Transportation Fires

and Related Safety Issues

Chapter 9

© 2009 Delmar, Cengage Learning

 Objectives
• Examine fire behavior and safety-related
problems in transportation vehicles encountered
by firefighters
• Describe fire problems and safety issues
experienced with transportation vehicles and
explain actions that may be taken to resolve the
issues

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 Objectives (cont’d.)
• Examine and describe special fire behavior
problems one might encounter with each of the
classifications of transportation vehicles
• Explain the importance of fire preplanning and
familiarization procedures for each of the
categories of transportation vehicles

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 Introduction
• This chapter discusses fires and related
emergencies occurring in transportation vehicles
• U.S. Fire Administration in 2003 funded study by
National Fire Protection Research Foundation
into transportation-related deaths and injuries
• Categories include passenger car fires, truck
and recreational vehicle fires, rail transportation
vehicle fires, marine vehicle fires, and aircraft
fires

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 Passenger Vehicle Fires
• Vehicles can be brought to a stop rapidly and
evacuated almost immediately
• Growth in use of combustible plastics, increasing
the fire danger without concern for fire safety
• 2000 study showed annually that passenger
road vehicles were responsible for almost 60%
of fire-related fatalities occurring in
transportation vehicles

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 Front Bumpers
• Designed to absorb 5 mph crash test without
damage
• Can explode or react during the operation of an
extrication tool

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 Air Bags
• SRS must be considered when cutting through
undeployed inflators
• SIC is one of latest innovations offered by the
auto industry for side impact and rollover
protection
• Policies and procedures in place to establish
safe work areas while on the roads or highways
• Attack vehicle fire targeting passenger
compartment first

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 Air Bags (cont’d.)

Figure 9-1 An example of how a safe work

zone is created on the incident scene

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 Hybrid Passenger Vehicles
• May contain hydrogen fueling systems, CNG, or
LPG in pressurized tanks
– May require a fire attack at a distance as the
pressurized tanks holding these gases may explode
• Need to become familiar with new power and
fueling systems
• Be sure battery is disconnected while operations
are being conducted so an ignition of leaking
flammable liquids does not occur

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Strategy and Tactics in Passenger
Vehicles
• Always respond with sufficient resources to
ensure ready availability
• Examine situation with decision-making process
• Start attack from downwind side and upslope
• Use caution to prevent leaking flammable fuels
from spreading into other areas of the vehicle

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 Motor Homes, Buses, and
Recreational Vehicles
• Ranges from small pop-up tent trailer to large
bus like vehicle
– Class A: designed and built as mobile homes
– Class B: converted from a basic van bought from
vehicle manufacturer
– Class C: use cab portion and motor from the vehicle
manufacturer with the addition of body
• Same risks as residential properties
• Seat belt use is rarer

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 Motor Homes, Buses, and
Recreational Vehicles (cont’d.)

Figure 9-6 Class A motor home

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 Fire Tactics and Strategy in Motor
Homes, Buses, and Recreational
Vehicles
• Wide variety of configurations
• Most buses powered by diesel engines, but
many being powered w/ natural gas or methane
– No need for concern with leaking fuel that may trap
passengers when using methane
• Not much difference between firefighting
methods as compared to recreational vehicles
and trucks

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 Trucks
• Designed to carry some type of cargo
– Varies in size, shape, and hazard
• Many have sleeping compartments
• Could be exposed to fire from inside the
compartment (smoking) or from the cab or cargo
area

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 Challenges Encountered in Truck
Fires
• Proceed with caution until cargo identified
• Limited in ways to approach fire during
extinguishment of the interior cargo space
• Saddle tanks are vulnerable and may be hidden
• Prior knowledge of trucks and design is desired
• Cribbing should be set in place before rescue
work begins

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 Truck Brake Fires
• Brakes may become overheated
– Occurs when traveling in mountainous areas
– Occurs when descending long, steep declining grade
• Can crack if cooled too quickly
• Apply fog spray in short bursts to slowly cool the
heated drums

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Fire Tactics and Strategy in Trucks
• Check for hazardous materials placards
• Do not take for granted that the warning
placards will be posted or will be correct
• Bill of lading will indicate the amount and type of
cargo or freight being transported

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 Fires in Railed Equipment
• Can be some of the most dangerous problems a
department may encounter
• Carry large amounts of people or cargo
• Cargo may be hazardous
• High life hazards may be involved

