Skip to content

Archives for building-construction

See all posts in the network tagged with building-construction

Are the EMERGENCY EXITS clear??

Written by

With Christmas arriving in the next few days, many retail stores have greatly increased the amount of stock on shelves. Unfortunately, some businesses may go overboard and place products and/or packing materials in emergency exits. Restricted, or blocked, emergency exits have been contributors to great loss of life during fires. When this problem is identified, firefighters must quickly notify the store manager and make sure the problem is immediately corrected. If you’re not 100% sure about fire codes, speak with your company officer about your findings. If the company officer is not sure, NOTIFY THE FIRE MARSHAL or FIRE INSPECTOR and work with him/her to correct the problem!

Here are some photos I’ve taken in various locations around the country. A short explanation accompanies each photo.

Photo #1: Blocked exit. Beyond the blocking, these smaller items will become tripping hazards for people exiting the building. Move the trash! (Extra points for you if you noticed the pile of trash impedes access to the fire extinguisher.)

photo by author

Photo #2: Blocked emergency exit. In this photo, an emergency exit has been blocked by store employees. No store employees were present to quickly move the blocking device. This emergency exit is very wide and designed to move large numbers of people to safe areas. Note the items intruding into the exit access.

photo by author

Photo #3: Blocked exit discharge. Emergency exits must lead building evacuees to a safe area. This emergency exit discharge is significantly restricted by the automobile; as evacuees come upon the vehicle, they slow evacuation! (Super-extra points if you noticed this emergency exit is too narrow for code and is a ROLL-UP door!!)

photo by author

Be a proponent of fire safety whenever you are out in the community, whether on, of off, duty. Company officers: share emergency exit information with your crew. Ask the crew if anyone has ever found an obstructed or blocked exit? If so, how did he/she handle the problem? Let your crew know what the departments policy is for blocked emergency exits.

Stay safe! ~EMAGUY

Posted in Building Construction, Education/Training, fire-prevention-education, firefighter-safety-health, Training, training-development

December 20, 2012 • 3 comments

Fire Ops

Written by

We want you to Identify basic functions by putting yourself in the position of our brother and sisters in the videos. Remember these are videos and you could be the next week. We want to learn and grow not critcize.

Five basic points to consider.

•Size-Up

•Command

•Hose Lines ( Deployment, Number )

•Truck Functions

•Water Supply

Posted in Building Construction, command-leadership, Dispatch & Communications, firefighting-operations, training-development, videos

Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

September 10, 2012 • 1 comment

Fire Ops

Written by

We want you to Identify basic functions by putting yourself in the position of our brother and sisters in the videos. Remember these are videos and you could be the next week. We want to learn and grow not critcize.

Five basic points to consider.

•Size-Up

•Command

•Hose Lines ( Deployment, Number )

•Truck Functions

•Water Supply

Posted in Building Construction, command-leadership, Dispatch & Communications, Education/Training, firefighting-operations, Training, videos

Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , ,

September 3, 2012 • 1 comment

Fire Ops

Written by

We want you to Identify basic functions by putting yourself in the position of our brother and sisters in the videos. Remember these are videos and you could be the next week. We want to learn and grow not critcize.

Five basic points to consider.

•Size-Up

•Command

•Hose Lines ( Deployment, Number )

•Truck Functions

•Water Supply

 

Posted in Building Construction, command-leadership, Dispatch & Communications, firefighting-operations, Uncategorized, videos

Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

August 24, 2012 • No comments

Fire Ops

Written by

We want you to Identify basic functions by putting yourself in the position of our brother and sisters in the videos. Remember these are videos and you could be the next week. We want to learn and grow not critcize.

Five basic points to consider.

•Size-Up

•Command

•Hose Lines ( Deployment, Number )

•Truck Functions

•Water Supply

Posted in Building Construction, command-leadership, Dispatch & Communications, firefighting-operations, training-development

Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

August 6, 2012 • 1 comment

Fire Ops

Written by

We want you to Identify basic functions by putting yourself in the position of our brother and sisters in the videos. Remember these are videos and you could be the next week. We want to learn and grow not critcize.

