Venting BASEMENTS?

[PaulGRIMWOOD]

[QUOTE=traumawave;831589]

So far we have -

• Primary hose-line to the first floor (interior stairs to basement)
• Secondary hose-line to an exterior entrance if one exists
• If no exterior entrance, secondary line to back-up primary interior line
• If exterior entrance exists, attack is from this point and first line is holding
• If no exterior entrance, attack must be down the interior stairs
• Venting of casement windows is considered necessary
• Venting of casement windows may worsen conditions rather than improve them in some situations

I have a question. If there is an exterior entrance and the attack crew makes the push from this exterior entrance, should the crew at the interior stairwell keep this door shut? If the attack crew is having difficulty advancing due to extreme heat/fire conditions would it be acceptable for the interior stairwell crew to open the door to lift the heat and then apply water to the door and hallway area to prevent its ignition?

I wouldn't consider that under any circumstances I can think of until the fire was under control. However, have you found a need for this? The potential risks seem to outweigh any benefit.

Also two points....

I would never decend down an interior stairwell into a working basement fire without a backup line covering the stairwell (escape route).

Yes that's in the list .... what if your back-up line is ten minutes away? Would you divert & deploy S&R on the back-up if this was the case?

Instead of using the fog stream to vent gases out the window of the ventilation hole made in the 1st floor, how about having the vent crew stick an old box fan in the window?

I know of this strategy of creating an opening above the fire, adjacent to a window - it's in John Norman's book. However, I have no experience of it and am not sure about using such an approach. Vinnie? FFRED? Others?