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30 August 2024
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Featured FRI Magazine article: Different tactics for a different risk by Colin Deiner (FRI Vol 2 no 8)
Commercial structure fire in Grand Rapids, Michigan, US
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Keeping track of each person on the scene will not be an easy task
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Responding to a major commercial fire will have many challenges
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A large, high building will require the utilisation of aerial apparatus
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This week’s featured Fire and Rescue International magazine article is: Different tactics for a different risk written by Colin Deiner, chief director, Disaster management and Fire Brigade Services, Western Cape Government (FRI Vol 2 no 8). We will be sharing more technical/research/tactical articles from Fire and Rescue International magazine on a weekly basis with our readers to assist in technology transfer. This will hopefully create an increased awareness, providing you with hands-on advice and guidance. All our magazines are available free of charge in PDF format on our website and online at ISSUU. We also provide all technical articles as a free download in our article archive on our website.
Different tactics for a different risk
By Colin Deiner, chief director, Disaster management and Fire Brigade Services, Western Cape Government
A good incident command system will assume that many aspects of a firefighting operation will be the same at every incident. Our standard operating procedures (SOPs) assume this, we use this as a basis for our training – and there is nothing wrong with it. We must, however, appreciate that no two fires will be exactly the same and specifically – don’t expect to attack a commercial structure fire the same way you would a residential fire. At a commercial fire you will need more resources, larger diameter hose lines, a more advanced command system and people generally don’t sleep in commercial structures.
First arriving units
Responding to a fire in a commercial occupancy will present a number of major challenges to a fire department. It will also provide a number of advantages over a residential occupancy fire. As mentioned above, people don’t sleep in a commercial complex, unless of course it is an abandoned structure that has been taken over as an informal dwelling by homeless people. This will take away the concerns of small children present in the structure, people rushing back in to the building to retrieve valuable personal property and people generally not totally sure where to evacuate to.
A manufacturing or storage occupancy must have a fire plan that will include an evacuation plan and an accountability system for employees. By making early contact with the organisation’s safety representative, the incident commander should be able to ascertain if all occupants have been accounted for. Do never, however, take it for granted that all persons have been accounted for and always appreciate that a search and rescue effort might have to be ordered.
If all signs indicate that there are no entrapments, the firefighting operation must commence and could probably be a defensive approach. Crews should, however, at all times consider the possibility of an unaccounted for, trapped victim and try as much as possible to create a safe and clear environment inside the structure. If it is determined that one or more people may still be in the structure, the mode should be more offensive and the priority will be to find and rescue the victims. Incident command should ensure that safety officers and entry crews do not get tunnel vision and ignore the ’big picture’. Any number of risks could be developing around such entry teams. These could be loss of structural integrity (leading to collapse), rapid and uncontrolled fire and smoke propagation, debris falling and cutting of the attack crew’s escape route and the crew moving too far down a certain route thereby stressing the capacity of the breathing air in their self-contained breathing apparatus’ (SCBAs).
The use of a thermal camera is highly recommended in a large volume structural fire as it will be able to indicate the position of any entrapped persons and provide vital information on prevailing risks that could make an unwelcome appearance when you least expect it.
Thermal cameras should be one of the primary tools of the first persons who should enter the structure: the reconnaissance team. The recon team should consist of a minimum of two fire fighters who must be able to travel light and move quickly. They should also be well trained, fit and experienced fire fighters; generally you’re more experienced sub-officer types. This experience will enable them to gather critical information regarding the best means of entry, tools of choice and length of stretch for the attack line. The recon team must be a previously identified crew and must know specifically what their task will be. Sure you can nominate two or four fire fighters to act as impromptu recon crews upon arrival and most probably achieve your objectives. Having a designated recon crew will, however, give you a critical edge during those fires where the correct placement of water streams and timing and placement of ventilation is critical.
In addition to their personal protective equipment (PPE) and SCBA, the recon team should be equipped with thermal cameras, portable radios, hand lights, wrecking irons (halligan and axe), a water extinguisher, a rope bag (can be used for raising lines up to the fire floor) and a long handled tool (pike pole/ceiling hook) for removing debris and reaching switches on safety lights, air conditioners etc.
