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.
 Photos by author. |
▲ Many firefighters have been injured in porch collapses. Note how the beam was cut down to a tenon to fit into a mortise in the column (circle). I am sure the creator of this death trap was proud of his neat job and taught it to other carpenters. If you see something like this, please send me a picture.
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▲ A big wood arched convention center makes a big fire. If any Maryland firefighter knows the story behind this fire, contact me at Fbrannigan@comcast.net.
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▲ This was the Jai-Lai Fronton at Daytona Beach, Florida. When it burned, the insurer sued the company that installed a foam roof on the building, claiming the foam destroyed its great heavy laminated timber (thus “fire-resistive”) building. Photo courtesy of Assistant Chief Franklin, Silver Spring (MD) Fire Department.
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▲ The defendant in the Jai Alai Fronton lawsuit engaged me as an expert witness. I surprised all by producing this picture, which clearly shows that the laminated wood arch elements were connected by unprotected steel straps (circle). The suit was dropped.
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▲ Note the bolted connections (circle) that can be burned out of the wood by pyrolytic decomposition. Be aware of the weaknesses of heavy timber buildings. They are sometimes credited with a greater resistance to fire and collapse than is warranted because of the nature of the connections. Follow the path of the load to ground and determine the point most vulnerable to fire.
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▲ A wood column failed in this historic Quaker barn in Olney, Maryland, and was replaced with a steel column. Preplan a fire in such a building as a DOA (defensive on arrival).
■ FRANCIS L. BRANNIGAN, SFPE (Fellow), the recipient of Fire Engineering’s first Lifetime Achievement Award, has devoted more than half of his 63-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.
