Fire Following Earthquake:Planning, Strategic, and Tactical Considerations

Los Angeles County Fire DepartmentChief Deputy (Acting)David R. Richardson Jr.

Fire Following Earthquake:

An Overlooked Dilemma

Los Angeles County in 1857,When the Last “Big One” Struck

(Fort Tejon Quake, Magnitude 7.9)

• Over 10 million people (23 Million in Southern Cal)• Fastest growing areas are close to the San Andreas• Most communities are “built out” which supports a

Virtual Forest of Wood-Framed Structures and other combustibles from the Desert to the Ocean

Los Angeles County Today

Los Angeles County Today

• SoCal is notorious for ‘Santa Ana” winds and subsequent conflagrations

• Aging water systems and infrastructure • Topography concerns

Los Angeles County Fire Department

• Serving 2,305 square miles– 58 incorporated cities & all unincorporated

communities• 4,850 total personnel

– 3,000 Firefighters– 1,800 support staff (Dispatchers, Lifeguards,

Admin, Pilots, Mechanics, etc.)• 302,960 annual responses

The 2008 “Shakeout Earthquake Scenario” Illustrated the “Fire Following Earthquake” Urban Conflagration Potential in Los Angeles County & Southern Calif.

Risk Assessment

• A Fire Service Multi-Agency Taskforce was formed to:– Identify Challenges– Determine Readiness– Provide Recommendations

Taskforce Focus

• Response Issues• Conducting USAR

Operations• EMS Operations• Mutual Aid

• Logistical Challenges• Communications• Care for Personnel &

Their Families• Control of

Fire/Urban Conflagrations

Fire / Urban Conflagrations

Challenges

Studies predict 1,600 Post-Quake Ignitions Across Southern California Requiring a Fire Department Response

Fire Department Delayed by Volume of Simultaneous Emergencies, GridlockedTraffic, Damaged Routes, etc.

…Small Fires WillGrow Rapidly WithNo Suppression

Some Residential Fires That WouldNormally Be Confined to One Room WillInvolve Several Homes on FD Arrival

1,200 Urban Fires Cannot Be Controlled By The First-Due Fire Engine

Some Commercial Fires Normally Kept Small Will Now Involve Entire Buildings

Damaged Water SupplySystems Will HinderFirefighting Efforts

“Fire Branding”Will Spread Fire

Direct Flame Impingement WillSpread Structure Fires

Dozens of Urban Conflagrations Will Develop, Each BurningTens of Blocks

Some Urban Conflagrations WillMerge as “Super Conflagrations”

Some Wildland FiresWill Ignite and Spread to Cities

Many Will be Trapped AliveInside Buildings Exposed to Fire

Hundreds to Thousands of Deaths from Fire

This is Modeled WithNo Santa Ana Winds!

Santa Ana ConditionsCould Result inUnfathomable Conflagrations

Task Force Recommendations:

Revise policies, guidelines, and training

o Clarify post-earthquake operational priorities and a strategy to save the most lives in urban conflagration situations

o Assume widespread water supply interruption and limited resources.

Improve Identification of Alternate Fire SuppressionWater Sources

Immediate need to clearly identify alternate water supplies forthe control of fires in the urban and suburban areas.

Immediate need to improve rapid identification of alternatewater supplies in rural and wilderness areas.

o “Bot dots” in the street in front of homes with swimmingpools

o A system of signage indicating alternate water sources.

Update GIS layering of remote inland waterways where diveoperations may be necessary

• Some of these bodies of water also can be used for firesuppression, and should be noted as such on maps.

Identify and using additional alternate watersupplies

• Existing fire suppression water storage in highrise buildings

• Existing water supply for fire suppression atrefineries and other industrial occupancies

• A system to rapidly identify all alternate watersystems

• Including mapping and GIS support

• Unusual solutions like water tanks withretractable roofs to allow copter snorkeloperations

Develop Urban Conflagration Strategic Plans

o Wildfire Strategic Plans are a proven effective tool

o A similar system (adjusted for environment) would beuseful in the event of a major earthquake or any othercause of urban conflagrations.

-Assess each jurisdiction or battalion for conditions thatcould result in post-quake conflagrations.

-Assign personnel to develop Urban Conflagration Pre-Attack Plans for each affected jurisdiction or battalion.

