The Storage War No. Not the cheesy, fake show. The real deal. On fire. We tend to collect an overabundance of stuff...all sorts of stuff. When we run out of room for our stuff, we rent storage units, and pack them full of more stuff....all kinds of stuff...Storage facilities have an enormous amount of this stuff, all kept together, seperate from other peoples stuff...get the point? And sometimes, this stuff catches fire, which is where we come in. What can be expected at such a fire? Access issues. Heavy fire loads. Potential haz mat. Manpower intensive operations. A lot of work. Since this is a truck company page, we will focus on the tasks in which the ladder company will be dealing with. First off - access. Access to the fire units, as well as the adjacent units. Fire spread in these facilities can happen quite easily, as some have an open gap along the top of the units. These units are typically secured with padlocks of varying design and quality; some may be easy to defeat while others may challenge you. As always a pre-fire walkthrough and documentation of these facilities is key (see what I did there? LOL) Depending on your frequency of performing forcible entry, your crew may make quick work of the locks, provided you have adequate tools; the irons, a duck bill lock breaker, or a Partner style saw with appropriate blade. For the fire units,and immediate adjacent units, I feel the fastest way to gain entry is to attack the metal roll up doors themselves with a Partner saw. Two cuts - making a large triangle as large as you can reach. The cut panel can be pulled down with a steel hook if it does not fall on its own. This will allow a hole for the engine to apply water ASAP. It is not a primary concern for members to make entry into the units for a search, BUT YOU CAN NOT DISCOUNT THE POSSIBILITY OF SQUATTERS OR PEOPLE LIVING IN THESE CONTAINERS. Other units that need to be checked for extension can be forced via attacking the lock, to avoid further damage. If there is fire suspected in the unit, use the saw! For fires in larger units, consider vertical ventilation and trench cuts, depending on the roofing material and its stability. Certainly more than once at such fires have aerial master streams been put to use. Storage unit jobs are manpower intensive operations. Call for additional alarms, with plenty of guys, saws, hooks, and desire. Once knocked down, the contents will have to be removed from the units and soaked down. leave no stone unturned to avoid the dreaded rekindle. And lets be honest, a rekindle is really the same fire, just not extinguished correctly the first time. use the TIC as an advantage here! There are so many tactical considerations involved in such a fire that i could write for days, and have really only touched on a small portion. It is up to you guys to get out and do the inspections, the pre plans, the training. Get equipped. Know the equipment, and know your next dues equipment. I would suggest getting a soft sided tool bag, a large one, and equipping it with the tools needed; the duck bill lock breaker, some vice grips with a chain attached, some metal blades for the Partner saw, some lube. etc.... **Images attached were found via Google Images search. Credit and apologies to the photographers.
Posted on: Sun, 28 Dec 2014 19:18:43 +0000
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