TB 156 - Hillside Home Structure Fires Flashcards
How many hillside structures in the City, including platform homes, multistory pre-fabricated homes, custom homes, apartments and commercial buildings are there?
Over 400,000
Successful firefighting operations in hillside homes require:
SOP Strong Command Continuous size-ups Well communicated strategy Effective firefighting tactics
Firefighters can encounter challenges related to what?
Extended response times Narrow streets with limited access Water supply Laddering Unusual building construction Extreme fire behavior Restricted ventilation Ultimately fire suppression
Three categories of hillside homes:
- Descending
- Ascending
- Cantilever
Descending Hillside Homes are built to provide opportunity for ____ and built on the _____.
Multiple floors, Downslope (descending side the roadway)
What is the minimum amount of stories for a descending home?
Two stories
Descending homes have multi-levels, what are they?
One full story at street level and at least one story or more below grade
What kind of access do homes have to access lower levels?
Interior/exterior
Exterior staircase offer portals of entry on multiple sides
What design features do these descending homes commonly have?
Large picture windows
Cantilever balconies off lowest level and even walkout basements
Why are descending homes most dangerous?
Entry from the grade level into the structure could place firefighters above the fire if it originates on a lower floor
Ascending Hillside Homes are built into the what?
Upslope side of the roadway
Ascending Hillside Homes, access to the first floor does not present the hazards unless what?
Entry is made from an upper floor
On larger properties of ascending hillside homes, what can you find leading up to a flat pad?
Long Driveways
Ascending hillside home are usually multi-story with the garage located where?
Grade level representing the first floor
On ascending homes, how are there alternative portals of entry available on each side?
By exterior staircases
When were cantilever hillside homes originally built?
Early 1900’s
What is a alternative name for Cantilever hillside homes?
Stilt Homes
Build on steep vacant hillside lots and perched precariously on the side of the hill
Cantilever original homes were one story and utilized wood construction with ____ supports tied to the original foundation
Heavy Timber Wood
In later generation stilt homes, what was used for the foundation and how many feet was it cantilevering out over the hillside
Concrete or wood foundation, utilized steel poles to support entire home
Cantilevering out as much as 50 to 75 feet over the hillside
Modern architecture of cantilever homes utilizes what kind of material and how many floors over the hillside?
Concrete, steel, corrugated metal, fiberglass (concrete pilasters buried deep into the hillside)
Multiple floors hanging over hillside
Changed in construction styles and methods have permitted larger homes, often occupying the entire square footage of the property called what?
Mansionization
What is one of the biggest challenges with hillside homes?
Access to lower floors from grade level
is imperative that every attempt is made to conduct a 360 degree survey to determine the fire extent and floor of origin and to clearly communicate this information to other resources before
initiating interior firefighting operations
the first arriving resource shall:
-Give a comprehensive size-up
stating the size, number of floors and specific type (Ascending, Descending, or Cantilever)
-Prior to advancement of any hose lines, complete a 360 degree survey
Type of hillside home
Number of floors (above or below grade)
Floor and side of building where initial fire attack lines will be deployed
If a 360 survey isn’t possible due to steepness of the grade, size of the building or other factors, the first arriving officer will attempt to ?
visualize as much of the building as possible and ascertain all of the required information prior to communicating a subsequent size-up
If the building features make it impossible to attack the fire at or below the lowest level of fire involvement, concerned officers should consider:
“transitional attack,” with limited and focused application of water from the exterior, directly through windows only when visible fire is showing
tactic of applying a stream of water from the exterior shall only be utilized prior to
companies initiating interior operations.
Multi-story Cantilever Hillside Homes that have no doorway access from subfloors, require a risk assessment of how long the fire has been burning. The fire attack team shall provide a
risk versus gain tactical analysis on an offensive fire attack from a floor above the fire or a defensive
attack with water through an opening (such as a window) from the exterior at the identified fire floor
If an offensive attack is considered as the only means, then it is imperative that a backup fire attack team has a
hoseline in place before descending the interior stairwell
It is the LAFD practice that any hillside home that has one or more floors below grade with access, be attacked whenever possible from a
Portal of entry at or below the origin of the fire
Location of the fire, coordination and communication with fire attack about the conditions of the interior are the highest priority in determining placement of an initial heat hole to accomplish
vertical ventilation
heated fire gasses are not released they will accumulate and begin to bank down and spread laterally
mushrooming
It is crucial that fire attack and ventilation be coordinated, as premature ventilation may create
undesired flow path
If the fire is on the street level or grade level floor, then an offensive heat hole can be established above the
origin of the fire with coordinated fire attack from the first floor
If the fire is below grade and the only entry to establish fire attack is from the first floor, what other type of ventilation should be considered?
Horizontal Ventilation
A ventilation hole over the interior stairwell should only be initiated after the fire attack team has
descended the stairwell to the fire floor and communicated the progress of the attack
One of the most overlooked effects of natural ventilation on hillside home is the
Diurnal wind influence
Heating and cooling of the mountain slopes create diurnal winds
Usually change directions twice per day
upslope, up-valley winds generate just after
sunrise
downslope, down-valley winds generate just before
sunset
Careful consideration should be given to opening the front door on grade level, why?
additional flow path created by natural ventilation
It is o=important to the success of the incident to determine the best placement of apparatus based on :
Safety
Hydrant Location
Access to the home
Responding resources
It is imperative for first arriving companies to position the apparatus in a way to allow for other resources to have the full benefit of being as close to
physical address as possible
Additional arriving Truck companies should consider their assignment and determine the need for tools and equipment over apparatus. Consideration should be given to staging the Truck and
staffing the 200 Series Engine when access is a challenge
Resources that will not be used based on the type or tools they carry should
stage on adjacent or intersecting streets as to not create a bottleneck
Ambulance should be placed at intersections allowing for
egress for expedited transportation of patients to the hospital.
One of the most important tactical watchouts in a multi-story hillside home is the ability to perform
A 360
A complete 360 might not always be possible on a hillside home; however, identifying a portal of entry (Alpha, Bravo, Charlie, Delta) at or below the fire is the
highest priority
When engaging in fire suppression on a Descending Hillside Home, fire attack, backup fire attack and additional resources shall make an attack from a
common portal of entry until water can placed on the seat of fire.
A normal response for a hillside, single or multi-family dwelling is a
“C” assignment
vary depending on the square-footage of the occupancy and the location of the dwelling
Due to hillside homes residing in canyons and hilltop brush areas, additional consideration should be given to ordering
water dropping helicopters or airships for aerial observation when there is risk for the brush as an exposure
