When fire operations go awry, there is rarely a singular cause. Typically, injuries or accidents result from a confluence of unforeseen causes, complications or “problems lying in wait.” At a recent four-alarm fire in the Bronx, FDNY members faced just such a confluence of complications. However, there were no disastrous consequences and nobody was seriously injured. Thanks to some experienced, quick-thinking Firefighters and company and Chief Officers, the operating forces deftly reacted to an unusual convergence of problems, averting a potential disaster.

滅火救援的失利，往往是多種原因造成的。通常情況下，人員受傷或意外事故的發生是由不可預見的因素、火災的復雜性（多發性）和潛在的問題等共同作用的后果。

在布朗克斯地區最近發生的一次四級火警中，紐約消防局的消防員們就面臨著這樣一系列讓人措手不及的復雜問題。多虧紐約消防局的消防員、消防分隊和指揮官經驗豐富、反應迅速，在救援行動中巧妙地處理了一系列不同尋常的問題，才避免產生災難性的后果和嚴重的人員傷亡。

At 1313 hours on July/2017, Bronx fire companies transmitted a signal 10-75 for a fire in a New Law Tenement (NLT), located at XXX Avenue in the South Bronx. On arrival, members’ size-up indicated a fire on the third floor of a five-story, 25- by 75-foot, Class 3, occupied multiple dwelling. 

在2017年7月某天的13時13分，第10-75號火災報警信息被發送到了布朗克斯消防隊，位于南布朗克斯XXX大道的新法律公寓(NLT)發生了火災。當消防隊到達現場后，消防員們發現這是一座五層建筑，占地面積約為207.5㎡，屬于3類建筑，是有人員居住的多層住宅建筑，著火點在三樓。

The first-alarm units operated according to the FDNY’s Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) for NLTs. After quickly locating the fire in Apartment 3C on the third floor, Engines XX and XX paired up to stretch the first 1¾-inch hose-line, while Ladder XX began a primary search. Moments later, Ladder 31 advanced to the fourth floor to begin a primary search of Apartment 4C. Engine XX—the third-due engine—also began stretching a 1¾-inch hose-line to back up the first hose-line.

首先響應報警到場的消防隊按照紐約消防局的標準操作規程(SOP)對新法律公寓展開了行動，很快確定著火的是在三樓的3C公寓，XX水罐消防車分隊和YY水罐消防車分隊共同鋪設了第一條45mm（1.75英寸）水帶線路。同時，XX號云梯消防車分隊展開初步搜索。隨后，31號云梯車的消防員推進到四樓，開始對4C公寓進行初步搜索。第三個到場的ZZ水罐消防車分隊，開始鋪設作為第一條水帶線路備用線路的另一條45mm水帶線路。

While the operation initially seemed like an average all-hands fire, Battalion Chief XX, Battalion 3—the initial Incident Commander (IC)—suddenly faced three separate complications that developed almost simultaneously, threatening members’ safety and escalating the fire situation to multiple-alarm proportions. 

救援行動之初，看起來像是在處理一起普通的火災，但第3大隊大隊長XX，最初的現場指揮員，突然面臨三個不同的問題：火勢擴大、威脅消防員安全和火警等級逐漸提升為二級火警。

Approximately nine minutes into the fire operation, Engine XX—whose members were stretching a second hose-line—noticed smoke pushing from the cracks around the doorway of Apartment 1C on the first floor (two floors below the original fire apartment). Next, Ladder XX radioed the IC, calling for a hose-line and notifying the Chief that fire was extending to Apartment 4C on the fourth floor (the floor above the original fire apartment). Finally, Captain MarXXX CXXX—working in Engine XX—radioed the IC to report that they had knocked down the fire in the original fire apartment. But there was a disconnect between what Engine XX had reported and what Battalion 3 was observing—fire still was visible from the exterior, leaping from one window on the third floor in the one/four corner.

