All Entries in the "Anatomy of Buildings" Category
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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: […]
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 […]
Structural Collapse Type III Vacant
Something exploded in this vacant building as firefighters battled a fire Monday night in Cairo, Illinois. A photographer for television station KFVS was rolling when the blast occurred and also caught the collapse a short time later.. The local fire chief says the fire started when four men were inside the building, looking for things to steal. […]
Underwriters Laboratories Structural Stability of Engineered Lumber in Fire Conditions
Structural Stability of Engineered Lumber in Fire Conditions Structural Stability of Engineered Lumber in Fire Conditions Under a U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Assistance to Firefighter Grant, Underwriters Laboratories in collaboration with the Chicago Fire Department, Michigan State University, and the International Association of Fire Chiefs completed a fire research study to enhance […]
It’s not Lightweight Construction
It’s not lightweight construction NFPA Journal, Jul/Aug 2009 by Earls, Alan R It’s what happens when lightweight construction meets fire. Two recent studies detail the relationship between fire and engineered wood construction assemblies-notably, that they burn quicker and fail faster than their dimensional lumber counterparts. What do the findings mean for the fire service, builders, […]
The New Lexicon and Challenges
Of the many issues affecting the Fire Service, the prevailing challenge that has a pronounced impact on operational safety is the assimilation of engineered structural systems (ESS) into mainstream building design and construction. The presence of engineered structural systems (ESS) are no longer considered to be an innocuous feature in a given building or occupancy; […]
