Excerpts from the ChicagoTribune.com:
One person was seriously injured in a high-rise fire in the South Shore neighborhood Monday night.
The fire broke out about 7:20 p.m. at 7100 S. South Shore Drive, bringing firefighters and at least six ambulances to the scene. One victim was taken to Jackson Park Hospital in serious to critical condition.
The fire was declared under control just after 7:35 p.m. and was confined to the apartment where the injured person was found. Firefighters were able to vent smoke from the fire out of the building right away.
#1 by max o on January 23, 2017 - 10:39 PM
Ok Thanks, but could someone explain what the so called RAT teams are and do they go with the FIT team? Could you explain how this work? Thanks.
#2 by Joe on January 23, 2017 - 10:34 AM
Depends on the building and the department SOPs, but it’s pretty basic. Most high rise buildings will have zoned alarms that will tell the fire department which floor the alarm is going off on. If it’s on the 5th floor or below, you’re hoofing it up the stairs. If it’s 6 or above, at that point an investigation team (usually with tools and high rise packs) will enter the elevator, insert the key, and take manual control of the elevator. This will usually require that the door open or door close buttons be held down, otherwise the action will reverse itself.
The investigation team will take the elevator up to the floor below where the alarm is and hold the door open button down just long enough to make sure that the area they’re exiting into isn’t charged with smoke and heat. If it is, all they need to do is release the door open button and the elevator doors will automatically close. Once they’ve established that they’re in a safe area, they’ll go to the stairwell and walk up to the next floor to investigate the reason for the alarm. You don’t want to take the elevator up to the fire floor because you could exit the elevator into dangerous heat and smoke.
#3 by max o on January 22, 2017 - 4:27 PM
Could you explain how the master key works? And where do Firefighters generally exit the elevator?
#4 by Dan Meale on January 18, 2017 - 11:33 PM
Fire Department has a master key that allows them to control where the elevator will stop. Without that master key, the elevator car might go to the floor on fire and open up due to controls being short circuited.
#5 by max o on January 18, 2017 - 9:21 PM
I have always wondered why Firefighter sometimes use elevators during High Rise Fire when the public cannot?