NFPA Journal - November/December 2013 - (Page 55)

Firefighters tear open a receiving door to battle a fire at a paper products manufacturing facility in Minnesota. The fire resulted in $14.9 million in damage. start, it had already spread to more than 100 acres (40 hectares), and within five hours it had burned into a residential area and ignited several structures. The resulting fire killed three people, burned 4,140 acres (1,675 hectares) and destroyed 27 homes. Two of the victims were a married couple, and both bodies were found at their home, one inside and one outside. The third victim was found in her home. The operating status of the structure was reported for 15 of the structure fires. In 10 cases, the facility was in full operation. In three, operations were closed and the property was unoccupied. And in two, only security personnel were present. Seven of the fires in structures broke out between 11 p.m. and 7 a.m. Detection and suppression systems Information about automatic fire or smoke detection equipment was reported for 11 of the 18 large-loss structure fires. Five occurred in properties that had no automatic detection equipment. Of the other six structures with information reported, three had smoke detection equipment: one each with complete coverage, partial coverage, and unreported coverage. Two structures had heat and smoke detection systems- one with complete coverage and one with unreported coverage-and one structure had a smoke detection system and manual pull stations with unreported coverage. All of the systems operated effectively. Information about automatic suppression equipment was reported Photograph: AP/Wide World RESIDENTIAL PROPERTIES PENNSyLvANIA Date, Time of Alarm, Dollar Loss April, 2:38 p.m., $25 million Property Characteristics and Operating Status This fire involved a three-story, 30-room, single-family home of heavy-timber construction with granite block walls. The structure covered 22,000 square feet (2,044 square meters) and was occupied when the fire broke out. The house included several attached buildings of various heights. Fire Protection Systems There was a complete coverage fire alarm system present that was connected to a security company. The system operated and notified the company, which in turn called the fire department using 911. There was no suppression equipment present. Fire Development The fire began in the ceiling/floor space in the basement of an attached one-and-a-half-story building. Fire investigators could not determine the cause of the fire. The fire spread to a dumbwaiter that went up to the attic area. On the first floor, the dumbwaiter had been removed and equipment was installed in its place. The fire spread behind this equipment and up the rest of the shaft to the attic. From there, it spread throughout the attic of the structure, then down to the third floor. Contributing Factors Three firefighters suffered minor injuries. MISSOuRI Date, Time of Alarm, Dollar Loss August, 3 p.m., $14 million Property Characteristics and Operating Status This was a four-story apartment building with 68 condominium units and was of unprotected wood-frame construction. The floor area was not reported. The building was occupied at the time. Fire Protection Systems There were smoke detectors as well as manual pull stations in the building. The detection system operated as designed. There was a sprinkler system present that had complete coverage in the occupied area of the building, and it operated. Its operation was reported as ineffective because there were no sprinkler heads in the attic, where the fire extended into the building, or on the balconies. NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2013 NFPA JOURNAL 55

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NFPA Journal - November/December 2013