Hazards of Knee Walls

Presented by: OC FOOLS; Johnathan Hall, Captain; Saint Paul, MN Fire Dept

Room 203

According to 2017 Natation Fire Protection Association statistics, fires in one- and two-family homes accounted for 53 percent of all structure fires. Often, these fires occur in dwellings that contain occupiable half-stories constructed with knee walls, which present tremendous challenges to responding firefighters and have resulted in numerous Maydays. Building construction containing knee walls can be found in most every community from urban to rural, in older legacy homes, as well as in modern pre-manufactured truss homes. Knee walls can conceal tremendous amounts of combustible gases that are waiting for the proper mixture to ignite. Members can easily be on the fire floor with no smoke and little to no heat conditions. As soon as members open up the knee walls, extreme fire conditions can erupt with little to no warning. Students will learn the severe hazards that knee walls present, how to recognize them early, and how to safely mitigate incidents involving them.