The OL' Professor: the dangerous 'five classes of buildings'

摘要

I can't say how many fire-fighters have died because they were operating below hidden fire overhead, but there are many. If you hear crackling from a floor or ceiling above you, pulling the ceiling may provide the fire with the oxygen it needs to blow and bring down the structure. I have recently learned of what must be the most important innovation in fire technology in decades. Captain Scott Cook of the Granbury (TX) Fire Department led his crew into a working fire in a commercial building. He used his thermal imaging camera to look for victims not only at the floor but also at the overhead area. The imager indicated that fire was raging overhead. He withdrew his crews just moments before the structure collapsed.