Large Estate Dwellings (McMansions)

• Single-family dwellings include houses that range from a few hundred to tens of thousands of square feet
• Construction type, design, era built, size, and builder distinguishes houses
• Categories of homes include Craftsman, split-level, Victorian, Queen Anne, lightweight, and mobile homes

Large Estate Dwellings (aka McMansions)

• Houses exceeding 3,000 square feet
• Often found in suburban areas and built in tracts
• Built for those seeking square footage but cannot afford custom homes
• Characterized by tall ceilings, mass-produced decor, and open floorplans
• Truss roof construction, stucco siding, tile roofs, brick veneer and facades, energy-efficient windows, and grand archways feature in construction
• Truly custom large homes exceeding 3,000 square feet feature wine cellars, theaters, multiple kitchens, walk-in refrigerators/freezers, and service entries
• Some jurisdictions require residential fire sprinklers with fire department connections (FDCs) in larger homes

The Stilt Court Fire

• Engine 15 responded to a reported structure fire in which heavy dark smoke was showing from the second floor of a two-story wood-frame single-family dwelling
• An offensive attack was initiated with a 1¾" attack line after forcing entry through the front door
• The first floor was clear of smoke, but dense smoke and zero visibility were encountered upstairs
• A search began in the master bedroom
• The second-due engine secured a water supply and pulled a secondary hoseline
• The nozzle firefighter stated that the hoseline "just went flat", which was found to be completely flat
• A tidal wave of extreme heat, forcing a retreat due to the skin-melting sensation
• The first two firefighters tumbled down the stairs, the third went headfirst out a second-floor window
• The intent was to retreat to the master bedroom and exit out a second-floor window, but a window could not be found
• After realizing his air supply diminishing
• Firefighters located outside assisted and transported the crew to the local burn unit
• The fire started in the kitchen on the first floor, and not the open second floor windows
• The interior walls blocked visibility of the kitchen from the bottom of the stairs
• The smoke traveled up the open stairwell, giving the illusion that the fire was upstairs

Lessons Learned from the Fire

• Forcible entry and horizontal ventilation are synonymous
• Consider the interior flow path changes
• Perform a 360° interior survey before committing a hoseline upstairs to notice the fire’s location
• Press the TIC to the facepiece for some type of view in heavy smoke conditions
• When moving down a hallway searching for where the fire is, move together and do not leave unsearched rooms behind you
• Review Mayday and self-survival procedures at the beginning of each shift, incorporating it into the daily radio and SCBA check
• Do not assume that a drill from six months ago is going to have you respond at your very best
• Responding to a downed firefighter should be at the forefront of memory through inclusion with daily routine
• Radios should be given the same respect as a paramedic gives their heart monitor
• Awareness of modern versus legacy construction and fuel types is important because fires burn more rapidly and differently in newer construction

Lack of Respect for House Fires

• House fires have the greatest number of civilian and firefighter injuries and fatalities on the fireground
• The most common pitfall in house fires is thinking they are bread and butter or routine
• Most Maydays, firefighter deaths or injuries, and civilian victims occur in house fires
• Due to remodels without proper permitting and adherence to code, houses can have hoarding or excess occupancy, garages converted into living quarters, and houses converted into commercial occupancies or healthcare facilities
• Kitchen fires are the most common and there is an increased chance from improper heating, smoking, or use and storage of flammable materials
• Modern low-mass synthetics make smoke more flammable and the smoke itself acts as fuel
• Intense debate spurs among firefighters across North America due to garage and attic fires

NFPA Statistics (2015-2019):

• 26% of reported fires occurred in homes
• 75% of civilian fire deaths and 72% of reported injuries were caused by home fires
• An estimated average of 346,800 home structure fires occurred, generating 2,620 civilian deaths, 11,070 civilian fire injuries, and $7.3 billion in direct property damage
• Most home fires and fire casualties result from cooking, heating, electrical distribution and lighting equipment, intentional fire setting, and smoking materials
• Cooking was the leading cause of home fires and home fire injuries
• Smoking was the leading cause of home fire deaths

Size Doesn't Matter

• dismissing house fires as routine or simple and therefore not in need of ICS application
• Sacramento, CA units responded to a house fire in a structure less than 1,000 square feet
• Due to hoarding, crews were unable to complete a lap and had to access the home from two different streets
• After a Mayday from a firefighter and multiple civilian victims, the IC wisely set up Divisions A and C
• A quick, barely audible transmission stated, “I'm lost and out of air!”
• Crews responded appropriately to avert a disaster

