Charleston: Newspaper Focuses on Incident Command and Steel Trusses. The View from Oz on the “Real Enemy”.

The tragic fire in South Carolina has had a lot of us wondering over the last week about policies and procedures in the City of Charleston Fire Department. In emails and phone conversations I have had with many in the fire service, the areas of concern included, incident command, the identification of a steel truss and firefighters without gear.

Since last Monday night I have been passing along pictures, videos and personal accounts that focused on the early stages of the fire. Almost all of these raised eyebrows for one reason or another.

Reporters from The Post and Courier now put into words what a lot of us have been thinking. One article, from Friday, focuses on the danger of steel trusses. The second, on Sunday, looks at the command issues.

The articles are well worth reading.

On the issue of building contruction and sprinklers, I have heard from Azarang Mirkhah, Fire Protection Engineer for Las Vegas Fire & Rescue. Many of you know Oz from his columns at firehouse.com. Oz brings up Frank Brannigan:

This recent fire tragedy in Charleston reminded me of the legendary Francis Brannigan’s (whom I admire immensely) statement: “When a combustible structure is involved in fire, the building is the enemy, and you must know the enemy.” As you know, Brannigan also had a famous column, “Know Your Enemy.” It was a catchy title, but I believe rather inaccurate. I must say, though, that I disagree with Brannigan. The building is an object, not our enemy. I believe our real enemy are the ones who allow such buildings to be built with little regard for the occupants safety, and even less regard for the firefighters safety. It is time to face that enemy and change our construction codes to better protect the occupants and our own. We must engrave this message in every firefighters mind: “Fire Sprinklers Save Firefighters’ Lives, Too.”

I am sure if Frank were still alive, I would have been up to his apartment this past week, getting his rapid fire views on the Charleston tragedy.

The most recent column from Oz is here.

Also, Oz pointed me toward another apparent sprinkler success story that may be relevant to the Charleston tragedy. It is from Ormond Beach, Florida and can be found here.