Abandoned Building Fires: Successfully Reducing Firefighter Injuries With Risk Management

8/14/2019 Abandoned Building Fires: Successfully Reducing Firefighter Injuries With Risk Management

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Abandoned Building Fires:Successfully Reducing Firefighter Injuries

With Risk Management

Presented By:

City of Flint Fire Department

August 25, 2009




• 89 Suppression Personnel

• 18 Personnel per day minimum

• 5 Stations• 2 75’ Quints

• 3 Engines

• 1 Squad

• 1 Paramedic Unit• 1 100’ Reserve Aerial Ladder

• 2008: 6,748 calls for service



Flint, Michigan

Population: 112,000 est.

#2 in population loss in the United States

since 2000

Area: 34.1 sq. miles

Below Poverty Rate: 35.7%

Unemployment Rate: 27.3%



Abandoned Houses

There are approximately 15,000 abandoned houses in Flint, MI



Why do firefighters enter burning buildings?

• Civilian life safety

• Property conservation



Civilian Life Safety Incidents

atVacant and Abandoned Building Fires

March 2005 – August 2009



Civilian Life Safety Incidents,

March 1, 2005 – August 18, 2009

• 945 vacant / abandoned building fires

• 4 incidents out of 945, or 0.4%, involved a civilian injury

• At the remaining 941 incidents, or 99.6%, the life safety

hazard was exclusively to the firefighters.



4 Incidents of Civilian Life Safety

• 1 civilian fatality at a fully involved abandoned house

• 2 civilians rescued from second floor of anabandoned house fire

• 1 civilian injured when jumping from 2nd floor window ofburning abandoned building prior to fire department arrival

• 1 civilian fatality found in room of fire origin

at an abandoned building



NFPA Vacant Building Fires Report, April 2009

• 31,000 vacant building fires annually in the United States

• Vacant building fires resulted in 2% of civilian

fire deaths and 1% of civilian fire injuries

• Vacant building fires caused 13% of firefighter injuries

Source: Vacant Building Fires. Marty Ahrens, NFPA (2009)



Firefighter Injuries

atVacant and Abandoned Building Fires

April 2006 – April 2007



Fire Activity, April 2006 – April 2007

• 767 structure fire calls dispatched

• 443 working structure fires

• 264 occupied structure fires

• 179 vacant / abandoned structure fires



Percentage of Injuries by Location of Occurrence

59%

18%

12%

5%

4%

2%

Fireground Fire Station EMS Incident

Miscellaneous Vehicle Accidents Haz Mat Incident



Percentage of

Vacant vs Occupied Structure Fires

40%

60%

Vacant Occupied



Percentage of Injuries,

Vacant vs Occupied Structures

62%

38%

Vacant Occupied



Firefighter Injuries, April 2006 – April 2007

Occupied Buildings: 13 injuries

Vacant / Abandoned Buildings: 21 injuries



Fire Tactics at Vacant Structure Fires,

April 2006 - April 2007

136

39

13

0 20 40 60 80 100 120 140 160

Offensive

Defensive

Incipient / Exterior



Sites of Firefighter Injury



11022 Garden Fire: August 30, 2006

Offensive Attack

Firefighter suffered an abdominal strain

Building unoccupied as of August 12, 2009



421 Garland Fire: February 24, 2007

Offensive attack

Firefighter suffered an abdominal strain

Building has been renovated. Occupied loft apartments.



503 West Second Avenue Fire: April 18, 2006

Offensive attack

Firefighter suffered an extremity injury

Building demolished: August 8, 2006



1445 Davison Fire: May 26, 2006

Offensive attack

Firefighter suffered burns

Building demolished: October 5, 2006



402 East Foss Fire: June 7, 2006

Offensive attack

Firefighter suffered an eye injury

Building demolished: April 5, 2007



1427 Jean Fire: July 3, 2006

Offensive attack





2622 Forest Hill Fire: July 28, 2006

Offensive attack


Building demolished: June 17, 2009



1021 Wolcott Fire: September 3, 2006

Offensive attack


Building demolished: November 17, 2006



1405 Defreest Fire: October 15, 2006

Offensive attack

Two firefighters suffered burns

Building demolished: May 10, 2007



425 West First Street Fire: October 30, 2006

Offensive attack





228 East Taylor Fire: October 30, 2006

Offensive attack


Building demolished: February 6, 2007



914 Young Fires: October 30 & 31, 2006

Offensive attack

Firefighter suffered a back injury

Building demolished: April 27, 2007



6802 College Place Fire: November 2, 2006

Offensive attack





354 East Russell Fire: November 2, 2006

Offensive attack





2108 West Court Fire: December 8, 2006

Offensive attack





2507 Minnesota Fire: January 7, 2007

Offensive attack


Building scheduled for emergency demolition

Building destroyed by subsequent fire on May 25, 2008



424 Thomson Fire: March 4, 2007

Offensive attack





209 West Baker, Part II Fire: April 18, 2007

Initial offensive attack, withdrawn to defensive position

One firefighter suffered burns

One firefighter suffered an extremity injury




Injury Rate at Vacant / Abandoned Buildings

• April 2006 – April 2007: 11.7 injuries per 100 fires

• March 2005 – April 2007: 8.8 injuries per 100 fires

• NFPA National Average: 3.7 injuries per 100 fires

Source: Patterns of Firefighter Fireground Injuries. Michael Karter, NFPA (2007)



