As we pulled out of quar-ters in the tower ladder, the dispatcher informed us that 911 was receiving numerous calls reporting "fire out the windows." Our response was aggressive but safe, since we were the second-due truck. As we came within a few blocks of the building, we could see a column of black smoke, and everyone on the rig knew we were "going to work." As we approached the scene, we found the first-due aerial ladder positioned on the long side of the A wing of an H-type building where fire was blowing out two windows on the fourth floor. [Buildings are often referred to as the shape in which they are constructed. Some common shapes are H, E, L, U, and double H. When an incident commander (IC) reports a fire in a specific wing, he will start from the left and label the wings A, B, C, and so on. The area between the wings is called the throat and is referred to as "the throat between the A & B wing."]
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