在救援行動展開大約9分鐘后，XX水罐消防車分隊正在鋪設第二條水帶的消防員們，注意到有煙霧從一樓（比最初起火公寓低兩層）1C公寓門口的縫隙向外冒出。接著，31號云梯車分隊通過無線電呼叫向現場指揮員（IC）請求增設一條水帶線，并報告現場指揮員火勢正向4樓（最初起火公寓的上一層）的4C公寓蔓延。最后， XX水罐消防車分隊中隊長MarXXX CXXX通過無線電向現場指揮員報告，最初起火公寓（三樓3C公寓）的火已被撲滅。但XX水罐消防車分隊中隊長報告的情況和第三大隊觀察到的情況不符——仍能從外部看到火焰，并且正從1/4拐角處的一扇窗戶向外竄出。

In reaction to Engine XXs report of smoke on the first floor, Battalion 3 ordered Squad XX to force the door to Apartment 1C to determine the source of the smoke condition. Seconds later, Squad XX reported heavy fire in Apartment 1C. This was a highly unusual development—a heavy fire condition had developed below the original fire floor and it was entirely unclear how it got there. What was known conclusively, however, was that several companies now were operating above an uncontrolled fire on the first floor. (FDNY Fire Marshals later determined that the fire had dropped down from the third floor in an unenclosed shaft on the exposure #4 side of the building, entering an open window on the first floor.)

針對ZZ水罐消防車分隊報告一樓有煙霧的情況，第三大隊指揮員命令XX救援分隊破拆1C公寓的門，確定煙霧的來源。幾秒鐘后，XX救援分隊報告1C公寓內火勢很大。

這是一種極不尋常的火勢發展狀態——在最初著火樓層的下面的樓層火勢很大，并且完全不清楚它是如何燃燒起來的。然而，能確定的是，現在還有幾個分隊正在火勢失控的一樓以上的樓層開展作業。（紐約消防局的火災調查人員后來確定，三層的火焰從建筑物4#墻面裸露的未封閉的豎井掉落下來，通過一層敞開的窗戶進入室內。）

With a torrent of complex new problems flowing toward the 3rd Battalion—and now the 6th Division, who had arrived on the scene—the Chief Officers in the street were forced to pivot and make some quick decisions. On one hand, Ladder XX had called for a hose-line to control a fire that had auto-exposed through an exposure #4 side shaft window to Apartment 4C (the floor above the original fire apartment). On the other hand, Squad XX had just confirmed heavy fire below the entire operating force in Apartment 1C. “Initially, when we started getting reports of fire on the first floor, it became a cause of great concern,” said Chief Hxx. “Did this whole fire start on the first floor and go unnoticed? That means it already made its way through the second floor and we’re fighting it on the third and fourth [floors]…We were very concerned in front of the fire building regarding where the fire was and if we could get control of it with so many units exposed above.”

一連串復雜的新問題拋給了火災現場的第三大隊（現在是第6分隊），街道上的指揮員們必須根據變化的情況快速地做出決定。一方面，31號云梯車分隊已經要求鋪設一條水帶線路出水進攻，控制從建筑物4#墻面外裸露豎井窗戶蔓延到4C公寓（最初起火公寓的上一層）的火災。另一方面，XX救援分隊剛剛確認了在所有救援力量下方的1C公寓正在猛烈著火。

 “最初，當我們收到一樓火勢情況報告時，引起了我們了極大的關注，”隊長Hxx說。 “難道整個火災是從一樓發生的，我們沒有注意到？如果是這樣的話，意味著它已經穿過了二樓，蔓延到我們正在滅火的三樓和四樓…在著火建筑面前，我們真正關心的應該是著火點在哪，我們是否能在上層建筑受到火災威脅的情況下控制住火勢。”

After quickly analyzing the “injects,” Chief Hxx ordered Engine XX to re-direct their backup hose-line—originally destined for the fourth floor—to Apartment 1C on the first floor. “You’ve got to extinguish the fire that’s below the members,” said Chief Hxx. “With fire that’s extending above, we can be below it; we’ll get to it.” Chief Hxx also ordered Engine XX—the fourth-due engine—to stretch a third 1¾-inch hose-line to Apartment 4C. He now had three hose-lines in motion—one for each floor. 

在快速分析了“出水內攻”之后，隊長Hxx命令XX水罐消防車分隊重新部署他們的備份鋪設他們的備用水帶線路，這條水帶線路原計劃是鋪設到四樓，現在轉向一樓的1C公寓。

“你們必須滅掉消防員正在作業樓層下方的火，”隊長Hxx命令道。“即使火正在向上蔓延，我們也要把它控制在下面，我們能做到。”隊長Hxx還命令XX水罐消防車（第四到場的水罐消防車）分隊，鋪設第3條45mm水帶線路延伸到4C公寓。

目前，已經有三條水帶線路正在出水滅火，每層一條水帶線路。

With the sudden need for resources, Deputy Chief Jxx Dxx—the 6th Division Commander—quickly transmitted a second alarm, recognizing that two additional floors of fire in a NLT would necessitate additional engine companies to stretch hose-lines and truck companies for searches and overhaul. A third alarm was transmitted soon thereafter.

