TB 156 - Hillside Home Structure Fires Flashcards
There are over _________hillside structures in the City, including platform homes, multi-story pre-fabricated homes, custom homes, apartments and commercial buildings.
400,000
Successful firefighting operations in hillside homes require ________ __________ ________ (SOP), strong _______, continuous ______ _____, a well communicated ________, and effective firefighting tactics.
Standard operating procedures, strong command, size ups, strategy
Many of these homes are designed with a focus on capturing as much of the hillside view as possible. Commonly, they are multi-story with an open ________, and often consist of split-levels throughout, depending on the degree of slope.
Stairwell
There are three general categories of hillside homes:
Descending
Ascending
Cantilever
Although __________ Hillside homes have historically been the most dangerous to firefighters, each type of hillside home possesses unique challenges and construction features that are important to identify before determining the safest and most effective strategy and tactics.
Descending
Are built to provide opportunity for multiple floors and built on the downslope (descending side the roadway).
Descending hillside homes
Descending hillside homes are usually a minimum of _____ stories, the home is constructed to make the most of the sloping topography.
2 stories
Descending hillside homes
Multi-level home plans typically use _______, as well as ________ access to the lower levels of the home.
Interior as well as exterior
Descending hillside homes
Design features of these homes commonly offer large picture ________, as well as cantilever _______ off the lowest level and even walkout _________.
Windows
Balconies
Basements
Descending hillside homes
Access to lower floors is often available via ______ staircases that descend with the hillside and offer portals of entry on ______ sides
Exterior
Multiple
Descending hillside homes
Occupancies that are built on a descending slope are the most dangerous because of the possibility that entry from the grade level into the structure could place firefighters ____ _____ _______ if it originates on a lower floor.
Above the fire
are built into the upslope side of the roadway.
Ascending hillside homes
Ascending hillside homes
Unlike the descending hillside home, access to the first floor does not present the same hazards unless entry is made from an
Upper floor
Ascending hillside homes
Often they are cut into the hillside depending on the
Percentage of slope
Ascending hillside homes
On larger properties with shallow slopes you may find long __________ leading up to a flat pad.
Driveways
Ascending hillside homes
Steeper slopes may contain block retaining walls outlining the _______ floor. The Ascending Hillside home is usually multi-story with the garage located at _______ level representing the first floor.
First floor
Grade level
Ascending hillside homes
There may be alternative portals of entry available on each side of the home identified by ________ _______.
Exterior staircases
were originally built in the early 1900’s. Also known as stilt homes, they were built on steep vacant hillside lots and perched precariously on the side of the hill.
Cantilever hillside homes
Cantilever hillside homes
These homes were one story and utilized ______ construction with heavy timber wood supports tied to the original foundation.
Wood construction
Cantilever hillside homes
Later generation stilt homes were built on a _______ or wood foundation and utilized _______ ________ to support the entire home, cantilevering out as much as __ to __ feet over the hillside.
Concrete
Steel poles
50-75 feet
Cantilever hillside homes
Portals of entry for these types of occupancies are usually from the ______ side through the ______ ______ or _______ area.
Street side
Front door
Garage area
Cantilever hillside homes
Modern architecture of cantilever homes utilizes _______, ______, ________ metal, _________ and may have multiple floors hanging over the hillside.
Concrete, steel, corrugated metal, fiberglass
Cantilever hillside homes
The support of these homes is typically concrete ________ buried deep into the hillside. Regardless, the portals of entry remain the same through the _______ of the structure.
Concrete pilasters
Front
Cantilever hillside homes
When a fire is located on a ____ _______ floor it can create one of the most dangerous environments in structural firefighting.
Sub level
These contemporary hillside homes can have two or more stories and resemble small __________ buildings based on the size of the property.
Small commercial builfings
The changes in construction styles and methods have permitted larger homes, often occupying the entire square footage of the property, sometimes called
Mansionization
One of the biggest challenges with hillside homes is access to _____ floors from grade level.
Lower floors
Specifically, multi-story _________ Hillside Homes are outfitted with an unenclosed interior stairwell that serves all floors, while oftentimes offering no access to lower floors from the exterior.
Cantilever hillside homes
Consequently, any fire located below grade is similar to a __________ fire, causing firefighters to attack the fire from above.
Basement
Multi-story ___________ Hillside Homes may have the same type of unenclosed interior stairwell, but usually provide multiple portals of entry on sub-levels.
Descending
Homes built on a slope (__________ Hillside Home) can normally be handled with similar strategy and tactics utilized for a traditional single or multi-family dwelling.
Ascending
However, homes built on the downhill side of a roadway (__________ Hillside Home) require unique strategy and tactics for safe and effective mitigation.
Descending hillside homes
It is imperative that every attempt is made to conduct a ____ ________ survey to determine the fire extent and floor of origin and to clearly communicate this information to other resources before initiating interior firefighting operations.
360 degree survey
- Give a comprehensive size-up informing Metropolitan Fire Communications (MFC) and all incoming resources that this is a hillside home stating the ____, number of ______ and specific type (________, _________, or __________).
Size, number of floors
Ascending, descending, cantilever
- Prior to advancement of any hose lines, complete a_____ degree survey of the building to further assess the structure, and announce the additional information in a subsequent size-up to responding resources.
a. Type of ________ _________
b. Number of ________ (above or below grade)
c. ______ and _____ of building where initial fire attack lines will be deployed
360
Hillside home
Floors
Floor and side
If the building features make it impossible to attack the fire at or below the lowest level of fire involvement, concerned officers should consider utilizing the tactic of “_________ _________,” with limited and focused application of water from the exterior, directly through windows only when visible ______ is showing.
