In Reading the Fire: How to Improve Your Skills and Fire Behavior Indicators: Building Factors we started the process of developing a personal fire behavior indicators (FBI) concept map. I am working along with you to expand and refine my FBI Concept Map (Version 5.2.1).
Reading the Fire
I regularly post B-SAHF (Building, Smoke, Air Track, Heat, and Flame) Exercises to provide the opportunity to practice reading the fire. However, photos and video clips can also provide a great opportunity to focus in on a single type of indicator (such as building factors). Dig out the work in progress on your FBI concept map and have a look at the following video clips and focus your attention on building factors.
- What type of construction was involved? How (or did) this factor influence fire behavior?
- What other building and occupancy characteristics may have had an impact on fire behavior?
- Are the factors you identified on your concept map? If not, add them to the map or list them in a staging area until you have determined where they might go on the map.
Los Angeles County Commercial Fire
Vancouver BC Apartment Fire
Los Angeles City Commercial Fire
What additions have you made to your FBI concept map? If you found this useful, poke around on YouTube and continue to apply this method to help you develop and refine the building factors (and other elements) of your map.
Step Back and Look at the Entire Picture
I would not want to waste the opportunity to engage with the rest of the B-SAHF indicators. Download and print three copies of the B-SAHF Worksheet. Consider the information provided in each of the short video clips and complete the worksheet for each. First, describe what you observe in terms of the Building, Smoke, Air Track, Heat, and Flame Indicators and then answer the following five standard questions?
- What additional information would you like to have? How could you obtain it?
- What stage(s) of development is the fire likely to be in (incipient, growth, fully developed, or decay)?
- What burning regime is the fire in (fuel controlled or ventilation controlled)?
- What conditions would you expect to find inside this building?
- How would you expect the fire to develop over the next two to three minutes
Next Post
I have spent the last several days attending the Florida State Fire College Live Fire Training Instructor (LFTI) course being delivered at the Oregon Public Safety Academy in Salem, Oregon. My next post will provide an overview and critique of this excellent course.
Ed Hartin, MS, EFO, MIFireE, CFO