NFPA Journal - November/December 2020 - 70

Firewatch
chemical extinguisher in order to completely extinguish burning tires and
liquid fuels. The fire department indicated that crews brought the fire under
control in just over 30 minutes.
According to news reports, the fire
caused nearly $2 million in damage to
the building and its contents, including
several vehicles. Firefighters were said
to have successfully stopped the fire
from spreading to an office area and
paint booth.
The fire was reported to have started
in one of the vehicles inside the facility,
but no information was available on
the cause of ignition.

CALIFORNIA
Industrial park fire results in
estimated $3 million loss
A massive mid-afternoon fire in an
industrial park originated in a wood
shop that lacked an automatic sprinkler
system and smoke or heat detection
systems, according to fire department
investigators. The fire caused extensive damage to a building that housed
multiple businesses and destroyed
a number of vehicles before it was
brought under control.
The fire department responded to
the fire after a neighbor noticed smoke
in the area and called 911 at 2:17 p.m.
Arriving firefighters reported a large
volume of smoke and fire showing
throughout a large, single-story metal
commercial structure. Fire from
the structure, located in a five-acre
industrial park, had also extended to
vegetation alongside adjacent railroad
tracks and to two smaller structures on
the site.
Crews extinguished the vegetation fire and the fires in the smaller
structures. The fire in the large metal
structure was well-developed prior to
the fire department's arrival, and crews
set up a defensive operation at the
front corner of the building.
Two ladder trucks were set up at
different locations, and crews began
applying large volumes of water to the
fire. Fences had to be cut so that crews
equipped with hoses could access the
building perimeter. Rail service was
halted while firefighting operations

were in progress and the utility company was alerted due to downed power
lines around the structure.
Crews poured water on the fire for
approximately one hour before it was
brought under control and mop-up
operations were initiated.
Investigators determined that the fire
began in a woodshop, but were unable
to identify the exact point of origin or
cause due to the extent of the damage.
News reports indicated that five other
businesses and over 30 vehicles were
damaged by the fire.
One firefighter suffered burn injuries
to his fingers and another suffered a
strain injury during extinguishment
activities.
The main building damaged by the
fire was a wood and metal structure
with a newer membrane roof covering.
It occupied a ground floor area of 6,500
square feet (604 square meters).
Investigators noted that the building
was located at the rear of a large commercial complex some distance away
from surface streets and indicated that
an influential factor in the fire's spread
was that it burned for an extended
period of time before detection.
Fire department reports did not
provide dollar loss estimates of the
fire damage, but news reports placed
damage estimates at $3 million.

NEW YORK
Sprinkler system extinguishes fire
at manufacturing facility
Firefighters who were dispatched to a
manufacturing facility by an automatic
alarm at 7:30 p.m. discovered that a
fire in a piece of machinery had already
been extinguished by the facility's
sprinkler system.
The fire began when heat from a
buffing machine ignited dust that had
built up in the machine's ventilation
system, triggering the alarm.
Arriving firefighters were escorted to
the back of the main building, where
the company's emergency response
team was disassembling a bank of
buffing machines that were involved in
the fire.
Crews searched for signs of fire
extension, but found that a wet-pipe

sprinkler system had completely extinguished the fire with only minor smoke
in the area. Crews assisted with removing water from the floor and reset the
fire alarm system.
There was no damage to the building, valued at $1.3 million. Damage to
the building's contents was estimated
at $1,000.
The building was a two-story structure constructed with a metal frame
and roof deck and steel floor and roof
framing, with a rubber membrane roof
cover. It occupied a ground floor area
of 18,000 square feet (1,672 square
meters).

ILLINOIS
Dust explosion causes fire and
injuries
Two employees suffered minor injuries
in an early morning dust explosion and
fire at a food manufacturing facility.
The event also resulted in an estimated
$3 million in damage.
Firefighters were dispatched to the
scene at 12:56 a.m. and arrived to find
fire in a load-out shed and grain elevator on the facility grounds. Crews
secured a water supply and pulled
hoses to extinguish the fire on a conveyor system. After extinguishing the
visible flames, crews opened the equipment housing and extinguished the fire
on the concealed conveyor belt. Crews
then checked for signs of fire extension
inside the building.
Security personnel escorted the
injured employees to EMS personnel
to be checked for possible smoke injuries. Reports indicated that neither
employee was transported for medical
treatment.
The last crews cleared the scene
shortly before 4 a.m.
Investigators determined that the
heat from powered equipment ignited
the dust explosion in a grain elevator.
The building was a six-story structure that occupied a ground floor area
of 27,600 square feet (2,564 square
meters).
The fire caused $2 million in damage
to the facility property, valued at $10
million. Its contents, valued at $1 million, were a total loss.

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NFPA Journal - November/December 2020

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of NFPA Journal - November/December 2020