Five basic points to consider.

•Size-Up

•Command

•Hose Lines ( Deployment, Number )

•Truck Functions

•Water Supply

Posted in Building Construction, command-leadership, Dispatch & Communications, Education/Training

Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

July 16, 2012 • No comments

Fire Ops

Written by

We want you to Identify basic functions by putting yourself in the position of our brother and sisters in the videos. Remember these are videos and you could be the next week. We want to learn and grow not critcize. Five basic points to consider.
•Size-Up
•Command
•Hose Lines ( Deployment, Number )
•Truck Functions
•Water Supply

Posted in Building Construction, command-leadership, Dispatch & Communications, firefighting-operations, Videos

Tagged , , , , , , , , , ,

June 25, 2012 • No comments

Five Years Ago SSS

Written by

The True Honor and the best Memorial will to be by Training and Never repeating what has already been done. Seek excellence in all you do.  Don’t talk training, Live it! Live to Learn, and Learn to Live!

Posted in Building Construction, command-leadership, Education/Training, firefighter-safety-health, firefighting-operations

Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

June 18, 2012 • 1 comment

Legacy Tactics Part II by Training 38

Written by

So what does it take, to effectively manage a scene and not be labeled as a “Legacy” department?

First, you must understand your response area, resource availability and the ability of your personnel.

Secondly, once you arrive on scene, paint the picture gives a “Windshield size-up”. Then you must exit the vehicle and conduct a 360 degree walk-around. If the Incident Commander does not complete the initial walk around, a seasoned firefighter or officer must complete the walk-around. They will know what they are looking for and be able to relay the critical information to the incident commander via radio or face to face. During the walk-around, scene observations are made, roof line, initial smoke and fire conditions. Reading smoke is critical.

Next, the incident commander must quickly develop a plan. One that weighs Risk vs. Benefits. Once the plan has been established, ACCOUNTABILITY has to be established and utilized. ACCOUNTABILITY has been a façade for many departments that acted as a security blanket for years.  Tactics have to be given, in order of priority based on the fire ground priorities/strategies. Once these tactics have been thought of and handed down to the company level will then employ functional assignments/tasks.

Communication from the crews to the Incident Commander or Operations sector and communications from the Incident Commander or Operations sector to the crews has to be a priority. This is the only way to achieve better accountability.  Benchmarks have to be utilized by using a checklist (Tactical Priorities). These bench marks will drive the overall tactics, which in turn will cause the incident commander to reevaluate their strategies.

This will not be foreign material to “Modern” departments, however “Legacy” departments will be at a loss with the information and the mind set of what has to be accomplished.

I commend those that are a “Modern” department and I pray for those that are still a “Legacy” department. There is more at stake than an ego and hiding behind the “It’s always been done that way” attitude. Families, communities and organizations are at stake. If you are an officer and want to gamble, go to Vegas or Atlantic City. Don’t gamble within your own department.  If you don’t want to stand up for your safety, your family’s safety and change within the department. Then do the fire service a favor and change professions and allow someone else who is willing to affect change to take your place. Start early with young firefighters, introduce them to the NFPA standards, professional journals, well grounded web sites. Learning never stops and more than ever, we as a fire service cannot sit idle by as hydrocarbon based materials become more and more volitile and building construction becomes more lightweight/deadly.

Posted in Building Construction, command-leadership, Education/Training, fire-prevention-education, fire-rescue-topics, firefighter-safety-health, firefighting-operations, Thoughts, Training, training-development, training-fire-rescue-topics

Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

May 17, 2012 • 3 comments

Legacy Tactics Part I by Training 38

Written by

I have viewed the “Legacy vs. Modern Room” video that was done by NIST a dozen times. Every time I watch the video, I wonder how many departments are still operating as a “Legacy” department with tactics. Strategies have pretty much stayed the same throughout time, Life Safety, Incident Stabilization and Property Conservation. The last two always seem to switch based on what we as a fire service has presented to us upon arrival.

