High Rise PN633

Question 1

1.3 A high rise building, for the purposes of this procedure

Answer 1

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

Question 2

2.3 Hazards of high rise firefighting can be grouped under three headings:

Answer 2

(a) Building height, layout and design.
(b) Fire behaviour and development.
(c) Firefighting and rescue operations

Question 3

Personnel may also encounter interlocking staircases within one enclosure that provide two separate paths of egress, to two or more floors and these are sometimes referred to as

Answer 3

scissor-style staircases

Question 4

2.14 The operation of fire suppression/total flooding systems may result in either

Answer 4

an oxygen deficient or irrespirable atmosphere.

Question 5

2.17 Radio waves from telecommunication antennas on high rise buildings generating electromagnetic radiation may cause adverse

Answer 5

health effects linked to exposure to electromagnetic radiation

Question 6

2.25 In residential flats or maisonettes the opening of any door, window or emergency exit may create a chimney style effect

Answer 6

leading to a rapid, unexpected increase in temperature.

Question 7

2.35 The size and layout of some buildings may make it difficult to reliably determine the location, floor of origin and the extent of fire and smoke spread from the ground.This can

Answer 7

Create the potential for teams using firefighting lifts to proceed directly onto a floor area involved in fire or may mean that resources are deployed to inappropriate locations.

Question 8

The fire service access level may not be the recognised ground floor level of the building. This can lead to

Answer 8

an incorrect count of floors to the fire floor potentially putting teams using the firefighting lift at risk. 2

Question 9

2.42 At incidents where hoarding of property is encountered (see Policy number 829 - Hoarding), a number of hazards may be present.
These include;

Answer 9

(a) Large volumes of combustible materials,
(b) Difficult access/egress and changes to the normal layout of a premises,
(c) Items of property falling and trapping occupiers/firefighters,
(d) Absorption of water which will add significant weight, increasing the likelihood of collapse,
(e) Deep seated/hidden fires,
(f) Contaminated water run-off.

Question 10

3.2 Building Regulations require all buildings over

Answer 10

18m in height to make provisions for firefighting and firefighter access.

Question 11

Those in excess of

Answer 11

60m require wet systems (as of 2006 – 50m)

Question 12

The basic facilities provided within these buildings may include:

Answer 12

• Firefighting shaft.
• Dry/wet rising mains (DRM or WRM).
• Firefighting lift.

Question 13

3.3 Firefighting shafts including fire mains (but not firefighting lifts) may also be found in certain building types with floor heights

Answer 13

exceeding 7.5m

Question 14

In addition to those within firefighting shafts, fire mains may also be located in

Answer 14

other staircases and/or corridors within a high rise building

Question 15

3.4 Sprinklers and other fire engineered systems may also be found in high rise buildings. The installation of sprinkler systems may indicate

Answer 15

that there are larger compartment areas with significant fire loadings present.

Question 16

4.2 Station personnel should assess the hazards identified for a premises or location and determine the level of risk by reference to factors such as size

Answer 16

complexity and layout.

Question 17

6.1 Attendance should be made to the main entrance of the premises,

Answer 17

unless an agreed RVP or split attendance has been identified during the planning phase or prevailing conditions dictate otherwise

Question 18

6.2 The siting of appliances that form the PDA should take into account the potential need for

Answer 18

access for aerials, other specialist appliances and emergency services, and the potential danger of objects falling from height.

Question 19

6.3 To establish effective command and control, the IC should:

Answer 19

a) Remain at ground floor level unless planning arrangements have identified a more appropriate location e.g. the Fire Control Centre.
(b) Gather all available relevant information from sources such as building occupants, from any building or evacuation plan and from any premises information plate.
(c) Identify which floor(s) the incident is located on in order to determine where the bridgehead should be sited.
(d) Carry out a 360o visual inspection to identify affected areas and fire spread
e) Ensure initial teams equip themselves with all of the necessary equipment to set up a bridgehead before going aloft (see 7.24).
(f) Establish the location and status of any fire control, fire engineering and/or fixed installation systems.
(g) Secure water supplies for firefighting teams at the bridgehead. The hydrant supply and deliveries from the pump to the DRM must be twinned and charged using 70mm hose.
(h) Establish a cordon to help protect personnel and others from falling materials.
(i) Determine the status of any Heating, Ventilating and Air Conditioning (HVAC) systems in the building.
(j) Implement reliable lines of communication with the bridgehead, pump operator and other sectors

Question 20

6.4 The IC should also give early consideration to the following points:

Answer 20

(a) Whether additional resources are required to support operations.
(b) 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.
(c) The need to layout jets to control fires caused by falling debris and deploy ground monitors to prevent external fire spread.
(d) 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 21

7.2 A DRM can deliver at least

Answer 21

1500 litres of water per minute

Question 22

Wet rising mains are designed to supply

Answer 22

1500 litres per minute for 45 minutes as a minimum.

