Report Number: 09-0000485
Report Date: 05/12/2009

Event Description

A total of seven personnel staffing 2 Engines, 1 Squad and a Chief Officer were dispatched to an automatic water flow alarm supported by a 911 telephone call at a local fast food restaurant. Once on scene, a cold smoke situation was encountered and two firefighters were assigned to locate and extinguish the fire. Visibility inside the building was zero and a thermal imaging camera was used to identify the seat of the fire. It was determined that the fire was in the attic space above the kitchen. Due to the visibility issue it was determined that vertical ventilation needed to be conducted to support the attack. The interior crew exited the structure and one of the firefighters was reassigned to the roof for vertical ventilation. After ventilation was completed the initial two interior firefighters were ordered back into the structure to locate the seat of the fire. Visibility was still zero. The interior crew made several attempts to pull ceiling and locate the seat of the fire but were unsuccessful in their efforts. Two additional firefighters were assigned back to the roof to extinguish visible fire in the attic. While attempting to assess the extent of the fire in the attic, one of the firefighters operating on the roof fell through the weakened roof decking. The firefighter suffered burn injuries as a result of this fall. His SCBA and facepiece were torn off by the rafters during the fall. Thankfully, the firefighter landed feet first about 10 feet from an exit and walked out to safety. This firefighter had been assigned to the interior attack team, redirected to the roof for vertical ventilation and assigned once more to the roof for extinguishment at the time of this incident.

Lesson Learned

The limited staffing assigned to this incident required multiple tasks to be completed one after another without coordinated efforts. This allowed for a longer burn time. It also required that the firefighter who fell to be reassigned to multiple tasks without rehab. This problem can be solved with an automatic mutual aid agreement or increased staffing levels. There was an activated sprinkler in the attic space that was confining the fire. This created a pressurized smoke condition at the floor level. Once the sprinkler system was shut down, the smoke vented as we would have expected and the visibility cleared up instantly. This issue could be corrected with better situational awareness. The decision was made to make an attack on the fire from the roof on a fire that had been burning for at least 20 minutes. The building was made of lightweight truss construction and an offensive attack was contraindicated. The firefighter who fell failed to continually sound the roof. This situation could have been averted by sounding a roof while you travel.

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