- Author
-
Klem, T. J.
- Title
- Six Die in Wisconsin Group Home Fire. Summary Investigation Report.
- Coporate
- National Fire Protection Agency, Quincy, MA
- Journal
-
Fire Journal,
Vol. 78,
No. 1,
26-30,60,
January 1984
- Sponsor
- National Bureau of Standards, Gaithersburg, MD
Federal Emergency Management Agency, Washington, DC
- Keywords
-
board and care homes
|
death
|
elderly persons
|
automatic sprinkler systems
|
occupants
- Abstract
- Properly designed, installed, and maintained automatic sprinkler protection can provide a high level of protection of a building, its contents, and the life safety of its occupants from the threat of fire. However, automatic sprinkler protection cannot be expected to effectively protect a building if sprinkler protection is not extended to combustible concealed spaces and if nonfire-stopped concealed spaces allow extensive fire spread through those spaces. It is considered good practice for first-arriving fire fighters to connect hoselines to sprinkler/fire department connections to ensure adequate water supply to sprinkler systems. In this fire, the decision of the fire department not to support the automatic sprinkler system, and subsequent drop in the water pressure and the sprinkler system's available water supply appear to have had little effect on the final outcome of this incident. The significant factors responsible for the extensive loss in this building were: the development of the fire within combustible concealed spaces beyond the reach of automatic sprinklers, lack of automatic sprinkler protection in combustible concealed spaces above suspended ceilings, lack of firestopping in horizontal and vertical concealed spaces, and opening in walls and partitions above suspended ceilings that allowed fire spread above the ceiling through those openings. Factors contributing to the sucessful evacuation of dormitory occupants included: the immediate sounding of the general evacuation alarm upon discovery of smoke conditions in the building, prior practice of evacuation procedures by occupants during required fire drills, the training of resident assistants in evacuation procedures, and the individual initiative of Resident Assistants to exercise their responsibilities, ensuring evacuation of the occupants.