On November 10, Gail Manning, Building Code Official
for the City of Minneapolis, introduced some of us and refreshed others
of us on, "The Intent Behind the Codes: Significant Fires that have
Influenced Code Development". In her presentation she discussed
four types of fires and how they affected changes to the codes: Great
City Fires, Workplace Fires, Theater and Nightclub Fires, and High-Rise
Fires.
Great City Fires
Starting with the great fire of Rome in 64AD, in which
Nero was reported to sit by and fiddle while 2/3rds of the city burned,
building codes have been implemented following disaster. Following the 6
to 9 days of burning, Nero implemented urban renewal measures that
required wider, straighter streets and stone facades on the street level
to reduce the risk of fires, and water under the streets to fight fires
in the future.
Following "The Great Fire of London" in
1666, non-combustible roofs were required on buildings, and firebreaks
were required to contain any fires to a segment of the city rather than
burn the entire city down. This was the first instance of
compartmentalization. One benefit of this fire, besides the lessons
learned, was the multitude of rats also killed which helped arrest the
spread of bubonic plague.
Unbelievably, Boston burned down 8 times between 1653
and 1872. A couple actions became in effect. The term
"curfew", as we know it, came from these experiences. Curfew
comes from the term for "cover the fire". When night fell, a
bell ringer would ride through the town, signaling that all townspeople
were required to put out their fires. In 1679, Boston also enacted the
first paid firefighters.
The recent fires in California may lead insight and
new code developments for residential developments in heavily wooded
areas. Two items under discussion are prohibition of wood roofs and
requirement of low-height landscaping around houses.
Workplace Fires
Since most workplace occupants are adults familiar
with their environment, and generally awake, the hazards of this type
seem lower than transient occupancies with sleeping visitors such as
hotels and motels. However, there have been a number of fires that have
led to new codes. In several instances, the greed of the employer
keeping employees working and restraining free access has had
devastating effects.
The most well-known workplace fire was at the Triangle
Shirtwaist Factory in New York in 1911. The company employed 500 to 600
young women, ages 13 to 23, on the top 3 floors of a 10-story wood
factory building, making clothing. The aisles between sewing areas were
narrow, sewing machines leaked oil, mounds of rags lay everywhere, paper
patterns were strung above wood work surfaces like Christmas
decorations, and many of the employees did not speak English. The floors
had access to two exit stairs whose doors swung inwards and an outdoor
fire escape.
On March 25, near closing time, a fire started on the
8th floor. The occupants on that floor saw the fire and got out right
away. However, there was no notification to employees on the ninth and
tenth floors, and it wasn't until the fire intensified and flames
started bursting windows on the 9th floor that occupants realized their
imminent peril. Many rushed to the stairs, but the doors were locked.
Many then ran to the exterior fire escape. As the heat of the fire
radiated towards the fire escape, the metal got hot and the fire escape
actually pulled off the building with all the people on it. The
firefighters were helpless, with their equipment extending only to the
7th floor. Ultimately, 146 people either died in the fire or fell or
jumped from the windows to their deaths.
This fire affected the codes dramatically. Number and
types of aisles and exits started being regulated, locked doors were not
permitted, direction of door swings became important, early detection
and warning of fires and smoke started alerting occupants, and
suppression systems in areas of high volumes of combustibles started
being enforced.
Theater and Nightclub Fires
With theater and night club occupancies, generally the
patrons arrive at night, in the dark, in unfamiliar environments into
crowded conditions, possibly with flammable materials as decorations,
and often consume alcohol which reduces reaction time, clear thinking,
and mobility.
In December 1903 The Iroquois Theater in Chicago has
just opened, although construction was not quite complete. This was
touted as an "absolutely fire-proof" theater and contained
approximately 1600-1700 seats. At a Christmastime matinee on December
30th, 2000 people filled the theater, with families with children, some
standing in aisles, to enjoy the performance.
