High-rise Buildings

Advanced Firefighting Strategy

High-rise Design
Most are designed:

With fire resistive materials

With vertical enclosures
With compartmentation
With detection systems
With suppression systems

High-rise Design
Design features defeated by:
Flammable finishes and furnishings
Improper installation of plumbing and wiring
renovations

The building's occupants are the weakest

link!

High-rise Design
As the number of occupants increases,
Engineering, Enforcement, Education
become increasingly important.
If occupants fail to do their part, only an
aggressive fire attack will save them.

Occupant Education
Occupants must be taught

To avoid elevator use during emergencies

How to transmit an alarm
How to alert other occupants
How to prevent smoke from entering their area
How to obtain fresh air
How to evacuate

General High-rise Strategy

1. Determine specific fire floor location
2. Deploy handlines only AFTER the fire is
located. Determine best access to the seat
of the fire, and which stairwell to use.

General High-rise Strategy

3.Control the Evacuation
Evacuate those in greatest danger first
Fire floor
Above the fire floor
Upper floors

Prevent panic
Control access to the building

General High-rise Strategy

4. Control the buildings systems

Elevators
HVAC
Communications
Suppression systems

General High-rise Strategy

5. Confine and extinguish the fire

Requires

Extra Command and coordination

Logistics
Manpower
Accountability
relief

Types of High-rises
Pre WWII style

Overbuilt and reinforced construction

Multiple exits
Fire Tower stairwells
Ventable windows
No central HVAC
Fewer shafts
Higher degree of compartmentation

Types of High-rises
Post WWII

Light weight building materials

Open floor space, Core Construction
Central HVAC, ductwork, shafts
Non-ventable windows
Sealed environment / recirculating air
Pressurized / exhausted stairwells

HVAC Problems
Smoke and heat on multiple floors
Difficult to find location of fire
Circulating smoke
Programming of HVAC systems can be + / Duct detectors and dampers
Pressurized / vented stairwells

Elevator General Precautions

Necessary Evil to be avoided if possible

Access to fire floor often difficult
Reduces reflex time
Choose Blind Bank elevators if available
10 floors or less WALK-UP
Always stop 2 floor below the reported fire
floor.

Elevator General Precautions

Attempt to accurately identify the fire floor
before boarding the elevator.
Stop two floors below the reported floor.
Account for every firefighter going up
Name, company, time, elevator number

Expect the Worst!

Elevator General Precautions

Utilize Primary Emergency elevator

Avoid the freight elevator
SCBAs ON, masks ready, radio in hand.
Use only Firemens Service
Cancels normal calling mode

Press the Call Cancel button upon entry

Try Door Open Button before moving

Elevator General Precautions

Try the Stop Button early
Stop after one or two floors
Determine floor layout

Identify location of stairwells

Quickest route from elevator lobby

Make frequent stops

Check floor conditions, shaft for smoke

Elevator General Precautions

Report progress to Command
5 clear, proceeding to 10

At 2 floors below reported fire floor

Report arrival to Command
Masks ready
Be prepared to push Door Close button

One FF must remain IN the elevator while it

is in Firemens Service mode

High-rise Operations
Initial deployment is critical.
Locate the fire.
Determine extent and likely path for extension.
Deploy to confine and extinguish.

Extensive Search and Rescue effort.

Minimum 3 companies on fire floor.
Minimum of one company above the fire floor.
Every floor above fire floor must be searched.

High-rise Operations
Difficult to Extinguish

High heat
Limited access
Large open spaces and voids
Partitions and cubicles
High fire flow required

RESCUE

Initiate Primary Search ASAP

1. On the fire floor
2. Directly above the fire floor
3. Above the fire floor

Labor intensive
Utilize search ropes tied to anchor points
Evacuation

EXPOSURES
Other compartments on the fire floor
Upper floors via ductwork, voids,
knockouts, and open stairwell doors
Upper floor via exterior spread
Adjacent high-rise structures

CONFINE & EXTINGUISH

Determine floor and stairwell layout from
lower floors to determine access routes.
Maintain integrity of stairwell doors.
Support built-in fire suppression systems.
Redundantly supply FD connection.

CONFINE & EXTINGUISH

2 hose with 1 tip = 300 gpm at 40 psi
Standpipe only required to provide 65 psi at
the farthest outlet (one line flowing)
Multiple lines WILL be needed
Reach and penetration needed
May have to control extension and allow the
fire floor to burn out

VENTILATION
HVAC system MAY be designed to remove
smoke IF heat and fire have not effected the
duct system
IC must know:
Exact fire location and conditions
Floor and stairwell layout
Location of occupants and FFs
If system use will create a hazard to FFs

VERTICAL VENTILATION
Vertical ventilation is the preferred method.
Stack Effect
Heat moves from hot to cold
Smoke and heat will rise to upper floors
Movement of smoke and heat will slow as the
loose temperature or interior temps increase.

VERTICAL VENTILATION
How do you get to the top?
Exterior means preferred
Elevator as far as possible, then walk up

Fire floor stairwell doors should remain

closed until vent crew reaches the roof.

VERTICAL VENTILATION
Check effect on fire with roof door and fire
floor door open.
Positive, remove roof door
Negative, try another roof door

Open other roof attachments

VERTICAL VENTILATION
Avoid using elevator shafts to ventilate

Spread heat and smoke to other floors

Compromise elevator use
Small roof opening
Persons may fall thru open elevator doors

VERTICAL VENTILATION
Be aware of Reverse stack effect
High exterior temperatures
Heat accumulation on upper floors
Cold smoke

Stratification
Smoke cools as it rises and hangs at various
levels

HORIZONTAL VENTILATION
Complex issue
May lead to intensification of fire
Falling glass > injuries and cut lines

HORIZONTAL VENTILATION
Determine Windward and Leeward side
BELOW the fire floor.
Small experiment to determine air movement

Smoke may be drawn into the building by

stack movement of air.
Pull window IN
HIGH/HIGH or LOW/LOW = NO NO

SALVAGE & OVERHAUL

Determine structural stability before
conducting overhaul operations.