Report Number: 05-0000062
Report Date: 05/27/2005
Event Description
Firefighters attacked a fire in a single family residential house. The home was originally a 1600 square foot structure, but because of add-ons is now approximately 2400 square feet. The original roof was left intact when the new roof was built over the original structure and room addition.
The fire appeared to have started in the new add-on to the house at the original rear wall. The fire extended into the new and old attic spaces. There was no common access to the two attic spaces. Firefighters vented the new roof space at the peak, but their effort to vent the new attic space did not vent the original, smaller attic. Crews entered the front of the stucture in the old part of the house to attack the fire with 1 3/4 inch hand line. The fire was in the rear of the structure (new part of the house). A back-up line was in place on the front porch. They were about 20 feet into the house when the room flashed over from the trapped heat in the original attic.
Two firefighters escaped through the nearest window, and the other four escaped through the entry door. All received minor burns to their hands and sides of their faces.
Lesson Learned
There were no obvious indications that the home had been added onto. Crews performing ventilation may have been able to probe the vent hole and determine the other roof. The company officer did detect the rapid heat rise in an seemingly uninvolved portion of the house and could have back the crews out sooner. He did give the order to back the crews out of the structure, but the order was a few seconds too late. The use of horizontal ventilation may have helped reduce the heat in the structure. It probably would not have done anything for the attic compartment.
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