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July 25, 2004
Fire-Safe Debate Continues
Issues related to building fire-safety continue to receive attention both in the technical and mainstream press.
Fire Prevention and Protection: The Big Picture, Building Safety Journal, May-June 2004, offers another perspective on the ongoing fire-safety debates.
Author, Mike Slaughter, fire-safety specialist, and former firefighter and code official, addresses the question of the connection between modern building construction systems and reductions in in firefighter safety. Key points raised include:
- Slaughter cites as "common knowledge" that modern construction systems rely on lighter materials that are more vulnerable to fire.
- Between 1978 and 1999, the rate of firefighter deaths from traumatic causes inside structure fires increased by 60%.
- Other aspects of fire-safety, including building code requirements, firefighting equipment, and firefighting tactics, have undergone significant improvements during this same period.
Slaughter concludes that trends toward lighter-weight construction systems have likely reduced firefighter safety, while other improvements in code requirements, firefighting equipment and tactics have probably to some extent counteracted this negative trend.
Skyscapers' Supporters Infuriated by Fire Fearmongers, Engineering News Record, June 7, 2004, discusses the increased controversy surrounding fire safety in tall buildings in the aftermath of the collapse of the World Trade Center towers. Some interesting facts and perspectives presented in the article:
- Between 1997 and 2001, and excluding the 9/11 events, sixty-eight percent of civilian fire deaths occurred in one- and two-family dwellings, 14 percent in other residential building types, 13 percent in road vehicles. Only 3 percent of civilian fire deaths occurred in nonresidential structures.
- According to NFPA statistics, between 1985 and 1995, seven civilians died in office tower fires. During the same period there were over 57,000 civilian deaths from all kinds of building fires combined.
- W. Gene Corely, of Construction Technology Laboratories argues that buildings should be designed to withstand a full "burnout" without collapse. In the case of 9/11, the WTC 5 and 7 buildings did collapse due to fire (without the addition of large quantities of jet fuel as occurred in the two main towers).
- An article sidebar makes the case that structural steel and cast-in-place concrete are both approximately equally vulnerable to the effects of fire.
- Last month the ICC (authors of the International Building Code) voted to eliminate allowable tradeoffs for passive containment and sprinklers in buildings greater than 420 feet tall.
More Articles
Fire Codes Spur Debate, Architecture, 06/2004
New York's Building Code Reflects High-Rise Concerns, ENR Construction, Spring 2004
A Myriad of Issues, Newsweek, 6/10/2004
July 25, 2004 in wtc / building safety | Permalink
Comments
Just a few more statistics from an NFPA report titled “Firefighter Fatalities in the United States – 2004" dated June 2005 and written by Paul LeBlanc and Rita Fahy of the NFPA Research and Analysis Division:
“For the second consecutive year, firefighter deaths at the fire ground accounted for less than 30 percent of the total . . . . As in 2003, the 29 fire ground deaths in 2004 represent the lowest number of deaths at the scene of fires since 1977 when NFPA began collecting information on all on-duty fatalities.”
“The second leading cause of fatal injury was struck by an object or contact with an object (28 percent). These 29 deaths included 17 killed in motor vehicle crashes, eight struck by motor vehicles, two struck by falling trees, one struck by a collapsing wall and one struck by equipment while attempting to put chains on an engine's tires.”
“Stress and overexertion, which usually results in heart attacks or other sudden cardiac events, continued to be the leading cause of fatal injury, as it has been in almost all of the years of this study. Of the 52 stress-related deaths in 2004, 48 were classified as sudden cardiac deaths (usually heart attacks). . . In addition to these 48 deaths, there were three fatal strokes and one aneurysm.”
“In 2004, 17 firefighters died in vehicle crashes. . . .Twelve of the 17 firefighters killed in crashes were responding to or returning from incidents when the crashes occurred.”
“Firefighter fatalities among career firefighters reached their lowest level in 1993, but in spite of a rise in deaths from 1993 through 1999, there has been a general downward trend since 1985.”
These statistics seem to tell quite a different story about the "dangers" of fire fighting.
Richard Schulte
Schulte & Associates
Posted by: Richard Schulte | Oct 11, 2005 5:18:09 PM
Until such time as it is realized, by both the fire AND building departments of a given municipality, that staffing and machines (read fire apparatus) cannot solve the fire problem in the United States, the problem will remain unsolved.
The widespread requirement for the installation of automatic sprinklers is the long-term solution. Each time a building is demolished by choice or by fire, it should contain built-in protection when reincarnated.
Posted by: John R. Waters | Dec 18, 2004 11:14:14 AM
The National Fire Protection Association recently published fire statistics for the United States in 2003. Some facts from the report:
519,500 fires occurred in structures, a very slight increase of 0.1%.
402,000 fires or 77% of all structure fires occurred in residential properties.
3,925 civilian fire deaths occurred in 2003, an increase of 16.1% from a year ago.
