Fight Fire Tables

by Jason Morningstar

These tables are a small part of Fight Fire, a firefighting supplement for Fate Core written by Jason Morningstar. The Fate Core Kickstarter has now funded.

 

Make Your Own Alarm Call

These tables are designed to quickly generate fire department alarm calls. They are weighted toward the mundane and routine, but can produce nasty, dangerous calls as well. Roll two six-sided dice, or simply choose. Reject or modify any result that makes no sense or that you don’t like. Start with the type of alarm on Table A.

A. Alarm Call
2 Complex motor vehicle accident (Go to Table J)
3 Commercial fire, wealthy neighborhood (Go to Table C)
4 Complex medical (Go to Table K)
5 Single vehicle motor vehicle accident (Go to Table J)
6 Commercial fire, poor neighborhood (Go to Table C)
7 Residential fire, poor neighborhood (Go to Table B)
8 Simple medical (Go to Table K)
9 Industrial fire (Go to Table D)
10 Brush, trash, car, or open lot fire (Go to Table C for adjacent structure)
11 Residential fire, wealthy neighborhood (Go to Table B)
12 Technical rescue (Confined space/swift water/high angle/body recovery)

B. Residential Structure Fire (poor -2, wealthy +2)
0 Homeless encampment
1 Housing project
2 Row house, vacant, Heavily secured.
3 Crumbling mansion
4 Retail with apartments above, Heavily secured.
5 Row house, Heavily secured.
6 Single floor standalone residence.
7 Apartment building
8 Single floor standalone residence.
9 Multistory standalone residence.
10 Condominium
11 Multistory standalone, vacant, foreclosed
12 College dormitory, up to code with sprinklers.
13 Modern mansion, Heavily secured
14 High rise apartment

Add victims and fireground chaos if desired. Vacants may contain squatters, drug markets or unauthorized dumping/storage. Regardless of outcome, go to Table E.

C. Commercial Structure Fire (poor -2, wealthy +2)
0 Open air street market
1 Bus station
2 Motel or nursing home
3 Government service center
4 Parking garage or church
5 Convenience or grocery store
6 Restaurant/bar
7 Taxpayer (A cheap, unsafe strip mall retail with cockloft)
8 Commercial trucking warehouse
9 High end retail or gas station
10 Bank or hotel, Heavily secured.
11 Office complex
12 Multi-floor professional building
13 Luxury merchandise showroom
14 Luxury entertainment property

Add victims and fireground chaos if desired. Regardless of outcome, go to Table E.

D. Industrial Structure Fire
2 Chemical factory
3 Utility plant
4 Vacant factory
5 Repurposed warehouse
6 Storage yard
7 Full warehouse
8 Manufacturing facility
9 Vacant warehouse
10 Multi-floor factory
11 Enormous factory complex
12 Laboratory

Add victims and fireground chaos if desired. Vacants may contain squatters, drug markets or unauthorized dumping/storage. Regardless of outcome, go to Table E.

E. Structural Quirk (poor -2 wealthy +2, Industrial roll twice)
0 Extensive fire-transporting ductwork
1 Metal structural supports weakened by radiant heat
2 Bowstring trusses prone to collapse
3 Old, shoddy construction, deathtrap
4 Mazelike interior modifications
5 Masonry walls bearing excessive loads
6 Heavily secured against entry
7 New, shoddy construction, tinderbox
8 Sprinklers and fire resistant construction
9 Numerous voids in walls and ceiling
10 Efficiently secured against entry
11 Excessive weight load (roof air handlers, heavy objects)
12 Z-truss metal roof
13 Ornamental wood exterior, highly flammable
14 Undocumented Halon fire suppression system

Regardless of quirk, go to Table F.

F. Fire Severity
2 Apparent false alarm, but not really
3,4 False alarm
5 Fire in Ignition phase
6,7 Fire in growth phase
8, 9 Fire in flashover phase
10,11 Fire fully developed
12 Fire already decaying

If you have an actual fire, go to Table G.

G. Ignition Source
2 Intentional
3 Open flame
4 Cleaning equipment or supplies
5 Electrical equipment (Wiring, plug, fan, air conditioner)
6 Trash or rubbish fire
7 Cooking equipment (Cooktop, oven, hot plate, microwave, grill)
8 Heating equipment (Fireplace, chimney, furnace, space heater, boiler, water heater)
9 Lighting equipment (Lamp, cord, exterior lighting, inset lighting)
10 Smoking
11 Foolishness
12 Act of nature

Cooking equipment is often found in industrial or commercial break rooms. Regardless of outcome, go to Table H.

H. Ignition Location (Residential -2, Industrial +2)
0 Roll twice
1 Laundry room/basement
2 Exterior
3 Bathroom
4 Concealed space/cockloft/attic
5 Break room/kitchen
6 Sales floor/public space
7 Garbage storage area/compactor
8 Ductwork or wiring
9 Office/bedroom
10 Exterior wall
11 Heating equipment room
12 Garage or alley
13 Power closet
14 Alley or garage

If the fire is growing, in flashover, or fully developed, go to Table I.

I. Growth
2 Roof covering or eaves, fire spreads vertically
3 Rubbish, fire smolders
4 Ceiling, fire spreads vertically
5 Cooking materials/flammable liquid, , fire spreads vertically and smolders (Roll one more time)
6 Structural member or framing, fire spreads vertically
7 Wall covering, fire spreads vertically
8 Electrical conduit, fire spreads vertically and horizontally (Roll one more time)
9 Bedding or cloth, fire smolders
10 Upholstered furniture, fire spreads horizontally
11 Rug, carpet, fire smolders and spreads horizontally (Roll one more time)
12 Paper, fire spreads horizontally

If the fire is in flashover or fully developed, use the information you have to logically intensify it. The progression of the fire tells a story.

J. Motor Vehicle Accident (Roll three times for complex MVA)
2 Wreck, injured occupant/s concealed with growing fire
3 Wreck, injured occupant/s trapped with growing fire
4 Wreck with growing fire and hazardous materials
5 Wreck with growing fire
6 Injured pedestrian
7 Wreck, injured occupant/s or pedestrian
8 Wreck with ignited fire
9 Wreck, injured occupant/s trapped
10 Wreck with fully developed fire
11 Wreck, injured occupant/s trapped with ignited fire
12 Wreck, injured occupant/s trapped and requires technical rescue

K. Medical (-2 for simple, +2 for complex)
2 Patient dead on scene
3 Unusual patient requires extrication/aid
4 Patient in distress requires extrication
5 Routine eval/transport (cardiac)
6 Routine eval/transport (respiratory)
7 Unnecessary call/false alarm
8 Accident (Fall/cut)
9 Distress (shock/poisoning)
10 Severe accident (burn/blunt trauma/gunshot)
11 Vehicle-related injury (Roll on Table J)
12 Injured patient drugged and combative and/or missing