“Legacy” departments have not stayed up with building construction, fuel loading and validated articles, classes or the NFPA standards. When I started my career almost twenty years ago, NFPA standards were just a number on a label in the gear. Little did I realize back then, what they really meant or how few actually pertained to firefighting. In the recent years, 2in/2out, Rules of Air Management, Rapid Intervention Teams, Manning standards have hit the fire service. Understanding that these documents are national consensus standards and not law or regulation is a hard thing to swallow. The fire service has seen some major advances in the quality of PPE and apparatus design. However, this comes with a cost. The first thing you probably thought of was cost. Let’s look past the cost and look at how many departments don’t know that these documents even exist. This is the start of the “Legacy” department.

In recent years, NIST and UL have done extensive research on room by room comparisons, fuel loading, burn through times and even what can be accomplished tactically from a 5 person crew down to a 2 person crew.  NIST and UL have been major advocates in promoting firefighter safety.  When you view the videos and can’t see what has been done for the fire service with the research, well then, please don’t play the part of the incident commander.

Numerous articles have been published in recent years with some very solid research that has had a major impact on the fire service as a whole. Articles dealing with building construction, effects of fog stream nozzles, positioning, command and control. There are numerous reputable professional journals that are on the market today, that if you say you can’t find the information that you are looking for, then you are not looking. The internet has allowed us to watch some very interesting videos and well some less that desired tactics and training.  The “Art of Reading Smoke” has become a major part of the fire service. NIOSH reports unfortunately give us history lessons of what does go wrong.  To many NIOSH reports have the same items that seem to have a consistent theme: Command and Control, Communications, Standard Operating Policies and Training.

“Legacy” departments have been put into motion well before the call for service to respond to a working incident ever goes out. Change is not an option. Evaluation of current practices of tactics is not even considered. When these above mentioned items are not considered, read or even researched, the term that runs ramped through the firehouse is “We’ve always done it that way” or “It’s worked like that in the past”.

Why it is then these departments are surprised when something bad happens or even worse a close call occurs and nothing is learned from the incident.

Building construction has to be a driving force into our tactics. As materials become more lightweight and cost effective, benchmarks have to become part of our everyday fire scenes. Checklists have to be used to make sure that we are still on track and not deviating from firefighter safety and survival. “Legacy” department’s incident commanders and members will have denial and frustration. Why, because the admittance of being labeled as a “Legacy” department means there is a lot of catching up to do and a lot of changes that need changing. The likely hood of these departments truly changing is slim to none. Now I am sure there are some that will change. But, understand this cultural change. The “Legacy” departments will not even understand the 16 Rules of Engagement for the Incident Commander and the firefighters will not understand the 11 Rules of Engagement for Firefighter Safety published by the International Association of Fire Chiefs. Departments do not want to admit how the lack the resources, knowledge or procedures to change. Firefighters will not understand in a “Legacy” department what they are doing wrong or what they need to be looking for.

Posted in Building Construction, command-leadership, Education/Training, fire-rescue-topics, firefighting-operations, fires, Thoughts, training-development, training-fire-rescue-topics

Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

May 14, 2012 • 3 comments

Pre- Planning a tool for Fire Ground Survival

Written by

Often times firefighters have to gripe when being told they have to conduct Pre-Planning. During this time firefighters should understand the opportunity that has been afforded to them. Firefighters have to take notice of the construction , and hazards while the building is open to them. Even if a firefighters are on one man company it is no excuse. Here are some suggested steps to help you get started.

