N7CAS
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What is a "Charlie side" or a "Delta side" to a house fire?
Fire Fighting Terminology
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doctordialtone
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A building has 4 sides.
A,B,C and D side.
- A-side: Front of the fire building, usually front door facing street, but may be facing parking area where first apparatus arrives; other sides labeled B (left), C (rear), D (right), as necessary when speaking of or staffing structure fire sectors.
Charlie side is the rear yard Delta side is the right,Bravo the left and Alpha is the front of the building or the street.
PriorMike
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Alpha would be the 'front' of the incident building, then bravo, charlie and delta in a clockwise fashion when viewed from the top.
PriorMike
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Wizard.
Edit to add: not all departments use this system; some still number them 1-4.
wtp
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here the FD uses the letter designation and the PD uses numerics.
30319
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Around here, for better or worse, they use Side 1, Side 2, Side 3 and Side 4.
N7CAS
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Outstanding! Thanks for the info!
Normally, though a building can have as many sides as needed. Once you get into commercials or McMansions it's not hard to have up to K, L, M sides.
It should not go to that if using numbers it would be exposure 2a 2b 3a 3b etc. So you know if it is in the 2nd building on the left it is 2a if it is in the 3rd building on the left it is 2b etc. Using A side B side etc I don't care for at all. Different strokes for different folks but I think the number and letter system works better and less confusion. If I get told to take a line or get the roof in exposure 2a I know I am going two doors down from the original fire building.
I agree with what youre saying but I think we are referencing different things, Im not referring to an exposure (if you told me to take a line to building 2A Id assume the building 2 out from the A side). Im more referring to large complexes, like a mall. It can have multiple sides, all the way down to Zulu which then technically by the book would be followed by AA, AB, AC, AD, etc. which makes it super confusing. Its more of a book theory, when In reality something that big youd have division and section commands falling under an operations officer.
We are referencing the same thing it is just the wording. A is the street B could very well be a street but more often it is a building. If you have fire coming out the B side even if it is a street or a building it is still considered the B exposure of the building no matter a letter or number. Again different terminology for different departments. Either way got to the building to the left and right and or rear always seemed to work for me.
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