High rise

Question 1

Define a high-rise building?

Answer 1

Is a building containing floors at such a height or position that external fire fighting and rescue operations may not be feasible.

Question 2

What are the 3 main groups of hazards of high rise firefighting?

Answer 2

1. Building height, layout and design.
2. Fire behaviour and development.
3. Firefighting and rescue operations

Question 3

The unavailability of which facilities will increase risk to firefighters and hinder occupants evacuating the premises and increase the resources required to resolve an incident?

Answer 3

Facilities such as fire mains, ventilation systems and compartmentation.

Question 4

What are the basic Firefighting facilities and fixed installations provided within buildings above 18 Metres?

Answer 4

1. Firefighting shaft.
2. Dry/wet rising mains (DRM or WRM).
3. Firefighting lift

Question 5

To establish effective command and control, where should the IC be situated at a high-rise incident?

Answer 5

They shoud remain at ground floor level unless planning arrangements have identified a more appropriate location e.g. the Fire Control Centre

Question 6

What are the early considerations on arrival for the IC of a High-rise incident?

Answer 6

1. Whether additional resources are required to support operations.
2. Recognise the effect of wind, noting this may be amplified and made more unpredictable by factors such as the building’s height and its proximity to other tall buildings.
3. The need to layout jets to control fires caused by falling debris and deploy ground monitors to prevent external fire spread.
4. The need to establish, if appropriate, separate attack and evacuation stairwells.
   
   • If this tactic is employed, personnel assigned to assist evacuation must then use a different stairwell that should be clearly identified as the evacuation stairwell.

Question 7

How much can a DRM deliver?

Answer 7

at least 1500 litres of water per minute.

Question 8

What capacity are wet rising mains designed to supply?

Answer 8

1500 litres per minute for 45 minutes as a minimum.

Question 9

What are the considerations in the event that the fire lift is not available?

Answer 9

1. The resource implications for teams accessing and carrying equipment to the bridgehead.
2. The use of aerial appliances to transport equipment to the bridgehead (if the building design makes this a viable option).
3. Additional resources to enable safe manual handling of casualties down stairways to the point where they can be passed to the care of the Ambulance Service.

Question 10

Where should the bridgehead be located?

Answer 10

Two floors below the fire floor unless planning arrangements or the specific design features of the building allows for safe air to be reliably maintained in a position which is closer to the fire.

Question 11

What is the minimum role that can be nominated as the fire sector commander at a High-rise incident?

Answer 11

Crew Manager

Question 12

Who is responsible for establishing a bridgehead?

Answer 12

The Fire Sector Commander

Question 13

What equipment must be provided at the bridgehead as soon as possible?

Answer 13

1. Two lengths of 45mm hose with carrying straps
2. Immediate Emergency Care (IEC) pack
3. Two BA sets
4. Long Line
5. Breaking in Gear
6. One BA Board
7. Thermal Imaging Camera)
8. One F.I.R.E bag containing

Question 14

What is in the contents of a F.I.R.E bag?

Answer 14

1. One controlled dividing breeching
2. Three Hose Identifying Sleeve
3. One DeltaFire Quickattack branch
4. One Set of lift access keys
5. One F.I.R.E tool roll

Question 15

What specific information should be confirmed with teams and recorded on FIBs?

Answer 15

1. The location of persons requiring rescue
2. A record of persons rescued and areas searched or partly searched

Question 16

If the bridgehead is required to be repositioned because of worsening conditions or fire spread, what actions should be carried out?

Answer 16

1. The IC, all officers and BA teams must be informed of any decision to re-locate the bridgehead.
2. All BA teams must be informed to ensure they monitor their air supply and take the new distance into account when assessing their turn around time.
3. As relocation will increase the travel distance for BA teams, consideration must be given to the immediate withdrawal of BA teams. Any decision to withdraw breathing apparatus teams must be balanced against the urgency of the task(s) they are performing.
4. If not already established, an emergency team the same size as the largest committed team and rigged to at least the same level of protection must be made available at the bridgehead as soon as practicable.
5. All information and resources should be transferred to the new bridgehead location.
6. Consider implementing Stage 2 BA procedures.
7. Where life saving operations are delayed, the IC should consider alternative methods of effecting rescue.

Question 17

What does the communication of the ‘high-rise procedure implemented’ message indicate?

