Fire officer handbook of tactics chapter 2.

• Size-up is crucial in firefighting, involving the evaluation of problems and conditions affecting a fire's outcome.
• All firefighters perform size-up, regardless of experience, as their responsibilities increase, so do the factors they must consider.
• Size-up information determines where firefighters operate, what they do, and how they do it, directly impacting their safety.
• Proper size-up begins upon receiving the alarm and continues until the emergency is under control.
• It is an information-gathering process that includes preplanning activities but isn't limited to them due to changing variables at the time of the alarm.
• When an alarm is received, the time of day is one of the first things to consider.
• Delayed alarms and location clues indicate a potentially serious working fire.
• Knowing the district and building address helps to pinpoint the location and potential hazards.
• Mixed commercial-residential buildings pose significant life hazards, especially at night.
• Building collapse is a serious hazard; brick and wood-joist or wood-frame buildings exposed to heavy fire for 20 minutes or more may be too dangerous to enter.
• Checking the fire department assignment can provide clues about the situation's seriousness and potential support delays.
• Special factors, like holidays, can affect staffing and response capabilities.
• Size-up should begin while firefighters are getting dressed, using all available information.

COAL WAS WEALTH & Hazmats

• The traditional 13-point acronym COAL WAS WEALTH is used for size-up, but can be modernized to include hazardous materials (hazmats), combining area and height under one "A"
• COAL WAS WEALTH stands for: Construction, Occupancy, Apparatus and personnel, Life hazard, Water supply, Auxiliary appliances, Street conditions, Weather, Exposures, Area and Height, Location and extent of fire, Time, Hazmats.

Life Hazard

• Life hazard is the deciding factor in determining tactics and procedures.
• Firefighters need to evaluate and reduce threats to occupants, including flame exposure, high heat, toxic gases, and structural collapse.
• Time of day, occupancy, location, and extent of fire combine to endanger victims.
• Human behavior patterns influence life hazard; people will flee if they are aware and able.
• High life hazards exist when people cannot flee due to physical or mental impairments, poor exits, or rapid fire spread.
• Methods to reduce life hazards include occupancy load restrictions, improved exits, fire doors, and sprinkler systems.
• Firefighters have a responsibility to recognize and address hazardous conditions.
• Life hazard includes both civilians and firefighters; firefighter lives should not be risked without a careful evaluation of civilian life hazard.

Occupancy

• Occupancy significantly affects the life hazard and depends on the time of day.
• Schools have variable life hazards, while hospitals and apartment houses pose high risks around the clock.
• Vacant buildings should not result in firefighter deaths due to a lack of civilian life hazard.
• Officers should emphasize the dangers of occupancies like factories and public assembly areas (restaurants, places of worship), where firefighter deaths are high.
• Occupancy affects strategy, with large open spaces leading to fires beyond handline control and potential truss construction collapse hazards.
• Retail areas may be constricted, making handline advancement difficult, but are expected to contain substantial combustible materials.
• Occupancy can indicate hazardous materials, requiring reliance on prefire inspections and computer-aided dispatching systems (CADS).
• CADS stores information about dangerous conditions and should focus on hazards not visible from the exterior.
• Field units must report conditions, and information must be kept up to date through annual inspections.
• Alert messages can be transmitted to field units via dispatcher, video display, teletype, or radio rebroadcast.

Time

• Time has many effects on firefighting, including time of day(day vs night), response during rush hour, and time of year(personnel availability).
• The elapsed time since the fire began is crucial; estimate burn time and evaluate structural strength to assess safe operation.
• Elapsed burn time indicates the likelihood of structural collapse.
• This estimation relies on experience, observation, and reporting due to variables like construction, fire load, burn time before alarm, and structural alterations.
• Fire resistance ratings may not directly relate to elapsed burn time and structural stability, especially with the increased use of plastics.
• The 20-minute rule is a guideline for predicting structural collapse in wood frame (Class 5) or brick and wood joist (Class 3) construction.
• The 20 minutes starts when the fire has reached flashover and begun to attack structural elements, with estimation based on fire venting.
• Thermal imaging cameras and a 360° survey.
• Fires venting from multiple windows indicate prolonged burning or the use of accelerants.
• Signs of advanced fire is burning through a wooden wall which indicates a considerable burn time.
• Be aware of the building's history, as previous fires compromise structural integrity.
• During interior attack, The IC has the responsibility to order crews out if the overall perception is that there is still a considerable body of fire, even from subordinates reports.
• The air-bottle method helps keep track of time, but the IC must adjust for longer air cylinders and evaluate other warning signs.
• Departments use time mark systems with dispatcher reminders to refocus IC attention on elapsed time.
• When deciding whether to commit or withdraw troops, protecting life, including firefighters, is paramount.
• Be aware of what is happening to the building and any structural weaknesses, and the timeframes dictated by the structural engineer.

Construction

• Construction affects compartmentation, fire load, hidden voids, and collapse resistance.
• Large, open floor spaces allow fire to spread.
• Older buildings of wood construction contribute a heavy fire load, while newer metal buildings add little.
• Metal deck roofs pose a hazard when fire exposes the underside, melting tar and raining liquid fireballs.
• Hidden voids like cocklofts and pipe chases provide concealed fire travel.
• Fire works with gravity to weaken materials and cause collapse, with materials like poured concrete being more resistant.
• The added weight of water or firefighters can cause collapse.

