NFPA Journal - November/December 2019 - 55

the other in a greenhouse. One fire
each was caused by a child playing with
a lighter that ignited a mattress; a gas
leak ignited by an unknown source
at a construction site; an electrical
malfunction in a digital technology
manufacturing plant; and a candle
located too close to curtains.
The cause was reported for six of the
eight non-structure fires. In the wildland fires, one fire each was caused
by sparks from the rim of a blown-out
trailer tire; an electrical malfunction;
an electrical transmission line falling
into dry brush; and a homeowner
causing sparks while pounding a stake
with a hammer. One wildland fire was
deliberately set. The two vehicle fires
were caused by hot work in the cargo
area of a ship and a malfunction in an
aircraft engine.
Operating status was reported for 21
of the 28 structure fires. In eight cases,
the facility was open, operating, or had
workers on-site; in 13 of the incidents,
the properties were closed and/or
unoccupied.

STORAGE PROPERTIES
New Hampshire
Month, Time of Alarm, Dollar
Loss
January, 6 p.m., $18,000,000
Property Characteristics and
Operating Status
This was a lumber yard. No additional details were reported.
Fire Protection Systems
No details were reported.
Fire Development
No details were reported.
Contributing Factors and Other
Detail
No details were reported.
Alaska
Month, Time of Alarm,
Dollar Loss
February, 10:55 p.m., $12,000,000
Property Characteristics and
Operating Status
This was two-story, 16,021-squarefoot (1,488-square-meter),
public works storage building of
unprotected noncombustible
construction. No one was at the
site when the fire started.
Fire Protection Systems
No detection or automatic suppression equipment was present.
Fire Development
The fire began in a wall assembly
after a cutting torch ignited a
structural component. The type
was not reported.
Contributing Factors and
Other Detail

Seven of the 28 structure fires broke
out between 11 p.m. and 7 a.m. and
had a total direct property loss of
$155.2 million. Two of the non-structure fires broke out between 11 p.m.
and 7 a.m. with a total direct property
loss of $8.4 billion.

Smoke detection and automatic
suppression equipment
Information about automatic fire
or smoke detection equipment was
reported for 24 of the 30 large-loss
structure and vehicle fires. Of those
24 fires, 17 properties had detection
equipment present, while seven properties had no automatic detection
equipment installed. Ten of the 17
systems operated as designed, three
systems did not operate, and in four
cases the operation was not known.
The three systems that did not operate
were installed but had not yet been
activated.
Information about automatic suppression equipment was reported for
24 of the 30 structure and vehicle fires.

The building was used for storage of village-owned vehicles
and other stored goods. The
discovery of the fire was delayed
because there were no personnel
present in the building at the
time, and also because there
were no detectors present.
California
Month, Time of Alarm,
Dollar Loss
September, 7:20 a.m.,
$11,000,000
Property Characteristics and
Operating Status
This was a single-story,
75,000-square-foot
(6,968-square-meter) bulk
storage warehouse that was in
operation at the time of the fire.
The construction type was not
reported.
Fire Protection Systems
There were detectors present but
the type was not reported and
the operation was undetermined.
There was also a sprinkler system
present. The type and operation
were not reported.
Fire Development
The fire broke out on the
first floor but the cause was
undetermined.
Contributing Factors and
Other Detail
The loss was estimated at $10
million to the structure and $1
million to the contents.

In those 24 fires, 11 properties had
suppression systems present and 13
had no systems present. In three of the
fires, the system operated, with one
system extinguishing the fire-though
the loss was high due to the cargo consisting of wind turbine components
that were damaged-and the other
two helping to control fire spread. In
six cases, the systems did not operate:
three because the sprinkler systems
were installed but not yet activated
due to construction; one because the
system was not in the area of the fire;
and two because the system failed for
unreported reasons. The operation of
the systems in the other two fires was
not reported.
Complete information on the
presence of both detection and suppression equipment was reported
for 22 of the 30 structure fires. Nine
structures had both detection and
suppression equipment, seven had just
detection equipment, five had neither
system, and one had only suppression
equipment.

Texas
Month, Time of Alarm,
Dollar Loss
June, 12:37 p.m. $10,250,000
Property Characteristics and
Operating Status
This was a four-story,
855,036-square-foot
(79,435-square-meter) warehouse
of protected ordinary construction that was operating.
Fire Protection Systems
There was a detection system
of unreported type present that
operated and alerted the occupants. There was a wet-pipe
sprinkler system present that
operated with six sprinklers flowing water. The system controlled
the fire.
Fire Development
The fire broke out in a thirdfloor storage area. The cause is
undetermined.
Contributing Factors and
Other Detail
Firefighters had suppression
problems related to ventilation
difficulties due to the building's
size, stock, and content arrangement. The loss was listed as
$250,000 to the structure and
$10 million to the contents.
VEHICLE FIRE
Tennessee
Month, Time of Alarm,
Dollar Loss
October, 6:06 p.m., $16,000,000

Property Characteristics and
Operating Status
The fire involved an engine on
a commercial aircraft that was
located in an aircraft loading
area of an airport.
Fire Protection Systems
No information was reported.
Fire Development
The cause of the fire was a
mechanical failure that allowed a
quantity of JP-4 jet fuel to come
into contact with the aircraft's
hot engine. The fire was contained to the aircraft engine.
Contributing Factors and
Other Details
The fire broke out during preflight checks and was noticed
by maintenance personnel on
the ground. Arriving firefighters
found flame and smoke issuing
from the engine. The HRET (High
Reach Extendable Turret) apparatus was located at the rear of
the engine and firefighters used
foam to extinguish the fire. After
the fire was extinguished, a thermal imaging device was used
to check the engine heat, after
which it was allowed to cool for
about 10 minutes. Water was
then used to cool the engine
cowling and rinse the foam from
the engine.
Texas
Month, Time of Alarm,
Dollar Loss

N F PA . O R G / J O U R N A L * NFPA JOURNAL

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NFPA Journal - November/December 2019

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of NFPA Journal - November/December 2019

Contents
NFPA Journal - November/December 2019 - Cover1
NFPA Journal - November/December 2019 - Cover2
NFPA Journal - November/December 2019 - 1
NFPA Journal - November/December 2019 - 2
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NFPA Journal - November/December 2019 - Contents
NFPA Journal - November/December 2019 - 5
NFPA Journal - November/December 2019 - 6
NFPA Journal - November/December 2019 - 7
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