Salvage

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Salvage Overhaul
2
VALUE OF LOSS CONTROL (SALVAGE OVERHAUL
OPERATIONS)
TS 161

• Adds value to the departments services
• Promotes fire fighting as a craft
• Builds goodwill within the community
• Receives praise and recognition in the media
• Gives firefighters a feeling of accomplishment
• Leads to better morale and efficiency among
  firefighters

3
PURPOSE OF SALVAGE
TS 162

• To reduce damage from fire, smoke, water, heat,
  cold, or weather during and after a fire

4
PURPOSES OF OVERHAUL
TS 163

• To search out and extinguish hidden fires
• To protect the scene after the fire
• To preserve evidence of the fires origin and
  cause
• To restore premises to safe condition

5
SALVAGE PLANNING
TS 164

• Salvage SOPs
• Special preplans for buildings with high-value
  contents
• Awareness of contents vital to businesses in
  commercial occupancies
• Working with loss control representatives of
  local businesses

6
SALVAGE PROCEDURES
TS 165

• When to begin salvage operations
• Coordinating salvage with fire attack
• How to arrange and protect building contents
• Commercial occupancy challenges
• Removing large quantities of water

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HOW TO ARRANGE PROTECT BUILDING CONTENTS
TS 166

• Gathering in close piles in center of room
• Placing high objects at ends of piles and using
  rolled rugs as ridgepoles
• Placing small objects (pictures, curtains, lamps)
  on larger objects such as couches or beds
• Using water-resistant materials to raise
  furniture off wet floors

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COMMERCIAL OCCUPANCY CHALLENGES
TS 167

• Ceiling-to-floor Display Shelves
• Contents Stacked too Close to Ceiling
• Unpalleted Storage
• High-piled Stock

11
TYPICAL SALVAGE EQUIPMENT
TS 1611

• Automatic sprinkler kit
• Carryall
• Floor runner
• Dewatering device

• Water vacuum
• Squeegee
• Mop and wringer bucket

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CONSTRUCTION METHODS FOR REMOVING ROUTING
WATER
TS 1613

• Water Chute
• Spliced Chutes
• Catchall

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GUIDELINES FOR COVERING OPENINGS
TS 1614

• Cover all exterior openings.
• Cover broken or missing doors or windows with
  plywood, heavy plastic, or similar materials.
• Cover openings in roofs with plywood, roofing
  paper, heavy plastic sheeting, or tar paper.
• Tack down edges of tar paper or plastic with lath
  and roofing nails.

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DEFINITION OF OVERHAUL
TS 1615

• The practice of searching a fire scene to detect
  hidden fires or sparks that may rekindle and to
  identify the possible point of origin and cause
  of fire

22
TOOLS EQUIPMENT USED IN OVERHAUL
TS 1616

• Electronic sensors
• Pike poles
• Axes

• Battery-powered saws, drills, and screwdrivers
• Carryalls, buckets, and tubs
• Shovels, bale hooks, and pitchforks

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OVERHAUL SAFETY GUIDELINES PROCEDURES
TS 1617a

• Make sure that your very first overhaul step is
  determining the condition of the building.
• Wear proper protective clothing, including
  positive-pressure SCBA.
• Wear eye protection when it is safe to remove
  breathing apparatus.
• Use 1½-inch (38 mm) or 1¾-inch (45 mm) charged
  attack lines for extinguishing hidden fires.

24
OVERHAUL SAFETY GUIDELINES PROCEDURES (cont.)
TS 1617b

• Extinguish small hidden fires during minor
  overhaul operations with air-pressurized water
  extinguishers or booster lines, backed up by at
  least one attack line.
• Avoid additional water damage.

25
AVOIDING ADDITIONAL WATER DAMAGE
TS 1618

• Place nozzle in such a way that if it is
  accidentally opened it will cause no additional
  water damage.
• Tighten or repair leaking couplings.
• Use a 100-foot (30 m) length of hose as the first
  section on attack lines.

