OMS 020 - High Rise - Strategies and Tactics

Question 1

OMS 020 - High Rise - Strategies and Tactics
14 Key Actions

Answer 1

1. Site appliance and conduct initial Size Up
2. Determine initial fire attach and evacuation strategy
3. Establish a command structure
4. Secure firefighting lifts
5. Establish communications plan
6. Conduct initial reconnaissance or fire attack
7. Implement high rise water plan
8. Establish an operations point
9. Establish a Lobby Sector and implement fireground accountability process
10. Determine firefighter welfare/rotation strategy
11. Establish a safety plan
12. Establish safety cordons
13. Assess the effectiveness of aerial appliances when attacking external fires with suspected or known combustible cladding
14. Conduct post fire salvage

Question 2

OMS 020 - High Rise - Strategies and Tactics
Site appliance and conduct initial Size Up
Steps

Answer 2

• Site first arriving appliance in an appropriate position near the main entrance or known Fire Control Room FCR location, and establish Incident Control Point ICP.
• Consider early assignment of an appliance to the boosting point for the building.
• Consider the following when siting additional appliances:
  *Location of additional crews for tasking
• Access for aerial and other specialist appliances
• Protection from falling debris
• Staging arrangements in place
• Conduct and maintain a visual check for external fire spread
• Attempt to prevent vertical spread of any external fire observed immediately, using appliance monitors or hose lines if possible
• Liaise with building Representatives and occupants, where available, to determine the following:
• Known fire location and conditions
• Type of occupancy (commercial, residential or mixed)
• Number of occupants, their location and evacuation status
• Access and egress
• Fuel loads and contents
• Onsite intelligence (tactical fire diagrams)
• Status of installed building systems
• Isolation points for utility services
• Air handling systems
• Check automated fire control systems (FIP, EWIS) to confirm location of fire
• Ensure an initial evacuation has commenced of the fire floor, two floors above the fire floor, and one floor below the fire floor.

Question 3

OMS 020 - High Rise - Strategies and Tactics
Determine initial fire attach and evacuation strategy

Answer 3

• Formulate an IAP based on intelligence gathered from Size Up and respond required resources
• Adopt an offensive strategy where resources are available, to mount an effective, rapid attack on the fire to prevent additional fire spread.
• Consider adopting a defensive strategy where resources are insufficient to mount an effective fire attack. The available resources should be prioritised to conduct a Full Evacuation of the building occupants, whilst continuing to attempt to prevent additional fire spread until additional resources become available
• Provide a Situation Report as soon as possible advising of strategy being implemented.

Question 4

OMS 020 - High Rise - Strategies and Tactics
Establish a command structure

Answer 4

• Nominate Sector Commanders for the following sectors:
• Lobby Sector: Maintains control over personnel entering and/or exiting the building, and of lifts in building
• Fire Sector: Coordinates all mitigation and search activities
• Evacuation Sector: Coordinates the evacuation plan
• Appoint the following Staging Officers and declare Staging Areas for responding resources
• External Staging Officer for appliances and support personnel at designated Staging Area
• Internal Staging Officer for personnel and equipment in the lobby of the building

Question 5

OMS 020 - High Rise - Strategies and Tactics
Secure firefighting lifts

Answer 5

Determine if the use of lifts in the building is required, and whether they are safe to be utilised.
Consider leaving lifts in-situ until evacuation has been completed or is no longer required where smoke egress lifts are being used as part of the evacuation plan for the building.

Question 6

OMS 020 - High Rise - Strategies and Tactics
Establish communications plan

Answer 6

• Consider requesting additional fireground channels from CommCen to reduce radio traffic
• Ensure all crews are briefed on the Comms Plan and are allocated a fireground channel for their sector
• Consider utilising a local radio channel as communication difficulties may be experienced when operating inside fire isolated stairwells, lift shafts and FCRs
• Use WIP phones where problems with radio communications are experienced.

Question 7

OMS 020 - High Rise - Strategies and Tactics
Conduct initial reconnaissance or fire attack

Answer 7

• Prioritise a rapid fire attack to prevent additional fire spread where the IC determines that there are sufficient resources on scene to mount an effective attack on the fire.
• Send a Sitrep to the CommCen advising of rapid attack
• Consider waiting for additional resources before deploying, where the fire location is a considerable vertical distance from the entrance, or additional hose is required for coverage
• Form an Initial Reconnaissance Team (IRT) comprised of an SO/SSO and a minimum of 2 FFs
• Ensure the IRT carries the following items in order to minimise any delay on fire attack:
• One high rise pack, and an additional High Rise Pack should be considered to ensure sufficient hose (60m) for coverage, or the addition of a second line
• Individual personal radios
• Breathing Apparatus equipment including individual BA sets, personal atmospheric monitoring equipment, and Stage 1 BA control board
• Forcible Entry Equipment
• TIC
• Proceed to at least one floor below the lowest reported fire floor, via the building lift if required. Then proceed to the fire floor via the fire isolated stairway to conduct an investigation or initial fire attack
• Conduct a SPADRA prior to making entry to a fire floor or compartment, considering potential for extreme fire behaviour
• Implement BA procedures
• Utilise hose lines supplied from the closest installed hydrant in the fire isolated stairwells. Consider using the hydrant from the floor below if there are indications of significant fire conditions.
• Avoid running dry hose lines under doors as the will become wedged when charged
• Establish the following prior to opening a fire compartment door:
• Ensure a hose line is in place and charged
• Ensure sufficient resources are deployed prior to making entry if conditions indicate a wind driven fire
• Utilise compartment fire door entry techniques
• Prevent the spread of smoke and products of combustion into stairwells.
• Isolate utility services as required
• Utilise apartment or floor isolations
• Do not isolate power to essential building services (lifts, air handling etc)