With missing occupants out of your mind, the next priority would be to locate the fire. Locating the fire starts even before any fire department member has put his/her foot out of the vehicle. The first in unit should try as best as possible to do a drive around of the structure and try to ascertain the position of the main body of the fire. This will give you a good idea of the outside of the structure and upon meeting with the building occupants; you could be told exactly where the fire is located and what the best route is to get there. This will give you a good picture of a number of things including the behaviour of the structure exposed and additional risks it could present.
Deployment of the afore-mentioned recon team should happen at this time. The recon crew must be able to move through the structure without a hose line and must use all their experience to read the fire and predict its path and effect. They should examine each floor, room and door for fire. In a commercial structure there are a myriad of spaces through which the fire can spread.
Depending on the structure you could find elevator shafts, stair cases, lofts, air conditioning flues and laundry chutes that can move hot smoke and other products of combustion at a rapid rate. Use the pike poles, wrecking irons and thermal cameras to make 100 percent sure that you are not being outflanked and where you need to place your hose lines.
The recon crew should also be in a good position to determine the amount of hose line needed to reach the seat of the fire. They might also identify alternative entry points for the attack crews. Good communication back to incident command is crucial in determining the success of the recon team and its activities.
Finally, remember that your recon team is there for exactly that purpose, reconnaissance. Don’t get distracted by involving yourselves in the actual firefighting activities. The whole operation might be waiting for your feedback and it will be criminal if you delay the start of the attack due to your own bit of freelancing. If, however, you do find a trapped victim in serious trouble, you might have to delay other recon activities to remove the victim. Communicate this quickly and call for whatever support you need. During your movement through the building it would be wise to close any doors or windows you encounter that could prevent the spread of the fire.
Setting up command
A fire in a large commercial structure will obviously be a multiple alarm incident. You will have different resources arriving at different times. The important point here is that a strong incident command system be implemented very early. The only way to achieve this is to ensure that the predetermined unit’s attendance to this fire is clearly thought through by the operational planning people and is adequate from the get go. Your standard response in this day and age for a single room and contents fire will probably be one engine staffed by four fire fighters. Ideally, the response to any larger structure fire will be two engines and one ladder truck (as mentioned in numerous previous articles). The first point of contact between the fire department and the person reporting the fire will be the call centre operator. At this point already, the despatch should be correct. If you need three ladder trucks to employ elevated master streams, they need to be responded early. Your water supply for such an incident should be carefully planned and also implemented here.
We get so used to the specific roles we have to play at a routine residential structural fire that we believe that by doing the same (or just a bit bigger) at a commercial fire, we will do ok. We can’t have this mind set. The risks are different, the fire will be larger and the forces needed to control it will be more.
Setting up your groups and divisions should be paramount. We must accept that the initial recon and rescue operations will be done at task level. This will be done in a high-risk and dynamic environment. The first incoming officer will normally take on the role of the initial incident commander. This person cannot manage multiple units and should not be interfered with by a next arriving officer needing an update. It is for this reason that a tactical level group or division officer should form part of the first response. This officer will be better positioned to observe the prevailing conditions, building integrity and determine the best position and tasks of fire suppression teams.
This command level must also be the link between the task level and incident commander. Findings of the recon team must be channelled through this officer and strategic direction must also flow the other way.
Your first arriving officer will have a number of immediate tasks that will demand attention. The ideal group/division commander should be the second arriving unit. The first two engines will involve themselves with recon, search and rescue and initial fire attack activities. The third and fourth arriving units will be involved in support operations such as water supply, controlling hose lines outside the building, ventilation and the removal of security systems. The officer on one of these units should be perfectly placed to assume the initial tactical incident command role.
Incident command (IC) does not only start once all units have arrived on scene and the structure is finalised by a principle officer. Many of the sectors and divisions will automatically form upon the arrival of responding units. Once the ultimate incident commander arrives on scene, he/she will already find most of the IC structures in place. It will be tricky at first but this person’s experience and knowledge of the incident command system will help him/her to effectively organise this process into a workable organisation able to meet its objectives. Remember your incident command system must be understood by all members of your service, even the most junior. If they are not on board they will not understand their role in the system and it will fall flat.
Responding to a major commercial fire will have many challenges. The escalation of command and arrival of further units will mean that an incident commander will be working with a large group of fire fighters who have arrived from different stations and in a mutual aid alarm scenario from different services. Keeping track of each person on the scene will not be an easy task. A later arriving incident commander may miss the fact that crews are working in a particular area and this could back to bite if the crew finds themselves in difficulty at some point. Accountability must start with the arrival of the first crew and must be kept up to date continuously. The appointment of a safety sector with sufficient safety officers must never be overlooked. It is the responsibility of each sector officer to report in to the incident command post and report his/her staff compliment. Decisions regarding replacement and rotation of staff needs to be coordinated and communicated clearly.
