As Utah’s population grows, its buildings are getting taller, too. Taller buildings can present more challenges for emergency responders. That’s why Utah firefighters are getting training on how to deal with fires in larger buildings, like high-rises.
Within the last two months, the Utah Fire and Rescue Academy along with the Salt Lake City Fire Department has trained over 500 firefighters in Salt Lake, Davis and Utah counties on how to handle high-rise fires. A high-rise is defined as anything taller than 75 feet.
Low-rise and mid-rise buildings also pose additional challenges compared to small one-floor buildings, said Dennis Goudy, program manager at the academy.
At an Oct. 25 training session, firefighters from several different agencies practiced fighting a fire at the Salt Lake City Fire Department Training Division. After listening to a presentation, the firefighters suited up and drove their trucks to the base of the building. With air tanks on their backs, they trekked up to the fifth floor for what Goudy called a “fast attack.” That means knocking the fire out as quickly as possible, looking for victims and evacuating the building.
“When we get those reps in, it kind of shortens our lag time and our response time gets better because we become more efficient,” said Salt Lake City Fire Division Chief Bob Silverthorne.
Two years ago there was a massive fire at an eight-story Sugar House apartment complex. While the building was under construction at the time with no residents, it required at least nine different agencies to respond, according to Silverthorne.
Goudy said fires in high-rise buildings or large warehouses are referred to as “very high risk, low frequency incidents.” They require more labor, personnel and equipment to put out and are also more complicated. With multi-level buildings, it is harder for firefighters to get their equipment from the ground to the upper floors. They have to take the stairs and exits might be cut off by the fire. It’s also harder to rescue victims because an aerial ladder only reaches up to 70 feet, shorter than what’s considered a high-rise building.
“Depending on the height, what if they had to walk up 20 stories? One of the first things that happens [in a high-rise fire] is the elevator is non-usable,” Goudy said.
In big buildings, there are also high volumes of fuel to feed the fire.
With the way that Utah is growing, Goudy said these larger buildings are likely to be seen across the Wasatch Front, not just popping up in Salt Lake City. He said multiple fire chiefs have been asking for this training.
“No city is immune from these structures anymore,” Goudy said.
While Salt Lake City Fire Department conducts annual high-rise training, Silverthorne said what makes this latest effort unique is it’s getting agencies across the state on the same page. If there is a fire in a high-rise, Silverthorne said it will require the help of multiple agencies.
A few decades ago, Goudy said most fire departments in the state operated independently.
“Leaders have recognized they can't do it alone, and that's why the approach of everybody doing it together.”