Answer 17

A risk assessment has been carried out, and that a safe system of work has been implemented.

Question 18

What are the minimum systems of work required before a High-rise implemented’ message is sent?

Answer 18

1. The location of the bridgehead has been risk assessed as appropriate for the incident
2. Access and egress to and from the bridgehead is secured and maintained
3. The bridgehead is established with two charged jets deployed

Question 19

Where should the initial BA team’s charged branch be supplied from (where possible)?

Answer 19

The rising main outlet one floor below the fire

Question 20

Where a rising main is not availble one floor below the fire floor, where should the next available source be supplied from?

Answer 20

The nearest available outlet below the fire floor.

Question 21

What should be the length of the second jet, which is provided to protect and support personnel involved in rescue/firefighting operations.

Answer 21

This second jet should be at least one hose length longer than the first. This allows the first team to be supported in firefighting and allows rescue of the team without compromising water supply.

Question 22

Where can the second jet can be supplied from?

Answer 22

The rising main outlet on the fire floor or the next available outlet below the fire floor, as appropriate (this can include the additional outlet provided by the dividing breeching).

Question 23

When must a covering jet and BA team be present before the search and rescue/firefighting team can be committed into the fire compartment?

Answer 23

If signs, symptoms or conditions that may lead to backdraught, flashover or other abnormal fire development are present.

Question 24

When can crews be committed and work in an area above the bridgehead without BA?

Answer 24

Where the IC has confirmed that the building’s construction and any fire engineered solutions have not been compromise.

Question 25

What are the precautions required where crews are working above the bridgehead without BA?

Answer 25

1. These teams must maintain communication with the bridgehead
2. A Safety Officer must be deployed in the stairwell and be in contact with other Safety Officers and the IC outside the building.
3. Teams should be withdrawn as soon as it is believed there is a risk that fire or smoke is likely to spread to the unaffected area.

Question 26

How should rooms or flats be designated that have been cleared by crews to assist in a comprehensive search plan?

Answer 26

Door marker tags and door marker crayons, which are available in the FIRE bag tool roll

Question 27

What should an IC should consider with regards to evacuation at a High-rise incident?

Answer 27

1. The effect of firefighting tactics on evacuation (and vice versa)
2. The resources required to support the evacuation or “Stay put” policy
3. Where it is safe to do so, using other emergency service personnel to assist with evacuation
4. Widespread evacuation may divert teams from the task(s) they were briefed to undertake which may require additional resources
5. The need to establish, if appropriate, separate attack and evacuation stairwells.

Question 28

In exceptional circumstances an IC may consider informing control that their advice to FSG callers should be altered e.g. to attempt to leave their property. What actions should an IC take priot to chnaging their advice?

Answer 28

They should liaise with the officer in charge at control to agree the change the prescriptive advice.

Question 29

Before undertaking ventilation at a High-rise incident, what must an IC should consider?

Answer 29

1. Any adverse affect on fire development, such as the risk of causing a backdraught or flashover and the effects on personnel and occupants in the hazard zone
2. What impact wind may have if doors, windows or emergency exits are opened or should fail prematurely
3. The need to communicate with and possibly withdraw personnel in affected areas or occupants still in the building.
4. That sufficient resources are in place to contain the fire if there is a need to breach any built-in or engineered safety systems.
5. That measures such as covering jets are in place to protect surrounding risks.

Question 30

When can a buildings ventilation system be disabled?

Answer 30

1. When the IC is satisfied, as a result of discussion with an on-site engineer or FSO, that switching off the system will not cause an escalation of the incident.
2. Measures such as covering jets should be considered to protect surrounding risks

Question 31

What must an IC identify before operating any heating or ventilation systems or undertaking ventilation?

Answer 31

1. The path that fire, heat and smoke will follow to escape to open air or another compartment within the building
2. Any adverse affect on fire development, such as the risk of causing a backdraught or flashover
3. Any adverse affect on evacuation in progress
4. What impact wind may have if windows or doors are opened or should fail prematurely.

Question 32

Where there are communication difficulties, what other equipment can be utilised to aid incident communications?

Answer 32

1. Radio repeaters
2. Leaky feeders
3. Hand-held digital main scheme radios

Question 33

Which outlet should the controlled dividing breeching be plugged into?

Answer 33

The outlet of the rising main on the floor below the fire and the first firefighting jet taken from the breeching