Types of Fireground Injuriesat Vacant / Abandoned Buildings


43%

33%

9%

10%

5%

Burns Extremity Injury Abdominal Injury Eye Injury Back Injury



• Flint firefighters work 2,620 hours per year

• Cumulatively, 21 injuries at vacant / abandoned buildings cost

the Department over 14 months of a firefighter’s duty hours.

Cumulative Hours Lost to Firefighter Injuries,


3,112

768

0 500 1,000 1,500 2,000 2,500 3,000 3,500

Vacant / Abandoned

Occupied



Cost of Fireground Injuries


•

Occupied Buildings: $13,621• Vacant / Abandoned Buildings: $50,430

Percentage Cost of Fireground Injuries,

Vacant vs. Occupied

79%

21%

Vacant Occupied



Cost of Fireground Injuries: 209 West Baker

2 fires within 23 days injured 3 firefightersInjuries resulted in 83 days of lost time to injury / restricted duty

Cost of lost time due to injury was $18,792.74



Post-Fire Site Surveys

• Conducted April – May 2007

• Each vacant / abandoned building that received

an offensive attack between April 2006 – April 2007

was surveyed



96% of vacant / abandoned buildings that received an offensive fire attack

were found to be demolished, abandoned, or vacant and secured.

41%

47%

8%3% 1%

Status of Vacant / Abandoned Buildings

After Offensive Attack


Demolished Abandoned Boarded Under Repair Occupied



Sites of Firefighter Injury, April 2006 – April 2007

Vacant and abandoned buildings that received an

offensive attack in which a firefighter(s) was injuredwere demolished within an average of:

270 days



City of Flint Demolition Criteria

“When the cost to repair exceeds the current

market value of a structure, the decision is made

to proceed with demolition.”

Source: Taxes.cityofflint.com/bsi/Procedure.htm



Average Vacant / Abandoned House Fire in Flint,


• 79-year-old building

• Value: $11,524

• Condemned Properties: $7,182



Conclusions from Departmental Injury Study:

• Firefighter injury rate far exceeded national average

• 1.1% civilian involvement during study period

• Vacant / abandoned building fires were the source of

62% of injuries and 79% of the cost of injuries

• 96% of fire buildings receiving offensive attacks were

either not repaired or demolished




Abandoned Building Fire Policy



What is an abandoned building?



An abandoned building is a property that has no legal

occupants and is neglected with no efforts being made to

preserve its value or condition.



What is a vacant building?



A vacant property is currently unoccupied with reasonableefforts being made by the owner to preserve the structure’s

value and condition.



Occupied and Vacant Buildings

• Highest level of risk taken to save savable lives

• Acceptable levels of risk taken to save savable property based

on NFPA 1500 Rules of Engagement



Abandoned Buildings

• Highest level of risk taken to save savable lives

• No level of unacceptable risk may be taken to save abandoned

property based on NFPA 1500 Rules of Engagement



All buildings, whether occupied, vacant, or

abandoned will receive thorough searches

for potential victims




Fire Suppression Tactics

at

Abandoned Building Fires




Minimal to Heavy Fire Conditions

• Defensive / exterior operations first

• Transition to interior extinguishment / overhaul operations

permitted if structural / hazard conditions permit safe entry




Heavy to Fully Involved Fire Conditions

•

Defensive operations only

• Consideration by Incident Commander to

concede structure as lost

• Incident Commander can call for immediate

response of demolition crews



Demolition Requests

• After any fire in a vacant or abandoned property, the address

is submitted to the Building Department for evaluation,

boarding, and / or initiation of the demolition process.



Demolition Lists

• List available in Battalion

Chief’s vehicle

• Addresses programmed into

911 Center database

• Updated monthly



The Old Fire Department Attitude Towards


• Fight it and forget it

• If it’s not on fire, it’s not our problem



6802 College Place Fire: November 2, 2006

Offensive attack





6802 College Place

• Burned November 2006, injured

a firefighter

• Burned in June 2007. Fire spread to

occupied house, displacing a family

•

Exposure house remains unoccupiedas of August 18, 2009



2122 East Carpenter

• Burned in June 2006

• Burned three times within two

days in June 2007

• Burned in August 2007. Fire

spread to an occupied house,

displacing a family

• The occupied house has

been demolished



2122 East Carpenter

“Something should have been

done about that property a lot

quicker. Vandals keep comingback and horsing with it.”

