FIREFIGHTING IN COVERED MALLS, PART 2
Part 1 appeared in the November 1993 issue.
TRUCK OPERATIONS
“Ladder 1 to Chief 3, we have extremely heavy smoke conditions in the entire center of the mall. Visibility is zero on the upper level.”
The chief orders all mechanical ventilation hatches to be opened. A second 2’/z-inch line is stretched. A mutual-aid request is made for more equipment and manpower. The incident commander’s uppermost concerns are evacuation and fire extension.
As always, an aggressive search is the first priority for the members assigned truck duties. To accomplish this as well as to allow the engine to get to the fire, forcible entry is needed-and may present a significant challenge. Mall entrance doors and gates or sliding doors on individual stores may have to be forced. Rear doors to individual stores often are locked both day and night. These doors may be very difficult to force.
A large fire during business hours means truck companies will have to deal with many panic-stricken occupants. With a small fire, it may be difficult to get civilians to evacuate the building. The evacuation can make other fire operations difficult also. Operating units may choose to advance through service entrances so they will not be impeded by crowds.
After gaining entry’, truck members may be directed to determine the location of the fire and relay the information to the incident commander. Familiarity with the structure through prefire planning is a must. This will aid in finding a fire. It also can aid in the evacuation of civilians. During a crisis, occupants usually attempt to exit from the door they entered or the door they use most often, which may not be the safest or most effective evacuation route. Thus, truck members must provide direction based on preplanning and fire conditions.
Entrances to a mall should be identified by a letter or number system. This can be kept in the fire control center/security office as well as on responding apparatus. A system like this should be common to all fire, police, and EMS personnel and mall/ security management. This way there will be less confusion in an emergency. A system that uses store names has a number of drawbacks. If a store closes, the entrance may be referred to by some members as “the old such and such entrance,” while newer members may only know the new name. Large anchor stores may have quite a few entrances on more than one level. Using a store name will not s pinpoint where units should respond.
Searches in a mall can be very difficult and dangerous. Remember the following points:
- Increase the size of your search team.
- Conduct searches off a search line. Provide each team with a rope bag; the team leader connects one end of the rope to the entrance/exit and plays out the line while members
- Search fitting rooms and storage areas. Search elevators and fountain areas (water attracts people in a fire). search off it with shorter-length individual search ropes.
- A charged handline should be provided, if possible, to protect the search team.
- Maintain communication with search team members. Maintain radio communication with the incident commander or sector chief-designate a separate radio frequency specifically for this purpose.
- Leave one member of the search team at a safe point to act as a beacon should a searching member become lost.
- Search carefully. Beware of low railings, etc., that were not designed for a crawling firefighter in low visibility.
Ventilation may have to be performed in phases. Opportunities for horizontal ventilation generally are quite limited. Perform vertical ventilation as soon as possible. Check for mechanical roof vents or any other natural openings, and open them. They usually are not very large, but they are better than no ventilation.
An important consideration for operations in a shopping mall is understanding the smoke-control system. Following is an example of how a smoke-control system can affect a fire department operation.
A fire department was dispatched to a large new shopping mall for a smoke detector activation in a restaurant in the center of the mall. The firedepartment arrived and found nothing showing. Firefighters examined the restaurant through all available windows and found no evidence of smoke. The incident commander released most of the assignment and elected to wait for a key holder to arrive rather than cause the damage necessary to force entry. With no visible smoke, this is certainly a good decision.
Soon after, while firefighters awaited access, a sprinkler head activated in the restaurant. At this time, the IC recalled the assignment and ordered firefighters to force the entrance to the restaurant. They found a fire in the rear, in an area where towels are dried.
When the detector went off, it activated the smoke-control system. The store went into an exhaust mode. This prevented any smoke from being seen.
This example illustrates the problems that can arise from smoke-control systems. When they are removing smoke and hot gases, you must consider where and how far the heat will be transported before it is removed from the building. It is important that firefighters thoroughly preplan and understand the operation of each smoke-control system in their response area as well as the problems that can develop when the system does not function as anticipated.
The roof may be difficult to open because of its construction. If it is covered with tar, the roof itself may become involved in fire. This possibility coupled with the fact that the buildings normally are constructed with lightweight steel or wooden trusses make it imperative that roof operations be initiated and concluded early in the fire. If conditions indicate a serious fire condition, roof operations over the original fire area may have to be aborted and operations undertaken to limit fire spread. Remember, however, that failure of the roof over the main body of fire, either through skylights, ventilators, or the decking itself, must occur before remote ventilation openings are pulled; otherwise, the fire will be drawn to these remote holes.
Very early, crews will be needed to open up ceilings in the fire store and adjacent occupancies. Longer pikepoles (eight or 10 feet) often will be necessary to reach these ceilings.
For a nuisance smoke condition or a fire that has been located, confined, and knocked down, you may want to consider positive-pressure ventilation. Remember that there are numerous voids through which the fire may extend; if positive pressure is used too early or before the limits of the fire have been determined, the increased air flow may push the fire farther. If sprinklers have extinguished a fire or you are sure it has been well knocked down, positive pressure may be a great aid to smoke removal. It also may aid firefighters operating in a service corridor behind tenant spaces; this is a difficult area in which to operate when there is a serious smoke condition. A fan operated into the corridor can provide relief to members operating there. The corridor walls, for security reasons, are of substantial construction and continue to the roof line; therefore, the introduction of large quantities of air should not affect a fire located on the tenant side of the wall.
Salvage work will require a large number of firefighters. A small fire may cause thousands of dollars of smoke and water damage. This can be reduced by committing crews to this job as early as possible. Heavy-duty dewatering equipment, not normally used by a department, may be needed.
CONSIDERATIONS
“Engine 1 to Chief 3, we have the fire knocked down and it doesn’t look like it has gotten into the ceiling.”
More than half of the departments in the mutual-aid group responded to or relocated for the fire. Fresh companies still were needed for salvage, completion of secondary search, and relief of first-arriving units.
The number one consideration for fires in mall structures is the need for manpower. Call for help early and often. For mall fires, this is something to think about well before the fire. Malls are found in all types of areas. Some are built in rural areas due to low land costs and strategic position between a number of small to medium-sized cities. These buildings have a high incidence of unnecessary automatic alarms. This can lead to a reduced response that in the event of a fire can have members playing catchup for a long time.
You must understand the size and scope of these structures. The new regional megamalls can occupy more area than the downtown of the locality the fire department protects. Some departments that protect these malls may not have an aerial device. If this is the case, get one started to the scene right away-you can’t wait. Mutual aid doesn’t end there. For a fire in a single store in a two-level mall, three to six handlines and crews may be needed to open up the involved exposures. Support for this operation- forcible entry, water supply, salvage, and so on-also will be needed. If response times for neighboring companies are lengthy, it may be a good idea to request automatic response on all alarms from the mall.
With all this help, command can be confusing. Sectoring the building-all levels of the interior and the roof-is very important. Communication between the IC and the sectors, and with the team inside, is crucial to firefighter safety and the successful conclusion of the fire.
A fire in a large enclosed shopping mall is an infrequent occurrence. For most firefighters, it is a once-in-alifetime fire. The way to be ready is through preplanning, training, and adapting the lessons learned in everyday fires to these buildings. Basic firefighting principles help you in all types of situations. The more comfortable a fire department is with the “bread and butter” operations, the greater its chances for safely and successfully handling the unusual operations.