Building Classes

• Buildings are grouped into five classes based on fire resistance per NFPA 220:
  • Class 1 (Type I): Fire resistive - noncombustible walls, partitions, columns, floors, and roofs designed to withstand fire and prevent spread.
  • Class 2: Noncombustible - noncombustible walls, partitions, columns, floors, and roofs offer less fire resistance.
  • Class 3: Ordinary construction - masonry or noncombustible walls with 2-hour fire-resistance rating; wood floors, roofs, and interior partitions.
  • Class 4: Heavy timber - masonry or noncombustible exterior walls with at least 2-hour fire-resistance rating; heavy timber interior columns, beams, and girders; heavy plank floors and roofs.
  • Class 5: Wood frame - walls, floors, and roofs made wholly or partly of wood or combustible material.

Area and Height

• Area and height indicate maximum potential fire area but can be deceiving due to structures built on a grade.
• Building codes specify Class 1 construction for buildings over a certain height.
• Frontage allows horizontal ventilation, but a building can widen toward the rear into an L or T shape.
• Early reports from the roof level can identify irregular shapes and unexpected sizes.
• Interconnecting openings between buildings can create one large fire area, requiring thorough checks for extension.

Location and Extent of Fire

• The location and extent of the fire can only be determined upon arrival, with initial reports potentially unclear.
• The physical fire location influences tactics, with options limited in some cases.
• Fires on lower floors are more hazardous due to vertical fire spread.
• Fires on the top floors of Class 3 and Class 5 buildings require special care due to void spaces.
• Fires below grade are more complex due to limited horizontal ventilation.
• Fires beyond ladder reach for exterior ventilation are also problematic.
• Smoke color can indicate what is burning, while smoke Movement can indicate intensity of the fire.
• Black smoke suggests petroleum products, gray-brown smoke: Class A materials, smoke under pressure: indication of backdraft.
• Heavy, rolling clouds twisting skyward: hot smoke from an intense fire, Wispy smoke: of a fire in the incipient stage.
• A tunnel of fresh air being drawn means the fire will rapidly extend toward the source of fresh air.

Exposures

• Protecting exposures is a priority following life hazard, examining all six sides of the fire area.
• A common system numbers sides of the building clockwise, starting at the front (1 through 4) or uses NIMS (A, B, C, and D).
• In attached buildings, letters can be added to further describe buildings away from the original fire building.
• Action must be taken to prevent fire from spreading.
• Move the exposure hazard where possible if the conditions are too severe.

Apparatus and Personnel

• Strategy and tactics are based on available resources, including the number and capabilities of responding engines and aerial devices.
• Staffing levels, experience, training, and staff changes are important when orchestrating the incident.

Water Supply

• Water supply involves a system that includes a water source of sufficient volume and a transport system.
• Evaluating water supply involves planning, including learning hydrant locations and performing flow tests around hazard areas.
• Alternative supplies include drafting sites, relay operations, and tanker shuttles including private fire pumps.
• Water flow depends on the fire load and area involved, with formulas based on heat release versus heat absorption.
• Guidelines for water flows based on fire area: light fire loads ordinary combustibles: 10 gpm for each 100 sq ft.
• Increase the application rates by roughly 50% due to todays plastics.
  • residential flows roughly provide 15 gpm/100 sq ft
  • commercial flows at 35 gpm/100 sq ft
  • industrial and heavily loaded storage areas are at 50–60 gpm/100 sq ft
• Estimate water demand based on these flows.
• The IC Dedicates the water supply to protecting the exposures

Auxiliary Appliances

• The presence and serviceability of auxiliary fire protection systems are a high priority.
• Systems include sprinklers, standpipes, and foam systems for bulk oil storage plants, as well as local appliances for special hazards.
• First-arriving must determine whether auxiliary appliances are present and their operating status.
• An out-of-service auxiliary appliance often justifies an extra alarm.

Weather Conditions

• Extreme weather conditions have an adverse affect on firefighting efforts.
• High temperatures and humidity cause fatigue.
• Below-freezing temperatures slow operations and cause mechanical failures.
• High winds whip fire and threaten firefighters' lives.
• Should prompt a request for additional resources

Street Conditions

• Street conditions can severely hamper a fire attack.
• Double-parked cars hamper apparatus placement.
• Construction trenches can divide the apparatus from the fire building and the fire.
• Take extra care where there is snow and ice.

Hazmats

• The presence of hazardous materials (hazmats) is important in size-up, posing health hazards and accelerating fire extension.
• The presence of certain hazmats halt firefighting operations altogether.
• Information as to what specific hazards are present must be available to the IC if rational decisions are to be made
• Ask if there is anything bad stored that can hurt us
• Property owners should be encouraged to mark their hazardous properties.
• Overall the size-up is a complex evaluation that must be completed at every incident throughout to keep responders safe.
• Relay all pieces of information to the IC, and Every firefighter must know what is important to the IC