On The Job - Indiana: Severe Weather Hampers Firefighters at Shelbyville Industrial Complex
On Feb. 16, 2007, a multi-alarm fire destroyed a 50,000-square-foot portion of the Knauf Fiberglass Corp. in Shelbyville. Firefighters encountered severe weather, frozen hydrants, a water shortage and two smoke explosions while operating at the scene. The sprawling industrial complex covers nearly six city blocks and is comprised of several interconnected buildings, including one dating to the 1890s. The office building occupied 10,000 square feet and was of the original 1890s construction of heavy timber with a top roof of rubber membrane over the original roof made of tar buildup. This building had been remodeled several times over the years. The production area of the facility occupied approximately 200,000 square feet and was built in the 1960s of steel frame and trusses with metal siding and a metal roof. A new 400,000-square-foot addition is being constructed.
The Shelbyville Fire Department was dispatched at 2:44 A.M. after a call was received from Knauf employees stating there was smoke in the building, but they could not locate the source. Responding on the alarm were Engines 1, 2 and 3, Aerial 1, and Medics 1 and Medic 2 with a total of 15 firefighters under the command of Battalion Chief William Grove. First-due Engine 1 was positioned at the A-B corner of the office area and the receiving docks. Employees directed firefighters into the "smokers" area in the office portion of the building. There was no life-safety issue in this part of the facility as no office staff was working at this time of the day, although 100 employees were working in the production area remote from the fire. All production employees self evacuated after the utilities were turned off to the facility.
As Investigation Team 1 progressed down a hallway, two stepladders were found in the hallway where employees had been looking above the ceiling tiles for the source of the fire. Firefighters observed light smoke above the drop ceiling, but the use of a thermal imaging camera failed to locate a heat source. Investigation Team 1 requested additional firefighters to assist with the interior search for the fire. The crew then advanced into a laboratory, where heavier smoke was observed coming from the cabinets next to the outside wall and from a pipe chase in the ceiling. Several compressed gas cylinders were removed from the lab through a window by firefighters. The crew from Engine 2 (Investigation Team 2) proceeded down the hallway, but did not find any smoke or heat with a thermal imaging camera. When Investigation Team 2 returned to the receiving office, the crew found increasing smoke and requested a 1¾-inch handline from Engine 1.
Engine 3 was assigned to investigate the roof above the office area. The crew set a 24-foot extension ladder, but due to water supply concerns, was reassigned to establish a water supply for Engine 1 from the nearest hydrant. Engine 3 reported that the closest hydrant was frozen and that the crew was looking for another hydrant. Engine 2 was assigned to supply water to Engine 1 until a water supply could be established. The pump operator on Engine 2 reported fire on the receiving dock at ground level. Two 1¾-inch lines and a 2½-inch line were placed into service from Engine 1.
Grove requested the recall of off-duty firefighters at 3:18. The crew from Engine 1 now reported that the smoke had rapidly turned black and then back to light gray. At 3:29, Investigation Team 1 was running low on air and exited the building through a lab window. Attack Crew 1 pulled the ceiling and insulation in the receiving dock office and reported that brown smoke was filling the room.
In the meantime, Engine 3 found two more hydrants were frozen. At 3:54, Engine 1 hooked into the Knauf water pump on the side of the building with a 500-foot supply line. Firefighters were assigned to peel the exterior wall of the building to gain access to the fire. Off-duty firefighters began arriving and were assigned to assist with firefighting operations. At 3:52, the roof sector advised that there was increasing smoke and that the fire was running along the attic area of the receiving building. Command advised the roof sector to evacuate at 4:01. At 4:04, Attack Team 3 replaced Attack Team 1. Upon entering the receiving room, there was no heat, but cool smoke was down to floor level.
At 4:15, as Attack Crew 3 was exiting the building due to low air supplies, they were hit with a large "gush" of heat and fire that knocked them out onto the loading dock. Exterior crews operating on the dock noticed pressure, a fireball and black smoke coming from an opening in the wall. A personnel accountability report (PAR) was immediately taken and all firefighters were accounted for. At 4:16, Engine 1's pump operator advised command that fire was now visible on the roof. Attack Crew 3 re-entered the building and found the room full of smoke with a "lazy" fire rolling across the ceiling.
At 4:29, the roof sector advised command that the roof was becoming soft, that the snow was melting and charged smoke was coming from the eaves of the office area. Fire was venting from the air handler over the lab. Command ordered all firefighters off the roof. At 4:42, a smoke explosion occurred while crews were exiting the roof. A firefighter who was on the ladder was knocked to the ground and the ladder fell over. The interior attack crew was pushed to the floor and attempted to regain control of the fire with the handline as they exited to the loading dock. The exterior crew that was operating on the loading dock was also knocked down.
The pump operator of Engine 1 issued a "Mayday" for the firefighter who was down and sounded the air horn for evacuation. The two remaining members of the exterior crew removed the injured firefighter to an ambulance for transport to a hospital. Firefighters re-established the ladder, allowing the three remaining roof crew members to exit the roof. Command immediately requested a PAR and at 4:43, all firefighters were accounted for and out of the building. Command established defensive outside sectors at this time.
At 5:05, Deputy Chief Tony Logan arrived on scene and assumed command. Aerial 1 was positioned on Elizabeth Street at the A-B corner and was supplied with a 600-foot supply line from a hydrant on Noble Street. Attack Crew 2 positioned the portable monitor from Engine 1 on Elizabeth Street to cut off the fire spread. Firefighters were now in a defensive mode and a crew found a firewall 300 feet to the east of the dock area. By this time, the fire had consumed the roof from the dock area 75 feet to the east. Firefighters felt that the fire could be stopped at the firewall.
