- Author
- Poole, S. L. | Stambaugh, H.
- Title
- $15 Million Sight and Sound Theater Fire and Building Collapse, 300 Hartman's Bridge Road, Strasburg Township, Lancaster County, Pennsylvania 17579, January 28, 1997. USFA Fire Investigation Technical Report Series.
- Coporate
- TriData Corp., Arlington, VA
- Sponsor
- Federal Emergency Management Agency, Washington, DC
- Report
- Report 097, 1997, 72 p.
- Distribution
- AVAILABLE FROM: U.S. Fire Administration (USFA), 16825 South Seton Ave., Emmitsburg, MD 21727. Telephone: 301-447-1000. Website: http://www.usfa.fema.gov AVAILABLE FROM National Technical Information Service (NTIS), Technology Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce, Springfield, VA 22161. Telephone: 1-800-553-6847 or 703-605-6000; Fax: 703-605-6900; Rush Service (Telephone Orders Only) 800-553-6847; Website: http://www.ntis.gov
- Contract
- EMW-94-C-4423
- Keywords
- fire investigations | building collapse | welding | sprinkler systems | structural failure | water supply | training | prefire planning | fire departments | fire codes
- Identifiers
- employees delayed report of fire; lack of compartmentization; fire department tactical operations
- Abstract
- On the morning of January 28, 1997, in the Lancaster County, Pennsylvania township of Strasburg, a fire caused the collapse of the state-of-the-art, seven year old Sight and Sound Theater and resulted in structural damage to most of the connecting buildings. The theater was a total loss, valued at over $15 million. The stage area was undergoing renovation and the theater was closed to the public, however, approximately 200 people, construction staff and employees were in the building at the time the tire started. Although the theater was built to conform to a two hour, tire rated assembly code requirement, many other fire protection features that could have assisted in saving the structure and reducing the damage were not present. Further contributing to the resultant loss, was the failure of the alarm system to notify the fire dispatch communications center and the lack of an adequate, readily available water supply. The volunteer fire departments that responded were faced with difficult fire conditions and tactical challenges for which they had not been adequately trained, and were without the benefit of adequate pre-planning. Local fire service suggestions for built-in fire suppression and smoke ventilation systems during the pre-construction plan review phase were ignored.