Common Pitfalls in House Fires:

• Improper size-up
• No victim profile and delayed/missed search
• Lack of tactical supervision (divisions/groups)
• Lack of fire attack/vent coordination
• Garage fire tactical confusion
• Attic fire tactical confusion
• Misuse of transitional attack

Size-Up Considerations

• NFPA 5 states that a lack of or improper risk assessment is the number one factor
• According to Project Mayday, a 360° lap was not completed or only partially completed in 70% of the Maydays in career fire departments and 62.7% in volunteer fire departments

Laps are very Important

• While dispatch updated the BC that flames were visible from below the house, two engines arrived simultaneously
• Finding a two-story home with smoke visible; however, there was no fire showing from the A side
• Neither engine officer on scene performed a lap and did not realize the fire was below them as they entered the front door
• After both companies raced to get water on the fire from the same hydrant, fire was seen from the side of the house at the ground level but not transmitted on the tactical channel
• Less than two minutes later, firefighters fell through the floor into basement
• If one of the first two officers performed a lap to identify fire, they may have opted for an exterior attack

First-Due Company Officers:

• First-due company officers must take the time to perform a size-up (FPODP or FIRST) prior to giving a verbal arrival report
• Pulling past the house will give you three sides to see before getting off the rig
• This should include a VP as early as possible
• The VP drives everything else (priority, strategy, tactics, resource requests/assignments, tasks, etc.)
• An initial VP can be given upon arrival based upon the time of day, presence of vehicles, signs of life, notification from occupants, and so on
• After initial direction is given to the crew, the company officer should complete a 360° lap, if possible
• Confirm the VP, look for TPOs (side doors, bedroom windows, breezeways), check for basements, see if the fire is in the attic, and look for forcible entry/egress challenges
• Transmit a 360° update to incoming companies

Awareness to Gain:

• Layout of different housing tracts
• Occupancy habits and patterns
• Tactical points of opportunity (TPOs)
• Hording conditions of "frequent flyers"
• Location of utilities
• Neighborhoods with sparsely located hydrants
• Alleyways and alternative access routes
• Gates to private communities

Victim Profiles

• Firefighters often experience tunnel vision on the flames and want to initiate fire attack without considering a VP early in the incident
• For FDs with SOGs, a search should be part of the initial alarm assignment
• A VP gets everyone on the scene on the same page regarding the amount of risk versus gain and sets the tone for the rest of the incident
• Victims have been found in house fires after the fire is overhauled and even discovered by investigators
• A mobile home fire with an elderly female trapped led to a BC arriving to assume command
• Upon primary search complete, a second engine perfored a a secondary search and confirmed an all clear
• The captain mucking out the interior of the vehicle, noticed a tiny bathroom inside with the thin, cardboard style door was closed on the bottom and burned away on the top from the fire
• The Captain asking if crews searching the bathroom and being told, "We checked it with the TIC”
• Victim was discovered to have succumbed to the smoke and fallen off the toilet

Thermal Imaging Camera (TIC):

• Great tool, but not X-ray vision
• The TIC recognizes the infrared spectrum with inherent limitations
• It cannot see through solid objects, including debris, drywall, lath, and plaster, nor through windows
• Search voraciously even if the VP is confirmed or low
• Mobile homes, motor homes, RVs, camper shells in the back of pickup trucks, and trailers can have victims just like a stick-framed permanent house
• Search and rescue is the lifeblood of any fireground operation, especially in houses
• Multiple tactical options are available from conventional search, window-to-door removal, window-initiated search, and pincer search

Tactical Supervision (Divisions/Groups)

• Fire departments have an extremely disparate approach to commanding and organizing house fires
• Some feel that the span of control the IC is manageable without divisions/groups
• This view lacks consideration for other benefits of ICS
• Tactical supervisors bridge the tactical gap and prevent the NIOSH 5 from coming into alignment
• The IC remains ahead of the incident power curve, reduces radio traffic, and leverages division/group safely officers embedded into various locations
• Many FDs will go to the opposite extreme and utilize an operations position to supervise the fire and bridge the tactical gap
• The IC gives the entire incident to operations, and that officer inherits all the problems the IC had by skipping the lower levels of the ICS hierarchy
• Implement divisions and groups well ahead of section chiefs like operations
• The use of fire attack as a radio designator can cause confusion, as fire attack may cause several companies to answer the radio, some for the objective of search
• Details matter, and this disparity can cause confusion when lives truly hang in the balance
• Initiate is for task-level assignment, while assume is for a tactical (division/group) supervisor assignment
• The Safety officer does not have tactical responsibility nor do crews report to them
• Unity of command (one boss) gets blurred as crews seek direction/authority from the white helment, rather than their supervisor and the chief is tempted to jump into tactics
• Each tactical supervisor has the area-specific safety responsibilities, authority to make tactical decisions, account for crews, and communicate with them directly
• Division and group supervisors give the IC multiple safety officers to maintain the "then/what if" strategic mindset

