Fire departments that lack viable building intelligence for high-rise structures are putting firefighters and occupants in harm's way, working off little or no building knowledge. Adopting a 'Know Before You Go' mentality can enhance a fire officer's 'thinking-in-time' process with an initial size-up and empowers fire crews with assigned tasks within a target building. When an incident becomes a working fire or a nonfire emergency situation, a manageable level of building intelligence can be provided to the incident commander as the incident is unfolding. To help prepare for battle, some of the requisite knowledge and skill sets are building construction features, structural compartmentalized fire behavior, and associated hazards. This preincident knowledge helps prepare strategy and tactics and provides for safer fireground operations.