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 Railcar Construction and Placards
• Regulated by DOT and enforced by FRA
• Specialized business with special procedures,
regulations, and equipment
• Preplanning should be involved
• Specialized drills and seminars can be arranged
with rail officials

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 Locomotives
• Power producers for trains
• Small chance of fire in diesel engine itself
– Most of the hazard is electricity being generated
• Large size and weight is additional hazard
• Have a consist or way bill identifying hazardous
cargo onboard

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 Boxcars
• Looks like a box with attached wheels
• Carry variety of commodities, which may or may
not be hazardous and will have varied levels of
combustibility
• Often made of wood
• Compressor is electric and powered by diesel
generator attached to the boxcar
• Fuel is carried in small fuel tank attached to car

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 Flatcars
• Not enclosed, so no weather protection
• Designed and configured in different sizes
depending upon the type of cargo
• Some made of wood
• Main fire concern is the wooden car and the
cargo

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 Intermodal Equipment
• Flatcars with intermodal container attached
• Could be transported to variety of transports
without unloading cargo
• Hazards are related to cargo itself

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 Intermodal Equipment (cont’d.)

Figure 9-11 An IMO 101

tank. Like the totes, these
are bulk tanks capable of
carrying a large quantity of
product. They are normally
placed on ships and then
delivered locally by a truck,
although trains can also be
used.

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 Gondola Cars
• Designed with flat bottoms and four walls
• May have cover
• Can be wood, but most are steel
• Main fire concern is cargo itself

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 Hopper Cars
• Generally constructed using metal with sides
and ends that are fixed
• Transport dry bulk materials
• Main fire hazard is cargo itself

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 Passenger Railcars
• Railcars designed to carry people or provide
specific services for passengers, such as riding,
sleeping, dining, and luggage storage
• May carry several hundred people
• Older ones have combustible interiors
• Equipped by systems such as heat and air that
complicate fire hazard situations

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 Tank Railcars
• A tank mounted on a railroad frame with wheels
designed to transport a variety of liquid products,
having tank capacities ranging from a few
hundred gallons to as much as 45,000 gallons
• Product and type determine fire procedures

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 Electric Locomotives
• Powered with electricity from a third rail or
overhead wire carrying between 25,000 and
50,000 volts
• Need to make sure no one touches or crosses
over the powered third rail or wire as
electrocution can occur

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 Subway Rail Vehicles
• Fire problems can be numerous
• Possibility of serious loss of life
– Poor lighting, intense heat, and dense smoke along
with the feeling of confinement
• Reaching the heart of these fires is challenging
– In some cases, they are extremely difficult to
extinguish
• Breathing apparatus is always needed

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Fire Tactics and Strategy in Railed
Transportation Equipment
• Offer unique fire behavioral and other safety
related problems
• Regulated by fire and safety requirements
– Different configuration of vehicles/cargo-carrying units
• Identify hazard first
• Approach downwind w/ sufficient water supplies
• Wear full protective equipment

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 Aircraft
• Issues differ because of speed at which these
fires develop and the intensity of heat generated
• No safe escape route when in flight
• Regulated by FAA
• Air bill identifies hazardous materials being
shipped by air

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 Aircraft Fuel
• Identified by their ease of ignition
• Primary fuel used is identified as Jet A fuel
• AFFF is particularly suited for application to fires
in aircraft fuel spills
• Need to make sure the aircraft is electrically
grounded

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 Hydraulic Systems and Fluids
• Equipped with hydraulic systems and hydraulic
fluids that are operated under pressure
• Always approach with extreme caution
• A fluid under pressure will spray as a mist
• Ignition source can ignite the mist

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 Oxygen Systems
• Automatically put into action if cabin pressure
drops
• Can increase the flammability of materials in the
passenger compartment
• Need to understand the operation of these
systems and know how to shut them down

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 Electrical Systems
• Most have special electrical generating units
working at 24 volts
• Some have hydraulically powered systems to
provide backup for the aircraft control systems
• Drills at airports can assist firefighters to know
what to expect

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 Anti-Icing Fluids
• Used to keep ice off the wings and the moving
parts of the wings and tail portion of the airship
• Not as great a hazard as other aircraft fuels
– Alcohol will burn with an almost invisible blue flame
– May require greater amounts of water to dilute the
fuel

