Although the concept of closing the door during a vent enter search operation has been known and taught before, the video below from the Governors Island tests gives data to that important step in the process. Isolating the door to the room immediately can be the difference between having minutes to complete the search or under a minute. It also means the difference between a tenable and untenable atmosphere for potential victims.
In this example the fire is located in the living room of a two story residential row home. Simulated VEIS is preformed through the rear bedroom windows.
In the first case the bedroom door is closed. When the window is vented lazy smoke is seen exiting the room. Temperatures inside the living room remain constant and a slight rise is seen in the room ventilated. During the time before the next simulated VEIS ventilation, conditions in this room remain tenable for both occupants and firefighters.
The aerial ladder then moves to the second bedroom where the door is open. Notice the difference in the smoke exiting the window after it is vented. A flow path is created from the fire on the first floor up the stairs and exhausting out the 2nd floor window. The vent created through the window is unidirectional exhaust indicating the fire is below the level of the opening. This flow path allows additional fresh air in the front door growing the fire. The flow path also now includes the second floor hallway and open bedroom. This increases temperature both in the bedroom and in the hallway at the top of the stairs. The bedroom temperatures increase from 300°F to 450°F in 30 seconds and temperatures in the hallway increase from 575°F to 750°F at 7 ft and 100°F to 350°F at 3 ft.
The bedroom door is then closed through a remote cable which isolates the bedroom from the flow path. The smoke venting out the window decreases and temperatures go from 450°F to 150°F at the ceiling of the bedroom and from 170°F to 120°F at the floor. As the flow path is changes to now enter the front door low and exhaust out the same door high the temperature in the hallway are affected. The temperature decreases from 750°F to 650°F at the ceiling and 700°F to 350°F at the floor.
How would the fire dynamics be different if water was on the fire before VEIS operations?
For more information, the full experiment video and the interactive data view the tactical considerations in our Governors Island Online training Course (
http://goo.gl/GH3YA6)
