Trailer Fires

[TCD0415 26]

Reading the unfortunate news from The Secret List about the Double LODD in Virginia in a Trailer Fire, got me thinking.

I have heard of a few instances of guys getting hurt or killed in Trailer Fires and was wondering if there is sometning more to it. I personally have never been in one, but do have a few around here and the possibility is there that one day we may get one.

Any perspectives on how to attack?, what to look out for ? Why guys are getting hurt ? It seems pretty easy to me, but I guess there is more to it.

[x129K 1,393]

I have limited experience with them, as my old district was zoned to outlaw trailer homes, however, I had been to a few mutual aid trailer fires.

My current department has many, both in parks and scattered around town.

My experience is that like a house - no two are alike, and the all burn very differently. I have made interioir attacks in trailers just as I would in a traditional home, and have seen some, like the one behind my house, that was going stem to stern in minutes.

Like any other fire, it is very important to do your personal size up, eyeball the fire conditions, read the smoke, look for your exits...

Be cautious of the roof! it is typically one long sheet of aluminum - which if collapses - easily can trap you...like being under a huge blanket that you can't punch through.

[Guest ffjay376]

like 129 said trailer fires are some of the most dangerous fires for fire fighters. The trailers are made with light weight matierials and it is made as cheaply and as fast as possible with safety not in mind. with the trailer fires i have been at by the time the trucks got there the fire was already past the aggressive attack stage. with exposure to fire the floors become weak and like 129 said the roofs become death traps.

[markmets415 524]

I have been to way to many trailer fires to count, just see the photos on our company website. I was at a mutual aide incident a few years back on the line inside on an aggressive attack with old salty dog himself JHK brother Mirande and we made great advancement into the fire room when someone on the exterior decided to take all the windows in the room. As one would imagine the place lit up and we bailed and suffered some minor burns, wasn't a pleasent experience to say the least.

The construction especially in the older units are not favorable to firefighters, it is lightweight construction at it's best, I have seen as little as 1" x2" trusses for the bow string roofs and in the same dimensions in the wall assemblies. Surely nothing that withstands much fire conditions.

Here are a few shots of a few trailer fires.

This is the one I mentioned above when we were inside;

Other fires showing the construction:

[x129K 1,393]

we made great advancement into the fire room when someone on the exterior decided to take all the windows in the room. As one would imagine the place lit up

You had made the fire room, flowing water, the OV effected ventilation of the fire room, and things went south? is it just me or does that not make sense?

Was that PPV fan deployed before the OV vented?

I might be reading it wrong...but again..something's not right there?

[markmets415 524]

Dan I did not explain that well, when I get back I'll give the lowdown, gotta go to Beacon.

[FF31-126 3]

Compair some of the similarities of a trailer to a flashover simulator... ... It doesn't take long.

Check out some of these pics if you've never seen one --> google images

Edited February 20, 2009 by FF31-126

[xfirefighter484x 234]

I have been in on 2 trailer fires. My first fire, in fact, was a trailer fire. It can very easily be like an oven unless effective ventilation occurs. Also, it is a fast paced operation. Unless you get in quick, they go up fast, and will leave little to save.

[Guest alsfirefighter]

These burn hot, very fast and obviously are very dangerous. Risk vs. Benefit...no civilian life risk, I'm not making my personnel the life risk for a trailer.

Some different tactic thoughts....piercing nozzles. Works great for vans, will work well here also.

Uncoordinated horizontal ventilation can go bad anywhere...sounds like a touch of aggressiveness with uncoordinated, untimely horizontal ventilation.

[markmets415 524]

Uncoordinated horizontal ventilation can go bad anywhere...sounds like a touch of aggressiveness with uncoordinated, untimely horizontal ventilation.

Tom that was exactly the case, we made entry through the back of the double wide through an enclosed porch and through the rear door and went left, we were in the kitchen making our way to the main body of fire which was in the living room when the front windows and door were taken. The kitchen actually was open on both sides (there was a full height island/wall that opened also to the right into the hallway around the other side to the living room) which we were not aware of so when the areas were vented the fire came around the island and right on top of us and went out the door that we made entry through. You can see the body of fire on the right side of the unit you also can see Chief Sartori who ran around back to see if we were out, it did not take us long to bail but it was one scary few moments for sure. You can see our line stretched to the right and rear. Dan I hope that explained it better, sorry for the confusion.

