Author Archive for Christopher J. Naum, SFPE
Examining Firefighting Tactics under Wind Driven Conditions
Smoke and heat spreading through the corridors and the stairs of a building during a fire can limit building occupants’ ability to escape and can limit firefighters’ ability to rescue them. Changes in the building’s ventilation or presence of an external wind can increase the energy release of the fire. This can also increase the […]
Engineering Ground Zero
To commemorate the anniversary of 9/11, NOVA presented an epic story of engineering, innovation, and the perseverance of the human spirit. With extraordinary access granted by The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, “Engineering Ground Zero” follows the five-year construction of One World Trade Center (1 WTC) and the National September 11 Memorial […]
Baltimore County (MD) Firefighter Falkenhan Line of Duty Death Report Issued
Mark Gray Falkenhan had dedicated his life to serving others. He perished in the line of duty on January 19, 2011 while performing search and rescue operations at a multi-alarm apartment fire in Hillendale, Baltimore County (Maryland). He was 43 years old. On Wednesday, January 19, 2011, a fire occurred in an apartment building […]
Fire Dynamics Simulation of 2011 Baltimore County LODD- 30 Dowling Circle
The Baltimore County (MD) Fire Department published the Line of Duty Death Investgation Report of the 30 Dowling Circle Fire recently. The report was written by a Line of Duty Death Investigation Team comprised of departmental members, including representatives of the local firefighters’ union and the Baltimore County Volunteer Firemen’s Association. An overview and […]
Leading Causes of Residential Fire Fatalities: Unintentional/Careless Actions, Smoking
USFA Releases Civilian Fire Fatalities in Residential Buildings (2008-2010) Report “Other unintentionally set, careless” actions and “smoking” are the leading causes The Federal Emergency Management Agency’s (FEMA) United States Fire Administration (USFA) issued a special report today examining the characteristics of civilian fire fatalities in residential buildings. The report, Civilian Fire Fatalities in Residential Buildings […]
Fires Below the Residential First Floor
Fires Below the Residential First Floor FireEngineering.com 03/01/2012 Direc t Link for Full Article HERE BY DANNY STRATTON A fire originating below the first floor of a residential structure is very vulnerable. It is important that fire control measures are executed to stop the extension of combustion, which can overtake occupants and the structure more […]
Residential Fire Injures Seven Firefighters: Wind Driven Conditions Suspected
Residential Fire in Prince George’s County (MD) Injures Seven Firefighters: Wind Driven Conditions Suspected Apparent wind driven condition contributed to rapidly escalating fire conditions resulting in extreme fire behavior during initial fire suppression operations being coordinated at a single family residential dwelling (SFD) fire Friday night February 24th in Riverdale, MD. At 9:11 p.m. […]
The Fireground; Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow
The Fireground; Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow It will always still be about….. The Brotherhood Honor Courage Protection Fortitude Duty We have assumed that the routiness or successes of past operations and incident responses equates with predictability and diminished risk to our firefighting personnel Our current generation of buildings, construction and occupancies are not as predictable […]
San Francisco FD Berkeley Way Double LODD Report Issued: Routine Fire….
The Chief of the Department directed the Department Safety Officer to conduct a Safety Investigation of this incident. The primary purpose of the investigation was to identify and analyze the contributing factors that led to the incident as well as to create situational awareness to prevent future occurrences. The main objective of the […]
The New Rules of Combat Fire Engagement: Random Thoughts
The New Rules of Combat Fire Engagement: How do You Measure Your Effectiveness on the Fireground? What are Your Rules of Engagement Based upon? Are Your Operations SOP Driven? Are they Aggressive or Measured? What is Employed in your Size-up? How is Risk Assessed, Monitored, Adjusted? Do Company Officers Manage Tactical Objectives? Is Tactical Entertainment […]
Smoke Management in High-Rise Structures
Smoke Management in High-Rise Structures BY JOSEPH CHACON AND STEVE KERBER Excerpt from Fire Engineering.com Most modern building codes define a high-rise structure as a building greater than 75 feet in height from the lowest level of fire department vehicle access to the highest occupiable floor. When fires occur in high-rise structures, the responding firefighters […]
Computer-Based Fire Fighter Training Project
Computer-Based Fire Fighter Training Project Through this project, the Fire Research Division at NIST is developing a computer based fire fighting training tool to improve training opportunities while lowering the cost and risk of death and injury. Two methods are being used to create a training tool. The first and simpler method is to use FDS and Smokeview to create animations of fire scenarios. […]
Wind Driven Fires
Wind Driven Fires Wind blowing into the broken window of a room on fire can turn a “routine room and contents fire” into a floor-to-ceiling firestorm. Historically, this has led to a significant number of firefighter fatalities and injuries, particularly in high-rise buildings where the fire must be fought from the interior of the structure. […]
Remembering Brackenridge 1991 Floor Collapse and LODD
Remembering Brackenridge, Pennsylvania December 20, 1991: Four Firefighters Killed, Trapped by Floor Collapse Four volunteer firefighters died when they were trapped by a partial floor collapse during a structure fire in Brackenridge, Pennsylvania, on the morning of December 20, 1991. All four were members of a mutual aid truck company that had responded to the […]
Buffalo Box 191 North Division & Grosvenor Streets; December 27, 1983
Buffalo Box 191 North Division & Grosvenor Streets; December 27, 1983 Buffalo Box 191 As Buffalo (NY) firefighters arrived at the scene of a reported propane leak in a three-story radiator warehouse (Type III Ordinary and Type IV Heavy Timber construction), a massive explosion occurred, killing five firefighters instantly and injuring nine others, three of […]
