NFPA Journal - January/February 2013 - (Page 20)

>>firewatch Hoarding contributes to fire death OHIO—A 68-year-old man was found dead of exposure to products of combustion in the hallway of his single-family home, which was piled 3 feet (0.9 meters) high with trash and other items. The single-story, wood-frame house, which had an asphalt-shingled roof, had no sprinklers, and investigators were unable to locate any smoke alarms. A passerby noticed the fire and called 911 to report it at 11:24 p.m. Firefighters arriving four minutes later found smoke and flames coming from a bedroom window at the rear of the house. When neighbors told them the home’s occupant might be inside, fire crews tried to enter the building through the front door. Unable to gain access because of the deep clutter through which there were no paths, they tried a rear door with the same result. Crews then began forcing the doors open and put a hose line through a window into the room of origin to knock the heavy fire down. When firefighters finally managed to enter the house, they had to climb over the clutter to find the victim, who was lying just outside a bedroom. Investigators determined that the fire started in a bedroom, in unspecified wood or paper items, and spread to the mattress and throughout the room. Hoarding conditions prevented the occupant from escaping. The building, valued at $90,000, sustained $60,000 in damage, and the contents, valued at $50,000, sustained $30,000 in damage. Alternative heating source sparks fatal fire NEW JERSEY—A 64-year-old man and a bedridden 82-year-old woman were overcome by smoke in a fire that began in their home during a power outage caused by a snow storm. The two-story, wood-frame, singlefamily home had smoke alarms on the first and second floors, but they did not operate. Nor were they properly located or sufficient for the house. There were no sprinklers. A passerby discovered the fire and called 911 at 6:19 a.m. Firefighters arriving one minute later found flames coming from several rear windows on the first floor and police officers, who had arrived at the scene before the fire company, trying to force open the back door. Firefighters advanced a hose line through the front door, which had already been forced open by someone unknown, and eventually found the man in a bedroom on the second floor. They removed him from the house but, according to the fire department report, left the woman’s body in place. Fire investigators later determined that the fire started in a first-floor bedroom where the victims had set up a portable kerosene heater to keep them warm when the electric power went out. Fire Pump Test Hose Monster ! ® with the • The industry standard in fire pump testing • Safe, accurate, and easy to use • Improves accuracy by up to 12% over alternative methods • FM Approved Visit www.hosemonster.com to learn more about our ﬁre pump test solutions or call us at 888-202-9987. Fire Flow Testing | Fire Pump Testing | Standpipe Testing | Dechlorination | Software 20 1211_1805_HFP_Magazine_ads_4C_FA3.indd 1 NFPA JOURNAL JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2013 12/7/12 4:18 PM http://www.hosemonster.com http://www.hosemonster.com

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of NFPA Journal - January/February 2013

NFPA Journal - January/february 2013
Contents
First Word
In a Flash
Perspectives
Firewatch
Research
Heads Up
Structural Ops
In Compliance
Buzzwords
Outreach
Electrical Safety
Wildfire Watch
Rebuilding a Hospital
Prepping for the Worst
Chicago View: A Preview of the 2013 NFPA Conference & Expo
Long Time Coming
Section Spotlight
What’s Hot
Looking Back

NFPA Journal - January/February 2013