BY FRANCIS L. BRANNIGAN,SFPE (FELLOW)
Editor’s note: For further reference, consult Building Construction for the Fire Service, Third Edition (BCFS3). Page numbers, where applicable, are included after the caption.
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This old wooden building in St. Augus-tine, Florida, has been rejuvenated with a surface coating of stucco, a concrete material. There is no such thing as a stucco structure; the material is usually applied to metal lath that is attached to the building’s surface, usually wood. However, it is also used to cover ugly concrete block or deteriorated brick. Although stucco has some value in defending against an exposure, windows and doors are weak points.
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This stucco-coated “Moorish castle” at Disney World’s EPCOT Center in Florida is really a sprinklered wooden building designed to look like a typical building in Morocco. In many ways, designers treat buildings as if they were a movie set— designed to deceive. Be aware of these embellishments and evaluate their potential performance in a fire.
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This stuccoed wooden building was being burned for demolition; the wire lath and stucco held together. The wire lath can be a big problem to firefighters attempting to get at the voids from the exterior. If you have a good technique for handling this problem, please write me at Fbrannigan@comcast.net.
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These San Francisco houses were originally built with stucco exteriors; stucco is not necessarily a sign of a rehabilitated build- ing.
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Buildings in old waterfront areas often have sheet metal siding in place of wood.
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Sheet metal siding assists in controlling exposures because it reduces the radiant heat area compared with that of a wooden building, as seen in this fire. Do not confuse the plain sheet steel panels with insulated metal panels used on steel buildings; they present a problem in themselves.
Additional information on the hazards of siding can be found in Chapter 3, “Wood Construction,” under “Siding,” pp. 120-124, in BCFS3.
