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.
 These expensive new townhouses are impressive looking, but … |
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 “undressing” the building shows a single thickness (one wythe) of brick veneer entirely dependent on the house’s wooden structure. (BCFS3, 126) |
If the wooden and chipboard wall fails, the brick veneer wall would be unsupported and collapse. Such a collapse killed a Fire Department of New York officer some years ago and seriously injured another firefighter.
 The brick wall is connected to the wooden wall by thin steel tabs nailed to the wall. |
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 Instead of turning every sixth course of brick on end to tie the wall together, now wire masonry trusses are used so that all the bricks are “stretchers” (long side showing). |
This makes brick masonry and veneer brick walls look alike. Know your buildings. Recently, a Dallas, Texas, firefighter was killed in the collapse of a brick wall of a building that was being renovated. When in doubt, consider the wall to be brick veneer.
 Collapsing floor joists can pull down a masonry wall. The so-called fire cut (cutting the end of the joist off at an angle) was developed to prevent any leverage on the wall. (BCFS3, 166) |
However, the fire cut reduces the amount of wood resting on the wall and thus is a point of weakness. Beams develop sag. To eliminate the sag in rehabilitated buildings, such beams sometimes (as reported by FDNY firefighters) are turned over, leaving little wood bearing on the masonry wall.
FRANCIS L. BRANNIGAN, SFPE (Fellow), the 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 as the author of Building Construction for the Fire Service, Third Edition (National Fire Protection Association, 1992) and for his lectures and videotapes. Brannigan is an editorial advisory board member of Fire Engineering.
