Structural Anatomy of Buildingsonfire - Chris Naum's blog examines the role of building construction and fire behavior in the stability of structures where firefighters battle fires and rescue occupants.
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Residential Pre-Arrival: What are your Considerations?
By Christopher J. Naum - Thursday November 24, 2011
A video clip of a structure fire occurring in a single family residential occupancy shows, in the first few frames a back draft occurring per-arrival of fire services. It’s apparent there is a developing and progressing fire in the Charlie division which may have originated in the, or vicinity of the detached garage (B-C) which had a breezeway connected to the main house. The large volume hip style (concealed space) roof may have become rapidly charged with elevated temperatures, superheated gases, products of combustion and possibly the initial stages direct flame extension through the eaves and into the truss loft. Incident scene operations photos depict an engineered structural roof system. Building Profile Single family... -
Checking Your Compass
By Christopher J. Naum - Thursday November 24, 2011
How much thought and efforts do you place on looking beyond the suggested "routiness" of your response operations? You know, the redundancy, routiness and frequency of typical calls you run, the types of fire you engage in and the manner in which your company interfaces with the balance of the alarm response when working a job or multiple alarm operation. We talk about nothing being routine, yet we have a pace, a rhythm and regularity, a consistency that is predicatable yet, uncertain; expected but when presented; off-guard. When things go wrong, they can go wrong at an escalating rate that may at times not be apparent. Think about the issues that affect Errors, Omissions, Unknown or Unrecognized Building Profile or Construction, Wrong... -
Reported Structure Fire with Trapped Occupants: Are YOU Combat Ready?
By Christopher J. Naum - Saturday November 12, 2011
Just another day… On any given day, at any given time in the streets, buildings and occupancies that comprise the fabric of our communities and ultimately our response district and first-due areas; the citizens we protect go about their daily lives and activities as we go about ours. On any given day, at any given time the typical radio transmissions are intervened with a distinction we know all too well when we are called upon to respond to a dispatcher’s punctuated voice, transmitting an alarm for a reported residential structure fire, with trapped civilians. This is when our training, knowledge and capabilities must be at our highest state of readiness, with expected flawless performance; when we... -
Commercials - Got Fire; Anticipate Collapse
By Christopher J. Naum - Friday November 11, 2011
A recent video clip making its way around the cyber fireground clearly depicted a very close-call and resulting near miss event to four firefighters at a four alarm fire involving a commercial building that housed an established insulation manufacturer and installation contractor. The video shows within a very compressed time frame, the progression of rapidly deteriorating interior conditions, the adverse effects on the building’s structural systems and the results from the loss of load transfers that lead to a catastrophic wall collapse narrowly missing the crew of firefighters who were operating a hand line in the vicinity of an exterior overhead door. Fortunately the injuries sustained to the firefighters were minor in nature; however... -
Remembering Hackensack and Gloucester
By Christopher J. Naum - Friday November 4, 2011
As we approach the July 4th holiday period, two significant LODD incidents previously occurred during this time frame that hold a number of lessons learned related to command management, operations, building construction principles and building performance, fire behavior and the ever present dangers of the job. Take the opportunity to learn more about these events, and expand your insights and knowledge base. Take a moment to reflect upon the supreme sacrifice made by these heroic firefighters and the messages that lay within the pages of the incident case studies, reports and summaries. There’s a lot of practical safety and operational information on these events along with a tremendous volume of information in the...