  1. First make an appointment to ensure the owner or manager will be there to grant you all access to the building and answer any question.
  2. Gather all forms provided by your fire department for pre-planning. Those things may include even taking a(n) book on building construction which may aid you in writing strategic and tactical objectives.
  3. Firefighters should seek answers on anything they are questioning such as building codes and safety violations believed to have been committed. Seek answers from Fire Marshals or Code Enforcement personnel. Do not give information for which you do not have the authority or don’t know to be an absolute fact.
  4. Ensure you have a site plan as well as a building sketch.

Future post will actually allow you to interact with pre-planning to aid in getting better at this task

Posted in Building Construction, Education/Training, fire-prevention-education, firefighter-safety-health, Training

Tagged , , , ,

January 16, 2012 • No comments

D.E.R. Deep Environmental Retrofit

Written by

 

 

 

 

 

 

D.E.R.  Deep Environmental Retrofit, the process of adding large amounts of insulation and wind proofing to older buildings.  The concept is simple; Add more layers of insulation and wind proofing to cut down on the amount of energy needed to heat or cool a building.

The layers are:

1. Blown in cellulose insulation in the original wall cavity.  Most turn of the century homes in this area didn’t have any insulation.

2. Wrap the entire inside wall with Tyvek, then fur out the walls and add another layer of blown in cellulose.

3. On the exterior wall add 8+ inches of rigid insulation with staggered seams. All seams are taped on each layer and another layer of Tyvek is added.

4. Indicates the 2 layers of Tyvek inside the house, 1 of which is wrapped under the floor.

The end result is 16+ inches of insulation with very little chance of air infiltration.  All of the areas that cannot be filled with blown in or rigid insulation is filled with spray foam.  Even the windows are triple glazed to prevent air infiltration.  The vendor says you could heat the finished room with a hair dryer.

You can see the before and after mock up  in the picture.  In the before picture there is no insulation and plenty of cracks and voids for air to permeate the building.  These leaks help heat from a fire escape and allow fresh air to be sucked in, which is great for firefighters but bad for heating bills.

Firefighters are all too aware of what happens when fresh, oxygenated air runs out at a fire.  The fire darkens down and the temperature continues to rise until something fails or something is opened by a firefighter.  When this happens you get a back draft or a smoke explosion.

We have all been taught that building contents are far different than they were for previous generations of firefighters.  Flashover is being reached at a shorter time than a couple decades ago, and I can post a side by side video if you’d like.  The lower times are caused by a combination of better sealed buildings and the composition of the contents.

So after that overview, how long would it take to starve a room and contents fire of oxygen when the room is sealed and insulated this well?

A couple side notes:

The floor joists were notched during the original construction.  That’s pretty common in these houses.  But you can see in the after picture that the floor is still notched.  How much extra weight has been added to this building and it remains on the original inferior construction?

The vendor indicated they have done dozens of houses in my area and the biggest concern they heard was from electrical inspectors who wanted the power lines from the solar panels to be candy striped.  PV power too?  I think that is a discussion for another day.

Stay Safe.

Donovan

Posted in Building Construction, Education/Training

Tagged , , , , , ,

November 28, 2011 • 1 comment

Hello VPS!

Written by

I heard these were coming to my city.  The department said they would be put on some vacant properties in the “less desireable” areas of the city.  Imagine my surprise to see it 2 blocks from my house.

Moving on.  Cruising the neighborhood DOES count as training.  I let a few truckies in the area know about this and now my street looks like a parade route.  Either they are interested in the VPS security system or someone is giving away free lunch.

These are not easily defeated.  They do not help with ventilation.  They do not help with access or egress for us.  The properties involved are arson targets and as you can see in one of these pictures the rear porch doesn’t have decking on it. What does that imply about the rest of the building?

My thought is exterior ops, then send minimal crews in for overhaul.  Your life safety should not be risked for an obviously vacant building.   Get in touch with the company that is managing the property and take a tour, figure out how to defeat these things.  I’ve heard they have steel cross bars inside just like the wooden models that board up companies put up.  If that is the case you’d need a diamond blade on the demo saw.  I would recommend the standard abrasive blade but I think that would dissolve quickly and you might only get 1-2 cuts at the needed depth.

