How many firefighters does it take to fight a structure fire?
A. Structure fires are some of the most complex incidents we respond to. While inherently dangerous, the danger is increased dramatically when there aren’t enough firefighters on scene to handle the incident properly. Short staffing also increases the danger to the structure’s occupants. There is no short answer to this question; a structure fire can be small (such as a burning piece of furniture) or large (such as the MHS fire in 2007). A typical house fire might require a 3 person crew for fire suppression, 1 to operate the fire engine, 2 persons set aside for firefighter rescue (Federal law), 3 persons for search and rescue, 3 persons for ventilation operations, a Safety Officer, an Incident Commander, a secondary 3 person interior crew to check for fire spread, a 2 person rehab crew, a 3 person medical unit for treatment of occupants. That’s 22 people required for a small house fire! At any given time, the District might have as few as two people on duty. A typical structure fire r
