All Entries in the "Structural Systems" Category
Expanding Use of Plastic Insulation
Foam Sheathing Makers Gain Major Success at ICC Code Hearing By Approval of Proposal Expanding Use of Plastic Insulation The Foam Sheathing Committee (FSC) of the American Chemistry Council (ACC), through an industry effort, achieved an important change in gaining broad acceptance of a performance-based standard for the use of foam insulation products in all code […]
Engineering Ground Zero
To commemorate the anniversary of 9/11, NOVA presented an epic story of engineering, innovation, and the perseverance of the human spirit. With extraordinary access granted by The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, “Engineering Ground Zero” follows the five-year construction of One World Trade Center (1 WTC) and the National September 11 Memorial […]
Panelized Roof Dangers for Firefighters
Panelized roof dangers for firefighters Clark County, Nevada, Firefighter Colin Kelley discusses the construction and precautions firefighters should take when working on buildings with panelized roofs. FlashoverTV is powered by FireRescue1.com Panelized wood roofs have been in use for more than 40 years west of the Mississippi, where wood has always been plentiful, but […]
Chesapeake (VA) Auto Parts Store Roof Collapse Double LODD 1996
OVERVIEW Fifteen years ago, on March 18, 1996, two firefighters were killed in Chesapeake, Virginia when they became trapped by a rapidly spreading fire in an auto parts store and a pre-engineered wood truss roof assembly collapsed on them. The cause of the fire was an electrical short created when a power company truck working […]
Lightweight Residential Construction: Collaboration Adds to Firefighter Safety
Lightweight Residential Construction: Collaboration Adds to Firefighter Safety From Fireengineering.com Aug 9, 2010 By Sean DeCrane Successful Passage During the recent International Code Council’s (ICC) Final Action Hearings in Dallas, Texas, a code change proposal requiring the protection of lightweight construction was successfully adopted into the International Residential Code (IRC). The code proposal will provide […]
Engineered Floor I-Joists and Firefigher Safety: Basic Insights
The following videos provide some Basic insights on Engineered Floor I-Joists and Firefigher Safety. The first two video reports are a few years old, but provide some good visual and narrative insights into the current building construction trends, operational limitations and fireground tactical safety considerations. Take the time to review these video clips and gain […]
Gypsum Board Ceiling Systems and Firefigher Safety
The recent events in Los Angeles and the line of duty death of veteran LAFD Firefighter Glenn Allen who died Friday from injuries he sustained when a ceiling collapsed on him in a house fire late Wednesday night in the Hollywood Hills again gives us pause to reflect on the demands and hazards present at […]
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 […]
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, […]
Chicago: Anatomy of a Building and its Collapse-PDF Download
Chicago: Anatomy of a Building and its Collapse PDF Training Aid The recent post titled: Chicago: Anatomy of a Building and its Collapse has been receiving a considerable amount of attention as the post makes its way throughout the fire service eMedia sites, links, likes, shares and commentary circles, with over 6,000 views in the past […]
Prevention of Disproportionate Structural Collapse
NIST Modeling Many U.S. buildings are vulnerable to extreme loads that may cause partial or total collapse. Modern structures have a limited reserve capacity to accommodate abnormal loads. There is no accepted science-base or design practice to maintain overall structural robustness within a multi-hazard context that considers both design loads and abnormal loads. The National […]
Near-Misses, Maydays and Floor Collapses
Do you know what’s underneath you as you’re making entry? If you’ve been paying attention to the latest news and on the job reports these past few days, you may have noticed there’s been an emerging trend evident in near miss, close-calls resulting in maydays, RIT deployments and self-rescue resulting from floor compromise and floor […]
