Firefighter Kevin Galt from Fort Lauderdale (FL) Ladder Co. 2 sent these photos of a find from his first due. Your first thought (since you know the pictures are from FL) may be that the building owner did this for hurricane protection. Well, hopefully that’s not the case here since they would work much better on the outside. This set-up is on a vacant building so more than likely for anti-vandalism purposes.
These simple boards, and the fact that they are mounted on the inside, could cause some issues on a working fire. So the first question is: Would you even notice the plywood at night? Is it possible to just look at the window, see it in tact, and never really look into it? The plywood would/could certainly delay the escape of smoke from one of the windows causing a delay in alarm, and taking away the ability to read the fire’s intensity and location upon arrival.
Another issue could be: When softening the building, removing any plywood coving openings would be expected, however, with this set-up it may not be as easy. In order to remove the plywood most (if not all) of the window may have to be ventilated, which of course could just make the building into a piece of Swiss cheese from a ventilation standpoint.
Since access inside the building was not possible when the photos were taken we are unsure exactly how the plywood is secured. It could be a Mickey Mouse installation that could be easily pushed in from the outside, or it could be much more secure. Either way, a simple sheet of plywood on the inside of the window could prove to be a bit of a pain in the ass.
Let it burn!!
Chain saw and just let them fall right in
forget the chainsaw… every truckie loves a challenge, break out the 35′ and go to work with a hook or a bar or something…
Just a little backround on the pics I sent in. We have had 2 or 3 warehouse fires within blocks of where the pics were taken. One went to a 2nd. This area is very mixed use and ever changing, warehouses on the same block and adjacent to multi-family, ect.(See top pic, new “loft-style” apts next to this warehouse.) Many are mom and pop places that are filled with who knows what. We have found some warehouses converted to makeshift living quarters.
“T”- chainsaws are my bet too.
Welcome to the new “Obama Economy”
This is where good preplanning of your district pays off. The biggest issue I see is the necessity to remove the framework of small angle iron that makes up the window in order to easily access the plywood sheeting. These windows also appear to be out of a firefighter’s reach when standing on the ground. It will probably require the use of a rotary saw with an aluminum oxide blade to remove the metal frame, followed by either a chainsaw or rotary saw with a vent blade to remove the sheeting. Working off a ground ladder to perform this would be difficult at best, not to mention akward and dangerous. A better option would be to operate from a tower ladder bucket if one is avaliable. If you don’t have a tower, pull the chief’s ride up under the window and stand on the roof, at least it wouldn’t be in the way of in-coming companies then…
“pull the chief’s ride up under the window and stand on the roof, at least it wouldn’t be in the way of in-coming companies then…”
If I ever get the slightest opportunity to try that I’m goin’ for it! That’s awesome.
Brotherhood above all.
Be safe.
Been a while since I gave my two cents so….I agree with Jamie, preplanning is key. If you find a problem like this, you need to get inside and see the whole enchilada. Also the key word in this scenario is “vacant” building. I know “homeless people” blah, blah. Risk little, blah, blah. I don’t need to repeat that. I can only imagine this building has a metal roof, so condsider how long venting these winders is going to take and whether it would even be neccesary to be in there.
ALSO I’VE POSTED AN EXCELLENT LINK FROM OUR MILITARY. THEY ALSO UNDERSTAND THE IMPORTANCE OF QUICKLY GAINING ACCESS TO BUILDINGS.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yIDqCNk6i1o&feature=PlayList&p=F66BCD184DA40ED0&playnext=1&index=19
Don’t count out the possibility that the wood won’t be removed if the property is occupied again at some time. This could present some major problems for RIT operations, even though the windows are fairly high from the ground, they may still provide a viable option for a firefighter removal depending on the “new” layout of the interior once a new tenant moves in. We recently had a similar situation in our response area in which the windows were covered during renovation operations and were then left that way. To add to it the glass was covered with extremely dark window tint, like you would see on a limo, so now not only is the wood hidden, but this could lead to some false smoke readings during a size up, particularly at night.
Looks like there might be enough room to get an aerial (stick) into the parking lot. Why not just drop the stick into the panes and take the windows that way. Use the rig as a tool just as you would any thing else on it.