Transitional attack
Visible fire
The focused application of a straight hose stream will significantly reduce the interior temperatures and is intended to lessen the potential for
Flashover
Multi-story Cantilever Hillside Homes that have no doorway access from subfloors, require a _____ ________ of how long the fire has been burning.
Risk assessment
Multi story cantilever hillside home
The fire attack team shall provide a risk versus gain tactical analysis on an offensive fire attack from a _____ ______ the fire or a defensive attack with water through an opening (such as a ______) from the exterior at the identified fire floor.
Floor above
Window
Multi story cantilever hillside home
If an offensive attack is considered as the only means, then it is imperative that a backup fire attack team has a ________ in place before descending the interior stairwell.
Hose line
A fire that develops on any sub-level of a multi-story Descending Hillside Home can create hot gasses and smoke that may reach the ceiling level and begin to
Mushroom and stratify
As the superheated gasses start moving laterally across the ceiling system in the sub-level, the fire may progress and create a _____ ______ to the unprotected interior stairwell, creating a ________ effect.
Flow path
Chimney effect
The idea that quickly descending a stairwell as a fire attack team, to an involved room on a sub-level will provide a cooler atmosphere is
False
Although temperatures in a fully developed fire in a room are cooler towards the floor, studies have shown that when fire communicates via an unprotected stairwell, the ______ of the stairwell may produce even higher temperatures than at the ______
Floor
Ceiling
It is the LAFD practice that any hillside home that has one or more floors below grade with access, be attacked whenever possiblefrom a portal of entry ____ or ______ the origin of the fire.
At or below
Ventilation on a hillside home can be challenging because of a variety of considerations. _______, __________ _________, layout and even ________ can ultimately affect the desired outcome.
Access, building construction
Weather
Ventilation
_________ of the fire, coordination and communication with _____ _______ about the conditions of the interior are the highest priority in determining placement of an initial heat hole to accomplish vertical ventilation.
Location of the fire
Coordination and communication with fire attack
Ventilation teams are then better equipped to select the location for the heat hole, or may opt to provide a ventilation hole in proximity to the
Stairwell
Coordinated ________ or _________ ventilation at a structure fire can assist fire attack companies by removing smoke and superheated gasses.
Vertical or horizontal ventilation
If the fire is below grade and the only entry to establish fire attack is from the first floor, then a contingency plan of providing __________ ventilation needs to 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 ________ wind influence.
Diurnal wind
The ________ and _________ of the mountain slopes create diurnal winds.
Heating and cooling
Diurnal winds usually change direction
Twice per day
Diurnal winds
As a general rule upslope, up-valley winds generate just after _______ and downslope, down-valley winds generate just before ______.
Sunrise
Sunset
Careful consideration should be given to opening the front door on grade level so that when a fire is located on a sub-level; there could be an additional flow path created by
Natural ventilation
It is important to the success of the incident to determine the best placement of the apparatus based on ______, ________ location, ______ to the home, responding resources, and the use of hoselines, ladders, tools, and equipment.
Safety
Hydrant location
Access to the home
It is imperative for _____ arriving companies to position the apparatus in a way to allow for other resources to have the full benefit of being as close to the physical address as possible
First arriving companies
First arriving Truck companies should attempt to make their way to the structure and pull ___ _____ the address when practical, for the use of ladders, tools and equipment
Well past
Additional arriving Truck companies should consider their assignment and determine the need for ______ and ________ over apparatus.
Tools and equipment
Consideration should be given to staging the Truck and staffing the _____ _______ ________ when access is a challenge.
200 series engine
Resources that will not be used based on the type or tools they carry should stage on ________ or _________ streets as to not create a bottleneck.
Adjacent or intersecting
One of the most important tactical watchouts in a multi-story hillside home is the ability to perform a
360
A 360 is a term used to provide
Reconnaissance
A complete 360 might not always be possible on a hillside home; however, identifying a portal of entry (_____, ______, _______, _______) at or below the fire is the highest priority.
Alpha, bravo, charlie, delta
Entering the structure from any other entry sub level after fire attack already entered through the front door can create flashover conditions is less than a ________ and provide an untenable and life-threatening situation for any company above the fire floor.
Minute
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 be placed on the seat of the fire
An alternative to sounding is using an _____ or similar tool to provide an indicator hole of potential fire below on a hillside home.
Axe
can be a tremendous advantage on the fire ground.
Thermal Imaging Cameras (TIC)
the TIC offers little or no indication of this hazard on the floor
Above the fire
In effort to ensure an appropriate risk profile, _______, _________, _________, and ________ is developed,
Strategy, tactics, deployment, and organization
it may be necessary to establish a fixed Incident Command Post (ICP) and utilize the second arriving Battalion Command Team as the___________ _______ _______ (OSC) to supervise and validate tactical operations.
Operations section chief
A normal response for a hillside, single or multi-family dwelling is a
C assignment
Any occupancy having a floor at street or grade level would become the _____floor or Division 1. The next level below grade would become ____ ___________ and subsequently below that floor would become ____ _________
First
Sun-division 1
Sun-division 2
It is the practice of the LAFD that any Sub-Division may be communicated in its abbreviated form as ________ or __________ to assist with clear text radio communications.
Sub 1
Sub 2
The first floor at street or grade level would become Division 1. The next level above the first floor would become Division 2 and sequentially above that floor would become Division 3.
Describes what type of home
Ascending hillside home
Exposures (in hillside home areas) would likely be handled as _________ Divisions.
Lettered divisions
