NFPA Journal - September/October 2013 - (Page 62)

2012 CATASTROPHIC MULTIPLE-DEATH FIRES Arriving firefighters found the home fully involved in fire. All the victims were found in bedrooms on the second level. A bystander saw one of the victims appear at a second-floor window, but she disappeared back into the smoke. Four children were found on the floor in one bedroom, and the woman was located in a different bedroom on the floor near a window. NON-RESIDENTIAL Texas Date, Time of Alarm, Number of Deaths August, 10:40 p.m., 4 Number of Stories, Occupancy Type, Construction Type, Operating Status This was a two-story residential care facility for physically disabled residents. It covered 3,000 square feet (279 square meters) and was of unprotected wood-frame construction. Detection Systems and Suppression Systems Smoke detection equipment was present. The type and coverage was not reported, but they did not operate; the reason why was not reported. There was no automatic suppression equipment. Fire Origin and Path No information was reported. Contributing Factors and Victim Locations Firefighters initiated an offensive attack to allow for search and rescue for the occupants who were reported missing. In addition to the four residents who died, nine others evacuated uninjured. Pennsylvania Date, Time of Alarm, Number of Deaths January, 4:44 a.m., 3 Number of Stories, Occupancy Type, Construction Type, Operating Status This was a two-story mixed occupancy of unprotected ordinary construction with a barber shop on the ground floor and an apartment on the second. The barber shop was closed, but the apartment was occupied. Detection Systems and Suppression Systems No information reported. Fire Origin and Path The fire, of unreported cause, broke out in a back room of the first-floor barber shop. Contributing Factors and Victim Locations None reported. NON-STRUCTURAL Florida Date, Time of Alarm, Number of Deaths 62 NFPA JOURNAL SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2013 Catastrophic Non-Home Structure Fires Two of the 17 catastrophic multiple-death fires that occurred in 2012 started in non-home structures and resulted in seven fatalities. Both the number of fires and fatalities were lower last year than the year before, when six non-home structure fires resulted in 20 deaths (see “2012 Catastrophic Multiple-Death Fires by Type/Non-Home Structure Fires”). The first non-home structure fire broke out in a two-story residential care facility for physically disabled residents, four of whom died. The facility, which was of unprotected wood-frame construction, had smoke alarms, but they did not operate. The cause and origin of the fire were not reported. The second fire broke out in the back room of a barbershop on the first floor of a two-story, mixed occupancy building of unprotected ordinary construction between 11 p.m. and 7 a.m. The cause of the fire, which killed three people when it spread to a second-floor apartment, was not reported. Catastrophic Non-Structure Fires In 2012, seven non-structure fires killed 31 people. This is two more non-structure fires than occurred in 2011, resulting in 13 more deaths (see “2012 Catastrophic Multiple-Death Fires by Type/NonStructure Fires”). Five of these catastrophic non-structure fires involved vehicles. Vehicle crashes are included in this study if a fire in the vehicle caused the crash or the local coroner or medical examiner confirmed that the victims died of thermal injuries or inhalation of products of combustion, rather than impact injuries. Two of the vehicle-related incidents occurred on highways. The first was the 11-fatality, multi-crash incident on a smoke- and fogobscured interstate highway in Florida. The second occurred when

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of NFPA Journal - September/October 2013

NFPA Journal - September/October 2013
Contents
First Word
In a Flash
Perspectives
Firewatch
Heads Up
Research
Structural Ops
In Compliance
Buzzwords
Outreach
Electrical Safety
Wildfire Watch
Cover Story: Furniture Flamability
Special Report
NFPA Reports
NFPA Reports
Fire Analysis + Research
Section Spotlight
What’s Hot
Looking Back

NFPA Journal - September/October 2013