NFPA Journal - July/August 2017 - 74

Firewatch
Notification of the fire department was
delayed while the male resident, who
had a mobility disability and was on
the first floor, attempted to investigate.
The residence had a ground-floor
area of 988 square feet (92 square
meters). The house was constructed
with wood framing, walls, and roof
deck, with asphalt shingles.
The house was equipped with smoke
alarms on the first floor and basement,
but a hardwired smoke alarm had been
removed from a second-floor hallway.
The house did not have an automatic
extinguishing system.
The fire caused $9,000 in damage
to the house, valued at $91,000, and
$11,000 in damage to its contents, with
an estimated value of $46,000.

NEW YORK
Resident dies in house fire
started by candle
An elderly woman with a mobility impairment died from smoke

inhalation injuries sustained in a
house fire that started when a candle
ignited materials in the basement.
Firefighters were summoned to the
scene at 4:15 a.m. after the fire was
detected by the victim's son, who also
resided in the home.
Reports indicated that first-arriving
crews encountered heavy smoke conditions as they arrived at the scene and
that they found the victim in a back
bedroom, already deceased.
According to newspaper reports, the
victim's son and a neighbor attempted
to enter the house through a side door
but were driven back by intense smoke
conditions. The reports indicated that
the son was taken to the hospital and
later released.
Investigators determined that a
candle that was left burning in the
basement ignited nearby combustibles,
with the fire spreading through the
basement and then up the stairs into
the first floor.

A battery-operated smoke alarm
inside the house was determined to be
inoperable.
The single-story house was constructed with a wood frame and brick
walls and had a wood roof deck covered
with asphalt shingles. The structure
occupied a ground-floor area of 1,073
square feet (100 square meters).

Storage
CALIFORNIA
Fire results in large losses at
vehicle storage facility
A nighttime fire at a vehicle storage
facility destroyed several vehicles and
caused over $2 million in damage
before it was extinguished by firefighters from two departments.
Firefighters were dispatched to a
report of a structure fire at 7:45 p.m. and
reported heavy black smoke and the sound

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Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of NFPA Journal - July/August 2017