Basements & Underground

1
Basements Underground

• FF Mason 0122
• Red Watch, Broughton

2
Types of Incident

• There are a number of different types of incident
  the fire service could attend, which may result
  in them having to work below ground level.
• These can include
• Basements
• Cellars
• Sewers
• Tunnels
• Underground Car Parks
• Underground Train Systems

3

• On arrival at a basement fire the following
  points should be considered when determining the
  location of the fire
• Determine the number of basements within the
  building.
• Get information from any member of staff who may
  have been in the area.
• Make use of fire indicator system and/or plans of
  the premises.
• Make use if available of specialist equipment.

4

• There are a number of problems associated with
  basement fires

• Lack of ventilation
• Difficulty of access
• Locating and appraising fire
• Communication
• Difficulty in applying extinguishing media

• There are 2 principle points which need to be
  considered when dealing with Basement fires

• When attacking the fire position covering jets
  above at floors, lift shafts etc..
• Ventilate as soon as possible

5
There are a number of different types of openings
at ground level which allow access to underground
areas

• Gratings
• Pavement and stallboard lights
• Cellar flaps
• Chutes

6
Tunnels

• Although there are exceptions, underground
  tunnels and similar structures are normally
  designed and used for transportation, mineral
  excavation, car parking and storage purposes.
• The structures are often quite old and, as a
  result, neither designed nor built with ideal
  standards of fire protection and fire safety
  incorporated
• Tunnels under construction, railway tunnels, both
  those with underground passenger stations and
  those without, and road tunnels will give rise to
  different problems. Tunnels under construction,
  for example, present unique difficulties because
  of their constantly changing nature

7
The Risks Involved
It is important to consider carefully the
location and structural characteristics of the
tunnel or underground complex, such as its depth,
dimensions, construction, ventilation, drainage
and the potential risk posed by the tunnel's
contents or the nature of its traffic.
Consideration should also be given to the
provision of communications.

• The risk underground must be kept to a minimum.
  Areas to consider include
• Site management's knowledge of fire loads,
  ignition sources, fire detection and suppression
  equipment
• Site management's knowledge of materials stored
  or used and their hazards and properties
• Site arrangements for environmental monitoring or
  surveillance
• The level of training undertaken by the
  operator's workforce and the priority given to
  safety.
• The arrangements to prevent unauthorised access
  and malicious ignition.

8

• Others areas fire brigade may also be involved at
  an incident
• Enforcing of agreed safety standards. Operators
  are expected to follow the Code of Practice for
  Safety in Tunnelling in the Construction
  industry.
• Surveys and inspections to identify possible risk
  areas.
• Suggesting improvements and keeping operators
  informed of technical advances.
• Training of site work-force, observing at fire
  drills.
• Liasing with on-site firefighting teams and an
  ongoing programme of realistic training exercises
  to test operational procedures.

9
Access for Fire Appliances and Personnel
The following points regarding access to
underground structures may assist with individual
contingency plans

• In very large underground risks there may be
  numerous access points, including staircases
  lifts and escalators.
• There may also be ramp-ways, suitable for
  pedestrian and vehicular access.
• In very large underground complexes rubber tired
  vehicles or narrow gauge railways are sometimes
  employed.
• Vehicles used to transport firefighters into a
  tunnel should remain available for their
  immediate egress.
• It is possible that in both rail and road
  tunnels, the owners may assist by providing a
  wheeled or tracked trolley for use in conveying
  equipment to a forward point.
• Fire service appliances will not normally enter
  tunnels except where road or rail tunnels have
  vehicle access tunnels alongside.
• Four-wheel drive vehicles cannot be driven over
  rail tracks and many tunnels are too small to
  enter.
• It may be possible to adapt a vehicle for use
  inside a tunnel to assist in the movement of
  equipment and personnel. In some instances,
  tunnel operators may assist with the provision of
  underground transport facilities.

10
Ventilation

• Entering an underground structure where a fire
  has occurred is extremely hazardous and any
  measures that will reduce this hazard should be
  considered. The distance from surface level to
  the floor affected may be considerable and
  bridgeheads may be an essential part of the plan.
  Additional precautions which can be pre-planned
  for underground structures, though not road
  tunnels, include
• Break-in panels to assist ventilation and
• External openings for fire brigade smoke
  extraction units.
• An efficient ventilation system is essential.
  Flashover conditions may occur with disastrous
  consequences for firefighting operations. The
  location of air shafts and their likely effect on
  the fire should be borne in mind.

11
Sewers

• Today's underground systems have developed since
  the Victorian period and form a complex
  underground network of pipes and chambers
• By the very nature of the waste products being
  transported, access and rescue require a certain
  amount of specialist knowledge.
• In most cities and large towns a vast complicated
  network of sewers has been established for the
  discharge underground of domestic sewage, trade
  wastes and rain water.
• Sewers form an intricate arrangement of pipes
  ranging in size from about 150mm diameter to as
  large as 7 metres in diameter
• Local sewers are small in diameter and they
  discharge into the larger main sewer system which
  in turn carries the waste materials eventually to
  one of the purification works for ultimate
  disposal.
• The system of sewage pipes is arranged in such a
  way that should work of any kind be required in a
  section, flow may be diverted by the use of
  sluice gates and penstocks to alternative routes.

