I guess the first question I might ask is what exactly you mean by an unoccupied structure? If you're simply talking about a house in which all of the inhabitants got out, that's one thing... What we would term 'unoccupied' around here is generally vacant type buildings. Generally speaking, we're not going into that type of mess unless we have a real good reason to do so. There's just some structures around here that are known to be compromised... holes in the floor, no stairs, poor structural integrity... nobody is going in. The mantra is that we will risk a lot to save a lot (a life), risk a little to save a little (property) and risk nothing to save nothing (a basement).
What is beginning to develop in this area is a discussion about departments that were deemed as interior attack and those that are deemed as defensive. The line in the sand is having 15 members trained to NFPA 1001 with a minimum of 5 turning out on scene to mount an attack. If you can't put 5 on scene you DO NOT HAVE A CREW (1 officer, 2 in, 2 out). I'm not going there to die for someones cat. Reality is that building have changed a lot in the last 50 years and fires have changed dramatically with them. Once upon a time you had mabey 20 minutes to flashover. Now you have less than 5 due to the fire load in the structure and the type of materials used. With the use of lightweight floor joists made of sawdust and glue it doesn't even have to burn anymore. It just gets hot and fails... then falls into the fire below it with your sorry arse in the midst of it. So it's not just about putting the wet stuff on the red stuff anymore. You have to be trained. You have to know what's going on, read the fire and know when it's time to call it. What we are seeing an increase in today is the use of transitional attacks where we launch a defensive attack until we either gain the manpower to go in after it or knock it down enough that it's safe to go in. I don't think any of us would want to sit there and watch it burn, but reality is that sometimes protecting exposures is all you can do with the manpower and water supply you have. What people are going to have to start understanding is that if they want a well equipped, well trained and well funded fire department they are going to have to step up, volunteer, get involved, do the training and then show up when the alarm goes off. Otherwise you're going to have a few guys who protect the neighbors siding and cool the basement.
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Today's Featured Article - Restoration Story: Fordson Major - by Anthony West. George bought his Fordson Major from a an implement sale about 18 years ago for £200.00 (UK). There is no known history regarding its origins or what service it had done, but the following work was undertaken alone to bring it up to show standard. From the engine number, it was found that this Major was produced late 1946. It was almost complete but had various parts that would definitely need replacing.
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