- Author
-
Demers, D. P.
- Title
- Fire in Syracuse: Four Fire Fighters Die. 701 University Avenue, Syracuse, New York, April 9, 1978.
- Coporate
- National Fire Protection Association, Quincy, MA
- Sponsor
- Fire Administration, Washington, DC
National Bureau of Standards, Washington, DC
- Report
-
NFPA LS-3
1988
34 p.
- Keywords
-
fire fighters
|
fire fatalities
|
fire alarm systems
|
fire fighting
|
wooden structures
|
apartments
|
sprinkler systems
|
protective clothing
|
self contained breathing apparatus
|
building construction
|
ventilation
|
automatic sprinkler systems
- Identifiers
- concealed spaces
- Abstract
- At 0046 on sunday, April 9, 1978, a fire alarm was transmitted for a building at 701 University Avenue in Syracuse, New York. Four fire fighters died while fighting the fire. The Victorian-style, three-story, balloon wood-frame building was located near the campus of Syracuse University; its ten apartments were occupied by college students. The building contained major combustible concealed spaces both in the walls and above the third-floor ceiling. A partial automatic sprinkler system had been installed in the building in order to comply with a 1952 State of New York law. This system protected the basement, means of egress, a storage area, and a portion of the combustible concealed space above the thrid-floor corridor. The fire originated in a second-floor apartment, then spread into the combustible concealed space above the third-floor ceiling. During fire fighting operations, four fire fighters on the third floor became trapped and died. All four fatalities were equipped with full protective clothing and self-contained breathing apparatus. It is believed that the fire fighters' deaths were caused by the building's construction, with its major combustible concealed spaces, and the delay of ventilation of the conealed space above the thrid-floor ceiling during fire fighting operations.