When it comes to fireground transmissions, theFire Department of New York (FDNY)has a vernacular all its own. For example, at an “all-hands” fire, it would not be unusual to hear the following:
“营地13营。”
“在Box 3982，我们正在使用所有的手。我们有一条线拉伸和运行。第二行正在拉伸，正在进行搜索，并且正在进行中卡车正在开放。Fire is doubtful.”
阶梯公司的主要功能是定位和限制大火。大火定位后，梯子公司官员将将其位置传达给发动机公司官员。如果在通往火的道路上有任何家具或混乱，梯子公司将清除混乱以使通道更容易；然后，成员将继续寻找生活，并试图定义火灾区域的边界。（“开放卡车”是指大修，或者更具体地说，预防前大修。梯子公司将打开墙壁和天花板以寻找扩展。）
My Overhaul Education
When I arrived at the FDNY, I was assigned to a ladder company. Back then, overhaul was an important task. Firefighters were thorough when opening ceilings and walls. When my captain ordered me to “open up,” he meant to pull all the ceilings and walls and trim the windows. There was not going to be any chance of extension or rekindle on his watch; it reflected badly on a company if called back for a rekindle.
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This was a time when thermal imaging cameras (TICs) did not exist. The only way to find the hot spots was to pull the old lath and plaster ceilings and walls. You had to be thorough in opening enough of the ceiling until there was no more charring. In modern buildings, the old lath and plaster may be gone, but walls were now constructed of gypsum board with insulation in between the studs and joists. I would hope that firefighters today aren’t relying on TICs to perform overhaul. I would also think that, with the insulation in the void spaces hiding the heat, opening walls should remain an important function for firefighters trying to define boundaries.
Putting Overhaul into Action
At a recent basement fire in a three-story brownstone Type 3 private dwelling, the units encountered medium clutter behind the basement entrance door, causing a delay in getting water on the fire (photo 1). Instead of stretching directly into the basement, the engine needed to use the second-floor entrance and headed down the stairs (photo 2). The fire spread rapidly because of the open basement ceiling, delaying getting water on the fire and making it even more critical to open up on the first floor.
(1)Photos by author.
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I was assigned to the floor above the fire sector. I brought the TIC with me but quickly put the camera to the side and assessed the situation. Smoke was pushing under pressure along the baseboards in the living room. We needed to open the walls quickly because the fire was spreading unchecked; if we didn’t do this right away, fire was going to travel up to the second floor and cockloft (photo 3).
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Following are some questions you must ask yourself when searching for extension:
- When was the building constructed?
- What was the original building’s use?
- What is the building’s construction?
- Was the building ever renovated?
- What are the most likely places for extension—i.e., wet walls in the bathrooms and kitchens?
For this incident, I knew from my experience working in the area for many years that these buildings were single-family private dwellings. Over the course of 120 years, the building had undergone the following renovations that made defining the boundaries more difficult:
- The rear yard featured a one-story addition (photo 4).
- There were many new layers of flooring.
- Fireplaces had been covered with gypsum board.
- Ductwork was running throughout the interior walls (photo 5).
- 所有楼层都有掉落的天花板（照片6）。
Firefighters on the first floor were quick to open the walls and place the second hoseline to get water into the void spaces, preventing the fire from getting past the first floor—a job well done. Even when they are in a row, these Type 3 brownstone buildings (photo 7) are considered one-building fires as opposed to a row frame, which is Type 5 and shares a common cockloft with up to 15 buildings (photo 8). If this building had been a row frame, then the search for extension would have included buildings on both sides.
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New Calls, Same Situation
When I first became a battalion chief, we responded to a top-floor fire in an extremely cluttered brownstone. We just couldn’t get into one of the rear bedrooms; the clutter was up to the ceiling. I was satisfied that everything was opened and that we had washed down sufficiently. I then released the companies and gave an “under control” call.
那天晚上晚些时候，我听到该部门电台的第二张警报声，这是我们六个小时前的同一建筑物。我以为也许我们错过了一些东西。我曾与元帅交谈，他们回应了告诉我家庭发生争议。我很高兴听到这一点，但是，这是一个教训。彻底的是我们的安全。如果单位在火灾上方（例如在气球框架的私人住宅中）操作一层甚至两层，则火可能会爆发并捕获消防员。
In his book Building Construction for the Fire Service, Francis L. Brannigan states: “It is imperative to note that collapse is not the only hazard facing the firefighter in the structure. Concealed fire which bursts out of a hidden void and lightning-spread of fire over combustible surfaces are equally hazardous and may well account for as many firefighter casualties as collapse.”
It is also imperative to understand building construction. At a recent fire in a two-story private dwelling, I knew that the building was Type 3 construction. I intuitively knew that we would not have any extension even though they were attached and there was a peaked roof (photo 9). Had this been a Type 5 building, it would have been a whole different scenario; we probably would have had extension to both exposures on either side. Since the building was brick and had a firewall between the buildings, it was a problem I wasn’t going to have to deal with. The second-due truck checked the B and D exposures just to make sure there wasn’t any high carbon monoxide (CO) readings.
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高公司水平有时被忽视。我可以休闲all one response where we had fire in the “A” wing on the top-floor of a six story H-type building (photo 10). The chief ordered us to check the “B” wing for any possible extension through the cockloft. We then encountered a moderate smoke condition, but no fire had passed over into the other wing. What we did find—which was a total surprise—were two elderly people who had succumbed to the CO.
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At a more recent basement fire in a five-story multiple dwelling, we encountered high CO levels in the building. After the fire was knocked down, the deputy chief asked me why there was still smoke over the top of the building. I told him I would check it out. When I reached the top floor, where my CO meter pegged out, I found a woman and two children in the apartment. It turned out that the old dumbwaiter bulkhead was covered over with plywood and tarpaper (photo 11) and the old dumbwaiter in the apartment was covered over with gypsum board. The shaft door in the basement was wide open, causing the smoke to travel up the shaft and seep back down to the top floor.
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When it comes to overhaul and checking for extension, err on the side of caution. Don’t rely solely on the TIC; it may point you in the right direction, but it will not be useful in determining where the fire is traveling.
DANIEL P. SHERIDANis a 34-year veteran of and a battalion chief with the Fire Department of New York (FDNY), assigned to Battalion 3. He is a national instructor II and a member of the FDNY IMT. Sheridan is also a lead instructor with Mutual Aid Training Group.