Fire suppression Surge Capacity.

o Possible models include a Brigade approach,with multiple surge centers where a fleet of fireengines and other apparatus would be housedin a warehouse and maintained in a state ofreadiness by a combination uniformed andcivilian staff.

o Community Emergency Response Teams(CERT)

Multi-agency training in the control of urbanconflagrations

o Success is dependent on a clear understanding by ChiefOfficers, Company Officers, copter and pilots

o Need to train personnel on the “best practices” beingdeveloped.

o Establish a primary training program and a continuingeducation module on the control of urban conflagrationsfrom earthquakes and other causes (Critical Thinking).

-Example: “7.8” Exercise Booklet, used by the L.A. CountyFire Department to orient/train all personnel in the hazardsof a San Andreas Fault quake and post-quake conflagrations

7.8 (2010)Shakeout 2010

Tabletop Booklet

L.A. County Fire Department

(Following are Sample Pages of Exercise Booklet)

October 15, 16, 18, 2010 10:00:30 hours

(30 SECONDS AFTER the earthquake begAN)

• In Riverside County, emergency generators are shifting, computers are overturning, and airport runways are cracking.

• Fires are igniting across Imperial and Riverside counties.• TVs and home electronics are shattering, creating treacherous carpets of glass

and cords.• Older building are suffering structural damage and trapping occupants.• The eastern part of Riverside County is now cut off from the western part due to

the dismantling of the Interstate 10 freeway.• The rupture is racing toward San Bernardino.• At your fire station in Los Angeles County, there is no warning of the quake

that will strike in one minute.

October 15, 16, 18, 201010:01:30 hours

(90 SECONDS AFTER the earthquake begAN near the Salton Sea)

• NOW the shaking begins in Los Angeles County as the damaging “S” Waves arrive.

• The shaking will last more than 2 minutes in places!• In the L.A. Basin, 55 seconds of prolonged very strong shaking is collapsing

hundreds of buildings, commercial, industrial, concrete, wood frame and up to 8 high-rise buildings. At this level of shaking, every additional second causes exponentially more structures to collapse

– There was only 5 seconds of this strong level of shaking in Northridge!• Tens of thousands of injuries are occurring.• Thousands Are at Risk of Death from Collapse, Fire, Injuries.• Buried water mains and sewer pipes are rupturing.• Roads are buckling and freeways are coming to a halt• Trains are derailing• Hazardous materials are being released

Personnel should “Drop, Cover, and Hold On” During Shaking

October 15, 16, 18, 2010 10:02 hours

(2 MINUTES AFTER the earthquake begAN)

• In L.A. County, the shaking began 30 seconds ago. Everyone look at your watches and time it out. You still have another 90 seconds of shaking left in this earthquake!

• In Bakersfield, Oxnard and Santa Barbara the shaking is just beginning.• Over 10,000 aftershocks will be felt in the next couple months (some large enough that

they would be disasters if they occurred separately, but now they are causing additional damage to infrastructure, victims and rescuers.

• Some bridges and overpasses have collapsed due to retrofitting not completed.• No hospitals have seen complete collapse, but many have suffered partial collapse or

other otherwise non functional and will be out of service.• Electricity & phone service is out across Southern California• Hazardous Materials releases are happening in many places

• Nearly 2,000 structure fires are beginning simultaneously

Your Fire Station Has BeenSeriously Damaged

Apparatus Doors Are Inoperable

This is happening in your first-in district

This is one of many columns of smoke already visible in

your first-in district as youroll out of the station

--Right away, you come across this fire:

Hydrants are DryBecause of Water Main

Breaks in the Area

All You Have Is 500 Gallons of Water in the Fire Engine’s Tank

Conflagration ConditionsAre Developing in MultipleLocations. What is your

Strategy now?

There are Light VariableBreezes (But FortunatelyNo Santa Ana Condition)

Decision Point: You Come Across Both Situations on the Same Street. Are You First Going to Fight Fire (at left) or Will

You Start Rescuing Victims in the Collapsed Structure (on right)?

Decision Point: You Arrive to Find A Weak Water Supply in the Hydrants, and People Trapped in the

Collapsed Apartments (Exposures C and D).What Will Be Your First Priorities and Actions?

Another copter crew informs you that there are many fires, and now your district looks like this:

Does this report change your priorities? How?

What Are Your Priorities Now?

Now the fires in your district look like this:

The Time to Prepare is NOW