Massachusetts Fire Chief 2009

THE STRAND THEATRE FIRE OF 1941 Beware of the Truss one of the greatest tragedies to strike the American Fire Service occurred in Brockton, MA, when a ﬁre at the Strand Theatre resulted in the sudden collapse of the ﬁre weakened truss roof assembly, killing thirteen Brockton Fireﬁghters. The Strand Theatre, located on School Street opposite City Hall, was built in 1915 and opened in March 1916. Ironically, the Strand Theatre was built after its predecessor theatre, the Sheedy Theatre, was destroyed by a ﬁre on April 7, 1915. The Strand Theatre, situated inside of a city block area, surrounded by other three to ﬁve-story buildings, had a seating capacity of 1,685, which made it the largest theatre in the city. The access to the theatre lobby was gained from a rather long corridor leading from School Street. The stage area was protected by a dry-pipe sprinkler system that apparently did not play a role in the ﬁre. The Theatre was remodeled in 1937 and contained more exit areas than were required by building codes of that era. The building was constructed of wood and brick with brick walls supporting a wooden roof, supported by unprotected steel trusses, set into the side brick walls. The steel trusses served as the support for the wire lath and plaster ceiling over the entire theatre. A large, inaccessible On March 10, 1941, void space was located between the ceiling and the roof assemblies. This void space played the signiﬁcant role in the sudden collapse of the ceiling and roof structure over the balcony area during the ﬁre. In 1941, Brockton was known as the Shoe Capital of the World, with many shoe factories providing employment for its population of 60,000. The ﬁre department consisted of six ﬁ re stations with one Squad A Company, ﬁve two-piece Engine Companies and three Ladder Companies. The 123 ﬁreﬁghters worked 84 hours per week and earned an average weekly salary of $35.00 “FROM PAST TRAGEDIES, LESSONS ARE LEARNED AND FIREFIGHTERS BECOME BETTER EDUCATED ABOUT THE DANGERS THEY ENCOUNTER.” The ﬁre was discovered by the night custodian at about 12:35 A.M. when he smelled smoke in the theatre shortly after the last patrons had left the last movie of the evening. He sent his helper to the nearest Street Box at Main & High Streets – Box 1311 – to send the alarm, received Fire Alarm at 12:38 A.M. M A SSA C HUSE TTS FIRE CHIEF 2009 | 35

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Massachusetts Fire Chief 2009

Massachusetts Fire Chief 2009 Contents A Message from the FCAM President Code of Ethics/Vision Statement Bonds of Service Legislative Report The Fire Chief for 2009 and Beyond Leading a Combination Fire Department Remember When Fighting for Code Change Leadership Matters Fire Risk Management - Fire Chiefs - Codes The Current Economy and its Effect on Fire Departments Statewide Fire Mobilization Plan Beware of the Truss Index of Advertisers

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