ON TUESDAY, OCTOBER 12, 2021, AT 1528 hours, the Ann Arbor (MI) Fire Department (AAFD) initially responded to a reported fire alarm activation that rapidly escalated to an active fire on the third floor of a hospital complex that required a standpipe hoseline operation for fire attack. A fire of this scope was not deemed a likely scenario given the building had code-compliant fire alarm and protection systems. This was a complex, adaptive incident that reached a third alarm-very rare for the AAFD. The fire caused significant property damage to the complex's critical infrastructure and affected a regional health care facility. However, firefighters' outstanding actions combined with planning, training, and equipment upgrades prevented loss of life and limited damage and impact. The narrative behind the success of this incident starts well before October 12,2021. The AAFD's high-rise training, procedures, and operations had not been updated since the mid-1990s and included the use of single-jacketed, 1-inch high-rise hose bundles. Over the past 15 years, the city of Ann Arbor has seen significant vertical growth downtown because of new construction. To address this burgeoning vertical challenge, in December 2019, the fire administration planned to completely revamp all the department's high-rise operations in 2020. As initial efforts began, the COVID-19 pandemic struck and the project was paused, but it was relaunched in early 2021.
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