I dislike being reactive in these articles, but it took an apartment fire in Hyde Park Apartments to push me in this direction. I read a news report that stated that seven adults and seven children were displaced by this fire. The video I saw online showed the rear of a building that is two-story on the front and three-story in the rear. From my many years at Fire Station 1, in Chester, the front of each building gives access to a two-story townhouse, while the rear of some of the buildings have a ground-level, rear apartment. The main body of the fire appeared from the video to be on the first floor of the townhouse, with extension to the attic. Fire officials reported that this fire started in an electrical box on the first floor. Whatever the cause, an apartment fire is going to affect multiple families. Even if the fire does not reach each apartment, smoke or water damage can cause the displacement of all of the building’s residents. In this case, an electrical fault could cause the power to have to be cut to the entire building.
There are many apartment complexes in our area. The newer the apartment complex is, the more fire protection that building codes require. All apartments are required to have an adequate number of properly located and operating smoke alarms. In new construction, buildings are required to have a sprinkler system. Studies conducted in Scottsdale, Ariz. showed that smoke alarms, in combination with a sprinkler system provides the greatest chance of survival, in residential fires. The most important thing that apartment occupants need to know is what type of fire protection exists in their apartments. Having a practiced escape plan is extremely important for apartment occupants. The construction of apartment buildings may have various features designed to slow the spread of a fire. Fire walls, fire-rated sheetrock and fire doors are some of the things that may be a part of the construction. A part of living in an apartment is understanding that a problem in someone else’s apartment could very likely affect yours.
If you have followed my column for any period of time, then you have heard me talk about renter’s insurance. Some apartment complexes require renter’s insurance as a part of their lease agreement. If you live in a rented space, then you owe it to yourself to have renter’s insurance. In my many years on the job, the cost for renter’s insurance was minimal for what is covered. I went to many apartment fires where people who lived in adjacent apartments lost all of their belongings and had no insurance.
Wherever you live, it is important that you practice good fire prevention habits. It sounds as if the fire in Hyde Park were electrical in nature. This cause is difficult to know about, unless electrical fault had been occurring pre-fire. In this case, building occupants have a responsibility to report to apartment management or apartment maintenance, whatever the protocol, any problems that are occurring. Apartment management has a responsibility to maintain its buildings. Older apartment buildings probably require a bit more maintenance on aged electrical equipment, plumbing or appliances. Many apartment complexes, but not all, have natural gas fueling stoves, ovens and furnaces. Again, over time these systems begin to have issues. If you live in an apartment with natural gas supplying appliances, then you should invest in a CO detector if your apartment does not have one. Natural gas is colorless and odorless, so an odorant is added, to help detect a leak. If you smell a sulfur or rotten egg smell, there is the possibility that you may have a gas leak. You should notify maintenance immediately once a problem is detected. In some cases, you may need to call 9-1-1.
Fire protection comes in many forms and fashions. It is vitally important that you do not allow anyone to tamper with fire hydrants. A fire hydrant is the device that is going to supply fire units with the additional water that will be needed to fight a fire. Access to the building that is on fire is vital to firefighters being able to do their jobs. Aerial equipment needs to be within a certain distance from the building, to be able to use the aerial ladder, to it’s fullest potential. The farther firefighters have to tote equipment, the longer it will take for firefighting operations to take place. Life safety is the job of everyone. Building occupants need to make sure that everyone is alerted of a fire before firefighters arrive. The job of every building occupant is to get out and stay out. A key part of a fire officer’s plan is life safety. Firefighters will take great risks to save the lives of trapped occupants. The most dangerous mode of operation for firefighters is the rescue mode. One particular truck company operation was Vent-Enter-Search, which could potentially put a truck or engine company above a fire, with no extinguishment possibly occurring at the moment, for the purpose of a quick in and out with a victim.
A fire is devastating whether it occurs in a single-family dwelling or a multi-family dwelling. Being displaced from your home can be challenging, fearful, inconvenient and downright tough. I am thankful for the American Red Cross, an organization that has been helping fire victims for decades. Just as most people will go to sleep tonight, not expecting to be awoken by activating smoke alarms, the same mindset occurs over being displaced from your home. Again, good fire prevention techniques are something that we should all practice.
