Trapped in the Hoard 

Without a doubt the number one concern of teaching firefighters about fires that occur in hoarding conditions is the potential of firefighters becoming trapped inside. While this potential is present on any type of fire, hoarding presents additional challenges.  Understanding the potential for trouble should ensure all firefighters are visiting self rescue, lost orientation, and entanglement training monthly.  Let’s face it, many of us will be lucky to review and practice these procedures yearly if at all. Let’s take a look at three processes you can review to prepare yourself. 

Hoarding Concerns

As a persons home becomes full with belongings the amount of usable space is severely restricted. With this collection the potential for firefighters becoming lost inside increases. From day one most firefighters are taught orientation based on contact with a wall.  Household clutter that extends well beyond arms length from the wall is common in the hoarding conditions.  Firefighters who do not make adjustments for this danger can find themselves disoriented in a labyrinth of belongings, usually that have no secondary means of egress.  

How can this happen? Does the firefighter not see the junk?  Great questions, but there can be many factors that contribute to firefighters not seeing or suspecting clutter.  One factor is where the home is located. If inside a municipal district there may be no visible clutter from the exterior.  These hidden heavy content homes may not indicate clutter until entry. Secondly, the first room of entry my be free from clutter. In hoarding conditions not all rooms are completely packed full, there can be varying levels of stored items.  If the room of entry is open the firefighter may assume the rest of the building is the same way. 

In this audio Chamber of Hoarders Ryan Pennington interviews Battalion Chief David Brosnahan. David has taken suggestions learned from Hoarder Homes: Piles of Hazards for Firefighters presentation and apply them to his departments operation.

In this audio recording Ryan and David talk in detail about the Roseville's hoarding reporting system. Since it's inception Roseville's reporting system has identified 25 structures that exhibit some level of hoarding. Using this system on non fire situations allows crews to identify these buildings and begin to identify occupancy, access routes, structural stability, and stretch locations.

By ABC7.com staff Friday, February 13, 2015 11:45PM ENCINO, LOS ANGELES (KABC) -- California Highway Patrol officers rescued an elderly woman living in pack rat conditions who was trapped by flames in her Encino home near the 101 Freeway on Friday. The officers happened to be driving by. "We heard screaming coming from the other side of the house," California Highway Patrol Officer Edward Diffner said. "She was lying on the floor, 4 or 5 feet from the house, and she was screaming for our help," CHP Officer Kevin Mendel said. Crews responded to the one-story home in the 15000 block of Magnolia Boulevard near Densmore Avenue at about 5:50 p.m. Two people, an elderly woman and a man, were treated by firefighters at the scene. The woman was transported to a nearby hospital and was treated for moderate burns and smoke inhalation. She was in fair condition. The fire was confined to the one-story home, but excessive storage made it difficult to put out the flames. Fifty-five firefighters spent more than two hours battling the blaze. No firefighters were injured. The home was heavily damaged. The cause of the fire has not been determined. Neighbors were grateful for the CHP officers who arrived on the scene. "They did a great job, fast, good, very good," witness Sam Volchauck said.

FIREFIGHTERS in Derbyshire have held a seminar to raise awareness of the extent and impact of hoarding.

Compulsive hoarding is a debilitating psychological condition that is only just being recognised and one that can lead to issues regarding the health, wellbeing and fire safety of everyone in a hoarding home. It can also present significant risks to the community, firefighters and other agencies.

Last month 58 delegates from a wide variety of agencies from across Derbyshire representing; housing, environmental health, Age UK, care coordinators, the police and prevention and inclusion officers from the fire service came together at a multi-agency hoarding seminar hosted by Derbyshire Fire and Rescue Service.

There are approximately 50 hoarders known to the fire service in Derbyshire. It is anticipated that by working together and pooling knowledge with other services that this number will rise significantly.

Speaking on behalf of service, area manager Steve McLernon said: "By sharing information and best practice we can work together to help and protect not only those that are affected by hoarding, but also those that may have to come into contact with a hoarder or their home."  

Tuesday, October 14, 2014 05:39PM

One firefigher suffered smoke inhalation and was taken away by ambulance. He is in stable condition at Robert Wood Johnson Hospital.

Firefighters had a tough time battling the fire because in the apartment where the fire started, it was a case of what some are describing as hoarding conditions.

It was so difficult getting into the apartment that firefighters had to fight it from the outside.

Hoarder Fire from Dolton IL

Dolton,Illinois Still & Box House Fire 14641 Lincoln Avenue

Since the days of the Collier Brothers in Manhattan first responders have been     dealing with the affects of compulsive hoarding disorder.  The ChamberofHoarders.com is a website dedicated to teaching educating first responders on the needed changes to tactics and challenges they will face when entering the hoarding environment.  From bio-hazards during a medical response to a working structural fire hoarding offers dangers that can affect responders for years. The mission of this website is to deliver actionable content that you can put to action immediately.  Starting with this post we would like to walk you through the causes, challenges, and solutions when dealing with the conditions caused by compulsive hoarding.  Over the next 52 weeks we will be posting fresh content that offers insight into the disorder and how to change  our operations to bring everyone home safe. History of Compulsive Hoarding: Week 1 Compulsive Hoarding Disorder is defined as  the accumulation of and failure to discard a large amount of belongings that have no apparent value, the accumulation makes living spaces unusable, and causes significant distress on the occupant (Frost and Hartl 1996) This clinical definition describes the inability to discard belongings that eventually accumulate from floor level until, eventually, ceiling height.  Compulsive Hoarders receive positive feelings from the acquiring belongings and are unable to part with them because of the negative feelings they receive when parting with them. This collection often is comprised of things that you and I would consider to have little value. Common items collected include:

