Challengesofthehighrise

High-Rise Fires: Challenges and Solutions
by Anthony Avillo
High-rises present challenges to the fire service that other buildings do not. While the
fire resistive make-up of the building provides some advantages in regard to structural
combustibility (close to none) and fire spread potential (relatively limited), the logistics of
operating well above the street presents unique challenges for fire departments. In this
installment, I’ll cover a few of those and present some solutions as well. Problem solvers are
infinitely better than problem finders.
Personnel
In any fire, most departments seem to run short of staffing way too quickly. A high-rise
fire, like a fire in attached combustible structures, will reveal a department’s staffing limitations
very quickly and in a most evident manner. Concurrently, personnel are required to staff the
Command Post and upper floor organizational positions, provide building-related support such as
elevator control and standpipe control, and operate in the fire area and the areas above, which
includes stairwell recon. All areas of the building must be covered. If you don’t have enough
personnel, and most departments don’t, what options do you have? The best solution short of
hiring a lot more people for your department is to make good use of the fire departments in the
immediate vicinities. For many departments, a solid automatic mutual aid agreement can
address many of the staffing issues that arise when large-scale operations are required. A high-
rise fire response is one of those. Establishing a first alarm response protocol with assistance
from surrounding areas is one of the most effective ways to boost on-scene staffing in the most
efficient amount of time. In order to be effective, it must be an initial alarm response and not a
“wait till the Chief requests it” response so that there is minimal delay in reflex time. Waiting
for Command to call those companies in is like a second alarm response. It can be too late.
Bring in the help as part of the initial response and you will have not only a safer fireground, but
also one in which you can actually get something done!
Same Page Mentality