12
Access to Sewers

• To enable repairs and maintenance to be easily
  carried out, and to facilitate ventilation,
  sewage systems are provided with vertical access
  shafts. These shafts are accessed via manholes at
  street level.
• It is from these manholes that any sewer rescue
  must be carried out.
• Engineers may also gain access from street or
  footpath level via manholes. Manholes and shafts
  are designed primarily for use by workers
  carrying only a few tools
• The firefighter wearing breathing apparatus will
  naturally experience considerable restriction to
  their movements when ascending or descending.

13

• Where the invert of a sewer is more than about 6m
  below the surface it is normal for the ladder
  climb to be interrupted by a platform placed
  halfway.

14
Sewer Gas

• The collapse of workers in sewers is usually
  caused by the presence of sewer gas
• This gas is a mixture of sulphuretted hydrogen
  and methane, both of which are toxic and
  flammable
• The mixture may burn explosively when mixed in
  the correct proportions with air.
• When the sludge is disturbed or waded through the
  gas is released and bubbles up to the surface
  into the air space above

15

• Light and ventilation
• As soon as the probable position of the people to
  be rescued is established, manhole covers either
  side should be removed for light/ventilation and
  ease of rescue.
• Due to the sewer gases that are formed during the
  decomposition of sludge lying on the bottom of
  slow moving or stagnant sewers, any firefighter
  entering a sewer should wear Breathing apparatus.
• Two firefighters in BA should make their way down
  the shaft and proceed along the sewer.
• A third firefighter should descend the shaft to
  the foot of the ladder while a fourth remains
  above ground so that contact may be maintained
  between rescuers and surface at all times
• BA must be worn by all four firefighters.

16
Bacterial Infections

• Weil's disease is found in sewers and originates
  from the urine of rats
• In the early stage Weil's disease is often
  mistaken for influenza, pneumonia, tonsillitis or
  some other common ailment.

Hygiene Precautions

• After working in contact with sewerage hands and
  forearms must be washed with soap and warm water
• Clothing, boots and equipment, which are
  contaminated with sewage, must be thoroughly
  washed
• It is essential to bathe on return to the station
  if contaminated with sewage

17
Any Questions?
18
Gratings

• Basement windows may often be protected by
  gratings on the pavement.
• These gratings are often made to lift up without
  damage, or may be set (usually with lead) into
  into the paving stones.
• A sharp blow with the of an axe close to the
  point where the grating is set will usually free
  it sufficiently to allow it to be pulled clear.
• With removable gratings which may be held down
  to an eye bolt by a central chain, it may be
  possible to lever up the grating and displace it
  sufficiently to gain access.

19
Pavements Stall Board Lights

• Basements in which goods are stored are often
  fitted with pavement or stallboard lights.
• They are are horizontal and strong enough to be
  walked on by pedestrians
• They may be either used solely for lighting, or
  may open to allow for ventilation or for the
  loading of goods. They may then be placed in the
  same class as cellar flaps.
• Lights which can be opened form the inside may
  very often have breakable glass panels set near
  the catches. Sometimes these panels are
  identifiable by being made from a different
  coloured glass.

20
Cellar Flaps

• Many premises in which the basement is used for
  storage have trapdoors, known as cellar flaps
  which open to the pavement
• The doors covering these openings are lifted up
  when it is desired to load or unload goods
• The doors are often made of wood and may be
  forced open by removing one of the boards to gain
  access to the fastenings below.

21
Chutes

• The size and construction of chutes varies
  greatly.
• Some will permit the passage of a fireman, but
  others may be to small.
• Iron covers which can be lifted up are used for
  smaller chutes, but the larger chutes will often
  have trapdoors which may be fastened in a number
  of ways.
• They will normally open upwards or outwards.
• Any time when an opening has been opened, a crew
  member should be posted by it to worn passers by
  of the hazard.

22
Bridgehead. Bridgeheads are to be used on
occasions when it is necessary for operational
reasons to enter a High Rise building so as to be
able to proceed some distance away from the
original point of entry before starting and
donning Breathing Apparatus. The circumstances
the Officer in Charge must consider when
assessing whether and where to establish a
bridgehead are detailed in Section 5.4.3 of OC
13/1/2 (BA Operational Procedures)
23
Weils Disease (LEPTOSPIROSIS)

• Weils Disease is caused by a micro-organism
  spread by animals (mainly rats, but also pigs and
  cattle), either directly or indirectly through
  their urine, which contaminates water and the
  banks of canals, ponds, rivers and ditches.
• The micro-organism enters the body through breaks
  in the skin and mucous membranes (eyes, nose etc)
  or from animal bites.

• Prevention
• Do not enter suspected contaminated area's unless
  Full Fire Kit and Latex gloves are being worn.
• Clean and cover all cuts and breaks in the skin
  immediately with a waterproof dressing and keep
  them covered when working until they are fully
  healed.
• Wash thoroughly before eating drinking after
  working in a suspected contaminated area.