During the show, a faulty light fixture, which was gas
lighting, ignited one of the many oil-painted backdrops backstage. A
stagehand tried to inform the audience to make their way to the exit and
expected the asbestos stage curtain to fall and contain the fire.
However, a guy wire from one of the acts crossed the opening, preventing
the curtain from dropping.
The theater was equipped with rooftop ventilation
designed to draw the smoke out. However, as construction was not
complete, the contractor had nailed these shut temporarily to keep out
birds until they were finished. The smoke flowed into the entire
auditorium as people fled.
As the patrons ran to the exits, those on the
balconies encountered three steps right at the balcony door. This caused
many to trip and others to land on top of them, creating a crisis
pileup. In addition, there was an office upstairs that created two long
dead end corridors, and patrons found some of the exit doors were
locked.
A stagehand opened the rear stage door and immediately
the fire gained oxygen and it intensified the conflagration. A fireball
shot into the audience. With the theater filling with smoke, the
flammable seats adding to combustion, and the absence of any light, 602
died in 10 minutes.
Following this disaster, construction must be complete
prior to occupancy, occupant loads are limited and posted in assembly
occupancies, smoke vents are tested, emergency lighting is required,
panic hardware that cannot lock from the inside is mandatory, dead end
corridors are limited, ramps are required at changes of level instead of
steps, and flame spread and smoke ratings are required for interior
finishes. Life safety is the reason building code officials deny
certificates of occupancy prior to completion of construction, so
instead of arguing with them next time thank them. They may have saved
your life too.
In a second example, the Cocoanut Grove Nightclub fire
on November 28, 1942 in Boston, a tropical paradise theme decorated the
two-level building, and though the building could seat 600 people, 1000
were in attendance. The basement level was an assembly use with a stair
to the outside, and a second exit door disguised to fit the theme. A
fire started in the basement, but firefighters were already at the scene
having been called earlier to attend to a car fire down the street.
Patrons ran up the stairs, but found the exterior door
locked. So they flooded the front revolving door, and it jammed,
trapping the occupants. Firefighters starting busting out windows, only
to find walls were constructed immediately inside the windows, and they
had to tear down the walls as well to pull people out.
The toxicity of the interior finishes used as
decorations created such poisonous smoke that although the firefighters
were on the scene as the fire began, 492 people died in 12 minutes. It
was discovered an unlicensed electrician had performed work that was
ruled to be the source of the fire. This created the demand for licensed
contractors to protect life safety, eliminating revolving doors in
assembly occupancies for panic situations, and prohibited hiding exit
doors - "if it is meant to be an exit, it must look like an
exit".
Moving to the near past, in 1977 the Beverly Hills
Supper Club in Southgate, Kentucky, was a sprawling building over an
acre, encompassing many expansions. To make a long story short, an
electrical fire started in a banquet room on the far end of the complex.
On the opposite side a cabaret was entertaining a multitude of guests.
Once the banquet room door was opened and left open, the fire spread
down the corridor to the theater, and due to the lack of fire alarms
these guests were unaware.
A stagehand from the theater happened to be taking his
break when he saw the commotion outside the banquet hall and he ran back
to the theater, checked to be sure the exit doors were unlocked, went up
on stage, grabbed the microphone, and calmly told the patrons that there
was a fire and they had to leave. He pointed out the exits, although
these were insufficient in quantity and there was a dead end behind the
back bar that some tried to use to escape. Due to his forethought, there
were only 165 deaths. This led to new constraints that doors must close
to contain fires, fire alarm systems are required in assembly-type
occupancies, travel distances to exits must be limited in length, and
building owners must plan for evacuation and take leadership roles in
the case of emergencies.
The most recent disaster of this type is the Rhode
Island nightclub in April 2003, in which the band Great White lit off
pyrotechnics in the overcrowded room and the acoustical foam on the
ceiling carried the combustion as well as toxic smoke. A multitude of
deaths ensued and further code evaluation and enforcement, as well as
litigation, is taking place.
