Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAbout202.014a - Structural Collapse STANDARD OPERATING PROCEDURES MANUAL TACTICAL OPERATIONS 202.014a STRUCTURAL COLLAPSE EFFECTIVE: OCTOBER 2007 Current Revision Date: 5/29/19 Next Revision Date: 5/29/22 Author’s Name/Rank: Lupe Fernandez, Fire Captain Review Level: 1 Administrative Support: Sherrie L. Badertscher Management Analyst II PURPOSE To guide the response of Fresno Fire Department (FFD or Department) members to a structural collapse. APPLICATION It is the intent of the Department to provide specially trained and certified members for technical rescue operations. Functions involving the highest risk should be performed by those members with the highest level of training. All Department members must realize technical rescue operations significantly increase the potential for injury or death to rescuers. Therefore, every attempt will be made to notify and assign rescue specialists to any technical rescue operation. However, it is not the intent of these procedures to unilaterally preclude any members, who are not Urban Search & Rescue (US&R) Team members from attempting a rescue operation. Under the following conditions a technical rescue can be attempted: 1. An accurate size-up has been completed. 2. A risk benefit assessment has been completed and all rescue members have been made aware of the hazards. 3. The action plan includes a contingency plan and back-up teams. 4. Standard operating procedures have been followed. 5. Reasonable safety precautions have been taken. 6. Appropriate personal protective equipment is utilized. 7. All attempts to obtain technical assistance have been made. Section 202.014a Page 1 of 15 OPERATIONAL POLICY Upon confirmation of a confined space rescue, the incident commander will request the following additional resources, as needed: 1. Additional units: fire, mutual aid, EMS. 2. US&R coordinator. 3. Police. 4. Public information officer. 5. City engineer. 6. Hazardous materials team. 7. California Regional Task Force -5. Personal Protective Equipment Protective clothing will be worn as required by the situation, depending on evaluation of the hazards. The following is the appropriate level of protection to be utilized in structural collapse situations: 1. Steel-toed boots. 2. Grass pants. 3. Long-sleeved shirt or grass jacket. 4. Gloves. 5. Eye protection. 6. Helmet. A higher level of protective clothing may be utilized at the direction of the incident commander if conditions warrant. 1. The incident commander may allow short sleeves and work pants if conditions warrant. OPERATIONAL GUIDELINE Command Structure The first officer to arrive at the scene is to assume command of the incident and be the incident commander until relieved by a higher ranking officer or a more qualified officer. Goals 1. To save and protect lives. 2. To mitigate any hazardous conditions. Section 202.014a Page 2 of 15 Objectives 1. Life safety. 2. Exposure protection (interior/exterior). 3. Confinement. 4. Ventilation. 5. Hazard mitigation. Typical Assignment 1. One (1) engine company. 2. One (1) truck company. 3. Rescue Company 11. 4. Engine 11. 5. Truck 11. 6. Battalion chief. 7. One (1) ambulance. PROCESS Primary Assessment 1. Scene safety. a. Are your members and others in the area in a safe location? (1) Away from secondary collapse. (2) Away from other hazards. (3) Establish command post in the cold zone. 2. What happened? What events led up to the structural collapse? a. Find a witness and keep them with you. b. Be alert to obvious signs of mechanical or structural failure. 3. Determine location and number of victims. 4. What is the condition of the victim? a. Level of consciousness. b. Injuries. Section 202.014a Page 3 of 15 c. How long since last contact? 5. Determine location and number of buildings involved. 6. Is this a rescue or a body recovery? a. Weigh risks against benefits and potential for a successful rescue operation. First-Arriving Company 1. Establish command and size up the situation. 2. Establish staging to organize incoming units and manage civilian traffic. 3. Assess the need for additional resources. a. Additional rescue/US&R trained members. b. Outside heavy equipment, i.e., cranes, front-end loaders. c. Hazardous materials team for atmospheric monitoring. d. Mutual-aid resources available. e. Special call additional units or request additional alarms. 4. Assess the Hazards. a. Potential for secondary collapse. b. Explosion with fire due to broken gas/electrical lines. c. Falling debris. d. Toxic atmospheres. 5. Secure and lock out utilities. 6. Remove surface victims. a. Victims seen on the surface. b. Rescuers must be aware of all physical hazards present. 7. Secure the collapse area. Section 202.014a Page 4 of 15 Secondary Assessment Before any attempt to enter a collapsed area, command must determine as much information as possible regarding the configuration and hazards of the collapse zone. 1. What type of occupancy is it? 2. What types of products are stored in the building? 3. What is the building construction type? 4. What are the hazards to rescuers and victims? a. Secondary collapse. b. Hazardous materials. c. Electrical/gas. 5. What is the exact location and confirmed number of victims? 6. What are the entry and exit points of the collapsed building? First-Arriving US&R Company Upon arrival, establishes communications with command and re-assess the situation. 