Becoming a student of building and content hazards does not mean that you have to go out and get a builder’s license, but you do have to keep up with what is happening in terms of building construction. I am sure you have heard the Francis Branningan quote many times over: “The building is your enemy, so know your enemy.”
With that in mind, let’s learn a bit of history about building hazards.
Wooden shingles have “been the cause of incalculable loss of property because of its susceptibility to ignition from sparks and through its efficiency in communicating fire it has been the known culpable factor in the rapid spread of most of the largest conflagrations on record.”
That is a quote from the 1926 NFPA brochure called “The Menace of the Wooden Shingle.” Obviously, the fire service has known about the hazards wooden shingles represent, but hasn’t been able to change the minds of builders at large, since wooden shingles still represent a fire problem today.
Modern fire load
The home furnishings industry has been changing the furnishings in our homes from a natural-based material to plastic-based material. We knew the dangers that were inherent by adding plastics in large quantities to homes, but again, we were unable to change the minds of the manufacturers.
We pushed for legislation that would put residential sprinklers in all new homes, but again we were beaten down by the home builders in most cases. While these battles need to be waged for the safety of civilians and firefighters, we have to realize that we must also prepare ourselves for living with the changes that are being thrown at us.
Let’s take a look at how today’s furnishings burn, compared with those of a just a few years back. This is a major wake-up call to firefighters that fires burn differently today than they did a generation ago. Today’s fires burn hotter and faster.
Learn from the video and pass it on to others in your department to learn from as well.
The fire service was not a big fan of the engineered I-beam, but it didn’t make much difference. Today, they are out there in large numbers and it will continue to grow. We need to learn about how quickly these beams can fail when exposed to fire. A number of studies have been done on just this topic, so learn from them.
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The NIOSH website includes many LODD reports that can be reviewed for learning. The site is easy to navigate and search, so spend some time reviewing past incidents and be better prepared because of it.
As a fire service, we need to be involved in standing up for what we know is right. We also have to realize that many battles will not be won. The best things we can do is to make sure we are aware of the hazards that exist, and try to prepare for the battle ahead with this information in mind.