Division 7 Training and Safety

DIVISION 7 TRAINING AND SAFETY

NEWSLETTER

September 2014

SEPTEMBER 11TH: This year marks the 13th anniversary of that horrible day. Those who responded to the World Trade Center truly raised the bar for all of us for all time. After the 2nd plane hit the South Tower, Firefighters still climbed the stairways with the possibility that we were going to be hit by more aircraft. Those who worked that day didn’t flinch. They relied on their courage, their training, their skills and abilities. They disregarded the extreme danger before them because people needed our help. Everything that was good about being a Firefighter was on display that day for the world to see. It was our finest hour. Never Forget!

LIEUTENANT GEORGE W. LENER: July 20, 2014 was the 20th anniversary of the death of Lieutenant George W. Lener of Ladder Co. 6. He died while operating at a cellar fire at 79 Worth St. in Manhattan. Numerous sprinkler heads were fused and the fire was knocked down. Yet, Lt. Lener received a fatal dose of Carbon Monoxide. There is an excellent Safety Command Review about this incident on Diamondplate.

TIP OF THE HELMET TO: Units that operated at Bronx Box 2-2-3321 on 8/8/14 at 340 E. 184 St. This fire had all the earmarks of a bad top floor fire in an “H-type” apartment building. However, rapid hose stretching and advancement, aggressive ventilation at the roof level, and quick primary searches saved the day. This fire also had clear, concise and accurate communications from all sectors.

RANDOM THOUGHTS ON CELLAR FIRES:

Suspect a cellar fire when high heat and smoke are encountered on the first floor with no fire visible. Smoke may show at vents at roof level.

One of the most dangerous jobs a firefighter performs is to take a hose line down into a burning cellar stairway. In the early stages of the fire, the stairway may be the only vent for the fire. The line must drive back the fire at the top of the stairs, the line must then descend the stairs, then the firefighters must pull the line across the cellar floor to the seat of the fire.

Flames and heat venting up the cellar stairs above the heads of firefighters can fill the cellar stair, the only cellar vent. This is why a second line is stretched to the stairway opening when a hose line is stretched down the stairs.

The safest access to a cellar is an enclosed stairway with a fire door. Next would be a sidewalk entrance. Lastly would be an interior trap door. They all may have flimsy, unprotected wooden stairs. Using an elevator to the cellar should be avoided.

In venting a cellar fire, cut a hole near a window or under a skylight. This will draw heat away from the access point. Two openings are required to vent a cellar: one to eliminate smoke and one to allow fresh air into the cellar. Use positive pressure ventilation to assist with this.

If hose line advancement is not possible, the next option would be do deploy a cellar pipe or distributor. A hole would have to be cut over the fire to deploy the appliance. This point should be protected by an additional hose line. Remember, the rate of combustion doubles for every 18 degree rise in temperature. This would stop the expansion of the fire, and knock it down.

D.C. Jay Jonas, Division 7