters will struggle with maneuverability, in which case you may be better off opting for a smaller 1¾-inch line. You may consider hoisting the hoseline up to the floor you’re operating on (for example, in the barn discussed above, you could hoist your hose up to the catwalk and then take it to the fire room).
Hose placement is very critical at these fires. Good hose placement will buy you time; poor hose placement will have firefighters trying to catch up with the fire. In the photos below, notice that the working length firefighters have set up for the advance are set so that so they won’t have to drag it around corners and sideways–they will be able to proceed straight in a line, ready to make their advance. If your crews are fighting the hose, they are going to tire more quickly than if they were fighting the fire. It should be noted that this is a four-person crew–two firefighters, one chauffeur, and the officer.
When stretching down one of these long hallways, focus on your stance on the line. In the photo below, the nozzleman is set up to advance the line while flowing water. He has good positioning on the line: The nozzle is not tucked in his armpit (which renders it useless), his backup man is right there and ready with him for the fight. When you have a high fuel load, you must be ready to flow water quickly . Also, his body positioning lets him keep his head up and in a position that allows him to look around for victims and fire behavior.
Another option is to use staffed monitors. In the photos below, firefighters use a ram monitor.
Note the reach of the stream and that one firefighter can manage the line with ease. This allows for several things on the fireground:
- 如果您的人员配备有限，这些监视器将为您提供帮助，因为它们允许您仅使用一名消防员管理2½英寸的线路。
- They allow you to reach deep into the building, giving you some leeway when it comes to crawling up to the seat of the fire. These tools will reach from a good way off.
- 这些工具的好处是，您可以快速击倒大火，然后拿起一个封闭式的Wye并将其放在显示器的末端，然后将酒店包装到它上面进行拖把。
FORCIBLE ENTRY
Many mega barns have a cross between residential locks and commercial grade bar-style security. This is primarily to keep animals from running around loose (in this case, Lexington thoroughbreds).
Closed
Open
在这些安全条上，用旋转锯将旋转锯以V形切开锁周围的门，或者迫使门的锁。确保您打开它。
That’s a roll-down door on a barn. With these doors, you have options: Cut an inverted “V” into the door, or cut the lock and keep the door chocked open using tools like pike poles and clamps.
THE SEARCH
As an engine company member, you may be doing searches and other truck work during emergencies at these mega barns. In the photo below, the control firefighter does a quick sweep of the stalls to make sure no one is there. In this photo, the firefighter uses a TIC for the job.
Vent-enter-search is another option. This photo shows a room is on the inside of the structure; the window is a good point of entry from the exterior. In a lot of cases, this is the best method to perform a search.
Another option is to use a search rope and perform an anchored search by anchoring the rope off to a post or the rig. Another option is to do a search with a rope attached to your hoseline. One reason to use a search rope is that, because of all the material and open spaces inside these structures, you will encounter extremely poor visibility and have a high risk of getting disoriented.
ARE PEOPLE INSIDE?
上面的图片显示了可能的居民的一个迹象。在这种情况下，您可能有几个受害者需要节省。在许多谷仓中，由于燃油量高，大火可能会迅速蔓延，从而使搜索变得困难或不可能。
The photos above show the high fuel in some of these structures. An additional concern is the presence of trusses, which could mean severe fire spread. There is also significant overhead weight in these mega barns, which leads to the potential of collapse under fire and water.
这些巨型谷仓里的汽车在场表明有人在那里。它们的确切位置将有所不同 - 这些结构有许多房间，从马s和其他设备的设备持有区域，仅举几例。HVAC单位是占用率的另一个很好的指标，尤其是在安装窗户时。
我称他们为巨型谷仓，因为它们很大的原因很简单。例如，一个新闻报道最近处理了伊利诺伊州郊区的一场大火，该大火摧毁了25,000平方英尺的金属马谷仓。在许多情况下，如果您可以保存其中一些谷仓（马，拖拉机等）的内容，则代表了财产所有者的生计。在许多情况下，内容比谷仓本身更有价值。
特别感谢列克星敦消防局上尉的埃迪·克鲁斯（Eddie Crews）对本文的帮助。
Chris Willis一直在fire service12年，是消防队员with the Falmouth (KY) Fire Department.
