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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The wooden forms of this cast-in-place concrete building were left in place and painted black to look like wooden beams. (BCFS3, 135)
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These laminated timber “arches” are not arches at all. They are simply curved simple beams in post and beam construction.
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This is an historic early colonial barn. A steel column was substituted for a decayed wooden column. This column will fail at ordinary fire temperatures. Such a column supporting a concrete floor failed and dumped four Pennsylvania firefighters into the fire, where they died. (BCFS3, 639)
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Heavy timber trusses may last somewhat longer in a fire than lightweight gusset plate trusses, but they have the weakness of metal connections. Masonry wall collapses have been triggered by the collapse of heavy trusses. If you back out because of a collapse potential, stay clear of the wall. Do not take a position at a window or a doorway. You may be engulfed in fire when the roof gives way. A blast of air from such a collapse blew a firefighter off the truck turntable. He suffered broken legs. (BCFS3, xvi)
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So-called Tudor style (copied from old construction in England) has been popular several times in our history. This may be a wooden building or brick or block made to look like wood. Know your buildings!
FRANCIS L. BRANNIGAN, SFPE (Fellow), recipient of Fire Engineering’s first Lifetime Achievement Award, has devoted more than half of his 59-year career to the safety of firefighters in building fires. He is well known for his lectures and videotapes and as the author of Building Construction for the Fire Service, Third Edition (National Fire Protection Association, 1992). Brannigan is an editorial advisory board member of Fire Engineering.