“There wasn’t enough done to keep

people out of it. They didn’t board

it up.” John Fanko, Homeowner

Source: FFD Policy Could Have Prevented Thursday Fire. ABC12.com (August 2007)



Media and Public Reaction



1505 Canniff

September 1, 2007

9 working fires in

1500 block of Canniff

within 10 months



Flint Journal ArticleNovember 25, 2007© Flint Journal (2007)

“The two-story house next door,stripped of half it’s siding, is a

daily annoyance.”

“Residents are discouraged by

run-down abandoned buildings

in their neighborhood.”



Flint Journal Article

November 25, 2007© Flint Journal (2007)

“They see their property values

going down while their home-

owners insurance rates are

going up.”



Flint Journal ArticleNovember 25, 2007© Flint Journal (2007)

“The day the house comes down

will be ‘the happiest day of my

life. If we could get rid of that,

we’d get rid of most of our

problems.’ ” Shirley Bradley, 82

Flint, MI



A Tale of Two Cities



Fire Chief Magazine

• “Nothing good comes from vacant buildings unlessthey’re renovated or demolished.”

• “There’s a misperception by some that vacant buildingspay taxes and that the tax base is reduced if thesebuildings are removed.”

Source: Did The Worcester Six Die In Vain? That’s Up To Us.

Charles H. Rule. Fire Chief Magazine (May 2000)



Fire Chief Magazine

•

“[M]any times the land is more valuable foreconomic redevelopment if it’s vacant than if adilapidated building sits there.”

Source: Did The Worcester Six Die In Vain? That’s Up To Us.

Charles H. Rule. Fire Chief Magazine (May 2000)



Metawanenee Hills

“For years, abandoned homes and open lots dominated the

landscape of the neighborhood. But an eyesore has

blossomed into a sight to be seen.”

Source: $5 Million Dollar Housing Project a Reality In Flint. ABC12.com (July 2007 )



•

University Park Estates, Flint



Does your community want this……



...Or this?

University Park Estates, Flint




Abandoned Building Policy

Post-Implementation Results



36

52

93

82

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

100

1st Qtr 2007 2nd Qtr 2007 3rd Qtr 2007 4th Qtr 2007

2007 Fires at Vacant / Abandoned Buildings



13.8

8.7

3.2 3.7

0

24

6

8

10

12

14

16

1st Qtr 2007 2nd Qtr 2007 3rd Qtr 2007 4th Qtr 2007

2007 Firefighter Injuriesper 100 Vacant / Abandoned Building Fires

© Flint Journal (2008)



67%19%

7%

4%3%

Pre-Policy Tactics

Offensive Defensive Incipient

Exterior Transitional

57%21%

11%

4% 7%

Post-Policy Tactics

Offensive Defensive Incipient

Exterior Transitional

Fire Suppression Tactics at Vacant / Abandoned Buildings

2-1-2006 to 7-31-2007 8-1-2007 to 1-31-2009



Fireground Injuries at Vacant / Abandoned Buildings

37%

21%3%

9%

6%6%

3%9% 6%

Pre-Policy Injuries

Burn Extremity StrainBack Strain Abdominal StrainDebris in Eye MultipleHeat Exhaustion ContusionPuncture Wound

18%

25%

18%

18%

3%

3%

4%

4%

7%

Post-Policy Injuries

Burn Extremity StrainBack Strain MultipleCardiac Debris in EyeTooth ContusionLaceration

2-1-2006 to 7-31-2007 8-1-2007 to 1-31-2009



Burn Injuries, 18-Month Comparison

Pre-Policy: 12

Post-Policy: 5

Injury Time Due To Burns: - 60%

Restricted Duty Time Due To Burns: - 25%Total Cost of Burn Injuries: - 22%



Post-Implementation, 18-Month Comparison

• Fires: + 32%

• Injuries: - 24%

• Rate of Injury: - 42%

• Injury Time: - 36%

• Restricted Duty Time: - 32%

• Cost of Injuries: - 32%



2009 Injuries at Vacant / Abandoned Buildings

• 141 fires

• 5 firefighter injuries

• Rate of Injury: 3.5 per 100 incidents(National Average: 3.7 injuries per 100 incidents)

Data as of August 18, 2009



Recommendations for Abandoned Building Fires

• S l o w D o w n

• NFPA 1500, Risk / Benefit Analysis

• Educate!

• Emphasize safe operations

• See the big picture, not just the flames

• Be proactive, not reactive

Abandoned Building Fires: Successfully Reducing Firefighter Injuries With Risk Management

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