NFPA Journal - September/October 2012 - (Page 30)

>>firewatch until the single sprinkler in the closet activated and controlled it. Firefighters alerted to the fire by the waterflow alarm arrived and found the fire smoldering in the closet. They removed the cart and put the fire out, then controlled the flow of water from the sprinklers, which had already deposited 5 to 6 inches (12 to 15 centimeters) on the fire floor. Using a nearby stairwell, the firefighters pushed the water down to the lowest level and kept it from spreading onto the other floors. None of the 11 patients on the floor was affected by the fire, which was confined to the linen closet. The building sustained $1,000 in damage, while the contents of the closet sustained an estimated $20,000 loss. Mercantile that flames spread to a plastic trash barrel filled with combustibles and to the combustible wood flooring above the bathroom before the sprinkler activated. The fire breached the floor, allowing the fire to spread to the chair on the first floor. The building, which was valued at $950,000, and its contents, valued at $250,000, sustained losses estimated at $4,000 and $1,000, respectively. There were no injuries. Electrical fire spreads in store in strip mall Sprinkler controls fire in thrift store OREGON—An employee who was opening a thrift store for the day discovered a fire in a chair in the firstfloor women’s lavatory. While removing the chair, he noticed flames and smoke in the second-floor employee break room. Fortunately, a single sprinkler had already operated and confined most of the fire to the room of origin. The two-story, wood-frame building housed a retail store and a warehouse that was 85 feet (25 meters) long and 170 feet (51 meters) wide. The walls were made of concrete, the floor and roof framing were made of wood, and the roof was covered with a built-up roof surface. There was no fire alarm system, but the building was protected by a full-coverage dry-pipe sprinkler system with only a waterflow alarm. The employee who discovered the fire called 911 at 7:40 a.m. to report it, and firefighters arrived five minutes later to find that the sprinkler had nearly extinguished the blaze. Investigators determined that the housing of a portable electric floor fan motor ignited after the motor overheated and VIRGINIA—A beauty supply store in a strip mall was damaged by a fire that started when circuits feeding electrical junction boxes that did not have proper coverings arced and ignited walls and stored items. The business was not open on the day the fire occurred. The single-story mall, which covered approximately 640,000 square feet (59,457 square meters), had masonry walls, steel bar joist roof framing, and a metal deck roof covered with foam insulation topped by tar and gravel. The store in which the fire began was approximately 80 feet (24 meters) long and 64 feet (19 meters) wide, with adjoining occupancies on either side. There were no sprinklers or fire alarms in the building. After receiving a 911 call reporting the fire at 5:33 p.m., firefighters arrived five minutes later to find moderate, grey smoke coming from the center of the store. They secured a hydrant for water supply and placed their hose lines before carefully breaking the store’s windows from a protected location. The engine and ladder crew then entered the store and tried to extinguish the blaze at the rear, until the incident commander pulled them back outside. A ground monitor was placed directly in front of the store as crews checked the occupancies on either side of it for possible fire extension. Using a large-diameter monitor nozzle, firefighters knocked down the heavy fire and safely entered the store to conduct 30 NFPA JOURNAL SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2012 http://www.smokeandfireprevention.com http://www.smokeandfireprevention.com

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of NFPA Journal - September/October 2012

NFPA Journal - September/October 2012
Contents
First Word
Mail Call
In a Flash
Perspectives
Firewatch
Research
Heads Up
Structural Ops
In Compliance
Buzzwords
Outreach
Electrical Safety
Wildfire Watch
Lessons of Comayagua
After Waldo Canyon
Catastrophic Multiple-Death Fires in 2011
Fire Loss in the United States in 2011
Section Spotlight
Research + Analysis
What’s Hot
Looking Back

NFPA Journal - September/October 2012