Successful incident command is reliant on effective communication. The first arriving units will probably be limited to the department’s tactical channel. As the incident escalates and more units arrive you will have to upgrade your communications system to allow for this increase.
You’re most critical time will be when the main incident command is established and all units on scene need to be brought online. Units already working the fire might want to contact command on the tactical channel to communicate their needs, progress etc.
Your preplanning for such a situation must include the establishment of a command channel for incident command to coordinate all the command staff and the various sector commanders. This will leave the tactical channels open for units doing the fire attack. Each tactical sector should be on its own channel and when geographic divisions are assigned, make sure to have it simple enough for everyone to understand. If you have a crew doing ventilation and they are on the roof, they must be designated the ‘roof sector’. Remember: it takes complicated people to make complicated mistakes.
This kind of communication set-up requires careful planning and training. Your radio-technical guys need to have a clear understanding of fire ground operations and the communications needs of all levels working on the fire. The radio system then needs to be fashioned around these needs. Radio communications could become a very effective force multiplier if used properly. It has also been known to kill fire fighters if not done correctly.
Firefighting operations
Once all information is received from the initial IC size-up, recon team and site safety people, the decision as to the nature of the fire attack should be made. Obviously the decision to go offensive or defensive will be the first one that will need to be made. I have mentioned the need for rescue being the priority earlier and that will always be uppermost in your mind.
The recon crew is the most likely to find victims first. Their initial objectives should not be compromised by having to remove these victims or manage an evacuation. Always have a standby crew ready to respond to any position where victims or evacuees might be found to take over this job from the recon team and allow them to continue.
Depending on the time of day when the fire occurs, the search commander will have a good idea of the victim locations. Dining areas, high volume work spaces and office areas might be the most obvious. The search and rescue might be more demanding if the fire is in an advanced stage. It might then be necessary to commit more resources to this aspect of the operation, which could include ventilation, interior attack and forcible entry assets.
While recognising the priority that saving lives has over saving the building, we must make an accurate assessment of the risk before committing assets into a particular area. Don’t commit crews into the structure unless you have a clear picture of the fire location and column size, structural integrity and entry and exit routes.
Well established truck company operations will be of huge value in such a situation as it might be necessary to breach the side wall of a structure to enter if all normal routes are compromised.
They will also be required to set up the ventilation. The decision as to the location and type of ventilation will be dependent on factors such as the type of structure, location of the fire and tactics to be implemented. I have already discussed this in quite a lot of detail in a previous article. If your decision is to use positive pressure ventilation, make sure that you have the necessary blowers capable of ventilating a large space. Using two blowers and placing one behind the other is a useful option to have. Place the first blower right in the opening and use it just to blow air into the structure. The second blower is then placed behind it covering the entrance and creating the ‘cone’, which will seal of the ventilation opening.
A large, high building will require the utilisation of aerial apparatus. Correct early placement of these units will negate the need for removing them later or, even worse, repairing them! The front of the building is always the domain of the ladder truck as this allows for rapid entry, search and evacuation and elevated master stream deployment. Keep in mind, however, the possible spread of fire over the next hour and the potential collapse zones.
When it comes to hose line selection: GO BIG. Most structural fire trucks are loaded with 45mm attack lines which provides a solid water supply and easier manoeuvrability. When dealing with a large commercial fire, 65mm is the way to go. The deployment of 65mm hose lines might take longer than 45mm but you are able to achieve more penetration and maximise the distance from which your crews are able to work; placing them further away from the fire and subsequent potential collapse zone. I have previously (and controversially) mentioned the use of smooth bore nozzles. In this scenario, these nozzles will provide you with a greater reach and penetration and less nozzle reaction. The lower nozzle pressures will allow for greater manoeuvrability without compromising on litres per minute (lpm).
In closing
This article has merely scratched the service of how to approach operations in large commercial fires. At best it will hopefully provide you with some points to ponder on this complex challenge. I haven’t touched on dealing with the contents and processes that are housed within the occupancy mainly because of the diverse types of businesses that use them. The message I want to leave with you is that you consider your strategies and tactics for these types of fires carefully. Develop SOPs that address these unique challenges, configure your vehicles and equipment accordingly and train your fire fighters on how to survive this beast. I hope 2014 is a good one.