[Guest alsfirefighter]

At the time of the pic it also looks like there was some decent water being put on the fire as the color of the smoke being white indicates.

Many times these things have styrofoam insulation between the walls which adds significantly to the fire load. For some reason I think I remember large discussions and articles in FE and FH magazines about the risks of this and perhaps some serious injury of LODD back in the late 80's time frame?

Would have loved to seen how class A would have handled that job Mark.

[ex-commish 490]

Are there any regulations on how trailers are built? Do they conform with state and local building codes or are they even considered a building?

[markmets415 524]

At the time of the pic it also looks like there was some decent water being put on the fire as the color of the smoke being white indicates.

Many times these things have styrofoam insulation between the walls which adds significantly to the fire load. For some reason I think I remember large discussions and articles in FE and FH magazines about the risks of this and perhaps some serious injury of LODD back in the late 80's time frame?

Would have loved to seen how class A would have handled that job Mark.

Yeah that is true with the water. I did forget that point, you can see the other line in use through the front windows, which also pushed the fire into us. We did regroup and got another shot at it and extinguisher it, the photo may be after we got after it the second time, it all happened in a short period of time.

I am a big fan of the Class A foam as well as CAFS. Our engine is equipped with a 20 gallon Class A foam cell but for some reason they stopped using it, I rejoined in early 2007 and have started getting the guys and gals back into using the foam again. Yeah it is not CAFS but just like with any other tool if you train enough with it it becomes second nature and used more often.

[markmets415 524]

they are constructed by HUD standards

HUD Manufactured Home Construction StandardsManufactured homes are built as dwelling units of at least 320 square feet in size with a permanent chassis to assure the initial and continued transportability of the home. All transportable sections of manufactured homes built in the U.S. after June 15, 1976, must contain a red label. The label is the manufacturer's certification that the home section is built in accordance with HUD's construction and safety standards. HUD standards cover Body and Frame Requirements, Thermal Protection, Plumbing, Electrical, Fire Safety and other aspects of the home. They are published in the Code of Federal Regulations at 24 CFR 3280.

[markmets415 524]

Here are a few of the issue that x129 spoke of the roofs, fire was behind his house in October 2008, notice the total roof failure which occured in only a few minutes.

[ny10570 745]

I spent 5 years up in Plattsburgh and they do a lot of work with trailers in Clinton county. Some of the things I picked up...

They are the cheapest of cheap construction so they are loaded with plastic and the minimum of structural material. They burn qucikly and fail quickly.

There is absolutely no reason to be on the roof of trailer. Before during and after a fire, stay off the roof. They are generally poorly maintained and often modified by the owner.

Unless there is a life threat you don't go inside. Due to their light construction exterior walls are easily breeched. Piecing nozzles are effective. The entry team carries a chainsaw so that if the door is blocked by fire they can cut doors in uninvolved portions to gain entry. In drills they were cutting 3 x 4 doors in 30 seconds.

[markmets415 524]

There is absolutely no reason to be on the roof of trailer. Before during and after a fire, stay off the roof. They are generally poorly maintained and often modified by the owner.

It is being reported that the 2 LODD in West Virginia may have been caused by roof failure

http://www.dailymail.com/News/200902200240

[x129K 1,393]

A six fooot steel hook (NY style) is invaluable for pulling the siding off of these "tindominiums"...

[Guest]

Most trailers in the area have at least 2 doors and mostly three if you can get on scene quickly you can attempt a knock down however if any time has elasped it probably going to be well involved. Heating tape is a prime suspect with trailer fires.

[markmets415 524]

I like that one Dan,"tindominiums", mine is paid for

[firemoose827 324]

Up here in "Scary" county we do our share of trailers. They are, in essence, large ovens. Tin walls and roof, foam insulation board, 1X2 wall studs as opposed to 2X4 and 2X6 for stick built houses, some times the studs and rafters are 24" on center instead of 16" like code calls for, giving less support and therefor the early and sometimes catastrophic failure of these components early on in the fire.

