Colerain LODD Preliminary Report Issued

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Permalink Reply by Chris Fleming on July 28, 2008 at 10:42am

First of all, let me say condolences to the family, friends, and co-workers of Captain Broxterman and Firefighter Schira. We will never forget them and hope that you can find some comfort in that. Thank you to all the people who contributed to this report. You honor Captain Broxterman and Firefighter Schira by your work to prevent this tragedy from happening again.

Basement fires are probably one of the deadliest fires for firefighters to fight. If I think back over the past 17 or so years that I have been in the fire service, The numbers of firefighters who have been killed in basement fires is extremely high. Whether it was from collapse, disorientation, or an extreme fire event, the basement fire is an incident that calls for a much higher level of caution than our other "bread and butter" fires. Some of the reasons are as follows: Construction. Basements often have exposed structural members that support heavy loads. These structural members may be trusses which are notorious for rapid failure under fire conditions. These structural members may be compromised by "running" of utilities, rehabilitation efforts, and the the application of loads beyond the design of the particular member. They usually are "closed" spaces with few doors or windows for egress or ventilation. The layout of basements also lends itself to greater hazards for firefighters. Some basements are wide open areas with no compartmentalization. This leads to rapid fire spread and a greater chance of a firefighter "getting off" a wall. Finished basements may have confusing layouts and may be more disorienting than typical living space rooms. The fireload of a basement can be varied. Some basements are used for storage of everything from hazardous materials to motorized equipment or vehicles. It is very hard to determine what the fire load is in these spaces. In short, there are a ton of unknowns when it comes to gathering intelligence (size up) on basement fires. For this reason the fire service needs to look at how we do business at these incidents and any confirmed or suspected basement fire should raise a red flag for firefighters and officers. Some change in tactics could include defensive attack until the fire is knocked down and a good assessment of structural stability can be made, fire attack through day light basement doors or windows, the use of basement nozzles from the floor above, the use of search ropes or tag lines, extra RITs or "marrying" of multiple companies on one task and any other method that can increase accountability, improve size up, and keep firefighters out of the IDLH area.

Permalink Reply by Christopher Naum, SFPE on July 28, 2008 at 2:12pm

Thanks for taking the time to offer your insights and comments. It goes a long way in helping the service.