About This 2-Story Bungalow Fire Training Simulator
Two-story wood frame bungalows add vertical complexity to incident command decisions. Stairwell conditions, upper floor fire behavior, and collapse risk all factor into size-up. Use this simulator for officer development, recruit training, and command drills. Drag and drop fire and smoke onto the photo to create custom multi-story scenarios, then talk through your size-up with your crew. It is free, runs in the browser on desktop and mobile, and needs no software installation.
How to Use It
- Study the photo for a minute as if you were the first-arriving officer on scene.
- Drag fire, smoke, wind-driven smoke, and personnel onto the scene to create a scenario.
- Give your size-up report and initial action plan, then change the scenario and repeat.
Size-Up Considerations for a 2-Story Bungalow
- Construction: Wood frame with wood siding. Older bungalows may have concealed voids in the walls and attic that let fire extend out of sight, including from floor to floor.
- Stairs: An interior stairway can act like a chimney, carrying heat and smoke to the second floor. Where is the stairway in relation to the fire?
- Upper floor: Fire above the first floor changes access, search, and rescue. Think about ground ladders to second-floor windows and how fire and smoke may be blocking them.
- Roof and attic: Upper floors may sit partly under the roof pitch, with tight attic and knee-wall spaces where fire can spread. Consider how you would ventilate and check for extension.
- Collapse risk: Fire under or around a floor, or in the roof structure, can weaken it. Practice how that risk would change where you place crews.
- Photo check: Before you decide on a plan, look at the spacing to neighboring buildings, overhead lines, parked vehicles, and access for apparatus.
Practice Scenarios
- Smoke showing from second-floor windows with the front door closed.
- Fire on the first floor with heavy smoke pushing up the stairwell.
- Fire in the attic space reaching the roof.
- Fire on one side of the house spreading to the second floor and a neighboring building.
Discussion Questions
- What are your first three observations on arrival, and what do they tell you?
- Where would your first ground ladder go, and why?
- What is the greatest life hazard, and what is your first priority?
- Which hoseline goes where, and what resources would you request?
- What would make you change from an offensive to a defensive strategy?
This tool is for training discussion only. Always follow your own department's standard operating procedures and local protocols.
