NFPA Journal - May/June 2012 - (Page 29)

Investigators determined that the fire started when a lighted candle fell onto a bed in one of the bedrooms and ignited the bedding. The fire was confined to the bedroom, although the adjacent hallway sustained smoke and heat damage The smoke from the fire, which was reported at 12:06 a.m. by an occupant, did not activate the smoke alarm. Investigators could not determine why the alarm failed to go off, as its battery was connected and was sufficiently charged. Eighty percent of the house and 90 percent of its contents were damaged. The three-story building, which was 140 feet (43 meters) long and 200 feet (61 meters) wide, had wooden walls and a wooden roof covered with asphalt shingles. A combination wet- and dry-pipe sprinkler system protected the entire property, including the attic. In addition, the building was equipped with a fire alarm system with a monitored water flow alarm. Firefighters responding to a water flow alarm arrived to find a sprinkler operating in a third-floor apartment. It had already extinguished the blaze, which began when an electric oscillating fan in the corner of a bedroom Disabled man dies in fire in his apartment MASSACHUSETTS—A man in his 60s, who was confined to a wheelchair, was fatally injured when cardboard boxes sitting on the stove in his first-floor apartment’s kitchen ignited and the fire spread to the cabinets. The 15-story, steel-frame apartment building, which was 150 feet (46 meters) long and 50 feet (15 meters) wide, had concrete block walls, an exterior veneer of brick, and a flat roof with a built-up surface. In addition to a sprinkler system, the building was equipped with a fire detection system that provided smoke detectors in common areas. Each apartment also had local smoke alarms. The victim’s medical alert system contacted the fire department at 9 a.m. When firefighters arrived at the smoke-filled apartment, they found two sprinklers controlling the blaze. They removed the victim, while additional fire companies extinguished the fire and ventilated the unit. Damage estimates for the building and its contents were not reported. Sprinkler extinguishes apartment fire MICHIGAN—A 90-unit apartment building used as senior housing sustained only minor damage before a sprinkler extinguished a small fire caused by an oscillating fan. MAY/JUNE 2012 NFPA JOURNAL 2011 NFPA JOURNAL 29 http://www.amerex-fire.com http://www.badgerfire.com http://www.buckeyef.com http://www.kidde.com http://www.halotron.com http://www.halotron.com

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of NFPA Journal - May/June 2012

Nfpa Journal - May/june 2012
Contents
First Word
In a Flash
Perspectives
Firewatch
Research
Heads Up
Structural Ops
In Compliance
Buzz Words
Outreach
Electrical Safety
Wildfire Watch
Treasurer's Report
Signal Concern
Giant Steps
13^3
Sprinklered Menagerie?
Free Samples
Eye on Health Care
Membership: The Sections
Expo Preview: Exhibitors' Showcase
Looking Back

NFPA Journal - May/June 2012