At 5:26, command requested aerial apparatus from the Greensburg and Sugar Creek fire departments. Sugar Creek Ladder 45 responded with five firefighters and Greensburg responded with Ladder 6. Ladder 45 was positioned on the D side and set up to cut off fire that was headed east and north. This aerial was supplied with a 200-foot supply line from a hydrant. Greensburg Ladder 6 was positioned at the A-B corner with Shelbyville Aerial 1 and set up for defensive operations. This aerial was supplied by a 600-foot supply line from a hydrant.
At 5:48, another explosion occurred in the office area. At 8 A.M., Greensburg Truck 2 responded with three firefighters. This unit was positioned on the A-D corner and was fed with a 1,100-foot supply line from a hydrant.
At 8:35, the Indiana American Water Company requested that fire officials cut back on water usage as the water tower was less than half full and that two other water tanks were nearly empty. By 9:40, units on the fireground were experiencing low water pressure and reduced volume. At 9:49, command requested tankers, dump tanks and manpower from all Shelby County fire departments and other fire departments from Bartholomew, Decatur, Hancock, Johnson and Rush counties. At 10:02, the water company advised command that the Michigan Road water tank was empty. Government officials ordered all area businesses and schools to close and for residents not to use any water.
By 10:37, mutual aid tankers from the Amity, Burney-Clay Township, Clark, Clifford, Columbus, East Columbus, Elizabethtown, Fairland, Fountaintown, Franklin, German Township, Greensburg, Harrison Township, Hartsville, Hope, Letts, Manilla, Morristown, Moral Township, Needham, New Palestine, St. Paul, Southwest, Trafalgar, Waldron, Whiteland and White River Township fire departments began arriving in the staging area. A dump site was established for the A sector using two dump tanks with a jet siphon. Morristown Engine 51 was set up as draft and supplied Sugar Creek Ladder 45. Another dump site was established for the B sector using two dump tanks with a jet siphon. Sugar Creek Engine 45 drafted to supply Greensburg Truck 2 and a portable monitor. Three water supplies were established to support the tanker-shuttle operations. A fire hydrant at the Moral Township Fire Department 10 miles away was used as one water source. The Franklin Township Fire Department assisted tankers with connections at the hydrant. Two draft sites at a gravel pit two miles away were also established. Engines from the Leets and Waldron volunteer fire departments were used to draft from the pit and fill tankers.
Command declared the fire under control at 3:29 P.M. Mutual aid units were released from the scene at 5 P.M. Shelbyville units left the scene at 8 P.M. Nearly 200 firefighters fought the fire using seven pumpers, four aerial devices and 43 tankers. A total of 1,654,150 gallons of water was used during firefighting operations including 1,500,000 from the municipal water supply and 154,150 gallons supplied by the tanker shuttle.
A four-day investigation was conducted by Shelbyville Fire and Police departments, Shelby County Sheriff's Department, Indiana State Fire Marshal's Office and the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF). Investigators determined that the cause of the fire was electrical in nature. Damage was estimated at $12 million. The fire department suffered damage to the aerial's waterway and to gauges on apparatus. Lost in the fire were a thermal imaging camera, two portable radios, an attic ladder, a pike pole and a rescue tool. This equipment was left behind as firefighters were exiting the building after the smoke explosion. The estimated loss of fire department equipment was over $67,000.
Firefighters encountered several problems in this incident. Foremost was the inability to locate the seat of the fire. The wall in the office building where the fire originated was 18 inches thick, of which about 10 inches was air space. Thermal imaging cameras do not work when a wall is made up of several layers of building material. The fire department conducted tests after the fire by reconstructing a portion of the wall and igniting it. Thermal imaging cameras again were not able to detect the fire.
The ceiling and roof construction also posed problems. There was a drop ceiling in the office building at normal ceiling height. The original ceiling was two feet above the drop ceiling. The original roof had been left in place when the new rubber membrane roof was installed. All of these construction issues made it extremely difficult for firefighters to fight the fire. Indicators of a backdraft or smoke explosion were not as clearly seen or defined in this large building as they normally are in smaller structures such as a house. Fortunately, only one firefighter needed to be transported to the hospital due to injuries received in the smoke explosion. Several others suffered minor injuries not requiring medical attention.
The temperature was four degrees below zero at the time of the fire with the wind blowing at about 7 mph. Twelve inches of snow had fallen in the previous three days, making apparatus positioning difficult and hampering the movement of firefighters trying to perform exterior and roof operations. Even though 50,000 square feet of the facility was destroyed, the overall outcome of the incident was a success. The fire did not affect any of the production area. Repeated training in tactics and the incident command system proved invaluable along with a working accountability system to track the nearly 200 firefighters on scene.
SHELBYVILLE FIRE DEPARTMENT
Chief Todd Anderson
Personnel: 58 career firefighters, one civilian fire inspector
Apparatus: Three engines, one ladder tower, one tactical/air wagon, one grass rig, one command truck, two ALS units, one reserve pumper, one reserve ambulance
Population: 18,000 city/42,000 county
Area: 45 square miles (city)/411 square miles (county)
JAY K. BRADISH/IFPA, Firehouse® news editor, is a former captain in the Bradford Township, PA, Fire Department. He has been a volunteer firefighter and fire photographer for more than 25 years.