If you believe in the increased staffing philosophy discussed above, you must also have
an action in place before the fire, so that any coordination challenges on fire day are minimized.
You need to plan with your mutual aid departments, whether they are coming in on automatic aid
(preferred) or additional alarm mutual aid. Waiting until the day of the fire to figure this out is a
recipe for failure and potential disaster. There is nothing more effective to organizational
success than a common policy between departments. In 1999, before we merged to form North
Hudson (NJ) Regional Fire and Rescue, the five merging departments already had solid inter-
departmental policies and even some common equipment, among them a Mayday and
emergency radio procedures policy, a SCBA policy, an Incident Management SOP, and a
common high-rise SOP. This was followed by some of the mutual aid groups in Bergen County,
New Jersey, who have also adopted a common high-rise SOP. Recognize that unless you are in
a very big department, no one fights a high-rise fire alone these days. Having everyone on the
same page, or at least in the same book, will benefit all players, increasing safety and effective
coordination.
Technology – Metering
This is relatively new thing. For a very long time, protection-in-place was an accepted
and agreed upon protocol in the disposition of occupants during a residential high-rise fire. This
changed when officers began carrying personal CO meters on their turnout coats. We discovered
this at a fire on the fourteenth floor of a thirty story residential high-rise. Although the fire never
got out of the apartment, ensuing entry and attack operations permitted whatever smoke didn’t
vent from the windows to migrate to the hallways and to the attack stairwell. From there, it was
vented out the bulkhead at the roof. The companies assigned to the upper floors for recon, which
had been recently issued CO meters, found that the meters were in alarm, even many floors
above the fire. This requires action to be taken. One option is the balcony. This is fine if the
weather is nice and the apartment is not in line with venting smoke from the fire. Another option
is to move people to a tenable side of the building, often on the same floor (horizontal
evacuation). If the building has automatic closing fire doors around the elevators, which is fairly
common now, it might be best to move the occupants to a remote apartment on the other side of
the building inside the fire doors. That did the trick at this fire. Even if no jacket-mounted
meters are available, hand-held metering as a matter of routine above the fire activities (SAE
operations) now becomes a necessity. If the equipment is available, it must be utilized to its best
advantage. Just imagine, if residents on the upper floors were affected or even overcome by
smoke and the ensuing investigation revealed that the department should have metered the
atmosphere and did not…. sounds like a lawsuit to me!
Equipment Requirements
If we are going to need a mountain of firefighters in a high-rise incident, we are also
going to need a mountain of equipment. That, like everything else, is critical to the smooth
execution of the action plan. A tool pool or Resource Division must be established one floor
below the Operations Division. This location may be two to three floors below the fire
depending on conditions and possible reverse stack effect adjustments. The high-rise SOP must
address who carries what equipment. The operations will demand additional hand tools and
hose, but also an abundance of extra SCBA cylinders to allow the operation to continue to move
forward. Without this vital resource, the operation and attack will grind to a halt. For this
reason, Mask Service Units (MSU) companies should get a key position at these fires. In North
Hudson, with the arrival of the second alarm companies and all subsequent additional alarms,
personnel are required to bring SCBA cylinders to the Resource Division. Companies are also
directed to “liberate” carts such as those used by building maintenance to stack cylinders and
move them upstairs.
Two options are now available to the fire service to make this operation more efficient.
One, which been now adopted as an ordinance for all new high-rises in Jersey City, is for
builders to include fire equipment closets every ten floors in new construction so that firefighters
do not have to lug so much equipment to the upper floors. There is a mechanism in place for
responsibility for the equipment such as testing, inventory control, and upkeep. It is a good idea
and will cut down on firefighter fatigue.
The other, even more important plan is keeping SCBA filled with air. The introduction
of firefighter air replenishment systems (FARS), which are basically building-installed
standpipes for air, some of which are equipped with on-site air storage systems, has
revolutionized high-rise operations, providing the ability to continue operations without the
concern of running out of air in the operational areas. I don’t know about you, but at all the
high-rise fires I have been to, there was always a scramble to secure enough SCBA cylinders at
the Operations Division, followed by another flurry of activity to get the depleted cylinders back
down the elevators to the MSU at the street to refill the cylinders. It is a daunting task to keep up
with the demand for air replenishment, especially in an escalating fire where many floors have to
be searched and operations are challenging due to heat conditions, requiring the relief and
rotation of firefighters. From my experience, both as a firefighter, Company Officer or Chief in
the operational areas or as an Incident Commander who has the burden of coordinating all these
activities and providing the required resources in a timely fashion, I wish that FARS with on-site
air storage systems were available. It would have made operations much easier to manage and
keep the attack from stalling due to lack of available air cylinders. Some cities have already
adopted FARS, which is now in the 2015 International Fire Code under Appendix L, and require
the supporting air storage system. They are ahead of the curve. This innovation, like the fire
service itself, will move us forward in our never-ending quest to “do da job.”
People and equipment are required to address high-rise fires, as well as all other types of
structure fires. Fire departments must seek ways to minimize effort while still getting the job
done safely. Don’t be afraid to embrace new ideas. Innovation is what has moved us forward.
Otherwise, we’d still be going to fires by horse-drawn apparatus and eating smoke.
Be safe out there.
Quote of the day: “Curiosity and Innovation: Millions saw the apple fall, but Newton asked
why.” ~Bernard Baruch
ANTHONY AVILLO retired in March, 2015 after a 30-year career in the fire service. Avillo was a deputy chief in
North Hudson (NJ) Regional Fire & Rescue, assigned as 1st Platoon regional tour commander. He has a BS degree
in fire science and a Master’s Degree in National Security Studies from New Jersey City University. Avillo is
currently the Department Chair of Fire Science at NJCU. He is also an instructor at the Monmouth County (NJ)
Fire Academy. He is an FDIC instructor and a member of the FDIC advisory board and the editorial advisory
board of Fire Engineering. He is the author of Fireground Strategies, 3rd edition (Fire Engineering, 2015) and
Fireground Strategies Workbook Volumes I, II, and III (Fire Engineering, 2002, 2010, TBA). He was a contributing
author to Fire Engineering’s Handbook for Firefighter I and Firefighter II (Fire Engineering, 2009) and is co-
author of its Study Guide (Fire Engineering, 2010). Avillo was a collaborator in the Tactical Perspectives DVD
series (Fire Engineering, 2011) and has had issued the DVD Forging a Culture of Safety (Fire Engineering, 2013).
Avillo was recipient of the 2012 Fire Engineering/ISFSI George D. Post Fire Instructor of the Year Award.

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High-Rise Fires: Challenges and Solutions

Same Page Mentality

Be safe out there.

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