Let me know if you have a trick to getting these off safely.

Stay Safe, and good luck with these.

www.vacantpropertysecurity.com

Posted in Building Construction, Drills, Education/Training, training-development, training-fire-rescue-topics, Truck Tips

Tagged ,

November 11, 2010 • 17 comments

Building Inspections

Written by

This inspection post is going to be based on the 1000+ inspections I have done for insurance companies.  Yes I was an insurance monkey, and I learned a lot doing it.  Namely; Don’t trust a home owner to do what’s right. Keep in mind that you will be bound by your local codes and fire prevention division.

I’ll try to keep it brief.

1.  Photos

Some departments frown on photography.  The main reason is because when you go to court they will try to prove that you don’t know how to take pictures.  Been there, done that.  But the fact remains: If you can prove that those pictures were taken at that place AND at that time the defense comes to a screeching halt.  I’ve gone to court to represent land lords and just the fact that I was there with photos ended the case.  Take a picture of the building when you are walking up, then take one of the building number with as much of the building as possible in the picture, this proves where you are.  Make sure your camera is set to record the time with the picture info which is very common, and make sure the time is right.  Now you are timing your inspection.  A lawyer will have a hard time proving that you went somewhere else during the few minutes between pics.  DO NOT edit the pictures.

2. Approach

Get a good look around.  Are there any power lines in the way, are they being pulled off the building?  Is the building straight? Do any questions pop into your mind as you look at it.  Can an engine and truck operate as they need to? If not it’s time to document it.  Is this the most commonly used entrance to the building?

3. Greeting

“Hi I’m Anchorpoint, I need to do a quick walk-through of your building.  Do you have time now or can we make an appointment?”  Remember, nothing is wrong, yet.  Explain about how pre-planning helps everybody including tenants and the fire department.  If we can find the utilities we can shut them down quicker if needed.  If it is an inspection let them know what you will be looking for.  Don’t leave without an appointment.

4.Outside

Now that you have the landlords attention, take a walk around the outside.  You know what to look for; exits, building falling apart, trash piles, fire hazards, etc…

5. Alarm System

Is it in Trouble Mode?  Does it actually function or is it still there from the previous tenant?  What does it protect and are there smoke detectors attached to it?  Maybe it’s a burglar alarm and the tenant doesn’t even know.

6. Interior Hazards

Trash buildup, living in filth is very common.  Hoarders are a HUGE hazard.  This has to be documented and addressed.  Falling ceilings, structural damage, gas tanks in the house, welding operations in the house, poorly made repairs, the list goes on and on.  My advice is don’t waste your time looking at every detail, the issues will probably present themselves, unless of course you are the fire inspector.

7. Utility Locations

You need to know if they are secured, hidden and just where they are so you can find them later.

8. Special Hazards, Special Services Required

Commercial cooking requires a vent hood, and vent hoods require cleaning.  The funny thing here is the law required “cleaning as needed”  but the insurance companies required every 6 months.  There are dozens of things involved with cooking.  Day cares require permits, painting booths require vents and paint storage.  I won’t bore you with that but keep in mind special hazards require special services.

9. All Areas Inspected?

Did you miss anything? What about roof access? Adjoined buildings? Tunnels dating back to the civil war?  Did you look in the crawl spaces?  Open all doors that you are allowed to, make sure they work and where they go, you’ll get a surprise one day.

10. Wrap Up

Tell them what you think.  Tell them what they need to fix.  If you are giving them a break on something you NEED to follow up on it.  File an abatement or call the chief and let him know what’s  going on there, now it’s his problem.  If you don’t document or follow up you can get sued for breech of duty.  If something goes wrong and they have a financial loss they will say the fire department knew about it.

11. Reporting

Tell whoever walked around with you, tell the chief, enter it into the CAD, File an abatement.  Whatever is appropriate to do, you need to do.  Then follow up.