Some more things to be worried about; Windows are MUCH smaller than houses and do not meet the 5.7 cubic feet of egress/rescue opening that most codes call for these days in newer construction.

Walls are thin and easy to cut open, BUT...The electric wires and plumbing run through these walls too, watch out for this.

Doors are not what they should be, they are thin, made of plywood veneer with hollow cores, wont hold the fire for longer than a few minutes.

HVAC is a mess in these thigs. Usually have a furnace in the center of the trailer somewhere, in a closet usually, and have ducts that spider out from this with registers in every room. These ducts can be either in the roof or in the floor so see if you can locate these ASAP to stop the spread of fire through the ducts.

Usually, we cut a hole in one end of the trailer and blitz it with a 2 1/2 " line or deck gun, than mop up with smaller lines from the safety of doorways or cut openings. These thigs are losses as soon as it catches fire, so dont worry about further damages to the structure itself. We try and grab possesions from the doors and windows like TV's, furniture, ETC, but otherwise, its a loss, so do not jeopardize personnel in these death traps.

Thats all I can think of right now, been a long few days with this nuisance snow we have been getting and Moose is tired!

Stay Safe Gang.

[markmets415 524]

Here is an example of an older unit that has been updated with a roof over, siding, windows and doors. By looking at it, it would appear to be a newer unit, but it actually is a 1974 unit with the tin roof still under the new roof. So these are not what they appear to be as well. This one happens to be my tindominium.

[Guest]

is that your chiefs car next door? oh thats right wrong fire company just joking

Edited February 21, 2009 by JHK3605

[markmets415 524]

A few more examples of roof overs.

This is obvious

And two more, a steep pitch and an older "Sears" type metal roof over.

[markmets415 524]

is that your chiefs car next door? oh thats right wrong fire company just joking

Easy there Chief.

[Guest]

A few more examples of roof overs.

This is obvious

And two more, a steep pitch and an older "Sears" type metal roof over.

walking around the neighborhood Mark

[markmets415 524]

Doing some pre planning for you, now get that call out!

[Guest]

I call trailers cardboard boxes

IMO If there no life danger of any other trailers or whatever in danger than let it burn

Theres no reason to lose a life over a stupid trailer if no life is in danger

Edited February 21, 2009 by dave27

[Guest]

I call trailers cardboard boxes

IMO If there no life danger of any other trailers or whatever in danger than let it burn

Theres no reason to lose a life over a stupid trailer if no life is in danger

Its still someone's house you just have to use your head and not risk a lot to save a little

[antiquefirelt 994]

We have a fair amount of these in my area. In fact we have two of the old "trailer parks" in town (75-100 in each) and another right on the line with our northern neighbors. I've found they burn fast once any appreciable amount of fire breaks out. Often the walls melt as was shown in a few of the pics. Generally fires seem to be either from heat tape as was note before or the old Miller Gun Furnace in the closet just off the living room in the hall closet.

We actually have specific tactics specific for single wide modulars (as their now known). This is one of the few exceptions to our "first line in the front door on PD's". Most trailers have two or three doors: one into the living room/kitchen from the driveway side, one part way down the hall on the opposite side from the driveway, and optionally one off the end bedroom. The hallway door is usually best posed to put a line between any occupants that couldn't leave if the fire was in the kitchen, living room, or hot air furnace. A bedroom fire would get the line in the "front door". This is all if you can tell where the fire started and the walls/roof are still intact. Check under the trailer first! break away some skirting and make sure the fire is not from below, as the floors are not much and will likely fail if there's fire below them. A walk around is always a good idea and should be fairly quick here. Look for gas (LPG or natural), check the skirting as the plastic melts easily if there's much fire below, look for the other doors and determine where the fire is. The side door is often chosen for the attack as it's not far off center toward the rear bedroom.

A FD not to far from us, arrived at a trailer fire and decided that since there was no car in the driveway they'd not go into the trailer and instead put the line in the kitchen/living room end windows and pushed the fire on the victim who was on the floor just off the living room in the hallway. They'll never know if he was viable or not.