NFPA Journal - January/February 2013 - (Page 26)

>>firewatch The three-story, 18-unit, woodframe apartment building was 90 feet (27 meters) long and 32 feet (9 meters) wide. Each unit had smoke alarms and NFPA 13R sprinklers, and the building’s common areas were protected by a monitored fire alarm system. The fire department received an automatic alarm at 10:49 a.m., and responding firefighters encountered smoke on the second floor. In a secondfloor apartment, they discovered a sprinkler operating in the kitchen and found the trash can melted to the floor. There was also evidence that the fire had spread to the walls next to the trash can before the sprinkler activated. Investigators determined that the fire was unintentional. Although the occupant was not at home when the fire started, his cats were, and they all survived without apparent injury. The building, valued at $379,100, sustained damage estimated at $1,500. Damage to its contents came to $500. Manufacturing Damage to the building’s contents was limited to $1,000, and there was no damage to the building itself. Sprinkler controls fire in manufacturing plant IOWA—A single sprinkler activated and controlled a fire at a food product manufacturing plant until firefighters arrived to extinguish it. The fire detection system alerted all seven occupants of the building, who safely evacuated. The three-story building, which contained equipment used to manufacture food ingredients, had a fire alarm and wet-pipe sprinkler system. The fire department received a report of smoke in the building at 10:17 p.m. When firefighters arrived seven minutes later, employees directed them to an entrance and told them the fire was on the third floor. Once inside the building, they found a sprinkler confining the blaze to the inside of a mill sifter and used water from their hose line to complete extinguishment. Investigators determined that the fire started in the grinding mill filter system, where dust particulates are captured in polyester filter bags, but they could not determine what started it. Sprinkler limits damage in manufacturing plant fire MAINE— A sprinkler controlled a fire that started in a food additive manufacturing company when alcohol leaking from a pump ignited. The three-story, steel-frame plant had metal walls and a metal roof. The building was equipped with an automatic sprinkler system and fire alarm system, a waterflow alarm system, and manual pull stations. The fire occurred on the first floor in an area containing circulator pumps lined up along an open trench covered by fiberglass grate covers. A leaking pump allowed alcohol to spill onto electrical equipment and collect in the trench until the equipment ignited the alcohol, causing a sprinkler to operate. An employee noticed the fire, activated a manual pull station, and called 911 at 6 a.m. Firefighters used a 1¾-inch hose line to extinguish the remaining fire. Although the estimated loss was not reported, damage was limited to the circulator pump and two fiberglass floor grates. There were no injuries. Industrial oven starts fire FLORIDA—A building used to manufacture aluminum furniture sustained a significant loss when heat from a powder-coating oven overheated. The single-story, wood-frame building, which was 160 feet (48 meters) long and 60 feet (18 meters) wide, had a wood-and-steel-frame roof covered with a metal roof deck that had a builtup tar-and-gravel covering. It had no fire detection or suppression systems. Firefighters received a 911 call from an occupant of the building at 1:11 p.m. As firefighters left the fire station, they noted heavy smoke coming from the area where the fire was reported and found smoke and flames venting from one side of the building when they arrived three minutes later. A driveway 25 26 NFPA JOURNAL JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2013 http://www.smokeandfireprevention.com http://www.smokeandfireprevention.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