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PRIMARY FACTORS AFFECTING BUILDING CONDITION
TS 1619

• Fire Intensity
• Amount of Water Used

27
SIGNS OF DANGEROUS BUILDING CONDITIONS
TS 1620

• Weakened floors due to floor joists being burned
  away
• Concrete that has spalled due to heat
• Weakened steel roof members
• Walls offset because of elongation of steel roof
  supports

• Weakened roof trusses due to burn-through of key
  members
• Mortar in wall joints opened because of
  excessive heat
• Wall ties holding veneer walls melted from heat

28
INDICATORS OF HIDDEN FIRES
TS 1621

• Sight
• Discoloration of materials
• Peeling paint
• Smoke emissions from cracks
• Cracked plaster
• Rippled wallpaper
• Burned areas

• Touch Feel walls and floors for heat with the
  back of the hand
• Sound
• Popping or cracking of fire burning
• Hissing of steam

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CHECKING FOR EXTINGUISHING FIRE EXTENSION
TS 1622a

• If floor beams are burned at their ends where
  they enter a party wall
• Flush with water.
• Check far side of wall and extinguish as
  necessary.
• Remove, check, and extinguish insulation
  materials.
• If fire has burned around doors and windows, open
  door and window casings and extinguish fires.

31
CHECKING FOR EXTINGUISHING FIRE EXTENSION
(cont.)
TS 1622b

• If fire has burned around a combustible roof or
  cornice, open the cornice and inspect for hidden
  fires.
• If sensory or electronic sensor indicates, remove
  materials and extinguish hidden fires in
  concealed spaces below floors, above ceilings, or
  within walls.

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REMOVING DEBRIS WATER
TS 1623

• Use carryalls (debris bags) to remove debris.
• To catch falling debris
• To provide a water basin for immersing small
  burning objects
• Use water vacuums, scoops, shovels, mop wringers
  and buckets, submersible pumps to remove water.

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FIREFIGHTERS RESPONSIBILITY IN PROTECTING
EVIDENCE
TS 1624

• The fire chief has the legal responsibility
  within most jurisdictions for determining the
  cause of a fire.
• Questions first-arriving firefighters should ask
• Are room contents as they normally would be? Are
  rooms either ransacked or unusually bare?
• Are doors and windows locked or open? Is there
  evidence of forced entry prior to arrival of
  firefighters?
• Are there indications of unusual fire behavior or
  more than one area of origin?
• Are vehicles or people present in the area?

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WHO MAY INVESTIGATE?
TS 1625

• Fire Department Personnel (Chief Deputy FPO)
• Office of the Fire Marshall
• OPP
• Private Company
• Insurance Agency

38
ROLE OF THE INVESTIGATOR IN FIRE CAUSE
DETERMINATION
TS 1626

• Carrying fire cause investigations beyond the
  level of the fire company
• Questioning firefighters, if necessary

39
OBSERVATIONS EN ROUTE
TS 1627

• Time of day
• Weather and natural hazards
• Man-made barriers
• People leaving the scene

40
OBSERVATIONS UPON ARRIVAL
TS 1628

• Time of arrival and extent of fire
• Wind direction and velocity
• Doors or windows locked or unlocked
• Location of the fire
• Containers or cans
• Burglary tools
• Familiar faces

41
OBSERVATIONS DURING FIRE FIGHTING
TS 1629

• Location of fire
• Unusual odors
• Abnormal fire behavior
• Obstacles hindering fire fighting
• Incendiary devices
• Trailers
• Structural alterations
• Fire patterns
• Heat intensity

• Availability of documents
• Fire detection and protection systems
• Intrusion alarms
• Personal possessions
• Household items
• Equipment or inventory
• Business records

42
FIREFIGHTER RESPONSIBILITIES AFTER THE FIRE
TS 1630

• Report observations to officer in charge.
• Write chronological account of circumstances
  personally observed if fire is of suspicious
  origin.
• Do not complete salvage and overhaul until the
  area of origin and cause have been determined.
• Do not move debris
• Do not throw debris outside in piles
• Remain watchful for further evidence.

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FIREFIGHTER CONDUCT STATEMENTS AT THE SCENE
TS 1631

• Never make statements of accusation, personal
  opinion, or probable cause to anyone.
• Make statements only to the fire investigator.

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GUIDELINES FOR PROTECTING PRESERVING EVIDENCE
TS 1632a

• Do not gather or handle evidence unless
  absolutely necessary in order to preserve it.
• Do not change evidence in any way other than
  those absolutely necessary in the extinguishment
  of the fire.
• Avoid trampling over possible evidence preserve
  footprints and tire marks under cardboard boxes.
• Close dampers and other openings to preserve
  partially or completely burned papers found in a
  stove, furnace, or fireplace.

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GUIDELINES FOR PROTECTING PRESERVING EVIDENCE
(cont.)
TS 1632b

• Leave charred documents found in containers such
  as wastebaskets, small file cabinets, and binders
  that can be moved easily keep these items away
  from drafts.
• Do not permit changes in the evidence of any kind
  unless absolutely necessary in the extinguishment
  of the fire.
• Remove debris only after all evidence has been
  properly collected by an investigator.