What Is The Building Telling Us?

In recent years, many folks have put out great information pertaining to size-up.  Some of this information has been very lengthy and detailed, while others have tried to simplify the process.  At the end of the day, much of this information is good for the fire service and assembling various pieces of this information will allow the end user to develop a process that best works for them.  Decisions on the fireground should be driven by size-up instead of blanket statements or assumptions.  With that said, I feel more emphasis should be placed on ensuring our folks are able to rapidly and effectively process the information gathered during size-up.  You may be able to recite all of the “COAL WAS WEALTH” or “WALLACE WAS HOT” components, but are you actually rapidly and effectively processing the components?  The more times you perform a proper size-up, the more efficient and effective you should become.  Truly performing a size-up(doesn’t mean yapping on the radio)on all incidents will give you the best chance of performing in an efficient and effective manner.  This means you should be performing size-up on fire alarms, collapse investigations, odor investigations, appliance fires, gas leaks, box alarms, etc. 

Observing the building is one component of size-up and can provide a significant amount of useful information.  This post will focus strictly on the information that may be gathered from observing the building.  Obviously, the size and height of a building are important components of size-up and will greatly influence tactics.  Hoseline selection and stretches will be influenced by the size and height of a building, as will apparatus positioning.  However, there is other information, beyond the size and height, that may be gathered from observing the building.

Electrical meters on the exterior of a building may give us a good idea of the interior breaker panel’s location.  This may prove to be useful during odor investigations and may assist companies tasked with utility control on the fireground.  Most of us have been in to houses that are extremely cluttered or have other items blocking access to the breaker panel.  Controlling utilities may quickly become a frustrating task when operating in limited visibility conditions.  However, observing the location of the electrical meter may prevent this frustration.  Multiple electrical meters on the exterior may be indicative of subdivided occupancies.  This is becoming a more frequent occurrence due to the economic state of our country.  Single family dwellings may become subdivided into several different occupancies.  This may mean an increase in potential fire victims, increased interior forcible entry needs, or altered interior access/layouts.

Windows can be a good indicator of the type of room they serve.  Large windows are usually found in common areas within an occupancy such as a family room or dining room.  Small windows may be indicative of bathrooms, kitchens, stairways, or open foyers.  Window sills that are approximately 3’ from the floor and windows grouped together are often indicative of living areas within an occupancy.  The spacing of these windows may give clues to the layout of the living areas and if the windows are for separate rooms.  Small windows, or the presence of window wells, near the foundation of an occupancy indicate the presence of a basement.  As I’ve stated in other posts, subfloor areas need to be checked for fire conditions and companies should operate as if fire is beneath of them until proven otherwise.  Window dormers on a gabled roof or windows at the ends of a gable roof serve as indicators of the possible presence of knee walls in the upper floor.  Fire easily extends through knee walls and aggressive hooking should take place to ensure fire has not taken possession of the knee wall voids.  In modern lightweight, wood frame occupancies, false dormers may be added for aesthetic purposes.  Be cognizant of this and ensure to sound the floor before entering through a dormer window.  Security bars and/or casement windows may be found when looking at windows.  This information should be communicated to the special service companies to ensure these are removed to maximize our points of egress.

The location of doors can also give clues about the interior layout of an occupancy.  The front door often accesses the main artery of an occupancy and may provide rapid access to stair ways.  In many instances, a rear door can be found exactly opposite of the front door and may provide quick access to the same areas.  Some older homes have basement doors immediately inside the rear door.  Many older homes have side doors that provide easy access to kitchen areas.  In other instances, side doors may provide access to a garage that has a door leading to the interior of an occupancy.  Laundry rooms or “mud rooms” are often found inside the interior garage door.  Subdivided occupancies may have areas that are only accessed via one door.  Interior renovations may remove any interior access and an exterior stairway and door may be the only means to access the occupancy.  In other instances fire conditions or debris may block one door, however knowing the areas of the occupancy the other doors serve may facilitate the use of an alternate door.

Identifying natural gas meters on the exterior of an occupancy confirms the presence of natural gas service to the occupancy and will allow companies tasked with utility control to secure the natural gas.  A natural gas vent pipe coming out of an exterior wall near the foundation is indicative of a gas meter within the occupancy, most often in a subfloor area.  Propane cylinders, above or below ground, may confirm the presence of propane appliances and can be controlled at the source.  The same can usually be said for fuel oil.  I say usually because some occupancies may have fuel oil tanks in sub floor areas.  Confirming the presence of these utilities may assist companies during odor investigations and utility control.

Identifying the number of outside HVAC units may assist companies during odor investigations as an, otherwise unseen, interior unit may be found in the attic.  Companies conducting fireground operations on the top floor should also be cognizant of the presence of an attic HVAC unit to ensure they aren’t operating directly beneath it.

The presence of access ramps to an occupancy may be indicative of a disabled person within the occupancy.  Obviously, these folks may experience difficulty in exiting an occupancy during an emergency.  Efforts need to be made to immediately account for these folks and indentify where they may be within the occupancy.

I have identified several pieces of information that may be obtained by rapidly and effectively processing observations on the exterior of a building.  Surely there are more and I encourage those of you reading this to add these to the comments section.   Start looking at the exterior of occupancies as you drive around, or run medical locals, and begin to truly process what you are seeing.  As stated above, the more times you do this, the better you should become at it.  Processing this information will contribute to efficient and effective fireground operations.