About 80% of all fire deaths occurred in the home.
$8,678,000,000 of property damage occurred in structure fires.
$6,074,000,000 of property loss occurred in residential properties.
The NFPA estimates that 220 Americans died in fires in non-residential buildings in 2003. In contrast, the NFPA estimates that 455 Americans died in fires resulting from traffice accidents. Yes, that's correct, twice as many Americans died in fires as a result of auto accidents as died in fires in non-residential buildings.
The statistics quoted above are from a report titled "Fire Loss in the United States During 2003". This report can be downloaded free of charge at the NFPA website.
You can't write a building code if you don't know the facts. The NFPA has been collecting and publishing these statistics forever. Given this, who do you think would be better at developing a building code, the ICC or the NFPA?
Posted by: Richard Schulte | Nov 3, 2004 3:26:04 PM
The following press release from the National Fire Protection Association (May 20, 2003) refutes Mr. Slaughter's statistics on the increase in firefighter fatalities due to light-weight building construction:
"Most firefighter deaths occur away from the fire
But no matter where it happens, heart attack remains the leading killer
May 20, 2003 – Fires are not the main killer of firefighters. Heart attacks and motor-vehicle crashes cause more on-duty firefighter deaths than smoke, heat, flames or collapsing buildings, according to an analysis of firefighter deaths in 2002 by the NFPA (National Fire Protection Association).
A total of 97 firefighters died on the job in 2002, roughly the same number as in each of the previous nine years, excluding the 340 deaths at the World Trade Center in 2001. But in eight of the last 10 years, fewer than half those deaths occurred within the building or land area where the fire was burning, known as the "fire ground."
The majority of firefighter deaths -51- occurred traveling to or from an emergency, during training activities, during non-emergency duties (such as administration or equipment maintenance) and during non-fire emergencies (such as medical calls or motor-vehicle crashes).
On the fire ground and off, heart attacks are the leading killer of firefighters. In 2002, 37 on-duty firefighters died of heart attacks—13 on the fire ground, eight while traveling to or from a fire or other emergency, seven while engaged in normal administrative activities, six at non-fire emergencies, two during training activities, and one while cleaning up after a tornado. In addition, two firefighters had strokes during training activities and one suffered an aneurysm at a medical call.
Motor vehicles were another major cause of death, claiming 29 lives. Twenty-two firefighters were killed in crashes and seven were struck by vehicles, all while on duty. In the most catastrophic incident, five firefighters were killed and six injured when a 15-person passenger van overturned on its way to a wildland fire.
The biggest life threats to firefighters are not what most people may expect," said James M. Shannon, NFPA president. "Two firefighters died from burns last year, while the top killer continues to be heart attacks. What's most troubling is that most firefighters who died of heart failure suffered from known health problems."
"NFPA has long had in place a standard, NFPA 1582, Requirements for Firefighters and Information for Fire Department Physicians, which lists the medical conditions that should preclude someone from working as a firefighter. These recommended precautions should be more widely used," said Shannon.
On average, almost one-fifth of [firefighter] deaths have occurred in motor vehicle crashes."
Each year more than 40,000 Americans die in traffic accidents. On average, that's more than 100 Americans per day. In other words, the number of American who die as a result of traffic accidents in one day exceeds the total number of American firefighters who die in one year. (Don't believe me, check it out for yourself.) Driving a car is far more dangerous than firefighting. Why doesn't the fire service acknowledge this fact?
Richard Schulte
Schulte & Associates
Posted by: Richard Schulte | Aug 7, 2004 6:19:25 AM
The summary of the article titled "Fire Prevention and Protection: The Big Picture" written by Mike Slaughter and published in the May-June issue of Building Safety Journal includes the following statement:
"Between 1978 and 1999, the rate of firefighter deaths from traumatic causes inside structure fires increased by 60%."
This statement appears to be inaccurate based upon the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) statistics on firefighter fatalities. The NFPA statistics indicate that the largest cause of firefighter fatalities in 2003 was traffic accidents. Typically, the largest cause of firefighter fatalities is heart attacks. The NFPA statistics also indicate that number of US firefighter fatalities has been trending downward since 1978. Of course, if you don't believe me, check out the NFPA statistics for yourself.
In recent years, about 100 firefighter fatalities have occurred each year. If I recall correctly, more than 800 truck drivers died in traffic accidents in 2002. Driving a truck is far more hazardous of an occupation than is firefighting.
The article titled "The Fire Service Viewpoint?" authored by Richard Schulte and published in the November 2003 issue of Plumbing Engineer (and republished in Building Safety Journal)will likely provide a far better perspective on the safety risks of "light-weight" construction to firefighters. The dangers of "light-weight" building construction is a myth being propagated by the fire service.
Richard Schulte
Schulte & Associates
Posted by: Richard Schulte | Aug 3, 2004 5:53:56 PM