由于突然需要增加救援力量，副隊長Jxx Dxx——第六分隊指揮員，很快就發出了二級火災警報（a second alarm）將火警等級提升為二級，當意識到在新法律公寓（NLT）中的另外兩個著火樓層（分析應該是二層和五層）也需要增加水罐消防車分隊出水和云梯消防車分隊進行搜索，很快，發出了三級火災警報將火警等級提升為三級（third alarm）。

With the Chief Officers outside in the street adjusting their hose-line strategy and calling for additional resources, the members and Officers inside the fire building also needed to alter their tactics to account for the dangerous developments. Uncontrolled fire now was burning on the first, third and fourth floors, placing numerous Firefighters in a precarious position above the fire. “I received the transmission that there was heavy fire on the first floor,” said Captain Currid. “It was surprising because I had no reason to believe that it would be there…I also had received a transmission that there was fire that exposed to the fourth floor as well, so we were sandwiched between floors of fire at that time,” he noted.

著火建筑外街道上指揮員們忙著調整水帶線路并請求增援時，著火建筑內部的消防員和指揮員也需要改變他們的戰術以應對危險的事態發展。

不受控的火正在第一、第三和第四層燃燒，將大量消防員置于火焰上方的危險環境中。“我收到了一樓火勢很大的信息，”分隊長Currid說:“這讓我很吃驚，因為我不相信火會出現在那里…我還收到了火已經蔓延到四樓的信息，所以我們當時被夾在了上下著火樓層的中間。”他解釋道。

The solution for the companies operating above the first floor was to seek out a safe area of refuge that ultimately would provide a ready means of egress from the fire building. “I knew that the three side most probably would be clear…based on all the information I’d gathered at the time,” explained Captain Cxx. “Ladder XX’s Officer then verbally confirmed to me that he had an area of safe refuge of a door, of an apartment that he exposed toward…the three side…We had an area of safe refuge ready to go while we were waiting for the other line to be put in place for the fire that was below us.” 

對于在一樓上方作業的消防分隊，要想擺脫困境，需要找到一個安全的避難避險區域，最終可以成為他們從著火建筑撤離的出口。

 “根據我當時收集的所有信息，我知道當前的三個疏散途徑會使我們很安全”分隊長Cxx解釋道：“XX云梯車分隊的隊長口頭向我確認，他在接近于他所面對的火災旁的一個公寓發現了一個安全的疏散門…三個疏散途徑…當我們等待用于撲救樓下火災的水帶線正在鋪設時，我們找到了一個可以隨時進入的避難區避險區域。”

While members on the inside secured a safe area of refuge, Firefighters on the outside of the building also took steps to mitigate risk to the members working on the third floor. Firefighters placed multiple portable ladders to windows on the third floor, ensuring that Engine XX and Ladder XX members would have a ready means of egress in the event that conditions became untenable. The members on the third floor now had a fire escape and portable ladders on the exposure #1 side and a safe area of refuge on the exposure #3 side.

當著火建筑內的消防員找到安全避難險區域的時候，著火建筑外的消防員也采取措施，試圖降低在三樓作業的消防員的風險。

他們在三樓窗戶處架設了多部梯子，以確保XX水罐消防車分隊和31號云梯車分隊的消防員能在內部環境惡化的情況下，及時從火場撤離。這時，三樓的消防員擁有了逃生通道，分別是位于#1墻面的拉梯和#3墻面的安全避難險區域。

Back in Apartment 3C (the original fire apartment), one room of fire continued to burn, undetected by the first-due engine and truck. After knocking down a living room and two bedrooms of fire, Engine xx still was having difficulty locating the fire that a throng of members and cell phone-wielding onlookers on HXX Avenue plainly could see emanating from a window in the one/four corner. 

