Going Above the Fire
By Daniel P. Sheridan
As a probie on the Fire Department of New York’s (FDNY’s) Ladder 17, one of the first things I learned was about the dangers of going above the fire. We previously had a fire in a five-story renovated tenement building, we were the second-due ladder, and our assignment was to go above the fire to search for victims and any extension of fire. As we made our way up the stairs, the officer checked with the first-due engine officer and advised him that we were going above.
When we got to the floor above, we found five apartments on the floor. The officer grabbed me and told me to force the door on the opposite side of the fire’s location. In this instance, the fire was in the rear, so we forced the “off apartment” in the front of the building. He told me that this is always the first thing that we should be doing at every fire where we will be operating above it (photo 1).