Photo1: Commercial structure fire in Grand Rapids, Michigan, US
Photo2: Keeping track of each person on the scene will not be an easy task
Photo3: Responding to a major commercial fire will have many challenges
Photo4: A large, high building will require the utilisation of aerial apparatus
Different tactics for a different risk
By Colin Deiner, chief director, Disaster management and Fire Brigade Services, Western Cape Government
A good incident command system will assume that many aspects of a firefighting operation will be the same at every incident. Our standard operating procedures (SOPs) assume this, we use this as a basis for our training – and there is nothing wrong with it. We must, however, appreciate that no two fires will be exactly the same and specifically – don’t expect to attack a commercial structure fire the same way you would a residential fire. At a commercial fire you will need more resources, larger diameter hose lines, a more advanced command system and people generally don’t sleep in commercial structures.
First arriving units
Responding to a fire in a commercial occupancy will present a number of major challenges to a fire department. It will also provide a number of advantages over a residential occupancy fire. As mentioned above, people don’t sleep in a commercial complex, unless of course it is an abandoned structure that has been taken over as an informal dwelling by homeless people. This will take away the concerns of small children present in the structure, people rushing back in to the building to retrieve valuable personal property and people generally not totally sure where to evacuate to.
A manufacturing or storage occupancy must have a fire plan that will include an evacuation plan and an accountability system for employees. By making early contact with the organisation’s safety representative, the incident commander should be able to ascertain if all occupants have been accounted for. Do never, however, take it for granted that all persons have been accounted for and always appreciate that a search and rescue effort might have to be ordered.
If all signs indicate that there are no entrapments, the firefighting operation must commence and could probably be a defensive approach. Crews should, however, at all times consider the possibility of an unaccounted for, trapped victim and try as much as possible to create a safe and clear environment inside the structure. If it is determined that one or more people may still be in the structure, the mode should be more offensive and the priority will be to find and rescue the victims. Incident command should ensure that safety officers and entry crews do not get tunnel vision and ignore the ’big picture’. Any number of risks could be developing around such entry teams. These could be loss of structural integrity (leading to collapse), rapid and uncontrolled fire and smoke propagation, debris falling and cutting of the attack crew’s escape route and the crew moving too far down a certain route thereby stressing the capacity of the breathing air in their self-contained breathing apparatus’ (SCBAs).
The use of a thermal camera is highly recommended in a large volume structural fire as it will be able to indicate the position of any entrapped persons and provide vital information on prevailing risks that could make an unwelcome appearance when you least expect it.
Thermal cameras should be one of the primary tools of the first persons who should enter the structure: the reconnaissance team. The recon team should consist of a minimum of two fire fighters who must be able to travel light and move quickly. They should also be well trained, fit and experienced fire fighters; generally you’re more experienced sub-officer types. This experience will enable them to gather critical information regarding the best means of entry, tools of choice and length of stretch for the attack line. The recon team must be a previously identified crew and must know specifically what their task will be. Sure you can nominate two or four fire fighters to act as impromptu recon crews upon arrival and most probably achieve your objectives. Having a designated recon crew will, however, give you a critical edge during those fires where the correct placement of water streams and timing and placement of ventilation is critical.
In addition to their personal protective equipment (PPE) and SCBA, the recon team should be equipped with thermal cameras, portable radios, hand lights, wrecking irons (halligan and axe), a water extinguisher, a rope bag (can be used for raising lines up to the fire floor) and a long handled tool (pike pole/ceiling hook) for removing debris and reaching switches on safety lights, air conditioners etc.
With missing occupants out of your mind, the next priority would be to locate the fire. Locating the fire starts even before any fire department member has put his/her foot out of the vehicle. The first in unit should try as best as possible to do a drive around of the structure and try to ascertain the position of the main body of the fire. This will give you a good idea of the outside of the structure and upon meeting with the building occupants; you could be told exactly where the fire is located and what the best route is to get there. This will give you a good picture of a number of things including the behaviour of the structure exposed and additional risks it could present.
Deployment of the afore-mentioned recon team should happen at this time. The recon crew must be able to move through the structure without a hose line and must use all their experience to read the fire and predict its path and effect. They should examine each floor, room and door for fire. In a commercial structure there are a myriad of spaces through which the fire can spread.
