Engineered Floor I-Joists and Firefighter Safety: Basic Insights

The following videos provide some Basic insights on Engineered Floor I-Joists and Firefighter Safety. The first two video reports are a few years old, but provide some good visual and narrative insights into the current building construction trends, operational limitations and fireground tactical safety considerations.  

Take the time to review these video clips and gain some new insights or refresh and reinforce your past knowledge of engineered floor systems, assemblies and tactical safety considerations. References and links to mission critical reports, studies and incidents is provided for your to expand your knowledge and skill base; for every rank and level of operations from firefighter, company or command officer. 

• For the complete series of six video clips, link over to Buildingsonfire.com, HERE

If you’ve been paying attention to the latest news and on the job reports the past two month, you should have noticed there’s been an adverse emerging trend evident in near miss, close-calls resulting in maydays, RIT deployments and self-rescue resulting from floor compromise and floor collapse.I previously posted some research and links related to the first one or two events on Buildingsonfire on Facebook  HERE, It became evident that there was an immediate opportunity to get some learning’s and insights out. 

If you have a chance head over to Facebook and link into Buildingsonfire and check out the incident links posted as well as some immediate report links from the December/January time frameIn the meantime here are some links I pulled together that you should take the time to read and share with your companies, personnel and staff…..Take the time to have a ten minute drill on these events as Operating Expeeince (OE) on floor systems and operational safety with your company, station or department.

Take a look at your current SOP and SOG’s and determine if you have the right “stuff” in place to provide operational guidance and direction based upon your organization’s operational profile and capabilites.Is your training up to speed on size-up, risk profiling and command and compay level operations for conducting work at buildings and occupancies with actual or suspected engineered floor systems?Reference Links for Operational Insights and Operating Experience (OE)

• Eleven Minutes to Mayday; What You Need to Know
• Career Engineer Dies and Fire Fighter Injured After Falling Through Floor While Conducting a Primary Search at a Residential Structure Fire – Wisconsin
• Volunteer deputy fire chief dies after falling through floor hole in residential structure during fire attack – Indiana
• A career captain and a part-time fire fighter die in a residential floor collapse – Ohio
• Career fire fighter dies after falling through the floor fighting a structure fire at a local residence – Ohio
• Career lieutenant dies following floor collapse into basement fire and a career fire fighter dies attempting to rescue the career lieutenant – New York
• Floor collapse at commercial structure fire claims the lives of one career lieutenant and one career fire fighter – New York
• First-floor collapse during residential basement fire claims the life of two fire fighters (career and volunteer) and injures a career fire fighter captain – New York
• NIOSH Alert: Preventing Injuries and Deaths of Fire Fighters due to Truss System Failures
• NIOSH Alert: Preventing Injuries and Deaths of Fire Fighters due to Structural Collapse (1999)
• Preventing Deaths and Injuries of Fire Fighters Working Above Fire-Damaged Floors
• CommandSafety.com: Operational Safety at Basement Fires: Close Call
• CommandSafety.com: Buffalo, NY Three Alarm Fire and Double LODD Report
• CommandSafety.com: Remembering Brackenridge 1991 Floor Collapse and LODD
• CommandSafety.com: Engineered Structural Systems- Hazards

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