The Curveball

BY MICHAEL N. CIAMPO

For many of us who played ball, there was a pitch that was the hardest to hit: the curveball. Sometimes it came in slowly and it looked like a meatball ready to be hit a mile; suddenly, it went out of the strike zone and out of the reach of your bat as you swung. If you never had the opportunity to hit one out of the park, then you’d better be prepared, because you’re sure to be thrown one on a run in the future.

Pulling up to the 32-story “fireproof” multiple dwelling, we had fire showing from the third-floor patio terrace. Unfortunately, from the street you couldn’t tell if it was just outside or if it involved the apartment and was already self-venting out the windows. The black smoke was swirling in the wind, and the thought of a wind-driven fire crossed our minds. As we made it to the stairwell, we decided to quickly stop on the second floor to get the hallway layout, locating and counting the doors down to the reported fire apartment. (Remember, apartment doors open inward and elevator doors open outward.) We did this because of the chance that if we opened the door out of the stairwell, it could be lights out, and we wanted to be headed in the right direction. Just our luck—the first curveball—when we arrived at the second floor, we realized that it was a daycare center and utility room area, and we couldn’t get the information we needed. Exiting the stairwell on the third floor, we saw a haze, which meant the fire apartment’s door probably wasn’t open. If we encountered a heavy smoke condition, the door could have been left open.

Luckily for us, as we rounded the corner in the T-shaped hallway, the tenant was out in the hallway calling, “Down here.” Of course, we asked if anyone was inside, and she said, “No,” but we weren’t falling for that pitch. Sizing up the elderly tenant gave us the indication that she might not know if anyone else was in the apartment. The primary search was still our first priority—for life and fire.

After removing her from the hallway, we entered the apartment. The fire on the terrace had now taken out the thermal pane windows and was just beginning to roll across the ceiling in the first bedroom we came to. Performing a quick search under the thermal layers of smoke and gases collecting at the ceiling, we were able to search on top of and under the bed and inside the closet. As the canman was discharging the can to extinguish some of the fire rolling into this room, we proceeded to the next bedroom. While searching this room, we heard a loud “crack” and “pop”; the large glass door to the terrace and adjoining window’s outside layers of the thermal pane glass failed, and it was only moments before the inside pane would as well.

The search proved negative, and we pulled down the curtains and plastic blinds so the fire didn’t quickly engulf them if the windows failed. Another curve: The wall-mounted air-conditioning (AC) unit was missing, and flames were emitting through the framed mounting box into the room. Retreating and closing the door in case of total window failure and extending fire, we waited for the engine’s arrival and checked with the canman. The pressurized water extinguisher was near empty; he was still controlling the original bedroom’s door and giving short blasts of water with the can into the flames. Realizing the can was now empty and the engine was hooking up four lengths of hoseline to the standpipe and had a long stretch down to the last apartment, we went with another plan. Quickly, a member entered the bathroom and turned on the tub while another member went into the kitchen and grabbed a pot to fill in the sink.

Our luck—another curve: There was a wastepaper basket in the bathroom that wouldn’t be able to hold water, so all we had was the pot. Positioned in between both bedroom doors, we opened the first room’s door and did the old bucket brigade throw in hopes of making some progress on the fire’s extension. Seeing it did some good, we went for a refill and rechecked the second bedroom, which still hadn’t experienced any significant extension except for the framing on the AC unit box.

We knelt there, awaiting the pot’s return and the engine’s arrival. We opened the door a bit to continue a size-up of the fire conditions inside the room. We saw the flames were still rolling across the ceiling violently and toward our end of the room, but when we opened the door wider to disburse the water in the pot, the flames quickly subsided and rapidly changed direction toward the outside of the room.

Did we just hit the curveball for a home run? We’re all taught that closing and controlling the door to a room will confine the fire, but in this instance, opening the door encouraged it to retreat and exit the room. The large windows were pulling a significant draft, with the wind conditions occurring inside and outside the building. Those factors allowed the flames, smoke, and gases to switch direction and ventilate outward. Although it looked like a good idea, it did enrich the fierceness and velocity of the flames as they wrapped around the terrace toward the second bedroom’s windows. We had to be cautious to keep that room’s door closed so the fire didn’t wrap around and engulf us if the windows failed. The engine companies got the line in place prior to any extension and extinguished the fire. Luckily for us, with a little wind, we hit the curveball out of the park.

For related video, go to (http://bcove.me/aq7x3cnt)

MICHAEL N. CIAMPO is a 28-year veteran of the fire service and a lieutenant in the Fire Department of New York. Previously, he served with the District of Columbia Fire Department. He has a bachelor’s degree in fire science from John Jay College of Criminal Justice in New York City. He is the lead instructor for the FDIC Truck Essentials H.O.T. program. He wrote the Ladder chapter and co-authored the Ventilation chapter for Fire Engineering’s Handbook for Firefighter I and II (Fire Engineering, 2009) and is featured in “Training Minutes” truck company videos on www.FireEngineering.com.

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