NFPA Journal - January/February 2014 - (Page 30)
>> FIREWATCH
from our files by Ken Tremblay
Smoking materials were blamed for a fire in a two-story apartment building in Massachusetts. The blaze resulted in an estimated $2 million in damage.
Residential
Smoking material fire damages
apartment building
MASSACHUSETTS-A fire that started on the porch of a two-story apartment building spread into concealed
attic spaces and quickly consumed the
wooden roof trusses, causing the roof
to collapse.
The living spaces and common
hallways of the 16-unit, wood-frame
apartment building, which was 200
feet (61 meters) long and 50 feet (15
meters) wide, were protected by a wetpipe sprinkler system with water flow
alarm, and each unit was equipped
with battery-operated smoke alarms.
Activation of the fire alarm provided
notification to the fire department.
The fire department responded to a
911 call and the automatic fire alarm at
5:36 p.m., and firefighters arrived five
minutes later to find heavy fire coming
30
NFPA JOURNAL
JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2014
from the front and right side of the
upper floor and roof. As the building's occupants evacuated, firefighters
entered the structure with hose lines
to conduct a primary search. After
crews vented the roof, the incident
commander pulled everyone from the
building and ordered a defensive attack and additional resources. It took
approximately 75 minutes to bring the
fire under control.
Local and state investigators determined that the fire started when smoking materials discarded in a planter on
a second-floor porch ignited organic
material in the planter. Flames spread
rapidly along the building's exterior siding and into the attic because
sprinkler protection was limited to the
apartment units and did not cover the
porch or the attic. The fire department
report did not note whether any sprinklers activated during the fire.
The building, valued at $1.75
million, and its contents, valued at
$452,000, sustained a combined loss
of more than $2 million. There were
no injuries.
Lack of working smoke alarms
delays detection of fatal fire
ILLINOIS-A fire of undetermined origin that began in the first-floor living
room of a single-family house killed
a 38-year-old woman, her 9-year-old
daughter, and her 7-year-old son.
Although the father was overcome by
smoke, he survived.
The two-story, wood-frame house,
which was 50 feet (15 meters) long and
25 feet (8 meters) wide, had a single
battery-operated smoke alarm with no
battery and no sprinklers.
A neighbor called 911 at 2:22 a.m.,
and firefighters arriving four minutes
later found heavy fire and smoke com-
Photograph: Robert Whitlow
Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of NFPA Journal - January/February 2014
NFPA Journal - January/February 2014
Contents
First Word
In a Flash
Perspectives
In Compliance
First Responder
Research
Wildfire Watch
Outreach
Firewatch
#Are You Prepared?
Life and Death at Memorial
Barrier Smarts
Perfect Storm
Conference & Expo Preview
Section Spotlight
Product Showcase
Looking Back
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