12. Legal

Oh yeah, legal.  If you do what your are supposed to do you won’t have any problems. If you forget to follow up or file the abatement do it NOW.  If you get called into court you can review your notes.  It’s ok. Remember it’s not personal.  Too many people take this personal.  The property owner thinks it’s cheaper to go to court than install a sprinkler system, so what.  You have to do your job, and you also have to look out for the other firefighters.

Posted in Building Construction, fire-prevention-education

Tagged ,

October 6, 2010 • 1 comment

Five Point Size-Up by Lt. Bob Pressler

Written by

B- Building

E- Extent

L- Life Hazards

O- Occupancy

W- Water

Posted in Building Construction, Drills, Education/Training, firefighting-operations

Tagged ,

September 27, 2010 • No comments

Type V Construction and You

Written by

This is an easy drill Brothers, maybe. Company officers it’s time to teach, both you and your members. On the next tour, make some time and drive around your first due area, make a list of all the type V structures. We know the residential are, but what about businesses. Make your lists individually and check them against your inspection files, when you get back in the house, see how well you and your company did. Grab some lunch, then discuss the risks associated with these buildings and how you will handle them, when you get that call at 03:00. Enjoy! special thanks to Chief Gettemeir from FVFPD, for the class I attended to jog my mind to pass this drill on to everyone.

Posted in Building Construction, Drills, Education/Training

Tagged

September 20, 2010 • No comments

RIT and a little challenge tossed in.

Written by

Ok  folks, here we go. We all or most have been hit by less manpower, because we all know we can do more with less. For those of that run with a 3 person company, (Driver, Boss, and a Firefighter) no real challenge here. For those who have 5 or 6 member teams here is the challenge. My company just went through this, we had an acquired structure, through a neighboring FD, but be creative! Three member company as RIT, now take one out to be the victim, two out right? Mayday called, the two member team, equipped with a TIC, RIT bag, and at least a tool, goes in after the downed FF, this downed FF is on the second floor or basement, ours was on the second floor. Drill and Challenge Time!!

1. Do your members know how to call a Mayday and When to call? You might be surprised.

2. Building construction and layout of the structure, confusing?

3. Can two members handle this job?

4. Composure, think about it

5. Radio Traffic

Bosses need not be a victim! Train your folks, show some leadership ability or don’t see what happens. Brothers will more than two members, try this with two, as they say, see how the other half-lives!

Enjoy, can’t wait to hear from all ranks, Be Safe, this is to make us think, not get us hurt!

Posted in Building Construction, Drills, Education/Training, Engine Tips, Truck Tips

September 1, 2010 • 2 comments

Building hazard identification

Written by

Let’s take a look at identifying hazards in different structures. This drill is great because it can be used in-house or on the street and really should be used by officers and firefighters alike. This drill is gaged to make us think and use our common sense, yes I said it, Common Sense! Since this has the ability and should be expanded to meet everyone own first due and then some, I’ll give you ten occupancy types, identify a minimum of 3 a maximum of whatever your company wants, of construction, entrapment, fire spread, etc, hazards for each. These examples are out of my own town of 4 square miles. Enjoy!