Since attacking the problem of emergency responses in Hoarding Conditions, from the perspective of first responders, the questions from the family members of people who are suffering from Compulsive Hoarding Disorder keep coming in.  How can I help my family member? How do I make their home safer are a small examples of the questions that are commonly asked. ]

Hoarding Fire Safety Should include a Escape Plan Answering these questions is complex and has no one simple answer, but there are some steps to help protect your loved one from the dangers of fires in hoarding conditions.  While these simple steps may not eliminate the risks to them it can improve the chances of survival if a fire were to happen. Since starting the research into hoarding fire safety many common causes have been identified.  Sharing these common causes will help family members protect their loved ones until they can be treated by the mental health professionals.   Cooking Fires Cooking fires are commonly seen in the fire service today. Hoarding conditions complicate these types of fires because the clutter has accumulated to the edge of the heating source.  When the belongings are allowed to invade the space adjacent to the stove the potential for cooking fires goes up.  If you add ordinary combustibles to a heat source the resulting fire can spread fast and trap the occupant who is in the kitchen. 0"] Hoarding Fire Safety In the Kitchen. Fire proofing your family member’s kitchen may be a huge undertaking, especially if the hoarding level is at or above waist level.  Compulsive hoarding disorder prohibits the occupant from distinguishing between things that have great or little value. If you were to try and move their “treasured” valuables you will be met with passionate resistance. Being understanding and compassionate in your response will keep the family member at ease as you try to explain the risk for fire. Approaching them with some tradeoffs will allow them to move their belongings away from the heating source, thus reducing the risk for a cooking fire.  Example: “Can we take the belongings from the counter and move them over to the table, away from the stove.”  If the family members understand how the thought process works they will focus on a positive solution to this problem. This approach may be met with resistance and take time to explain the risks of cooking fire inside their environment.  Persistence with this process will be needed and the kitchen may need to be revisited multiple times as the family member replaces the belongings that have been moved. Electrical Fires Another leading cause of fires inside hoarding conditions are electrical fires.  Having stacks of belongings closely placed near electrical outlets increase the risks of fire from a sparking electrical outlet.  Much like the cooking fires the ordinary combustibles, newspapers and like materials, can make a fire more likely and increase the burn rate trapping occupants. Moving the stacks of belongings away from the outlets is a simple solution to this problem.  Approaching the family member with the example of electrical outlet malfunction and explain that you are not asking to throw anything away, just move it away from the outlet will ease the pain felt when approached with the thought of losing their “treasures”.   Explaining the process of “moving” not “removing” the items can reduce their anxiety. "] Hoarding Fire Safey A blaring similarity, in electrical fires, seen in the hoarding environment, is caused by extension cords.  They are commonly stacked one on top of the other as electric outlets become unusable.  If an electric outlet becomes non-functioning the occupant often just runs an extension cord from a functioning one increasing the chance of overloading one outlet.  When you enter the family members home you should take time to investigate the status (usable or not) of all the outlets in the home.  This access can be difficult as the access to them can be blocked with the hoard.  Use the pathways established by the occupant to access the points available first before trying to go through the stacks.

Much like the education given to elementary students in fire prevention month family members afflicted with compulsive hoarding disorder should be exposed to the exit their home plan.  Fires today are known to double every thirty seconds, offering less time for occupants to escape.  Taking the time to explain this danger to your family members will help offer some simple solutions, while starting the treatment plan. Taking the time to explain this danger and evaluate the presence of multiple exits paths is paramount for their safety.  Example: “If a fire were to happen in the current condition blocking this only exit, you will burn to death” While this sounds somewhat extreme it may be necessary to bring home the dangers presented by not having multiple exit points in their home. Ask your family member “What is your plan in the event of a fire and this pathway is blocked?”  

By far the most important part of the visit should be the instillation of smoke detectors in EVERY room.  When hoarding conditions are present available airflow for smoke can be restricted.  This restriction can delay the time needed for a standard smoke detector to be alerted.  Delayed alerting can lead to less time for escape of an occupant.  Expecting this delay should lead family members to install more smoke detectors, one in each room.  Mounting them on the ceiling in the center of the room is a best option, if the stacks of stuff allow.  If not the closest proximity to the center ceiling will allow for the most coverage.

Dealing with loved ones that are dealing with compulsive hoarding disorder can be an emotion filled challenge that takes years.  Keeping a positive, reassuring approach that always keeps in mind the complexity of Compulsive Hoarding Disorder can lead to a successful safety intervention.  While this is not a cure it is an intervention that could save your loved ones life.  Make sure to reach out to your local fire departments, hoarding tasks forces, mental health professionals, and health officials for resources to help in your journey.   Additional Links: http://www.hoarders.org/f-c.html http://childrenofhoarders.com/wordpress/ http://hoardingdisorderinstitute.com/