Author Archive for Christopher J. Naum, SFPE
Modular Construction and Operational Impacts
Modular homes are built using an engineered approach to produce buildings in a more efficient and cost effect method that can deliver lower home prices per square foot. Instead of the traditional stick-built, on-site construction methods, most of the work is pre-fabricated at an off-site climate controlled factory. As each sub-section is finished it […]
Five Alarm Tenament Fire (NJ)
A stubborn five-alarm fire that gutted a three-story brick apartment building on Washington Place kept Passaic (NJ) firefighters busy for more than four hours on Friday and sent a resident to a hospital with critical injuries, authorities said. The fire was reported just before 4 p.m. in a ground-floor apartment at 88 Washington Place, […]
Shoddy Construction in a Modular Home?
Shoddy construction in a modular home? Fewer inspections for modular homes questioned Mike Beaudet(FOX 25 / MyFoxBoston.com) Ron Chasse’s modular home in West Boylston looks great from the outside, but Chasse says he was shocked to find out what lay hidden inside the walls. “I’ve seen storage sheds that are built better than this. Honestly,” […]
Modular Home Construction to Change
Modular Home Construction to Change BOSTON (FOX25 / MyFoxBoston.com) Updated: Saturday, 22 May 2010, 5:05 PM EDT Published : Tuesday, 13 Apr 2010, 10:56 PM EDT Acting weeks after a FOX Undercover investigation raising questions about fire safety and modular homes, the board that sets the Massachusetts building code voted today to change the way […]
Modular Homes: Built to Burn?
Modular Homes: Built to Burn? Mike Beaudet MyFoxBOSTON.com After six people barely escaped from a fast-moving fire that destroyed their modular home, the fire chief who fought that fire wants changes in the way modular homes are built, saying the construction methods used for these pre-fabricated homes can make fires burn much bigger and faster […]
Modular home fire investigation may lead to building code changes
Modular home fire investigation may lead to building code changes Mike Beaudet(FOX 25 / MyFoxBoston.com) State officials are considering significant changes to the state building code in the wake of a Fox Undercover investigation into fast-moving fires in modular homes. Our report last week highlighted concerns that large empty areas called “void spaces” between floors […]
Structural Collapse: The Hidden Dangers of Residential Fires
Structural Collapse: The Hidden Dangers of Residential Fires Oct 1, 2009 Originally Published in FireEngineering.com, All Rights Reserved By James M. Dalton, Robert G. Backstrom, and Steve Kerber Educational Objectives 1 Gain an understanding of the behavioral differences between solid wood joist and lightweight wood structural members under fire attack. 2 Gain an understanding of […]
Positive Pressure Ventilation Research
Positive Pressure Ventilation The objective of this NIST research is to improve firefighter safety by enabling a better understanding of structural ventilation techniques, including positive pressure ventilation (PPV) and natural ventilation, and to provide a technical basis for improved training in the effects of ventilation on fire behavior by examining structural fire ventilation using full-scale fire experiments with and […]
NIST Wind Driven Fires Programs
Wind Driven Fires Wind blowing into the broken window of a room on fire can turn a “routine room and contents fire” into a floor-to-ceiling firestorm. Historically, this has led to a significant number of firefighter fatalities and injuries, particularly in high-rise buildings where the fire must be fought from the interior of the structure. […]
Impact of Ventilation on Fire Behavior in Legacy and Contemporary Residential Construction
Impact of Ventilation on Fire Behavior in Legacy and Contemporary Residential Construction Impact of Ventilation on Fire Behavior in Legacy and Contemporary Residential Construction Under the United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Assistance to Firefighter Grant Program, Underwriters Laboratories examined fire service ventilation practices as well as the impact of changes in modern house […]
Attic Fire in Mansion
A fast moving fire in a large home in Henderson, Nevada kept companies busy this week. “We had eight full crews that were on scene, that were working,” says Henderson Fire Chief Jeff Lytle. With help from the Clark County Fire Department, Henderson firefighters worked hard to keep the flames from spreading to neighboring homes. “The […]
Wind Driven Fires
A million dollar Baltimore County, Maryland home was destroyed Sunday December 13, 2009 by a fire that tore through the 4,700-square-foot structure with such intensity that firefighters were forced to battle the flames from the exterior. Shortly after 21:00 hours, Baltimore County Fire Dispatch alerted crews for Fire Box 50-2 at 12607 Nancy Lee Court […]
Attic Fires in Residential Buildings Report
The Federal Emergency Management Agency’s (FEMA) U.S. Fire Administration (USFA) has recently issued a special report examining the characteristics of Attic Fires in Residential Buildings (PDF, 884 Kb). Developed by USFA’s National Fire Data Center, the report is based on 2006 to 2008 data from the National Fire Incident Reporting System (NFIRS). According to the report: […]
Newark (NJ) Multiple Alarm Fire with Rescues
Daring rescues by Newark (NJ) firefighters saved the lives of more than two dozen people overnight in Newark, New Jersey. A fire broke out at around 11:30 p.m. on Sunday inside the Happy Garden Chinese Restaurant at 77 Lincoln Park, according to fire officials. The restaurant was closed at the time, according to several residents […]
VES:Flashover, Bailout and Close-call
N.J. Firefighter bailout from Second-Story Window as a result of room fashover An Asbury Park (NJ) firefighter was seriously burned while fighting an apartment fire in the seaside community. 41-year-old firefighter Jason Fazio was in listed in critical condition at St. Barnabas Burn Center in Livingston following Monday’s afternoon fire. Officials indicated that Firefighter Fazio was […]
