Smoke or Fire of Unknown Origin PDF

Procedure 403 Chesapeake Fire Department Fire Procedure Manual Copyright Lexipol, LLC 2023/03/25, All Rights Reserved.Published with permission by Chesapeake Fire Department Smoke or Fire of Unknown Origin - 1 Smoke or Fire of Unknown Origin 403.1 PURPOSE AND SCOPE This document provides pr...

Procedure 403 Chesapeake Fire Department Fire Procedure Manual Copyright Lexipol, LLC 2023/03/25, All Rights Reserved.Published with permission by Chesapeake Fire Department Smoke or Fire of Unknown Origin - 1 Smoke or Fire of Unknown Origin 403.1 PURPOSE AND SCOPE This document provides procedures for Chesapeake Fire Department personnel responding to calls for smoke or fire of unknown origin. Corresponding Policies: 302 Fireground Accountability 310 High-Rise Incident Management 300 Incident Management 403.2 FIRST FIVE MINUTES The first arriving Chesapeake Fire Department unit should contact the Emergency Communications Center and provide the following information: • Unit on-scene • Initial scene size-up • Unit assuming incident command (IC) #Perform or direct another member to perform a 360 assessment of the incident and report results to the IC. #Establish the department personnel accountability system. #Speak or direct another member to speak with the reporting party, if possible. #Request additional resources as needed. 403.3 PROCEDURES 403.3.1 RESOURCE DEPLOYMENT (a) Apparatus 1. Responding apparatus should stage according to a location pre-plan. If there is no pre-plan, then apparatus should Level 1 stage, or as directed by the IC. (b) Personnel 1. Personnel should be in full personal protective equipment (PPE). 403.3.2 OPERATIONS A response to a smoke or fire of unknown origin call involves the following resources and operations: (a) Crew members should: Chesapeake Fire Department Fire Procedure Manual Smoke or Fire of Unknown Origin Copyright Lexipol, LLC 2023/03/25, All Rights Reserved.Published with permission by Chesapeake Fire Department Smoke or Fire of Unknown Origin - 2 1. Have a Thermal Imaging Camera (TIC), carbon monoxide (CO) detector and gas monitor. 2. Have tools that will aid in any investigation or if a fire or smoke source is discovered, including but not limited to: • Hand lights • Hand tools • Halligan bars and axes (married sets) • Pike poles • Dry Chemical (A-B-C) fire extinguisher 3. Investigate energy-generating sources such as appliances, light ballasts, sump pumps, cooking equipment, and heating, ventilation and air-conditioning units. 4. Locate and view panel boxes for scorched or smoking connections. If fuses are tripped, investigate the affected areas, appliances or equipment. 5. Check outlets, service connections and light fixtures for scorching or smoking, and investigate surrounding areas and walls by feel and TIC. 6. Listen for crackling or other sounds that might indicate smoldering or electrical shorting. 7. Check other building occupancies and neighboring properties. 8. For high-rise building responses, check the lowest and highest floors for any evidence of smoke production or travel. 9. Make a visual and TIC inspection of accessible spaces and investigate inaccessible spaces by feel and TIC. These spaces include but are not limited to: • Attics and cocklofts • False ceilings • Trash cans • Crawl spaces (b) The IC should: 1. Treat all smoke or fire of unknown origin calls as a structure fire response. 2. Avoid canceling the call or returning any units until the source of smoke or fire is located and no hazard exists. 3. Consider splitting crews into teams to more quickly investigate multiple areas. Each team should have at least one portable radio. 4. Consider that building occupants might be mistaken or not be completely truthful about the possible source of smoke and burning smells. For example, children might hide evidence of burning and occupants may not be forthcoming out of embarrassment or concern about repercussions from landlords or supervisors. Chesapeake Fire Department Fire Procedure Manual Smoke or Fire of Unknown Origin Copyright Lexipol, LLC 2023/03/25, All Rights Reserved.Published with permission by Chesapeake Fire Department Smoke or Fire of Unknown Origin - 3 5. When practicable, discuss the results of the investigation with the caller, occupant or owner. 403.4 PROCEDURE DECISION TREE