Medford Fire Department

0930-1100 | Dennis Legear Commercial Fire Best Practices, Benchmarks and Actions that are not well known. Firefighters often hear the phrase, “Do not bring a residential fire mindset to a commercial structural fire,” but the large-volume space fire mindset behind it is not always part of their working knowledge. This class builds understanding of why that statement matters and why many fire departments still approach commercial building fires with primarily residential tactics. Data from the ULFRSI “Coordinated Attack Study” strip mall burns will be discussed and reviewed, with a focus on ventilation and the suppression implications of commercial building construction. The class will also clarify how commercial fuel-package arrangements complicate water application, mapping, stream selection, and stream positioning. It will include a brief discussion of how reading smoke at a commercial building fire can differ significantly from residential incidents, sometimes giving the incident commander and exterior crews false indicators that the fire is declining when it is actually growing and accelerating. The class will cover proper pumping practices for large-building sprinkler FDCs, including stepped pressures based on conditions and the effects of area water mains. It will explain what must be monitored, why RPM tracking matters, and when […]