High-Rise Building Fires Flashcards
Open unprotected stairs in a multistory building that connect two or more floors for the same occupant space
Access stairs
A building with either ___ or more stories or a building where the highest occupied story is located more than ____ feet above the lowest level of fire department vehicle access
6 ; 75
Stairs that do not serve all building floors
Isolated stairs
Refers to the void between the ceiling (usually a drop ceiling) and the underside of the floor above
Plenum
Fire control rooms are required in buildings with occupied floors located more than ___ feet above the lowest level of fire department vehicle access
75
Modern high-rise buildings involve two basic designs
Residential & Commercial
These buildings are characterized by center hallways, numberous interior compartments and 24-hr occupancy
Residential high-rise buildings
These buildings are characterized by center-core construction with circuit corridors around the building’s core and likely large, open expanses on each floor
Commercial high-risebuildings
Typical requirements for buildings with atrium’s include
- Full sprinkler protection
- smoke exhaust systems
- smoke curtains
Two basic types of high-rise buildings in NOVA region are
Those constructed before 1976 & those constructed after 1976
Fire walls will typically have a minimum fire-resistance rating of
2 hours
To reduce its density low-mass concrete also referred to as “formed concrete” can consist of up to
20% air
Traditional concrete has a density range of
150 pounds per cubic foot (PCF)
Lightweight concrete ranges in density from
60-100 pounds per cubic foot
Super lightweight concrete carries a density of less than
60 pounds per cubic foot
Low-mass concrete provides a compression strength of
60,000 psi
Traditional concrete provides a compression strength of
20,000 psi
Under fire conditions lightweight concrete failure occurs at ____% of the designed load after ____ minutes of fire exposure
80% ; 45
Thermal cracks in light-weight concrete appear within ____ - _____ minutes of fire exposure
14 ; 16
Buildings with fixed windows should have designated breakable windows for emergencies and are marked with a
Maltese cross or fire helmet etched in the lower corner of the pane
At a minimum any doorway a hoseline passes through should either be controlled by a
Firefighter or chocked open
Usually have individual entrances and access only one section of the building
Isolated stairs
May be found in center-core construction and are independent stairwells
Scissor stairs
Open, unprotected stairways leading from floor to floor within a single occupant’s space
Access stairs
Newer high-rises may have a security gate installed in the stairway at
the lowest level terminating at an exterior entrance
High-rise buildings constructed after _____ contain automatic sprinkler systems unless the builder chose to compartmentation option
1976
Most standpipes found in high-rise interior applications are
Wet systems
FDC’s can be found either
mounted directly on the building or away from the building in the surrounding yard
When a FDC is away from the building in the surrounding yard it is called a
Free-standing FDC
Hydrants installed after ____ should be located within _____ feet of the standpipe and sprinkler FDC’s
1976 ; 100
Sprinkler control valves for each floor may be found at
Stairwell landings
Are designed to reduce, regulate, control or restrict water pressure
Pressure-regulating devices
Pressure-reducing valves will limit pressure to a maximum of
175 PSI
Central air conditioning within a high-rise may interconnect ____ - ____ or more floors
10-20
The elevator car doors open automatically when the car arrives at the specified floor
Independent service
The elevator car doors will not open until the “door open” button has been activated
Firefighter service
What elevators should not be used in emergency operations
Freight elevators
Fire control rooms are usually located
Near or at the main lobby entrance
The typical smoke movement found in residential and commercial high-rise structures when the smoke is uninfluenced by external environmental conditions
Mushrooming
The natural movement of air within a tightly sealed high-rise building which results from the temperature difference between the air inside and outside the structure
Stack effect
The stack effect occurs more noticeably when
In winter
The most effective method for controlling and preventing flashover involves personnel
Cooling the overhead area with hose streams
Most wind-driven fires occur in the upper stories of high-rises but have also been documented in levels as low as the
third floor
Wind-driven fires occur with exterior winds as low as
10 - 20 mph
Until directed by command in wind-driven fire conditions what should not be performed
Horizontal ventilation
Contents of these buildings have a rate of heat release that can allow a fire to double in size every
90 seconds
Firefighters who encounter an outward-opening metal door should suspect one of these rooms
Electrical vault
Buildings under construction must have a riser ____ floors below the top-most finished floor
2
The operational plan for high-rise fires consist of five basic actions
- Determine fire floor
- Verify fire floor
- Control occupants
- Control building systems
- Confine and extinguish the fire
Building systems must be brought under fire department control. At a minimum this must include
- Control of the elevators
- Fire pump
- Any air handling systems
Fire load in general office space is about
7.7 pounds per square foot
The first command officer to arrive on-scene should
establish command
To establish and build an effective and efficient command structure the IC should
assign tactical command positions early in an incident
The second arriving command officer will typically be assigned as the
fire floor division supervisor
