OPERATIONS BULLETIN

Bulletin Number 51 |

Structural Wall Collapse | 2015

Background
Firefighters in F&RNSW and other fire services have suffered injuries and fatalities as a result of wall
collapses. These incidents have occurred during both internal and external operations, meaning that
choosing a defensive strategy alone is not sufficient to control the risk of wall collapse.
Walls of buildings that have been affected by fire, storm and tempest, or other impact can collapse
without warning, resulting in firefighter injuries and fatalities. This bulletin provides information
about the risk of wall collapse and the requirement for an exclusion zone to be maintained
wherever a risk of wall collapse is identified.

Critical message
All firefighters must observe exclusion zones of 1.5 x the height of any wall affected by fire or other
impact.
Firefighters must:

Maintain situational awareness at incidents to identify

and proactively report hazards to commanders
Identify where exclusion zones are established or
required and not enter them.

Incident Controllers must:

During size-up, assess the risk of wall collapse to

firefighters and other persons
Regardless of wall construction, where a risk of wall
collapse is identified, establish an exclusion zone of
1.5 x the height of the wall, clearly identified with barrier tape and communicated to all
crews
Consider appointing a Safety Advisor to review strategies and tactics.

Hazards
Walls of buildings at incidents may collapse with little or no warning. Any change to other
structural components, such as damage to support structures, is likely to affect stability. Fire
presents a particularly high risk because heating of internal surfaces may cause internal
expansion and displacement of wall materials, columns and beams, which can increase the risk
of the wall collapsing.

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Walls may collapse hours after impact or fire extinguishment, so the

length of time a wall has remained standing should not be used as
an indicator of stability. Wall collapse may also cause additional
hazards such as detached power lines and other utilities. No level
of personal protective equipment or clothing can protect a firefighter
from wall collapse.
In order to minimise risks, exclusion zones are required to be
established with barrier tape and communicated to everyone at the
incident.

Factors to consider
Risk factors for wall collapse include:

Double brick wall collapse at a structure

fire

Type and duration of the incident

Intensity of a fire or magnitude of impact such as explosion, storm or vehicle impact

External loads on the wall such as parapets, chimneys, awnings, signs and electrical
connections
Internal loads or changes that apply lateral force to the wall, such as water, heavy
plant, floor or joist displacement
Environmental factors such as wind.

Additional structural risk factors include:

Construction type, size and wall materials
The age, condition and height of the building
The size and location of openings such as windows, roof and floor design and any
engineered load systems
Pre-existing structural damage or deterioration, which may be indicated by the presence of
wall anchor plate distortion
Renovations or modifications to the structure
The presence of passive and active fire protection
Weight of firefighters and water used for extinguishment
Other impacts of our operations, including water jets or ladders pitched against the wall.
Parapets
Parapets are non load bearing, often decorative walls that extend above the roof line. They
present a particular hazard because they generally have limited bracing or support.

Operations Bulletin 51

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Examples of parapet walls

For buildings involved in fire, additional risk factors include:

fuel load
location
behaviour
duration of the fire.

Firefighters need to be aware of the common wall construction types that include :
Tilt slab
Sandwich panels
Single/double brick.
Each of these wall types will behave differently when impacted by fire.

Operations Bulletin 51

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DISCUSSION POINTS
1. Do your response plans identify hazards and pre-determined assembly or parking locations
for fire appliances and other support agencies?
2. When responding to fire alarms in buildings, do you position fire appliances within the 1.5
exclusion zones just because you observe no fire activity or it is only a report of a fire alarm?
3. What other factors may increase the exclusion zone beyond 1.5 x wall height?
SACFS currently reinforces working principles and the hazards associated with structural collapse
through Defensive Firefighting, Compartment Fire Behaviour and Basic Fire Fighting 1 training
courses.

References:
F&R NSW Safety Bulletin Wall Collapse March 2015
SACFS Training manuals

Distribution:

All CFS staff, Groups and Brigades

Created by:

Mark Thomason Manager Risk and Lessons Management

Authorisation:

Chief Officer

Approved: (sign)

Operations Bulletin 51

Date: 29/07/2015

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