Skyscraper fire

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A skyscraper fire or high-rise fire is a class of structural fire specific to tall buildings. Skyscraper fires are one of the most technical fire suppression challenges posed to modern fire departments, and require a high degree of organization and cooperation among participating units to be successfully contained and extinguished. Skyscraper fires are often multiple-alarm fires.

Typical American fire department response pattern

In the event of a skyscraper fire, the first action that needs to be taken is the activation of the fire alarm system and subsequent evacuation of the building's occupants. The fire department, after responding, will then divide into various teams to accomplish different tasks. For instance, one or more teams will be responsible for searching the building floor by floor (starting at the fire floor) for trapped or unevacuated occupants. Another team will be assigned to attack the fire at the fire floor. A Firefighter Assist and Search Team (FAST) will standby at the floor below the fire ready to assist in case of a mayday. A team will also be assigned to shut off the building's utilities. All these operations may be coordinated and controlled from a central command vehicle mobilised to the scene.

Various roles are required on the exterior as well. A truck or ladder company will be responsible for establishing means of egress on the outside of the building, providing horizontal ventilation by breaking windows if necessary, and possibly assisting in the suppression effort from the exterior with master streams. Various crews, or at minimum individuals, will be responsible for establishing and maintaining the various water supplies. EMTs and paramedics will be responsible for establishing care to victims of the fire and monitoring firefighters who recently exited the building. Last but not least, the officer in command of the incident may establish a team to assist him in his organizational duties.

