BY THOMAS DUNNE
在看一件艺术品,看着g a sports event, or viewing a debate, perspective means everything. Often you will "see" what you have been preconditioned to see. The same can be said for looking at a physical object such as a building. Civilians, for example, are conditioned to view a building as a substantial physical presence consisting of solid wood, masonry, and steel components. On the other hand, a firefighter viewing the same building is likely to see voids, shafts, and light construction features primed for rapid fire and smoke extension. However, at times a complex operation or a confusing building layout can influence a firefighter's perspective.
Fire Department of New York (FDNY) personnel were confronted with this exact challenge at a multiple-alarm fire. On January 25, 2013, at 0433 hours, units responded to a fire on the corner of St. Nicholas Avenue and West 188th Street in Manhattan. The building was an H-shaped, six-story, 200- × 150-foot occupied apartment dwelling of ordinary construction with two separate wings (Figure 1). On this exceptionally cold night, temperatures were hovering in the low teens. On arrival, units observed flames venting from the windows of a second-story apartment and immediately initiated hose stretches and truck tactics for an aggressive attack on the fire.
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