- Author
- Evans, D. D. | Walton, W. D. | Mowrer, F. W.
- Title
- Progress Report on Fires Following the Northridge Earthquake.
- Coporate
- National Institute of Standards and Technology, Gaithersburg, MD Maryland Univ., College Park
- Report
- NISTIR 6030, June 1997,
- Distribution
- Available from National Technical Information Service
- Book or Conf
- U.S./Japan Government Cooperative Program on Natural Resources (UJNR). Fire Research and Safety. 13th Joint Panel Meeting. Volume 2. March 13-20, 1996, Gaithersburg, MD, Beall, K. A., Editors, 273-281 p., 1997
- Keywords
- fire safety | fire research | earthquakes | urban fires | wildland fires | windows | glazing materials | fire spread | lifelines | ignition | fire suppression
- Identifiers
- fire resistance measurements of window glazing systems; 1995 post-earthquake fire and lifelines workshop; fire and lifeline studies funded by NIST
- Abstract
- Fires following earthquakes can add substantially to the community wide destruction initiated by strong earthquakes and the associated after shocks. The loss of life and property caused by fire occurs in a different time frame than the structural and property damage caused directly by the earthquake. While most of the loss caused by shaking occurs during the time of ground movement, there is usually no fire loss during that time. Fire loss directly attributable to the earthquake begins immediately following the earthquake and can continue for days afterward. The destruction potential associated with post-earthquake fires is strongly dependent on the damages to the community lifeline systems and to the weather conditions, especially the wind speed.