Dealing with fire in a balloon frame house is one of the significant challenges to the engine company officers. The spread of fire in such a house is so rampant in that to extinguish it the officers have to chase the fire fast enough and get ahead of it. The officers have a challenge of dealing the void spaces as well as chase the rampant spread of fire, which is dangerous to their lives (Chudley & Greeno, 2013). Considering the balloon frame house, this article will, therefore, talk about the biggest problems in building construction, the structural component that is associated with the type of house and the hazards of fire spread. In addition, I will talk about the potential solutions to avoid such issues as well as the recommendations.
Major issues
The structure of the balloon frame three-story house was the easiest to design and construct. The house was made up of a continuous wood protrusion wall that stretched from the foundation to the roof space. Additionally, the walls of the house were lined with both lath and plaster which made the unimpeded void spaces. The function of the lath is to provide enough fuel to increase the potential for the flame in the void spaces (Chudley & Greeno, 2013). In addition, balloon frame house also has a ceiling, which is exposed and linked to partition and protrusion space. The ceiling also functions to contribute to the parallel blaze spread. The common and major hazard in a balloon frame house is the knee wall. The best advice to de with fire attack in this kind of building is by use of hose lines to locate and knock down the fire.
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Possible solution
Working on fire at a balloon frame structured house requires potential steps and solutions to follow. Initially, the first engine of the firefighters secures a water supply and positions the available apparatus for the truck company to access the front of the structure (Eyres & Bruce, 2012). The following task or step is to advance the initial line between the occupants and the fire as well as in the middle of the fire and the fire extinguisher, which is done by assuming the fire has already spread to the void spaces (Chudley & Greeno, 2013). The first engine, therefore, opens up the walls and the ceiling to contact the aggressive search for the hidden fire after knocking down the main body of the fire.
The second engine then stretches the backup line that determines whether the initial line has contained the fire and it is directly on the fire. Finally, the third hose line is deployed to the attic space, and another one searches the basement to ensure no amber has dropped down the basement. Moreover, the thermal imaging camera is used in the scenario to identify the potential areas of concern, and it allows faster deployment of water (Eyres & Bruce, 2012).
The fires in a balloon frame construction require a lot of labor and personnel. The best recommendation for three-story balloon frame residence is to ensure that you have enough personnel and labor to respond to the issues of fire. The system should also be capable of deploying between two to three hose lines as well as conduct an extensive search of the void spaces.
References
Chudley, R. & Greeno, R. (2013). Building construction handbook (1st ed.). London: Routledge.
Eyres, D. & Bruce, G. (2012). Ship construction (1st ed.). Oxford: Butterworth-Heinemann.
