Stairwell search is where teams of firefighters are deployed to areas above

the fire sector to search for, and assist or rescue, occupants who are
trapped or threatened by fire or smoke.
Stairwell protection is primarily a proactive strategy that is directed at
protecting occupants who may already be self-evacuating, whilst at the
same time securing stairwells for an emergency evacuation should it ever be
needed. The strategy is aimed at using all available means, tactics and
resources to mitigate smoke infiltration into stairwells.
The concept of ‘stairwell protection’ primarily suggests firefighters should
locate and secure, or establish, and maintain, at least one means of vertical
egress from a fire involved building. ‘Stairwell protection’ as a strategy
differentiates itself from ‘stairwell search’ which is often a reactive response
to fire survival guidance calls.
The intent is to protect the horizontal and vertical escape channels long
enough for persons to evacuate safely and allow firefighters to enter and
establish a base from which they can mount an effective fire attack. In a
residential building, a care home, a hospital or a phased evacuation office
tower, these escape channels must be kept clear of smoke and combustion
products for an extended period of time. In a block of flats, the common
‘stay put’ policy means we must ensure that escape routes are relatively
smoke free for the entire length of time we are firefighting. If they aren’t,
something has gone wrong with the building, its systems, or our own
firefighting actions.
It appears at section 3.3.29 of the FDNY Multiple Dwellings (residential high-
rise) SOP:
3.3.29: "The first line stretched for a fire in a multiple dwelling should be
stretched by way of the interior stairs. The primary purpose of this line is to
safeguard the stairway so that it can be used by the escaping occupants.
The door to the fire apartment must not be opened while people are coming
down the stairway from the floors above. When the safety of the stairway is
assured, this first line may be advanced to extinguish the fire".

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