Question 23

Bulk media advisors (BMA) are available to provide

Answer 23

advice with regard to securing and optimising water supply. 7

Question 24

Wet rising mains are designed to supply

Answer 24

1500 litres per minute for 45 minutes as a minimum.

Question 25

Bulk media advisors (BMA) are available to provide

Answer 25

advice with regard to securing and optimising water supply. 7

Question 26

. The F.I.R.E tool roll contains a

Answer 26

a riser outlet wheel, adjustable spanner, mole grips and rubber hose washer which may assist in the use of outlets in disrepair.

Question 27

7.16 The firefighting lift should remain at the established

Answer 27

bridgehead so that rescued persons can be quickly brought to ground floor level

Question 28

7.12 Where the height and location of the incident makes the use of a fire lift beneficial, the firefighting lift should be identified and a

Answer 28

firefighter detailed to take control of, and remain in the lift. The IC should also be aware that some lifts may not access all floors of the building.

Question 29

7.17 In the event that the fire lift is not available, consideration should be given to

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

Question 30

Due to potential congestion at larger incidents

Answer 30

staging area below the bridgehead may be required for additional resources.

Question 31

7.24 As the water supply is being secured, the fire sector commander will take a minimum

Answer 31

of three firefighters to the bridgehead. They will be a firefighting/rescue team of two BA wearers and a BA entry control officer (ECO).

Question 32

7.25 The following equipment must be provided at the bridgehead as soon as possible:

Answer 32

• Two lengths of 45mm hose with carrying straps
• Immediate Emergency Care (IEC) pack
• Two BA sets
• Long Line • Breaking in Gear
• One BA Board
• Thermal Imaging Camera)
• One F.I.R.E bag containing: − One controlled dividing breeching − Three Hose Identifying Sleeve − One DeltaFire Quickattack branch − One Set of lift access keys − One F.I.R.E tool roll

Question 33

7.28 The F.I.R.E system contains all of the equipment which must

Answer 33

be in place as a minimum requirement for High Rise Firefighting.
.However, the 45mm hose wrapped in carrying straps may also be required for other types of firefighting.
Therefore only two of an appliance’s four 45mm jet capacity must be wrapped in these straps.

Question 34

Firefighting shafts are a means of enabling firefighters

Answer 34

to reach any point within a building in the shortest possible time. They provide a position of relative safety while firefighters carry out their firefighting and rescue roles.

Question 35

The detailed recommendations on the provision of firefighting shafts within buildings are contained within BS 9999. In brief a firefighting shaft will contain a

Answer 35

firefighting stair, a firefighting lobby with a dry or wet fire main and a firefighting lift.

Question 36

Wherever possible a firefighting lift is not

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smaller than an eight person lift and will carry a load of up to 850kg. The electrical supply to the lift is independent of the other circuits in the building.

Question 37

The minimum features to be considered by when assessing whether a lift is safe for use by Firefighters should include the provision of:

Answer 37

• Primary and secondary power supplies
• Water protection measures (e.g. IP rated wiring and controls, drainage measures)
• Fire fighter recall switch at access level
• Fire fighter in-car controls
• Fire fighter communication system
• Floor indicators.

Question 38

The advantages of using a DRM are that it

Answer 38

• Reduces the time taken to supply water to upper levels.
• Reduces the amount of hose required to reach the fire.
• Reduces frictional loss in the delivery supply.
• Lessens the amount of equipment needed.
• Reduces effort required by personnel.
• Keeps stairways clear of hose.

Question 39

Sprinklers perform three functions

Answer 39

to detect fire,
to attack fire
to give an audible warning.

Question 40

Water suppression systems

Answer 40

These may be found in commercial, residential and multiple use high rise buildings (and since 2006 has been a requirement to be installed in residential buildings over 30m) and can play an important part in fire suppression.

Question 41

At a high rise incident, if the fire is on the 8th floor, what floor should the bridge head be on?

Answer 41

6th Floor

Question 42

At a high rise incident, if the fire is on the 10th,11th, and 12th floor, what floors should be classified as the fire sector?

Answer 42

9th and the 13th one below and one above.

9-10-11-12-13

Question 43

Building regulations require all buildings over a certain height to have a dry or wet rising mains. What are the heights?

Answer 43

18m Dry
60m Wet (50m as from 2006)

Question 44

At a high rise incident what sector is usually found above the fire sector?

Answer 44

Search sector.

Question 45

When can a BA wearer be deployed alone?

Answer 45

Car Fire (in open air and line of sight to IC)
Rubbish fires (in open air and line of sight to IC)
Working at the head of an Ariel appliance

Question 46

Who is responsible for ensuring breathing apparatus team briefing and debriefing takes place?

Answer 46

Incident commander

Question 47

Who is responsible for attaching Branch Guideline tallies at an incident?

Answer 47

ECO