1. Single family residential

2.  Bowling alley

3. Occupied multiple dwelling

4.  Auto repair Center

5.  Big Box Store

6. Fast Food Resturant

7. Strip Mall

8. Car Dealership

9. High- Rise Structure

10. Large Shopping Mall

Posted in Building Construction, Education/Training

August 12, 2010 • 1 comment

Light Weight Truss Construction in Mobile Homesby Training 38

Written by

What type of buildings do you think of when lightweight truss construction is brought up in a class, article or discussion? Most people would think of Commercial, Industrial and possibly Multi-family dwellings? Do we put into that category single and double wide mobile homes? No, we don’t. Light weight construction exists in more residential homes than we would like to admit. Light weight truss as we all know is dangerous and takes a backseat in the thought process of building construction in the rural communities. Unfortunately if you have mobile homes in your district you have lightweight truss construction.  Most mobile homes use a 2 x type construction in the roof truss system. Older mobile homes have aluminum wiring, poorly maintained flues or chimneys. The wiring can either run through the void space in the ceiling or in-between the frame rails beneath the floor. The poorly maintained flues or chimneys have a direct path into the void space above the ceiling which can allow for rapid fire spread through the length of the home and can cause for a lot of pike pole action, pulling a lot of ceilings and attempting to get ahead of the fire. Take heed of this type of construction and the associated dangers that come with it. We need to take this as a serious threat. We need to pay attention to the age, size of the mobile home. We need to analyze the fire conditions upon arrival and understand the construction of the mobile home. The older models of mobile homes are easy to identify. Most of these homes have the kitchens on one end and bedrooms on the other end. Newer homes, have bedrooms on either end with the kitchen and living room towards the center. Pay attention to the windows and the locations. Pay attention to the color of the mobile homes. Most older mobile homes are brown or beige with newer ones being white in color. This isn’t always a definite, but it works most of the time. Why does this play a factor, you might ask. Older mobile homes use paneling on the interior walls and lack sheet rock. This will allow for rapid fire spread and cause multiple room and contents fires. Newer mobile homes have sheet rock through out the interior and will help to compartmentalize the fire. Fire spreads into the void space at the ceiling level and can cause for an unstable roof truss system. This is due to the paneling and access for the fire to move into the void space and travel the length of the mobile home. Newer models still can have fire get into the void space. How many times though do we actually get a stop on the newer models? More than people think. Just because you have a mobile home in your first due area, doesn’t mean that it is going to burn to the ground. So please next time pay attention to the roof line, pay attention to the light weight truss construction and let’s have everyone come home.

Posted in Building Construction

June 25, 2010 • No comments

Stumbled across…

Written by

Gotta love new construction, because there are no secrets.  I fully recommend that everybody take a cruise through your first due area and have a look at construction sites.  I’m not saying you need to be the code enforcement officer but just get to know what’s happening in your area in case you need to respond there.  Have a talk with the contractors about anything that looks out of place or new.  Again, don’t try to scare them or you won’t be allowed back on the site and they won’t call you if they need you.

I can’t tell you how many times I’ve heard dispatch say ” at the construction site”, “near the construction site”, “the building under construction”….

Now look at this foundation.  Does anything stick out?  Sure it’s a little irregular shape, obvious garage and possibly a  finished basement. BUT, what is that on the left?  Panic room? Vault?  Cistern?

I spoke with the contractor.  But do you folks have any ideas?

Posted in Building Construction

June 7, 2010 • 3 comments

Knowing your area.

Written by

How many times have you gone out in your district and looked at houses to see if you can spot anything out of the ordinary? Take a look at the picture above. How many of you would think that there are two entrances to this house? Or maybe that they are french doors.  Here is a little closer look at the front door.

It looks like that may be the case but when you enter the front door this is what you find.

There is only one door that opens into the house. The other side has a closet in the master bed room behind it.

The next time you are driving around your area, pay attention to things like this. Stop the truck and knock on the door and see if anyone is home. You would be surprised at how many people would be excited to know that you are out there training. Most people would be more than happy to let you look around and see what is going on with something that may look odd to us. Remember, they are the ones who have lived there and may not think that anything is out of the ordinary. It’s just like I always tell new guys when they tell me they are worried about asking the “wrong ” question. The only way you will ever know anything, is to ask questions. Stay safe and Train hard.

Posted in Building Construction, Education/Training

April 15, 2010 • No comments

Let's play "Guess that Occupancy".

Written by

OK, more fun with pictures. Occupancies change, and they can be deceiving from the from the outside.  Preplan, Preplan, Preplan.  These are just a couple examples of why you should check out what’s going on in your district.

Step 1,  select the pictures that are from the same house 1a, 2b etc…  Step 2, guess how many units or the specific occupancy.  Some are easy and some are hard.  I’ll describe them individually in a later post.

