Article

Rescue Air Systems

The following article appeared in Fire Prevention Magazine in the UK, Fire Australia Journal and Fire Engineering in the United States.

© 2002 writer-tech.com, llc

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High-rise buildings are becoming more and more commonplace across the landscape.  Ranging from a relatively modest 7-story apartment building to the mega-complexes found in urban areas, they present a significant challenge for the fire service.

The commonly accepted definition of a high-rise building is one that is 75 feet (23 meters) high, or approximately 7 stories.  While within these buildings there can be a variety of occupancies, the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) reports that there are four specific occupancy types that dominate the fire statistics: Office buildings, hotels and motels, apartment buildings and hospitals.

Just how many fires occur in these occupancies?

According to the NFPA, apartment high-rise fires represent the greatest number of fires.  Residential occupancies, which apartments fall under, are the biggest part of the fire problem in the United States in general, so it would make sense that high-rise residential occupancies would also be a significant part of the high-rise fire problem.

High-Rise Building Fire Experience for 1998

(Source: High-Rise Building Fires, Hall, John R., NFPA Fire Analysis and Research Division, September 2001

Today, many high-rise buildings are equipped with a variety of fire protection features, including automatic fire sprinklers, fire detection and alarm systems and construction that helps to control the spread of the fire.  According to NFPA statistics, fires in high-rise buildings tend to be limited to the room of origin more than 94% of the time.

However, even though the fire itself may be limited to the room of origin, the smoke can spread far beyond the seat of the fire, presenting a risk to occupants that are in remote locations.  In fact, the smoke spread beyond the room in approximately 1/3 of the high-rise fires.  In most fires, it is the smoke that kills people, not the fire.

Extent of Smoke and Fire Damage in High-Rise Occupancies, Annual Average, 1994 to 1998

(Source: High Rise Building Fires, Hall, John R.; NFPA Fire Analysis and Research Division, September 2001, Table 7 and 8

Challenges faced by the fire service

One of the primary objectives at any fire is to limit the fire to the room of origin.  If it should spread beyond the room of origin and begin to involve the floor, the resources needed to extinguish the fire increase dramatically.  If the fire spreads vertically beyond the floor of origin, then the fire can easily overwhelm the resources of the fire department to either control the fire or safeguard the occupants.

Resource Intensive

The amount of personnel and equipment needed at a high-rise fire can tax even the largest fire departments.  While the fire itself may be similar to one breaking out in a one-story building, there are additional resources needed for these specialized buildings.

“Fire fighting operations at a high-rise fire are the same as a normal fire in terms of primary and secondary searches,” says Ben Klaene, retired district chief with the Cincinnati Fire Department and co-author of the textbook “Structural Firefighting.”  “However, then you add in the complexities of a high-rise building and the lack of rescue options (such as multiple access and egress avenues),” and the picture can change dramatically.

“Some of the special situations that you have in a high-rise fire include a staging area two or three floors below the fire, reliance upon a standpipe for suppression operations, the lack of exterior ladder rescue on the upper floors and the logistics of moving equipment and personnel to the upper floors of the building,” added Klaene.  One of the critical pieces of equipment that must be moved upward is a sufficient supply of air cylinders so that fire fighters can safely attack the fire and rescue trapped victims.

For a “typical” fire in a high rise, on an upper floor, Klaene outlined the absolute minimum crews that would be needed.  Depending upon the size of the fire and the complexity of the building, these numbers could grow dramatically.

• A crew to advance a hoseline to the fire

• A backup crew on the fire floor

• A crew assigned to the floor above the fire floor for possible suppression and search and rescue

• A crew assigned below the fire floor for salvage

Other areas that would have to be staffed would include:

• Staging

• Lobby Control

• Utilities

• Ventilation

• Water supply

• Air Supply

• Rehab

According to Don Ciucci, training chief for the Daly City Fire Department, “It takes three companies to put one company on the fire floor…one on the fire floor, one as a backup and one in staging.  And this does not include all of the other companies for support operations.”  You also have to think about rotating crews through Rehab, says Klaene, which will require additional personnel on the scene.

If there are any injured civilians that need to be rescued, that will require a minimum of a full crew, per victim, to get them off of the floor and to a location where they can be treated, according to Assistant Chief Steve Kreis from the Phoenix Fire Department.

In the past, fire fighters would tend to avoid using the elevators to gain access to the upper floors of the building because they were not comfortable with the operation of the elevators and they would use the stairwells to move themselves and equipment up into the building.  This would present a particular problem in terms of fatigue.  “There is a law of diminishing returns,” says Klaene.  “A well equipped fire fighter in good condition can make the first five floors, but as you get higher the fatigue factor sets in.  You have a slowing ascent as you move up the floors.”