High-Rise Fires
The problem with high rises is that, well, they're
tall. A high rise is technically a building over 75' to the highest
occupied floor, which places it above the reach of ladder trucks and
fire fighter capabilities of exterior rescue. Therefore provisions must
be taken to be effective from the inside.
One relatively recent example of a tragedy is the MGM
Grand Hotel and Casino fire in Las Vegas in 1980. At 7:00am an
electrical short circuit in a pastry display case in the deli on the
first floor caused smoke to travel from the casino area up the 22 story
hotel towers. Out of 2083 guest rooms 3400 guests were registered, and
as the smoke climbed up the elevator shafts, seismic control joints,
stair towers and duct systems, 85 people died with 600 more injured from
smoke inhalation. This lead to the realization that even though the fire
may be remote, smoke can be deadly.
Some of the new provisions from this fire were the
requirement of sprinkler systems in high rises, an automatic shutdown of
HVAC equipment to prevent the spread of smoke with the air circulation,
joint and penetration protection, rated and pressurized stair towers to
keep smoke out as occupants exit, elevator recall to ground level so
patrons do not try to use them and for firefighter use, and fire alarms
with emergency communications systems.
Although these examples were depressing and maybe
morbid, by giving many specific examples of fire disasters that prompted
various improvements to the codes, we learned of many lives lost but not
forgotten for the benefit of future building occupants. As occupants we
should be aware of our environments, especially locations of exit doors,
and we should be grateful for our building codes that are designed to
save lives and thankful to our building code officials for enforcing
them.
Reports from afternoon
seminars
If you're looking for pictures, they aren't ready
yet - sorry!
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Chapter Meeting Schedule
09/15 - Construction Education
10/13 - County Concrete Prestressed Concrete Plant Tour
11/10 - Fire/Life Safety Code Seminar; Gail Manning, City of Minneapolis
12/08 - Retail Marketing, at new Target headquarters
01/12 - Pantages Theater Tour
02/10 - Construction and Facility Showcase
03/08 - Cutting Edge Technology and Building Design
04/12 - Hands-On Masonry, St. Paul Technical Center
05/10 - Awards Banquet
06/07 - Golf Outing
Membership Drive
The Membership Drive has been extended! Sponsor a new
CSI member to the Minneapolis - St. Paul Chapter before 30 April and
receive a $25.00 gift certificate for each new member sponsored, and a
chance to win Grand Prizes. more...
Advanced Education Classes Begin In January
Courses begin Tuesday, 6 January 2004. The number of
sessions will be six, however this my be altered by consent of the
instructor and the participants. Classroom location will be Hallmark
Building Supplies, 640 Taft St. NE, Minneapolis. Fee is $100.00 for CSI
members and $200.00 for nonmembers. It is required that you be a CDT or
have successfully taken the MOP/GC course. Exceptions may be granted on
an individual basis by the facilitator. You should have a current MOP
module for the course you are enrolling for. more...
2004 Region Conference
J. Gerard Capell, CSI, CCS, AIA
After much discussion and a few tense moments the
North Central Region has agreed to hold the 2004 Region Conference 29
July through 1 August 2004. The location will be at The Abbey on the
western end of Lake Geneva, in Wisconsin.
This will be a unique Region Conference in that
instead of a single chapter hosting the event, this will be
collaborative effort by the Chicago, Northern Illinois, Madison, and
Milwaukee Chapters. By taking advantage of electronic communications and
conference calls we hope to bring the best people and best ideas from
multiple sources to provide a rich and enjoyable experience to learn
more about chapter leadership, organization, and even general
educational sessions to support CSI's goal to provide continuing
education to members and non alike.
The Abbey is a great resort with marvelous restaurants
and spa, great on-site recreational facilities and fabulous lake and
golf course activities. A golf outing is currently planned as an opening
event and hopefully we hope to add something for those who don't believe
that hitting a silly little ball into a sillier little hole is a true
recreational event.
