NFPA Journal - September/October 2013 - (Page 20)

>> FIREWATCH from our files by Ken Tremblay A five-alarm fire in New Jersey gutted a building that contained a restaurant and several other businesses. assembly Restaurant fire spreads in concealed spaces NEW JERSEY—A fire that started in the mechanical room over a restaurant spread through the common roof assembly to additional occupancies in the building, destroying the structure. In addition to the restaurant, the one-story, wood-frame building, which covered an area of approximately 5,700 square feet (530 square meters), contained four other businesses, including a hair salon and a music store. The building had a common roof, and its interior walls were made of plaster and lath. It had no sprinklers or fire detection equipment, and there were no fire separations. The fire department received a 911 call at 3:32 p.m. reporting smoke in the building. Police arrived on the scene before the firefighters and 20 NFPA JOURNAL SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2013 notified the fire department that the smoke was coming from the restaurant. Four minutes later, fire crews arrived and forced open the front door of the restaurant to find smoke up near the ceiling in the kitchen and banking down in the dining room. Upon further investigation, they found the fire above the bathrooms in the rear of the dining room. When they opened up the ceiling, they discovered fire spreading in all directions. As interior crews tried to suppress the fire inside, additional crews began vertical ventilation. However, conditions continued to deteriorate as the fire burned through the roof, and the incident commander ordered a switch to defensive operations. Investigators determined that the fire started above the bathrooms near the dining room, where a gas-fired hot water heater, fans, electrical extension cords, a small gas-fired furnace, and an air conditioning unit were located. However, they could not identify the cause of the blaze. The fire destroyed the building, valued at more than $1.25 million, and its contents, valued at approximately $250,000. No one was injured. HealtHcare Nursing home visitor dies while making methamphetamine OHIO—A 31-year-old man was killed while making methamphetamine in a nursing home when a glass jar containing light petroleum distillate broke, spilling burning liquid onto the victim and onto combustible materials in the room he was visiting. The resulting fire triggered the nursing home’s sprinkler and fire alarm system. Two sprinklers confined the fire to the room of origin. Photograph: Betsey Burgdorf, The Westfield Leader and The Scotch Plains-Fanwood Times

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