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FEMA
Review Of Eleven-Alarm San Jose, Calif.,
By
Christel Fonzo-Eberhard
Fire
Underscores Challenges Posed By Extremely Large-Scale Incidents
A
technical examination of the worst fire in San Jose, Calif., history with
damages of more than $90 million was released by the Department of
Homeland
Security's Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) on February 2004. A copy of the full report can be found at http://www.usfa.fema.gov/fire-service/techreports/tr153.shtm
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According
to the report, “the fire began at the
42-acre Santana Row construction site and was reported to 911. Less
than 10
minutes after the initial call, there was a second call reporting roof
fires
about half a mile from the initial fire site. Eventually, 119
firefighters and
31 pieces of apparatus would respond to the construction site fire and
102
firefighters and 34 pieces of apparatus would respond to the secondary
fire
that burned through nearby residential units. A total of 11 alarms
would
eventually be dispatched to the fires.”
"It's
widely recognized that communication
systems were quickly overloaded during this extraordinarily large
event,"
said U.S. Fire Administrator R. David Paulison -- "The call volume
pushed
the fire department's system to the brink, even with police department
assistance, and the amount of radio traffic also exceeded the
capabilities of
the fire department's system."
The major findings and key issues of the
report are as
follows:
Issues: Collapse
Zones
Comments: The Santana
Row complex quickly became fully involved and posed a
significant potential for collapse. The
incident
commander established a
collapse zone around the perimeter of the
complex and
removed personnel and
apparatus out of harms way.
Issues: Communications
Comments: The initial
incident rapidly progressed to five alarms and flying
embers ignited a number of buildings downwind
that
ultimately developed into a
separate, six alarm blaze. The two incidents
generated
a very heavy volume of
radio traffic, which is common during
large-scale
incidents, and quickly
overtaxed the city's radio system.
Issues: Concurrent
Incidents
Comments: Within a
two-hour period, the San Jose Fire
Department was confronted
with two large-scale events that would over
tax the
capabilities of all, but the
largest of fire departments. During these two
events,
the Department also
responded to twelve EMS
calls and four fires, which included a fire on the roof
of a high-rise building that had been ignited
by the
flying embers from the
Santana Row fire.
Issues: Construction
Comments: The building
of origin covered approximately six acres and included
six floors and a basement. Each floor
contained
approximately 225,000 square
feet. The basement and the first two floors
were
constructed of reinforced
concrete. The outer perimeters of the first
two levels
were to have been used
for retail purposes and the remainder as
parking. A
third, but smaller, level
for parking was built upon the top of the
parking
structure. Additionally, there
were five separate, wood-frame residential
structures,
three stories in height.
The majority of the structures did not have
sheet-rock
installed at the time of
the fire.
Issues: Exposures
Comments: The fire
spread to the Huff/Moorpark area when burning embers from
the Santana Row fire became airborne and
ignited a
number of wooden roofs in the
neighborhood, which was approximately
one-half mile
down wind.
Issues: Incident
Management
Comments: A system for
managing large-scale incidents must be in place and used
in order to successfully manage incidents of
this
magnitude. The system should
include provisions for the accountability of
personnel
and their continuing
safety.
Issues: Fire
Suppression Systems
Comments: Upon
completion, the complex would have been fully sprinklered, but
the systems were not operational at the time
of the
fire.
Issues: Mutual
Aid/Automatic Aid
Comments: San Jose has a number of automatic aid agreements
with its
neighbors
and automatic aid was included in the
assignments to
the Santana Row fire.
Mutual aid agreements exist, but are more
problematic
because all mutual aid
companies must be dispatched manually because
they are
not programmed into the
City's CAD system.
Issues: Pre-Incident
Planning
Comments: Planning is
essential in the management of a large-scale incident,
which involves resources from multiple
jurisdictions
and that requires the
interaction of multiple agencies.
Issues: Resources
Comments: The Santana
Row fire required the commitment of 119 firefighters and
thirty-one pieces of apparatus.
The Huff/Moorpark fire required the
commitment
of 102 firefighters and thirty-four pieces of
apparatus. Additional apparatus
and personnel were required to respond to the
sixteen
incidents that occurred
during the event as well as maintaining a
reserve to
ensure protection for the
city while the incidents were brought under
control.
Issues: Time of
Day
Comments: The two
multiple alarm blazes occurred during the middle of the
afternoon, which resulted in the early
detection of
both incidents and may have
prevented injuries and the loss of life that
could
have occurred had the fire
occurred during the night when the residents
of the
Huff/ Moorpark area may have
been asleep. However, the incidents
contributed to
congestion of the afternoon
rush hour that not only inconvenienced
motorists, but
potentially delayed the
arrival of the multiple alarm companies.
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