TS 16 –1
VALUE OF LOSS CONTROL
(SALVAGE & OVERHAUL OPERATIONS)
• Adds value to the department’s 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

PURPOSE OF SALVAGE
To reduce damage from fire, smoke, water, heat, cold, or weather during and after a fire
TS 16 –2

PURPOSES OF OVERHAUL
•
To search out and extinguish hidden fires
•
To protect the scene after the fire
• To preserve evidence of the fire’s origin and cause
•
To restore premises to safe condition
TS 16 –3

TS 16 –4
SALVAGE PLANNING
•
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

SALVAGE PROCEDURES
•
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
TS 16 –5

HOW TO ARRANGE &
PROTECT BUILDING CONTENTS
TS 16 –6
•
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

COMMERCIAL
OCCUPANCY CHALLENGES
Ceiling-to-floor Display Shelves
Contents Stacked too Close to Ceiling
Unpalleted Storage
High-piled Stock
TS 16 –7

TS 16 –11
TYPICAL SALVAGE
EQUIPMENT
•
Automatic sprinkler kit
•
Carryall
•
Floor runner
•
Dewatering device
•
Water vacuum
•
Squeegee
•
Mop and wringer bucket

CONSTRUCTION METHODS FOR
REMOVING & ROUTING WATER
TS 16 –13
Water Chute
Spliced Chutes
Catchall

TS 16 –14
GUIDELINES FOR
COVERING OPENINGS
•
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.

DEFINITION OF OVERHAUL
TS 16 –15
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

TS 16 –16
•
TOOLS & EQUIPMENT
USED IN OVERHAUL
Battery-powered saws, drills, and screwdrivers
•
Carryalls, buckets, and tubs
•
Shovels, bale hooks, and pitchforks
•
•
Electronic sensors
•
Pike poles
Axes

OVERHAUL SAFETY
GUIDELINES & PROCEDURES
TS 16 –17a
•
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.

TS 16 –17b
OVERHAUL SAFETY
GUIDELINES & PROCEDURES (cont.)
•
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.

TS 16 –18
AVOIDING ADDITIONAL
WATER DAMAGE
•
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.

PRIMARY FACTORS
AFFECTING BUILDING CONDITION
TS 16 –19
Fire Intensity
Amount of Water Used

TS 16 –20
SIGNS OF DANGEROUS
BUILDING CONDITIONS
•
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

TS 16 –21
INDICATORS OF
HIDDEN FIRES
•
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

CHECKING FOR &
EXTINGUISHING FIRE EXTENSION
TS 16 –22a
•
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.

TS 16 –22b
CHECKING FOR &
EXTINGUISHING FIRE EXTENSION (cont.)
•
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.

REMOVING DEBRIS & WATER
TS 16 –23
•
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.

FIREFIGHTER’S RESPONSIBILITY
IN PROTECTING EVIDENCE
TS 16 –24
•
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?

TS 16 –25
WHO MAY INVESTIGATE?
Fire Department Personnel (Chief – Deputy – FPO)
Office of the Fire Marshall
OPP
Private Company
Insurance Agency

ROLE OF THE INVESTIGATOR
IN FIRE CAUSE DETERMINATION
TS 16 –26
•
Carrying fire cause investigations beyond the level of the fire company
•
Questioning firefighters, if necessary

OBSERVATIONS
EN ROUTE
•
Time of day
•
Weather and natural hazards
•
Man-made barriers
•
People leaving the scene
TS 16 –27

OBSERVATIONS
UPON ARRIVAL
•
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
TS 16 –28

TS 16 –29
OBSERVATIONS
DURING FIRE FIGHTING
•
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

FIREFIGHTER RESPONSIBILITIES
AFTER THE FIRE
TS 16 –30
•
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.

FIREFIGHTER CONDUCT &
STATEMENTS AT THE SCENE
TS 16 –31
•
Never make statements of accusation, personal opinion, or probable cause to anyone.
•
Make statements only to the fire investigator.

GUIDELINES FOR PROTECTING
& PRESERVING EVIDENCE
TS 16 –32a
•
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.

GUIDELINES FOR PROTECTING
& PRESERVING EVIDENCE (cont.)
TS 16 –32b
•
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.