While most hoseline operations involve the use of standpipes fire located where personnel may choose to stretch preconnected lines from the engine
fires below grade
first floor
second floor
third floor
Prior to advancing hoselines into areas with suspended ceiling assemblies, firefighter’s should always check for fire
in the plenum
Residential occupancies require a fire flow of ___ gpm per _____ square feet of involved area
10 ; 100
Use of the 1.75” hose standpipe pack is preferred as it provides _____ - _____ gpm
185-210
Commercial occupancies require a fire flow of ____ gpm per _____ square feet of involved area
20 ; 100
The minimum initial alarm assignment for a high-rise fire consists of
5 engines
2 trucks
1 rescue squad
1 EMS unit
2 BC’s
1 EMS supervisor
When determining floor numbers it may be quicker to identify the fire floor relative to
the roof
Lobby report from the 1st engine to first due command officer should include
fire alarm status
reported fire location
evacuation status
route of travel to fire floor
Units should utilize stairwells to access below-grade fires and above-grade fires up through the _____ floor
6th
If the fire floor is the 7th floor or higher and the elevator is safe to use crews can take the elevator to ____ floors below the reported fire floor
2
Water supply will be established by the driver of the
2nd due engine
The FDC should be charged when a company reports
fire or visible smoke
I-RIT will be established ____ floors below the fire floor
one
In residential occupancies search priority is as follows
the fire unit
exit hallways
units next to the fire unit
all other units on the fire floor
In non-residential occupancies search priority is as follows
- immediate fire area and floor
- the floor above the fire
- the top floor including the involved hallways, stairwells, and elevators
- the floors between the floor above the fire and the top floor
Every alarm after the first will bring at least
3 engines
1 truck
1 BC
What unit should establish the base area
6th due engine which is typically the first engine on the 2nd alarm
The driver of the 6th due engine should become
the base manager
Staging should be how many floors below the fire floor
2 floors
Each engine company on the second alarm and greater should bring _____ spare air cylinders per unit to the staging area
2
Lobby control takes responsibility of
- Accountability
- Building systems control
- Elevator control
- Stairwell identification for attack and evacuation
- Civilian evacuation coordination
Refers to the area used for assembling resources close to operations on the fire floor, ideally 2 floors below the confirmed fire floor in a high-rise
Staging
To ensure a clean air environment the staging officer should ensure what is present
A functioning air monitor or meter capable of detecting carbon monoxide is present
Refers to the area where incoming fire apparatus and other vehicles park
Base
The 3 basic tactics for ventilating a high-rise include
- horizontally through the windows
- vertically through stairwells
- through the building’s HVAC system
The preferred way to horizontally ventilate is to use the pressurized attack stairwell to pressurize the fire floor hallway and fire apartment to
force smoke out the fire apartment window
The least desirable option for vertical ventilation is using
elevator shafts
Command should establish a search and evacuation branch or group if more than _____ floors above the fire still contain building occupants
2
Represents one of firefighting’s highest priorities during the early stages of a high-rise building event
Stairwell support
Personnel should anticipate no more than ___ to ___ minutes per air cylinder during firefighting operations
15 ; 20
Manages all civilian patients
EMS Branch
Cares for and treats fire department personnel
Medical unit
The medical unit including rehab should be set up _____ floor ______ staging to ensure they can properly evaluate personnel
1 ; below
The safety officer reports
directly to command
Who normally serves as the initial planning section officer
Battalion aide or an EMS supervisor
Who most primarily ensure the availability of adequate personnel and equipment
Logistics officer
A midrise building is ___ to ____ stories high and measures less than ______ feet from the lowest level of fire department vehicle access to the highest occupiable floor
3 ; 6 ; 75
Three factors drive a building’s construction characteristics
- The time period when the structure was built
- The building code in place at the time
- The original occupancy intent
Podium construction is also known as
pedestal or platform construction
Traditional commercial midrise buildings are also referred to as
low-rise buildings
Three types of midrise balconies commonly exist
- cantilevered
- recessed
- hinged
Balconies that project out over the load-bearing wall
Cantilevered
Balconies that are supported on three sides by bearing walls
Recessed balconies
Balconies that are supported on two sides by bearing walls and corner columns extending from the ground to the roof
Hinged
NFPA 13R residential sprinkler systems are designed to
contain a fire but might not extinguish it
NFPA 13R sprinkler systems are constructed using polyvinyl chloride (PVC) plastic pipes that are usually what color
Orange
Localized preaction systems are often found in
Commercial midrise buildings housing information technology (IT) and data server equipment
Raised floor systems are sometimes are referred to as
a computer access flooring system
Personnel should refer to those outlined in the NOVA Garden-style Apartment Fires manual when considering operational tactics for fires in midrise buildings
Without standpipe systems
The first-arriving unit officer should provide the following information in the on-scene report
- unit identification and side of the structure where the apparatus is positioned
- building height
- occupancy type
- detailed report of evident conditions