1. Establishes a perimeter and control zones. a. Hot Zone (Collapse Zone): Area involving the collapsed building(s). b. Warm Zone: Area immediately adjacent to and outside of the collapsed building, which could potentially become hazardous and involve a rescuer or bystander. c. Cold Zone: Area at a safe distance from the hazard and cannot quickly become hazardous. d. Size of zones to be determined by: (1) Structural stability. (2) Type of construction. Section 202.014a Page 5 of 15 (3) Size of buildings involved. 2. Create an incident action plan. Chief Officer Upon arrival, battalion chief: 1. Consults with the incident commander regarding status of incident. 2. Assume command of incident. 3. Redirects strategy mode as required. 4. Consider additional resources. 5. Direct or redirect actions of on-scene companies. 6. Direct or redirect actions of incoming companies. 7. Provide logistical support. 8. Establish rehabilitation/rotation of companies as necessary. Special-Call/Multiple-Alarm Companies Unless otherwise directed, officers of special-called or multiple-alarm companies are to stage apparatus well clear of incident site and report to the incident commander for instructions. Pre-Rescue Operations: 1. Assign a safety officer. 2. Establish traffic control. a. Assure emergency vehicle/member access in and out of the collapse zone. 3. Establish victim staging area. a. Designate treatment and transportation group. 4. Remove all civilian and non-essential rescue personnel. a. Re-group all rescue members for re-deployment of trapped victims. Section 202.014a Page 6 of 15 b. Incident commander conducts a member accountability report. 5. Establish lobby control. a. No member will return to the collapse zone unless going through lobby control for accountability purposes. 6. Establish structure triage team. a. Members may include structural engineers, Department members trained in structural collapse recognition and if needed a hazardous materials technician. b. Each building triaged is to be marked appropriately. Rescue Operations: 1. Establish action plan for search and rescue teams. a. Rescue briefing. b. Ensure all emergency members are informed of the plan. 2. Search teams. a. Conduct visual search. b. Conduct call out/listen search. c. Search from safe stable areas into unstable areas. d. Use specialized equipment, i.e., dog teams, acoustic, fiber optic, thermal imagers. e. Use standardized search markings on all buildings. 3. Rescue teams. a. Will follow search teams, which have searched previously triaged buildings. b. Each rescue team will consist of two US&R members. c. If a hazardous material is present, a hazardous materials technician will accompany the rescue team with air-monitoring equipment. Section 202.014a Page 7 of 15 4. Shoring teams. a. Shoring assembly team. (1) Performs the actual size up and construction of shores. b. Shoring team officer (1) In charge of the operation and works with the structural specialist to determine where to place and erect the shores. c. The measure. (1) Performs all measurements required in the erection of the shoring and relays all measurements and lumber sizes to the layout of the cutting team. d. Shorers. (1) Clears away debris and obstructions, which could interfere with constructing the shore. (2) Assists the measure as needed and erects the shores. e. Safety. (1) Provides for overall operational safety. f. Runner. (1) Ensures tools, equipment, and shoring materials are moved from the shoring operation primary access point to the shoring site and assists in the erection of shores as needed. g. Cutting team. (1) Initial responsibility is to secure an area as close as possible to the collapse operation so as to minimize the number of members needed to relay the materials to the shore assembly team. (2) The assistance of several other members may be required to help expedite the movement of lumber and tools to the collapse area. (3) Layout. (a) Sets up the cutting station and readies the materials to be cut. Section 202.014a Page 8 of 15 (b) Performs all measurements and layout of angles and should be in direct contact with the measure via portable radio to eliminate problems in miscommunication of lengths to be cut. (4) Feeder. (a) Moves and feeds measured and marked material from the layout to the cutter and helps secure it when being cut. (5) Cutter. (a) Cuts the shoring material. h. Tools and equipment. (1) Direct the movement of tools and equipment to be placed where they are requested. (2) Anticipate logistical needs of the shoring team and keep an inventory checklist log for easier retrieval of tools and equipment at the conclusion of rescue operations. 5. Interaction of the shoring team. a. The shoring officer will consult with the structural engineer to identify the following: (1) The type of shoring to be used. (2) Placement of the shoring. (3) The size of the shoring members, which is required. b. The shoring officer relays this information to the measure. c. The measure measures and completes the take-off sheet clearly identifying the required materials essential for each shore. d. The runner relays this information to layout. e. The layout then selects the proper material and completes the take-off sheet, clearly marking all angles and cuts to be executed. f. The feeder and cutter then work together to make all the necessary cuts. Section 202.014a Page 9 of 15 g. The runner organizes the material for a shore and takes it to the shorers to be assembled. 