Engine Operations Above the Fire Floor

You arrive as the second engine at the scene of a residential fire in a two-story wood-frame house with a finished attic. The first engine reported a fire on the first floor in the rear of the dwelling, and dispatch reported information from the caller that there is a fire in the kitchen. As you arrive, the first engine has been on scene for about two minutes and has stretched a line to the front door.

As you size up the building while positioning your apparatus, you see fire venting from a window in the rear of the dwelling and medium-dark pressurized smoke venting from various openings. The first engine is going through the final preparations before making entry, donning their PPE and bleeding their fire line. As the officer of the second engine, you order a second line deployed to back up the first line.

What do you need to be prepared for in this scenario? What immediate and secondary actions should you take?

Fire Extension & the Floor(s) Above

Multi-story buildings present unique challenges on the fireground. The multi-story building provides additional fuel to burn and avenues for fire to travel vertically. Operating at multi-story buildings will inherently require more work for the engine company because lines will need to be stretched to multiple floors above the fire to search for and control fire extension. No matter how small the fire on the floor below, avenues for vertical extension must be checked above the fire.

For the first-in engine in this scenario, the initial priority is easily defined: Size up the scene, select the appropriate fire line, get the line to the fire floor as efficiently as possible and put the fire out. Once a line is operating on the fire floor and controlling the fire, the next priority must be getting a line above the fire to support search operations and to cut off any fire extension. The second engine or attack team often stretches this second line.

Before advancing the line above the fire you must make sure the initial attack line is making progress on the fire and will be able to contain the fire. This may require assisting the first company to get their line in place and/or providing additional water from your line before taking it to the floor above. Before moving to a position above the fire, make sure the first engine knows you’re going above. The best way to do this is through face-to-face communication; however, it can be done over the radio.

Once the decision is made to stretch above the fire, you must find the interior stairs. Knowledge of typical building construction can greatly assist you in doing this. Stretch the line with the initial priority of protecting the interior stairs and to support search activities on the floor above. When you’ve completed the primary search, focus on stopping fire progression.

You’ll need to open up concealed spaces to put water on the extending fire. If a truck company is available and their search is complete, they should work with the engine crew to get the concealed areas opened up. If a truck is not available, the engine crew must bring the tools needed to get into these spaces. Open up aggressively above the fire to avoid missing hidden fire.

Building Construction

Knowledge of building construction can be very beneficial in your search for hidden fire. One-, two- and three-story wood-frame residences sometimes contain finished attic spaces that create voids, often called knee walls. Knee walls provide a large concealed area for fire to travel and contain a large supply of wood structural members for fuel. A rapidly changing fire condition can occur in the finished attic space if the presence of knee walls isn’t identified and controlled with aggressive engine and truck company work.

Another construction issue to identify and address in these structures: balloon frame construction. Quick identification of balloon frame construction can be the difference between success and failure. In balloon frame construction, there are no fire stops in the wall spaces from the basement to the roof. As a result, it’s critical that lines be deployed to every floor above the fire, including the attic, and that the wall spaces are opened aggressively to get water in the stud/void spaces. It’s also important to know where the fire originated. Always inspect the lowest level first when dealing with balloon frame construction. Signs of smoke and no fire on the upper floors and/or the attic are common and a likely indicator that the origin of the fire is below.

One additional point concerning building construction: Thorough knowledge of common void spaces and avenues for smoke travel created by soil pipes, vent pipes, chases, utility shafts, etc., will also help you in locating and confining hidden fire.

Look Inside

A thermal imaging camera (TIC) can be of great value when operating above the fire in identifying areas of priority to open up. Remember, however, that opening inspection holes is the most reliable way to find out what’s going on in void spaces. If you’re at all unsure, open a few inspection holes with an axe, the pick of the Halligan or another tool.

No matter how you discover the fire below you, operating above the fire is one of the most dangerous locations on the fireground. When a fire is below you, your crew is potentially walking on weakened structural members, which may be even more hazardous in lightweight construction scenarios. You can use the TIC to reveal heat extending on the floor you’re walking on; however, due to floor coverings, it may be difficult to see the normal heat signatures we’ve grown accustomed to when using a TIC. It’s important to sound the floor in front of you, but keep in mind that sounding, too, is not always conclusive. The company below should also open up the ceiling space and check the condition of structural members.

In addition to the TIC, you must rely on all of your senses. Listen for the crackling sounds of fire in the walls and for reports from companies below that may be reporting signs of extension. Stay alert for the sensation of excessive heat and rapid heat build-up. It will naturally be hotter on the floor above the fire, but a rapid increase in heat may be a sign of void space fire and/or potential flashover. As always, if the atmosphere is rapidly changing and becoming unbearable, take action to cool the space or retreat if necessary.

Ventilation & Fire Movement

Be cognizant of venting windows and make sure ventilation is coordinated with the fire attack crew on the first floor. Premature ventilation can create a flow path (the new fire service buzzword) for the fire to travel to the second floor up the open interior stairs, cutting off the escape route for companies operating on the floor above.

When operating above the fire, always be alert for fire extending up the stairs from behind you or for rapidly extending fire progressing up a separate interior stairs (sometimes referred to as service stairs). Service stairs are usually located toward the rear of the structure and can get you into trouble if the fire is rapidly drawn upward by uncontrolled ventilation.

Another concern: A self-vented fire can extend vertically to the floor above via windows, or into the attic space via the eave vents.

A Dangerous Place

Operating above the fire–as part of an engine or a truck crew–can be a dangerous position on the fireground. Recognizing extension hazards, supplying appropriate personnel to operate potentially multiple fire lines, and opening up concealed areas can mean the difference between a continued offensive strategy and having to retreat due to fire reaching the structural members in the roof.

The bottom line: Make getting the line above the fire a priority in all multi-story structures.

Sidebar – Additional Resources

– More on fires in structures with knee walls: www.firefighternation.com/article/engine-co-operations/fighting-fires-structures-knee-walls
– More on fires in balloon-frame construction: www.firefighternation.com/article/firefighting-operations/fires-balloon-frame-construction
– More on flow paths and the effect of vertical and horizontal ventilation on fire suppression in single-family homes: https://www.firefighternation.com/tags-page/ventilation