回到3C公寓 (最初的著火公寓)，一個房間的火仍然在燃燒，第一到場的水罐消防車分隊和云梯消防車分隊均未發現。在客廳和兩個臥室的火被撲滅之后，XX水罐消防車分隊還是很難找到仍然在燃燒的房間，而在HXX大道上的一群消防員和揮舞著手機的圍觀群眾都能清楚地看到火焰正從1/4拐角的窗戶往外竄。

Unbeknown to the members of Engine XX, a likely alteration had created a small bedroom—akin to a “dead man’s room” in a brownstone（感覺是一個典故或引用）—that was wedged between two larger bedrooms in the one/four corner. To locate the elusive room, Captain Cxx was able to clearly communicate on his handie-talkie with Chief Hxx, who was acting as a spotter in the street. Using clear, concise language, Chief Hxx described the location of the fire that he was looking at, allowing Engine XX to locate the final room of fire. Once Engine XX found the third bedroom, members quickly knocked down the fire before running out of air and requesting relief. Had this bedroom continued to burn, it surely would have exacerbated the fire condition on the floor above, further endangering Ladder XX’s position above the original fire apartment.

水罐消防車分隊的消防員所不知道的是，在1/4拐角兩個大的臥室之間，因為一個可能的變化而創造出了一個像是豪宅里的密室一樣的小臥室。為了找到這個小房間，分隊長Cxx用對講機與在街上作為觀察員的隊長Hxx進行了明確地溝通。隊長用簡潔清晰的語言描述了他所觀察到的火源位置，并要求水罐消防車分隊找到火災的最后一個房間。

當水罐消防車分隊發現第三個臥室后，在火焰耗盡空氣并可能釋放壓力之前撲滅了火。假如這間臥室繼續燃燒，三樓以上的火場環境肯定會惡化，進一步威脅到在起火公寓上方作業的云梯消防車分隊。

•It is critical to be aware of our cognitive biases—in this situation, the “normalcy bias,” which is the psychological state causing people to believe that things always will function the way they normally function. Captain Cxx made this point in his post-fire analysis, saying, “It would be important not to fall to a normalcy bias of the fact that we always think of fire extending up. In this case, the origin of the fire was on the third floor and it extended down, quickly and heavily.”

在這種情況下，能意識到我們的認知有偏差是很重要的，“正常化偏見（normalcy bias）慣性思維”是一種心理狀態，指的是人們往往會以過去累積的經驗，來了解眼前正在發生的事，以至即使碰上前所未見的災難，初時仍會相信一切都會正常進行。

分隊長Cxx在災后分析中提到了這一點，他說：“不要陷入慣性思維是很重要的，事實上，我們總是認為火會向上蔓延。但在這次火災中，起火點在三樓，但它卻迅速而猛烈地向下蔓延。”

•Firefighting strategy always must be flexible. While operations at Bronx Box 4x-xxxx began according to FDNY SOPs, the Incident Commander was forced to veer in a new direction in reaction to a highly improbable development—downward fire extension. To mitigate this threat to members’ safety, the IC took the highly unusual step of placing the second hose-line below the original fire floor. “You’ve got to redirect your resources where they’re needed most,” said Chief Hxx. “In this case, we needed to redirect units below what we thought was the initial fire for the safety of everybody who was above.”

滅火戰術必須靈活，在布朗克斯區這次救援行動，開始是按照紐約消防局的標準操作規程進行操作，但為了應對“火勢向下蔓延”這一極不可能發生的發展態勢，現場指揮員不得不做出重新部署力量。

為了降低對現場消防員的安全威脅，現場指揮員采取了不同尋常的措施——將第二條水帶線路部署到起火公寓所在樓層的下面。“你必須將你的救援力量重新部署到最需要的地方，”隊長Hxx說。“為了樓上作業的每名消防員的安全，在這種情況下，我們就需要將力量重新部署到我們認為的起火點下方。”

•Members must take concrete tactical steps to mitigate risk. At xxx Hxx Avenue, members inside the building sought a safe area of refuge when confronted with a heavy fire below the original fire floor. Firefighters outside the building also placed multiple ground ladders to windows within reach in order to provide an additional means of egress.

消防員必須采取有效的戰術措施以降低風險。在xxx Hxx街道，著火建筑內部的消防員當面臨起火樓層下方樓層的大火威脅時，他們找到了安全的避難避險區域。

建筑外部的消防員也在建筑內消防員可到達的窗口處架設了多部拉梯，為建筑物內消防員提供了額外的逃生通道。