Tactical Decision-Making Disclaimer --- Science and Experience

• Tactics have always been debated
• The two approaches often come from a science or research and an experiential perspective
• Previously firefighting lore told over the coffee table by Jakes of the battles, tactics, tools, and tricks of the trade, the sweet nectar of wisdom and experience
• Since they have Fought the beast, survived, and had scars to prove it, their tactics were proven time and again, on the battlefield
• Inspiration to join the battles came from books and magazine articles, written by Dunn, Stapleton, Brennan, Norman, Brunacini
• Advancement of scientific studies polarized the fire service almost overnight in the camps of science against experience
• Both schools of thought should be considered when deciding on approach
• Reaching a tipping point is defined when the new generation begins to think they know batter than the last
• The point is that embark on some more tactical considerations in this text

Fire Attack/Vent Coordination

• Fire attack and ventilation have always required coordination where the next generation of firefighters have a clear understanding
• Performing vertical ventilation with a saw at high revolutions per minute (RPM) and not be able to hear the radio presents challenges
• The division supervisor is charge the interior of communicating for attack crews and a designated roof division supervisor who is communicating for vertical vent crews is critical to making sure the teams cna effective communicate
• Division A, for example, often does not need to communicate with attack crews: the division supervisor can see the conditions and progress of the fire attack
• The roof division supervisor can confirm attack crews inside that ventilation or water was needed
• Vertical ventilation is another heated topic of debate, where it works very well when done correctly and water is applied
• Whether venting the roof prior to getting on the roof requires the termination of vertical ventilation as an option
• The note an weakened roof from has vented the fire is a risk/benefit size-up decision
• Training and experience are vital, you must get water on the fire
• Commonly, attic fire vents after the hole is cut, or after the truck punches through the ceiling to relieve heat, smoke, and gases underneath in the living space
• Coordinate PPV, the induction of fresh air into the box can have immediately catastrophic results
• Fire conditions can quickly escalate and incur a flashover into what was an otherwise vent-controlled fire

Garage Fires

• A fire in the well-involved attached garage can grow in expected direction, by what avenue, and how soon and how First cut off the fire in the living space by extinguishing the fire.
• Attached garage fires are a common with the three or four bays of “Garage Mahal garages which can burn down/ignite homes
• Is the garage is embeded into the home with bedroom windows (check V.P)
• Determine where and why tactical confusion lies, using FPODP:
  • Facts: two-story house with fire in garage
  • Probabilities: moderate V.P, bedrooms overhead
  • Own situation: First arriving
    • Life saving Offensive plan -establish command, confine fire from living space
  • Is E202 aligned

Tactical discipline is key

• The key ingredient, as some are wired to put water on a fire
• Consider options to make better conditions instead of being reacting in the moment with adrenaline
• The best move may be to cool the spacial conditions improving living conditions
• transitional attacks can occur quickly when lightweight web trusses

Tactics to consider when attacking from underneath

• Initiate attic attack from a bathroom of a hallway to find the attic attack
• Open the bale when inserting the nozzle 1¾" line wide pattern
• Wait a couple minutes depending on the amount of fire the British Thermal unit

UL FRI study

• The study included lab and field experiments involving attic fires with both internal and exterior starts impacts from tactical approaches An overview of these tactical considerations:
• Increases in exterior walls will change what arrive from residential wall If exterior,fight it from the outside to control spread of joining
• Firefighters do NOT have the right direction when there is knee wall fire in attics
• Do some interior operations

Exterior control

• As a must that each firefighter that has not lived will be the primeval instinct
• Tactical attacks can occur from garages for quick and easy living access
• To Cool and find space with an offensive strategy as quickly as possible
• Make the S's, smooth to stream stead at a steady speed to limit contamination