The search is on for committee members to help pull
this together, particularly for sponsorships, publicity, and arranging
speakers and events. So if asked to assist, please say yes. It would be
a great way to contribute something to your chapter and the
organization, and make new contacts from around the region. Or better
yet, just volunteer without being asked because you know you will get
more out of it than you put into the effort.
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I took my first-ever trip overseas last September. My
wife and I took a vacation trip to Italy, Tuscany actually. We planned
for months; we even learned some Italian. We made all our own
arrangements, using our computer to do the shopping.
Tuscany is the "state" in Italy that lies
along the western (Mediterranean) coast of the boot just below the point
where the peninsula joins the main European continent. Tuscany is home
to the Arno River which flows from Florence through fertile valley lands
to Lucca and Pisa and ultimately to the sea. Tuscany is also home to
famous hill-top cities like Siena, San Giminagno, Multepulciano, and
Voltera. It is the home of Chianti and Brunello wines, olive oil, and
salt-free bread. It is also the home of Michelangelo, Leonardo daVinci,
Dante, Brunellescci, Puccini, and hundreds of other world renown
artists. It was the birthplace of the Renaissance and of Opera. And it
is the place from which the white Carrara marble is quarried.
The name Tuscany comes from a permutation of the Roman
word for the Etruscan people. The Etruscans lived and cultivated these
lands in the centuries before the expansion of the Roman Empire. There
are Etruscan foundations dating from six hundred to seven hundred years
before our common era underlying Roman temple facades that are now
reborn as Christian churches. The Etruscan people had 12 major cities in
the land we now know as Tuscany; people have been living in the cities
of Voltera and Chiusi for almost 3,000 years. The quarries established
by the Romans at Carrara are the oldest continuously active industrial
site in the world. The city and people there are descended from the
slave encampments the Romans set on the mountainside to quarry stone for
the rebuilding of Rome and its empire.
The history of western civilization is laid bare on
the streets and hillsides of every hamlet, farmstead and city. Driving
through the countryside on the super-highway at 110 kph, one suddenly
(however briefly) encounters a remnant of a Roman aqueduct, or an olive
grove where the rootstock supporting the productive stems of young trees
is hundreds of years old. Everywhere the past underlies the present as
an energy source that fuels the new growth. But like the energy of love,
it is an energy that is not consumed by its use - rather, nourished by
it. Here people asked not "What does this day hold for me?",
but rather, "How have I made this day into the bud of a better
tomorrow?"
Recently the Board has been discussing our
relationship with student affiliates. Questions arose about why? how
much? and when? we should offer support. I understand that we need
policies to be fair to each class as it moves through our sphere of
influence; I also know that we must have the students, and the more the
merrier. The sustainability of our culture is at stake.
While in Italy I saw several new farmhouses under
construction; by all appearances they were modest two-story homes. There
where piles of dirt, stacks of roof tiles, boxes of windows and a 75- or
80-feet tall construction crane on every site. Whatever the modern
conveniences were to be; the walls where still load-bearing, two feet
thick, solid masonry that could now be most economically laid-up with
the help of derrick. These were not homes being built for this
generation, or even for next; these homes were being built for the
owner's great-great-great-grand children. The homes of builders that
have a "long view" of family; homes that were meant to last
for hundreds of years. One of the wine estates we visited has been a
family enterprise for over 800 years!
So too, our work with the student affiliates cannot be
about creating and maintaining members for this generation; it must be
about the health and vitality of our community (the construction
industry) in the long view. We must learn to undertake our toil in this
field as cultivation. Grape vines that are planted in this generation
will produce grapes for the future and the wine made from those grapes
often is for the next generation beyond. And so it will go for us; the
lessons planted in this season will bear fruit in another, that will
bring us great joy in yet another. And we must understand two things:
First, that these endeavors take time, and second, that we must act now
to initiate and nurture the cycles.
Harold Dean Kiewel, CSI, CCS, AIA, NCARB
President, Minneapolis-St. Paul Chapter, CSI
Harold_Kiewel@ellerbebecket.com
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