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 Pressurized Cylinders
• Aircraft have a number of different ones
• All have been known to explosively disintegrate
during aircraft fire fighting operations

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 Tire, Rim, and Wheel Assemblies
• Usually filled with nitrogen
– Protects the tire from the tremendous amounts of
heat generated during takeoffs and landings
• Tires can explode with the force of a bomb when
overpressurized, overheated, or damaged
during a crash impact

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 Escape Slides
• Automatically deployed and inflated within a
number of seconds from the time the exit opens
in the emergency mode
• Prepare to assist passengers as they exit
– Move them quickly away from the aircraft body and
wing areas

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 Military Aircraft
• Be aware that explosives are used to eject the
pilot seat and canopy in certain military aircraft
• Preplanning tour of military base recommended
• Wide variety of armaments located in and on the
aircraft
• Transportation of hazardous chemicals possible

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 Crash Scene Security
• Attract the public and media attention
• Establish an area surrounding the crash to allow
the performance of emergency operations and to
protect the scene for evidence
– Inner security perimeter: first responders and medical
units and investigative work
– Second zone extends from inner zone to a minimum
distance of at least 300 ft

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 Regulations for Aircraft
• FAA provides one set of basic regulations that
are adhered to worldwide
• Three types of fire scenarios
– After an air crash
– Fire occurring in flight
– Fire occurring in flight that remains undetected for
some time

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 Aircraft Engines (On the Ground)
• Generally not serious
– Fire attack can be made directly by ground units
• Dependant on whether it is in a piston-driven
engine or a turbine engine
• If contained within nacelle, extinguish fire by
using the onboard extinguishing system
• If this fails, fire will need to be extinguished
using hose lines with fog nozzles

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 Jet (Turbine) Powered Aircraft
Engine Fires
• Best controlled if engine can be kept turning
over
• Never stand within 25 ft of the front or the side,
or directly to the rear of the engine outlets
• Stand clear of the turbine or rotation area
• Either use engine’s built in extinguishment
system, dry chemicals, or foam or water spray

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 Wheel Fires
• Never park to the side of the aircraft or in line
with the wheel’s axle
• Smoke does not necessarily mean fire
• Do not use water for cooling
• Use dry chemical extinguisher and water only
when dry chemicals not available
• Use fire apparatus as a shield when water used

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 Strategy and Tactics in Aircraft
• Would essentially be trapped in an aluminum
tube surrounded by flammable fuel
• Quick departure and rapid extinguishment
needed
• If fire cannot be extinguished, escape route to
be provided by confinement of the fire using an
RIV
– Can discharge foam for cooling and smothering

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 Boats
• Fire threat on boats in any jurisdiction with
bodies of water
• Getting water to boat may be a problem
depending on boat’s location
• Fires in cabin should be attacked with foam or
water spray
• Will probably be glowing materials in
combustible furnishings inside the boat

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 Ship Fires
• Regulations established by USCG
• Safety of Life at Sea: international treaty
containing minimum standards of fire and related
safety issues for ships on international voyages
• International Maritime Organization (IMO):
agency of the United Nations dealing with
maritime issues and responsible for maintaining
the SOLAS treaty

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 Fires in the Hold of a Ship
• Greatly influenced by the conductivity of the
steel construction
• Smoke and heat generation is a problem
• Determine location, find out what is burning, and
determine the extent of the fire
• Possibility of capsizing should be considered

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 Tanker Ships
• Tanks or cargo area contains flammable liquids
• Contain either CO2 or steam extinguishing
system
• May not be possible to close all openings and
foam will be the only effective agent available
• Water can be used sparingly

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Fire Tactics and Strategy on Boats
and Ships
• Have many of the same hazards that complicate
fire fighting activities as other classifications of
transportation vehicles
• Need to obtain the cargo manifest to determine
the nature and problems presented by the
cargo, and the type and condition of the onboard
fire fighting system
• Fire preplanning and close coordination with the
harbormaster is recommended

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Fire Tactics and Strategy on Boats
and Ships (cont’d.)

Figure 9-15 A cargo ship in port

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 Summary
• Fires and the related safety issues in
transportation vehicles represent a big problem
for firefighters in the United States
• Each category of transportation fires presents
specific fire and safety-related problems
– Found in the propulsion or power system, the fuel,
electrical and hydraulic systems, and cargo areas
• Pre-plan and review the design and
specifications of transportation vehicles

© 2009 Delmar, Cengage Learning