Depending on the structure you could find elevator shafts, stair cases, lofts, air conditioning flues and laundry chutes that can move hot smoke and other products of combustion at a rapid rate. Use the pike poles, wrecking irons and thermal cameras to make 100 percent sure that you are not being outflanked and where you need to place your hose lines.
The recon crew should also be in a good position to determine the amount of hose line needed to reach the seat of the fire. They might also identify alternative entry points for the attack crews. Good communication back to incident command is crucial in determining the success of the recon team and its activities.
Finally, remember that your recon team is there for exactly that purpose, reconnaissance. Don’t get distracted by involving yourselves in the actual firefighting activities. The whole operation might be waiting for your feedback and it will be criminal if you delay the start of the attack due to your own bit of freelancing. If, however, you do find a trapped victim in serious trouble, you might have to delay other recon activities to remove the victim. Communicate this quickly and call for whatever support you need. During your movement through the building it would be wise to close any doors or windows you encounter that could prevent the spread of the fire.
Setting up command
A fire in a large commercial structure will obviously be a multiple alarm incident. You will have different resources arriving at different times. The important point here is that a strong incident command system be implemented very early. The only way to achieve this is to ensure that the predetermined unit’s attendance to this fire is clearly thought through by the operational planning people and is adequate from the get go. Your standard response in this day and age for a single room and contents fire will probably be one engine staffed by four fire fighters. Ideally, the response to any larger structure fire will be two engines and one ladder truck (as mentioned in numerous previous articles). The first point of contact between the fire department and the person reporting the fire will be the call centre operator. At this point already, the despatch should be correct. If you need three ladder trucks to employ elevated master streams, they need to be responded early. Your water supply for such an incident should be carefully planned and also implemented here.
We get so used to the specific roles we have to play at a routine residential structural fire that we believe that by doing the same (or just a bit bigger) at a commercial fire, we will do ok. We can’t have this mind set. The risks are different, the fire will be larger and the forces needed to control it will be more.
Setting up your groups and divisions should be paramount. We must accept that the initial recon and rescue operations will be done at task level. This will be done in a high-risk and dynamic environment. The first incoming officer will normally take on the role of the initial incident commander. This person cannot manage multiple units and should not be interfered with by a next arriving officer needing an update. It is for this reason that a tactical level group or division officer should form part of the first response. This officer will be better positioned to observe the prevailing conditions, building integrity and determine the best position and tasks of fire suppression teams.
This command level must also be the link between the task level and incident commander. Findings of the recon team must be channelled through this officer and strategic direction must also flow the other way.
Your first arriving officer will have a number of immediate tasks that will demand attention. The ideal group/division commander should be the second arriving unit. The first two engines will involve themselves with recon, search and rescue and initial fire attack activities. The third and fourth arriving units will be involved in support operations such as water supply, controlling hose lines outside the building, ventilation and the removal of security systems. The officer on one of these units should be perfectly placed to assume the initial tactical incident command role.
Incident command (IC) does not only start once all units have arrived on scene and the structure is finalised by a principle officer. Many of the sectors and divisions will automatically form upon the arrival of responding units. Once the ultimate incident commander arrives on scene, he/she will already find most of the IC structures in place. It will be tricky at first but this person’s experience and knowledge of the incident command system will help him/her to effectively organise this process into a workable organisation able to meet its objectives. Remember your incident command system must be understood by all members of your service, even the most junior. If they are not on board they will not understand their role in the system and it will fall flat.
Responding to a major commercial fire will have many challenges. The escalation of command and arrival of further units will mean that an incident commander will be working with a large group of fire fighters who have arrived from different stations and in a mutual aid alarm scenario from different services. Keeping track of each person on the scene will not be an easy task. A later arriving incident commander may miss the fact that crews are working in a particular area and this could back to bite if the crew finds themselves in difficulty at some point. Accountability must start with the arrival of the first crew and must be kept up to date continuously. The appointment of a safety sector with sufficient safety officers must never be overlooked. It is the responsibility of each sector officer to report in to the incident command post and report his/her staff compliment. Decisions regarding replacement and rotation of staff needs to be coordinated and communicated clearly.
Successful incident command is reliant on effective communication. The first arriving units will probably be limited to the department’s tactical channel. As the incident escalates and more units arrive you will have to upgrade your communications system to allow for this increase.