Question 8

OMS 020 - High Rise - Strategies and Tactics
Implement high rise water plan

Answer 8

• Appoint a Water Officer to oversee boosting operations
• Assign a crew to the pump room to ensure the fire pumps are operating and all valves are fully open where installed sprinklers have activated
• Ensure the installation in the building is boosted by a pumping appliance where multiple sprinklers have activated or internal hydrants are going to be utilised

Question 9

OMS 020 - High Rise - Strategies and Tactics
Establish an operations point

Answer 9

• Establish an Operations Point (OP) if the fire is not able to be mitigated by the IRT. The OP should be established two floors below the lowest reported fire floor and an Operations Officer should be appointed to coordinate mitigation activities from the OP
• Transmit regular SitReps back to the IC
• Consider use of WIP phones to communicate with FCR if radio comms is problematic
• Assign a Field Safety Officer when resources permit
• Consider establishing an equipment cache and BA service area at the OP
• Ensure all tasking of internal operations is conducted by the Operations Officer once an OP is established
• Consider appointing an additional Sector Commander for each floor involved in fire attack or search operations. Floor Sector Commanders will report to the Operations Officer

Question 10

OMS 020 - High Rise - Strategies and Tactics
Establish a Lobby Sector and implement fireground accountability process

Answer 10

• Appoint a Lobby Sector Commander to oversee the internal deployment of all crews and assume control of the use of the lifts in the building. The Lobby Sector Commander should be positioned at the main entrance of the building, designated as the Lobby Staging Area
• Ensure all additional crews tasked with internal operations report to the Lobby Staging Area prior to being deployed internally
• Establish an initial BA Entry Point at the OP utilising Stage 1 BA Control Board
• Assign a BA Entry Officer (BAEO) at the OP as soon as resources permit
• Consider allocating an additional BA entry point for each floor involved in fire attack or search operations
• Implement DEBRiS

Question 11

OMS 020 - High Rise - Strategies and Tactics
Determine firefighter welfare/rotation strategy

Answer 11

• Ensure Operations Officer liaises with DEBRiS Officer and Lobby Sector Commander to determine rotation strategy
• Respond resources as needed to ensure timely relief of crews and minimise disruption to fire attack and search
• Ensure all additional responded appliances report to an external Staging Area for deployment

Question 12

OMS 020 - High Rise - Strategies and Tactics
Establish a safety plan

Answer 12

• Ensure the Field Safety Officer is positioned at the OP and assess if additional Safety Officers are required internally
• Appoint external Safety Officers as spotters for any external fire spread

Question 13

OMS 020 - High Rise - Strategies and Tactics
Establish safety cordons

Answer 13

• Establish an external safety cordon to minimise impact of falling debris
• Utilise VicPol to assist in maintaining cordons where available

Question 14

OMS 020 - High Rise - Strategies and Tactics
Assess the effectiveness of aerial appliances when attacking external fires with suspected or known combustible cladding

Answer 14

• Consider the following when a fire is in range of appliance monitors or aerial appliances
• Consider the use of appliance monitors early in the incident to prevent vertical fire spread
• Establish external firefighting sectors as required
• Respond ULP and aerial appliances
• Consider responding Hose Layer Pod if water supply is inadequate
• Consider the following when a fire is outside of the range of appliance monitors or aerial appliances
• Utilise installed boosters to maintain volume to both sprinkler and hydrant systems
• Consider deploying crews above the fire to attempt to stop the vertical spread
• Conduct a SPADRA prior to deploying firefighters above the fire floor and assign Safety Officers
• Consider utilising hose lines from balconies of surrounding buildings if within close proximity
• Consider deploying crews floor by floor to complete extinguishment
• Check structural integrity of glass panels and/or balconies that have been exposed to heat prior to crews working close to these areas. Cordon off the area/s if concerns exist

Question 15

OMS 020 - High Rise - Strategies and Tactics
Conduct post fire salvage

Answer 15

• Isolate water to activated sprinklers that are no longer required without delay to avoid excessive water damage
• Utilise isolation points that minimise the amount of sprinkler isolations where possible, such as individual floor isolations
• Conduct post fire salvage and overhaul operations