Elevators are being used, however, in some jurisdictions simply because it is not possible to move equipment and personnel quickly and efficiently any other way.  In Phoenix, Kreis reports, the fire department has gone to using the elevators to move personnel and equipment upwards, but only after ensuring that the elevators are operating properly and that the shaft is clear of smoke.

One function that requires many fire fighters is moving equipment up and down the stairwells and elevators.  Hoselines, tools and especially SCBA cylinders are needed throughout the operation.  Because of the physical efforts of climbing stairs in a high-rise, the duration of an SCBA can be greatly diminished, reducing the amount of time that a fire fighter has available to actually conduct suppression or rescue operations.

Furthermore, the stairways are critically important if occupants have to be rescued or evacuated.  It may be difficult, if not impossible, to use a stairway for both fire fighting operations and evacuation and rescue activities.

At the First Interstate Bank Building fire in Los Angeles in 1988, 383 fire fighters and 600 air cylinders were used throughout the operation.  Air cylinders are one of the critical logistical factors that must be addressed to ensure that fire fighters can fight the fire safely and effectively, and moving them to upper floors in a high-rise building can involve a large contingent of fire fighters.

Administrative Chief and Fire Marshal Louis Vella from the Redwood City, California fire department was on the scene in Los Angeles shortly after the fire to gain insight into the operations.

“What was the most evident thing,” reported Vella, “was the number of fire fighters they had to use to bring full fresh air bottles up to the tenth floor (staging) and to bring down empty cylinders.”  According to Vella, “this was a misuse of highly trained, very capable fire fighters.  That (moving bottles) is something that anyone can do…they could have been used in a more critical area rather than carting bottles up and down the stairs.”

Vella’s observations at the First Interstate Bank fire, and a particularly vexing problem in his own jurisdiction in Redwood City, led to the development of a “standpipe for air” permanently installed inside of the building. 

“We had a situation where a building was being proposed where the developer wanted to use one side of the building for water access.”  This would have seriously hampered the fire department’s ability to access the building, so an alternative solution was needed that would allow the design wanted by the developer, yet still provide the same level of access and fire control needed by the fire department.

By installing {a rescue air system} in the building, Redwood City was able to free up the personnel that would normally be required to shuttle air cylinders from the ground level up to the fire floor.  These fire crews could then be used more effectively, according to Vella, in other areas that they were trained for, such as suppression and search and rescue.

The system involves having piping running vertically the height of the building that will carry breathing air.  On specific floors there are outlets where fire crews can recharge air cylinders without having to shuttle them down to an air supply vehicle in the street.

In Reno, Nevada there are several systems in operation.  The first one was installed about seven years ago, according to Inspector Bob Lovett from the Reno Fire Department. 

There are equipment rooms located every fifth floor in the high-rise buildings.  “Initially we called them cache rooms,” reported Lovett, “but we had to change the name to equipment rooms because these were going into casinos.”  Within each equipment room is the rescue air system fill station, extra bottles, hoselines and tools.  “Whoever gets there first would set it up as a staging area.  They would already have hoselines and equipment there so they wouldn’t have to pack everything up.”

There is an on-site storage system permanently located in the basement of the high-rise that can refill 40 SCBA cylinders.  However, once the department’s air truck attaches an airline to the manifold connection on the exterior of the building, it is possible to continuously fill cylinders without depleting the system.

An integral part of the rescue air system is an emergency electrical conduit running up the same chaseway.  This is an electrical system that is totally separate from the building’s system.  It can only be energized by the department’s utility truck, and it provides an isolated source of emergency power in the event that it should be necessary to shut down the building’s power.

In addition to Redwood City, rescue air systems have been installed in a number of other municipalities.  In most jurisdictions, the requirements for these systems have been written into the local codes, such as in Daly City, California.

“If you have a fire, it can take two to three engine companies to mule bottles up and down the stairs,” estimated David Dewey, fire marshal for the Daly City Fire Department.  The lack of staffing to dedicate to these operations was the incentive for proposing an ordinance requiring the installation of rescue air systems.

To convince city officials, Dewey set up a demonstration.  “We got two 45 minute air bottles, put them in a sling and asked a city official to carry them up 10 stories,” reported Dewey.  “After he had hefted a couple of bottles, we asked him if he had full protective gear and a breathing apparatus on, how long could he do it before having to go to Rehab?”

The end result was that the city passed an ordinance in 1998 requiring the installation of rescue air systems in high-rise buildings.  High-rise fire fighting is an “extremely labor-intensive operation,” stated Dewey.  Using a rescue air system allows the fire department to use its already limited resources far more effectively than may have been possible before.

