FIRES IN OLD COMMERCIAL OCCUPANCIES
BY BOB PRESSLER
It`s every small-town chief`s nightmare: a major fire, in the middle of the day, in the downtown area, with limited daytime manpower available, involving buildings dating from the mid-19th century that have been upgraded and renovated countless times--a fire burning in a basement filled with stock and display items that is rapidly spreading through hidden voids and extending upward and outward. Timely and proper size-up of conditions by the first-arriving unit indicate to the chief the seriousness of the incident. The size-up includes a brief run-down of the fire building, fire location, any known life hazard, and a description of the visible fire and smoke condition.
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