Notable fires

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Building Location Date Death(s) Notes
Asch Building New York City 1911-03-25 March 25, 1911 146 Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire
Empire State Building New York City 1945-07-28 July 28, 1945 14 Plane crash
40 Wall Street New York City 1946-05-20 May 20, 1946 5 Plane crash
Winecoff Hotel Atlanta 1946-12-07 December 7, 1946 119 Deadliest hotel fire in U.S. history
1 New York Plaza New York City 1970-08-05 August 5, 1970 2
Andraus Building São Paulo 1972-02-24 February 24, 1972 16
Rault Tower New Orleans 1972-11-29 November 29, 1972 6
Joelma Building São Paulo 1974-02-01 February 1, 1974 179–189
Main article: Joelma fire
One World Trade Center New York City 1975-02-13 February 13, 1975 0
Campbell Shopping Complex Kuala Lumpur 1976-04-08 April 8, 1976 1
Main article: Campbell Shopping Complex fire
Bank Bumiputra Kuala Lumpur 1980-11-80 November 4, 1980
MGM Grand Hotel Las Vegas 1980-11-21 November 21, 1980 84
Main article: MGM Grand fire
Las Vegas Hilton Las Vegas 1981-2-10 February 10, 1981 8 Arson
Al Rasheed Hotel Baghdad 1982-7-21 July 21, 1982 1 Plane crash-Suicide by F-4 Phantom during Iran-Iraq War
Northwestern National Bank Minneapolis 1980-11-21 November 25–26, 1982 0
Main article: Minneapolis Thanksgiving Day fire
KOMTAR Penang, Malaysia 1983-1-23 January 23, 1983 0
Dupont Plaza Hotel Condado, Puerto Rico 1986-12-31 December 31, 1986 97
Main article: Dupont Plaza Hotel arson
Hotel International Zurich 1988-02-14 February 14, 1988 6 Deadliest high-rise fire in Swiss history
First Interstate Tower Los Angeles 1988-05-04 May 4, 1988 1
Main article: First Interstate Tower fire
One Meridian Plaza Philadelphia 1991-02-23 February 23–24, 1991 3
UNITIC Twin Towers Sarajevo 1992-05-28 May 28, 1992 Burned after being repeatedly hit by Serbian incendiary tank shells.
Bosnian Parliament Building Sarajevo 1992-05-28 May 28, 1992 Burned after being repeatedly hit by Serbian incendiary tank shells.
Bijlmermeer Apartment Complex Amsterdam Zuidoost, Netherlands 1992-10-04 October 4, 1992 43 Plane crash, Partial collapse
One World Trade Center New York City 1993-02-26 February 26, 1993 6 Bombing which also resulted in 1,042 smoke related injuries
Stratosphere Tower Las Vegas 1993-08-30 August 30, 1993 0 Occurred during construction
Tower 42 London 1996-1-17 January 17, 1996 0 Occurred during refurbishment
Garley building Hong Kong 1996-11-20 November 20, 1996 41
Main article: 1996 Garley Building fire
Ušće Tower Belgrade 1999-04-21 April 21, 1999 0 Struck by NATO air strikes during the Kosovo War setting the upper floors on fire.
Immigration Tower Hong Kong 2000-08-02 August 2, 2000 0
Ostankino Tower Moscow 2000-08-27 August 27, 2000 3 Tallest structure in Europe
World Trade Center 1 and 2 New York City 2001-09-11 September 11, 2001 2312 Plane crashes: September 11 attacks. Full structural collapse.
7 World Trade Center New York City 2001-09-11 September 11, 2001 0 Caused by debris from the collapse of One World Trade Center: September 11 attacks. Full structural collapse.
90 West Street New York City 2001-09-11 September 11, 2001 2 Caused by debris from the collapse of Two World Trade Center: September 11 attacks
Pirelli Tower Milan 2002-04-18 April 18, 2002 3 Plane crash
Al Rasheed Hotel Baghdad 2003-12-26 December 26, 2003 1 twenty-eight 68 mm and 85 mm Katyusha rockets were fired at and struck the hotel
Parque Central Complex east tower Caracas 2004-10-17 October 17, 2004 0 Damage to 34th-44th floors
Windsor Tower Madrid 2005-02-12 February 12, 2005 0 Partially collapsed; subsequently demolished
Tohid Town Residential Tehran 2005-12-06 December 6, 2005 116/128 Plane crash: 2005 Iranian Air Force C-130 crash
Transport Tower Astana, Kazakhstan 2006-05-30 May 30, 2006 0 Fire destroyed upper floors of 34-storey government building
Belaire Apartments New York City 2006-10-11 October 11, 2006 2 Plane crash
Fortune Tower Dubai 2007-01-18 January 18, 2007 4 Occurred during construction, 57 injured
Shanghai World Financial Center Shanghai 2007-08-14 August 14, 2007 0 Occurred on 40th floor during construction
Deutsche Bank Building New York City 2007-08-18 August 18, 2007 2 Occurred during deconstruction, demolished due to damage from the September 11 attacks
Monte Carlo Resort and Casino Las Vegas 2008-01-25 January 25, 2008 0 Fire affecting top six floors
Abraj Al Bait Towers Mecca 2008-10-28 October 28, 2008 0 Occurred during construction; fire consumed nine floors
Beijing Television Cultural Center Beijing 2009-02-09 February 9, 2009 1
Main article: Beijing Television Cultural Center fire
Bashundhara City Tower Dhaka 2009-03-13 March 13, 2009 4
Abraj Al Bait Towers Mecca 2009-05-01 May 1, 2009 0 Occurred during construction
al buteena fire Sharjah 2009-05-01 June 6, 2010 0 [1]
Unnamed high-rise apartment block Shanghai 2010-11-15 November 15, 2010 58 Occurred during renovation;
Main article: 2010 Shanghai fire
Dynasty Wanxin building complex Towers A and B (Tower C was unaffected) Shenyang 2011-02-03 February 3, 2011 0 Started from fireworks during Chinese New Year Celebrations.[2]
Unnamed Highrise Hanoi 2011-12-16 December 16, 2011 0 Fire occurred during construction, 11 workers injured.[3]
Uncompleted high rise block Kuala Lumpur 2012-01-18 January 18, 2012 0 [4]
Fico Place Bangkok 2012-03-03 March 3, 2012 0 2 firemen injured[5]
Federation Tower (East Tower) Moscow 2012-04-2 April 2, 2012 0 Occurred while the building was under construction
Al Tayer Tower Sharjah 2012-04-28 April 28, 2012 0 [6]
Polat Tower Residence Istanbul 2012-07-17 July 17, 2012 0 [7]
Tamweel Tower Dubai 2012-11-18 November 18, 2012 0 [8]
Oko Tower 1 Moscow 2013-01-25 January 25, 2013 0 Fire occurred on 24th floor during construction, one worker was injured.[9]
Torre Ejecutiva Pemex Tower Mexico City 2013-01-31 January 31, 2013 33 Gas explosion effecting the main building's 14 story annex
Main article: Torre Ejecutiva Pemex explosion
Grozny-City Towers Grozny 2013-04-03 April 3, 2013 0 [10]
Jianye Mansion Guangzhou 2013-04-03 December 15, 2013 0 [11]

Gallery

See also

References

  1. ↑ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4kY3PCwgt-A&feature=related
  2. ↑ http://www.nbcnews.com/id/41402478/ns/world_news-asiapacific/#.UVIAgRnlXwg
  3. ↑ http://www.thanhniennews.com/2010/pages/20111216-skyscraper-on-fire-11-injured-in-vietnam-capital.aspx
  4. ↑ http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2012/1/19/nation/10287478&sec=nation
  5. ↑ http://bangkok.coconuts.co/news/fico-blaze-prompts-bangkok-city-hall-sprinkler-initiative
  6. ↑ http://www.khaleejtimes.com/kt-article-display-1.asp?section=nationgeneral&xfile=data/nationgeneral/2012/april/nationgeneral_april207.xml
  7. ↑ http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-18867266
  8. ↑ http://www.emirates247.com/news/emirates/jlt-s-tamweel-tower-fire-residents-recount-waking-up-to-nightmare-2012-11-19-1.483506
  9. ↑ http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/01/25/uk-russia-skyscraper-fire-idUSLNE90O02B20130125
  10. ↑ http://rt.com/news/chechnya-tallest-building-fire-280/
  11. ↑ http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/china/2013-12/18/content_17180792.htm/

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External links

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