Maintaining the quality of the air within the rescue air system is critically important.  This can be easily done by having a regular maintenance, testing and certification program in place.  “The building owners provide this just like they do for any other life safety or fire protection system,” said Tony Turiello, president of Rescue Air Systems, Inc., a designer and installer of these systems.

Other municipalities are embracing the concept of rescue air systems to help improve fire ground operations.  Fremont, California had its first one installed in 2001 and 6 others are presently being built.  In most cases it has required an ordinance to mandate the installation, but in other cases it has just made practical sense, even though it was not required.

“We are a state property and do not have to follow the ordinances of the City of Sacramento, which would have required a rescue air system,” says Fire Marshal Weston Arvin from the University of California at Davis Fire Department.  “However, we decided to follow the ordinance because from a practical standpoint you want to be able to mitigate the fire as quickly as possible, and one of the things is to refill cylinders as close to the fire floor as possible.”

The building that Arvin is describing is a 14-story, 200-foot hospital.  In addition to the treatment, operating rooms and patient areas that would typically be found in a hospital, there is also a helicopter pad on the roof.  “We wanted to have the rescue air system installed if they have to fight a fire on the roof,” he added.  Even though it was not a mandated system, the hospital’s director supported the efforts 100%, reported Arvin.

While there is certainly a cost associated with the installation of the systems, there has not been any noticeable resistance in Redwood City to the systems.  “When you have a multi-million dollar building, the cost of the system is not that significant,” says Vella.  An important consideration is to ensure that the company that installs the rescue air system is familiar with all aspects of design and engineering of breathing air replenishment systems.

"A rescue air system can really streamline fire fighting operations," said Turiello.  "They evolved because fire departments were hard-pressed to not only fight the fire, but also provide all of the support and people needed to get air cylinders up to the fire floors.  These systems are really instrumental in helping a fire department make the best use of their people-fighting the fire."

Rescue air systems have moved from beyond the “innovative” stage to one where fire departments are now calling for their installation as a method to dramatically improve the effectiveness and safety of fire ground personnel.  By freeing up companies that would previously be involved in shuttling air cylinders, faster fire control can be achieved and lives and property can be saved more quickly than would have been possible before.

These systems provide an uninterrupted, safe and reliable source of breathing air within a structure.  Much as standpipes eliminated the need for advancing hoselines up stairwells into a building, a rescue air system provides an alternative to using fire fighters for what they are trained to do-fight fires and save lives.

SIDEBAR

There have been a series of significant fires over the years that have dramatically demonstrated the dangers of high-rise buildings and the difficulties associated with fighting fires in them.

First Interstate Bank

On May 4, 1988, a fire in a 62-story building killed one person and destroyed four floors.  The Los Angeles City Fire Department used 383 fire fighters, 64 fire companies and 600 SCBA cylinders to bring the fire under control.

MGM Grand Hotel

On November 21, 1980, a fire broke out at the 21-story MGM Grand Hotel.  This fire killed 85 guests and hotel employees, 61 of which died in the high-rise tower.  The fire started on the ground floor, and smoke spread extensively throughout the casino and into the upper floors of the hotel.  A total of 544 fire fighters were used at this incident.

Las Vegas Hilton

Within 2-1/2 months, another fire broke out in a hotel in Las Vegas, killing eight people and injuring 350.  The fire spread up 22 floors via the exterior of the building.  It required 23 engine companies, 6 ladders, 2 snorkels, 9 rescues, 2 air cascade units and 12 aircraft during fire fighting and rescue operations.

One Meridian Plaza

Three fire fighters were killed when they were trapped during a high-rise fire.  The fire broke out on the 22^nd floor and spread upward, unchecked, until it reached the 30^th floor, which was equipped with an automatic fire sprinkler system.  The activation of 10 sprinkler heads controlled the fire that had burned for over 12 hours.

Indianapolis Athletic Club

Two fire fighters and a civilian were killed in a high-rise fire in Indianapolis, Indiana, on February 5, 1992.  The three people died of smoke inhalation.  The fire fighter’s bodies were found on the third floor of the nine-story building.

New York City

A fire fighter was killed in a fire at a 13-story apartment building.  The fire fighter was located on the third floor when the crews were forced to evacuate the fire area because of the untenable conditions.

North York, Ontario

A fire that broke out on the fifth floor killed six residents of a high-rise apartment building.  All of the fatalities were found in the exit stairways on the upper levels of the building.

Ed Comeau is the owner of writer-tech.com, a technical writing firm. He is NFPA’s former chief fire investigator.