6. Locating victims. a. After a positive search by a search team, the building should be verified again by another search method if possible. b. If the building is known to have live victims trapped, the rescue team is to attempt to locate the victims. c. If structural support is needed, then shoring must be done prior to entry to ensure the area is as safe as possible. 7. Breaching walls, floors, and roofs. a. If possible, access should be attempted vertically. b. Horizontal breaching of a load-bearing wall may precipitate a secondary collapse. c. The potential for secondary collapse is less if structural members are breached from above or below. d. Prior to breaching a load-bearing member, a trained structural collapse specialist should approve and oversee the breaching operation. e. If the atmospheric conditions are unknown in the room or void of desired entry, a pilot hole is to be punched to monitor those conditions. 8. Confined space entry and rescue. a. All victim spaces and voids should be treated as a confined space. b. All spaces should be monitored for flammable, toxic, and oxygen deficient atmospheres before entry is made. 9. Rescue and extrication of victims. a. Upon locating a victim(s) an immediate assessment is to be done. b. Rescue members should consider what effect lifting heavy objects off the victim will have. c. The rescue team leader ensures the safety of the extrication of the victim. Section 202.014a Page 10 of 15 10. Transfer to treatment/transport group. a. Once the victim(s) has been removed to a safe location, he/she is to be transferred to the treatment/transport group for advanced life support (ALS) assessment. 11. Removal of rescue teams from the building. a. Once victim(s) has been removed, the rescue team must pull out of the building and update the building marking system. b. All cribbing and shoring is to stay in place. Selected Debris Removal 1. Locating victim(s). a. If rescue teams have not been able to locate victim(s) through other methods, then debris should be removed. b. Rescue teams must be careful when removing debris so as not to cause a secondary collapse or further injury to the victim. 2. Known victim(s) location. a. In light-weight frame construction buildings, this can be accomplished by cutting and hand removing structural members. b. In reinforced concrete buildings, breaking large pieces into smaller and more manageable sizes may be required. 3. Rescue team. a. Team members are involved in the break up and removal of structural components. b. If structural components are removed from the site, they should be marked so as to identify them for future investigative purposes. 4. Constant monitoring. a. As debris is removed, all operations should be stopped periodically to search (acoustic, dog team, hauling, and cameras) for victim(s). Section 202.014a Page 11 of 15 b. After enough debris has been removed to reasonably ascertain there are not any victim(s), then search and rescue operations can be suspended in the building. General Debris Removal/Termination 1. After it has been determined no victim(s) could be found alive in the building, a general debris removal can begin. 2. If there is a potential for deceased victim(s) to be trapped in the rubble, removal crews should be alert for signs of them. 3. If heavy equipment operators spot a sign of a deceased victim(s), a selected debris removal is to be conducted to remove the victim(s) respectfully. 4. The coroner and/or other investigative personnel should be notified to handle the removal of the body (ies). 5. As debris is removed, each dump truck load is to be marked as to the general area found and final location of the debris. 6. Command may elect to turn general debris removal over to the responsible party for final disposition of the building. a. The responsible party should be notified for the proper handling of debris for investigative purposes. 7. Prior to termination of the incident, the incident commander is to account for all members who have been operating at the collapse site. a. Each company officer is to ensure accountability of crew and equipment before returning to service. 8. If the incident commander has not previously addressed the issue of critical incident stress debriefing (CISD), he/she may consider doing so during the termination phase. 9. Additional considerations: a. Heat: Consider rotation of crews. b. Cold: Consider the effect of hypothermia on victims and rescuers. c. Effect on family and friends, keep them informed. d. News media: Assign a public information officer. Section 202.014a Page 12 of 15 Support Functions 1. Lighting. a. Lighting should be provided for all nighttime operations. b. Portable lighting can be provided by all Department trucks and Rescue 11. c. Headlamps are on all Department trucks on OES box, and Rescue 11. d. Light sticks are on all Department trucks on OES box, and Rescue 11. SEARCH AND RESCUE MARKINGS Building Main Entrance Search Marking Search Team Name FRN R-11 Date and Time Search Team Left the Structure 4-19-07 1420 hrs. Hazards Rats 2 - V 3 – V Total Victims Still Inside the Structure Section 202.014a Page 13 of 15 Victim Location Search Marking INFORMATION This section intentionally left blank. DEFINITIONS This section intentionally left blank. FRN R-11 Search Team Name Potential Victim FRN R-11 Confirmed Dead Victim Removed Victim FRN R-11 FRN R-11 Confirmed Live Victim Arrow in direction of victim if not next to marking Section 202.014a Page 14 of 15 CROSS-REFERENCES Standard Operating Procedures Manual Section 202.014, Urban Search and Rescue (US&R) http://firescope.caloes.ca.gov/ics-usar/ICS-USR-120-1.pdf Section 202.014a Page 15 of 15