You’re most critical time will be when the main incident command is established and all units on scene need to be brought online. Units already working the fire might want to contact command on the tactical channel to communicate their needs, progress etc.
Your preplanning for such a situation must include the establishment of a command channel for incident command to coordinate all the command staff and the various sector commanders. This will leave the tactical channels open for units doing the fire attack. Each tactical sector should be on its own channel and when geographic divisions are assigned, make sure to have it simple enough for everyone to understand. If you have a crew doing ventilation and they are on the roof, they must be designated the ‘roof sector’. Remember: it takes complicated people to make complicated mistakes.
This kind of communication set-up requires careful planning and training. Your radio-technical guys need to have a clear understanding of fire ground operations and the communications needs of all levels working on the fire. The radio system then needs to be fashioned around these needs. Radio communications could become a very effective force multiplier if used properly. It has also been known to kill fire fighters if not done correctly.
Firefighting operations
Once all information is received from the initial IC size-up, recon team and site safety people, the decision as to the nature of the fire attack should be made. Obviously the decision to go offensive or defensive will be the first one that will need to be made. I have mentioned the need for rescue being the priority earlier and that will always be uppermost in your mind.
The recon crew is the most likely to find victims first. Their initial objectives should not be compromised by having to remove these victims or manage an evacuation. Always have a standby crew ready to respond to any position where victims or evacuees might be found to take over this job from the recon team and allow them to continue.
Depending on the time of day when the fire occurs, the search commander will have a good idea of the victim locations. Dining areas, high volume work spaces and office areas might be the most obvious. The search and rescue might be more demanding if the fire is in an advanced stage. It might then be necessary to commit more resources to this aspect of the operation, which could include ventilation, interior attack and forcible entry assets.
While recognising the priority that saving lives has over saving the building, we must make an accurate assessment of the risk before committing assets into a particular area. Don’t commit crews into the structure unless you have a clear picture of the fire location and column size, structural integrity and entry and exit routes.
Well established truck company operations will be of huge value in such a situation as it might be necessary to breach the side wall of a structure to enter if all normal routes are compromised.
They will also be required to set up the ventilation. The decision as to the location and type of ventilation will be dependent on factors such as the type of structure, location of the fire and tactics to be implemented. I have already discussed this in quite a lot of detail in a previous article. If your decision is to use positive pressure ventilation, make sure that you have the necessary blowers capable of ventilating a large space. Using two blowers and placing one behind the other is a useful option to have. Place the first blower right in the opening and use it just to blow air into the structure. The second blower is then placed behind it covering the entrance and creating the ‘cone’, which will seal of the ventilation opening.
A large, high building will require the utilisation of aerial apparatus. Correct early placement of these units will negate the need for removing them later or, even worse, repairing them! The front of the building is always the domain of the ladder truck as this allows for rapid entry, search and evacuation and elevated master stream deployment. Keep in mind, however, the possible spread of fire over the next hour and the potential collapse zones.
When it comes to hose line selection: GO BIG. Most structural fire trucks are loaded with 45mm attack lines which provides a solid water supply and easier manoeuvrability. When dealing with a large commercial fire, 65mm is the way to go. The deployment of 65mm hose lines might take longer than 45mm but you are able to achieve more penetration and maximise the distance from which your crews are able to work; placing them further away from the fire and subsequent potential collapse zone. I have previously (and controversially) mentioned the use of smooth bore nozzles. In this scenario, these nozzles will provide you with a greater reach and penetration and less nozzle reaction. The lower nozzle pressures will allow for greater manoeuvrability without compromising on litres per minute (lpm).
In closing
This article has merely scratched the service of how to approach operations in large commercial fires. At best it will hopefully provide you with some points to ponder on this complex challenge. I haven’t touched on dealing with the contents and processes that are housed within the occupancy mainly because of the diverse types of businesses that use them. The message I want to leave with you is that you consider your strategies and tactics for these types of fires carefully. Develop SOPs that address these unique challenges, configure your vehicles and equipment accordingly and train your fire fighters on how to survive this beast. I hope 2014 is a good one.
Photo1: Commercial structure fire in Grand Rapids, Michigan, US
Photo2: Keeping track of each person on the scene will not be an easy task
Photo3: Responding to a major commercial fire will have many challenges
Photo4: A large, high building will require the utilisation of aerial apparatus