What are your priorities based on the front view?  How do your priorities change when you see the rear, or the secret?

These are easy because I have the front and rear pics.  Next time, front view only.  Plenty more where these came from so enjoy.

62 Batchelder st Rox (6)
504 Warren st (5)

290 Centre St JP (1)
66 chestnut St Bos (2)

62 Batchelder st Rox (3)
504 Warren st (6)

290 Centre St JP (7)
66 chestnut St Bos


Posted in Building Construction, Drills

April 5, 2010 • No comments

What's inside that wall?

Written by
wall 1
wall 3

wall 2
191 boylston 7


Building codes are great, they provide a standard for everyone to follow.  What is the result?  Buildings that are all built the same?  Not so much.  Realistically, people do whatever they want, additions here, and alterations there.  Many buildings predate modern codes, others have changed occupancy multiple times in their history.  You have no idea what is hiding in a building’s walls.   The only way for you to know is to open them up.  Start with a bit of caution, when you see what’s behind the finish then you can go to town on it, but always remember there could be anything, anywhere.

There could be high voltage wires running behind the finish wall, don’t bet your life that you’re safe with a fiberglass rake.  There could be four layers of 5/8” drywall with an elevator shaft on the other side.  There could be a light shaft that was walled off long ago but is now providing the fire with an unchecked path out to the roof, or it could be a concrete block wall.  If it’s your job to open up, just keep in mind what kind of history the building could have had.

You already know, but if your area has a few buildings going up, or being rehabbed check it out.  See the type of work they do, you are going to visit the building for an emergency when the work is done, bet on that.  So have an idea what’s going into or being taken out of the building.  Who knows, with a bit a smooth talk you might get to help with the demo… your way.

Posted in Building Construction

March 29, 2010 • No comments

View from the front.

Written by

Has someone ever told you to run around the back and tell them what you see?  Or, as in my area, the second in ladder has this responsibility.

How would you describe these front and back pictures to Command?

Would they require a radio transmission?

What do these “additions”  tell you about what my be going on inside the house?

People do crazy things to their property and then you are expected to show up and do your job.  Sometimes you want to cuss them out for the stupidity they have displayed.  NOT YOUR JOB.  Your job is to protect  yourself and crew, then them and their property.  LIP.  Act professional, do your job.

Addition #1 is a 5 year stalled project with construction debris in the yard.  You cannot tell what other parts of the project are stalled from the outside, or in the dark.

Additions #2 and #4 are garage additions, if you want to call them that.

Addition #3 is restaurant that added a pantry and sink.  Then ran the sink drain straight outside and put a shiny new tarp on the roof.  Don’t trust the roof to have decking on it.

addition 2
addition 2 (2)

Addition 3
Addition 3 (2)

addition 4
addition 4 (2)

Addition1
Addition1 (2)

Addition1 (3)
Addition1 (4)


Posted in Building Construction

March 22, 2010 • No comments

Why Are You On That Deck?

Written by
Jack up that porch
Might be broken

Rusted out
Bad reinforcement

Rebuilt

How many people are going to stand on that porch with you?  Did someone take a quick look to see if ANYONE should be on it?  If your department is like mine, I bet it looks like a bachelor party that rented too small of a space.  Take a look, and look again, people do some crazy things.  Fire escapes and porches aren’t exactly well maintained, most never have been.  You and your crew might be the first real load that thing has seen in years.

Wood rots and steel corrodes, the house already has a problem that’s why you’re there.  Don’t get tunnel vision; many more things will try to hurt you than just the fire, or the porch collapse.

Some hazards can be avoided, others may have to be mitigated.  Throw a ladder over missing decking if you NEED to use that route.  The safest option is if you see a potential problem, STAY AWAY, and let others know to do the same.

If you want full size versions of these pictures let me know, I have a couple others also.

Posted in Building Construction

March 19, 2010 • No comments