NFPA Journal - November/December 2012 - (Page 61)

NFPA.ORG For the full 2011 report, visit nfpa.org/largeloss. MANUFACTURING PROPERTIES KENTUCKY Date, Time of Alarm, Dollar Loss March, 5:40 p.m., $35 million Property Characteristics and Operating Status This was a five-story, 10,000-square-foot (929-squaremeter) calcium carbide manufacturing plant of unprotected noncombustible construction. The plant was operating at the time. Fire Protection Systems No information was reported on any fire alarm systems. There was no automatic suppression system. A sprinkler system would not have been appropriate as the process involved the use of calcium carbide. Fire Development The cause of an internal explosion in a furnace during normal operation was undetermined. Contributing Factors and Other Details Two workers inside a control room died of injuries sustained in the explosion and fire. MICHIGAN Date, Time of Alarm, Dollar Loss March, 5 p.m., $22.5 million Property Characteristics and Operating Status This was a one-story, 180,951-square-foot (16,811-square-meter) vehicle parts assembly plant of unprotected noncombustible construction. The plant was in operation at the time of the fire. Fire Protection Systems There was no automatic detection equipment. The partial coverage wet-pipe sprinkler system present did not protect the spray booth where the fire started, but it did activate as the fire spread outside the booth and overwhelmed the system. Fire Development The fire broke out in a spray booth. After an investigation, the cause was listed as undetermined. Contributing Factors and Other Details None reported. SOUTH CAROLINA Date, Time of Alarm, Dollar Loss February, 6:47 p.m., $20 million Property Characteristics and Operating Status This was a three-story, 160,000-square-foot (14,864-square-meter) fertilizer manufacturing plant of unprotected wood-frame construction. The plant was operating at the time. Fire Protection Systems There was no automatic detection equipment or automatic suppression equipment. Fire Development A fire of undetermined cause broke out in a break room. No additional information was reported. Contributing Factors and Other Details During this fire, an area of up to a ½-mile (0.8-kilometer) radius from the plant was evacuated. Mutual aid responded from a wide area to battle the blaze, as well as a structure fire and several small brush fires ignited by embers and flying brands. California firefighters battle a fire at a frozen foods plant. Large-loss fires accounted for nearly $800 million in direct property losses nationwide in 2011. With so many fires and such great destruction, complete information or a tabulation of total losses is not available for the 2011 Texas wildfires. However, we do know that one of them, the Bastrop County Complex wildfire, was the largest of the large-loss fires of 2011. The Bastrop County Complex wildfire broke out at about 2:20 p.m. on September 4 when power lines shorted out during high winds and sparks ignited dried grass and vegetation. The temperature that day was 98oF (37oC), winds were in excess of 45 miles (72 kilometers) Photograph: AP/Wide World NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2012 NFPA JOURNAL 61 http://www.NFPA.ORG http://www.nfpa.org/largeloss

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of NFPA Journal - November/December 2012

NFPA Journal - November/December 2012
Contents
First Word
In a Flash
Perspectives
Firewatch
Research
Heads Up
Structural Ops
In Compliance
Buzzwords
Outreach
Electrical Safety
Wildfire Watch
Past + Present
Easy Being Green?
Pressure Points
2011 Large-Loss Fires
2011 Firefighter Injuries
Section Spotlight
What’s Hot
Looking Back

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