Interstate Bank Building Fire;
LOGISTICS
The logistical considerations involved in this operation
were massive. The 10th floor was used as the Staging
Area for personnel and equipment. Crews would return
to the Staging Area to rest and change air cylinders
and then to await reassignment to a fire floor. Companies
went into action with full air cylinders and returned
to the Staging Area when they were out of air. The
companies operated for approximately 20 minutes in
each cycle and had approximately 20 minutes to rest
and change air cylinders.
Without elevators, every piece of equipment had to
be carried up the stairs, including approximately
600 air cylinders. Every firefighter entering the
building carried hose, nozzles, and other tools up
to the 10th floor. A stairwell support operation,
with nine companies assigned, spent over two hours
moving equipment from the street level, through an
underground tunnel from a parking garage across the
street, up to the lobby, and then up the stairs to
the Staging Area.
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Crews working below the fire worked under deteriorating,
adverse conditions. Smoke began to fill the 10th and lower
floors, and windows had to be broken for ventilation. Water
cascaded down the stairways and through the ceilings; and
electrical power, including emergency lighting in the stairs,
was lost. The operation continued for so long that even
handlights failed due to battery consumption.
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