One Firefighter Injured in High Rise Apartment Fire

posted February 26, 2015 – 10:04am

One firefighter suffered minor injuries while fighting a fire in a high rise apartment complex.

The fire broke out at 344 W. Dayton Street, Capitol Centre Court Apartments, shortly before 4 a.m.

Firefighters responded to the early morning fire on Thursday, for a report of a fire on the 5th floor.

Knowing the building was a high rise, the Officer in Charge asked 911 Communications Center to dispatch a second alarm, which brought in extra fire rigs for additional protection and safety measures.

Fire crews arrived to find some occupants evacuating the building, but not all residents evacuated the building to the sound of the buildings fire alarm. Firefighters had to tell some residents that it was a real fire and to evacuate immediately.

The occupants of the fire apartment met the firefighters in the lobby to inform them of the fire.

Fire crews grabbed their standpipe kits as they worked their way up to the fire floor. Firefighters encountered moderate smoke in the 5th floor hallway. Once they gained access to the fire apartment, they found the apartment charged with thick black smoke and had banked down to the ground. Crews searched the apartment for any occupants. The fire was extinguished within five minutes.

The building has a sprinkler system throughout the hallways and main areas, but not in the individual apartments. Smoke alarms are throughout the building complex.

Two residents were evaluated by paramedics, but refused transport.

The fire, which caused $70,000 in damage, is under investigation. The fire was contained to one apartment.

A high-rise fire can be most challenging for firefighters. Thousands of people could be in an enclosed structure, with limited means of egress, where fire load can be extremely heavy.
Standpipe – A standpipe is a type of rigid water piping which is built into multi-story buildings in a vertical position, to which fire hoses can be connected.

Laying a fire hose up a stairwell takes time and time is saved by having fixed hose outlets already in place.
Standpipes go in a direct up and down direction rather than looping around the stairwell, greatly reducing the length and thus the loss of water pressure due to friction loss. Additionally, standpipes are rigid and do not kink, which can occur when a fire hose is improperly laid on a stairwell.