Skyscraper fire

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 mobilized 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
Central Tower San Francisco April 18, 1906 ? Burned in the aftermath of the 1906 San Francisco earthquake
Merchants Exchange Building San Francisco April 18, 1906 ? Burned in the aftermath of the 1906 San Francisco earthquake
Old Chronicle Building San Francisco April 18, 1906 ? Burned in the aftermath of the 1906 San Francisco earthquake
Mutual Bank Building San Francisco April 18, 1906 ? Burned in the aftermath of the 1906 San Francisco earthquake
Asch Building New York City March 25, 1911 146 Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire
The Sherry-Netherland New York City April 12, 1927 0 Occurred during construction
Empire State Building New York City July 28, 1945 14 Plane crash
40 Wall Street New York City May 20, 1946 5 Plane crash
Winecoff Hotel Atlanta December 7, 1946 119 Deadliest hotel fire in U.S. history
1 New York Plaza New York City August 5, 1970 2
Taeyongak Hotel Seoul December 25, 1971 163 Taeyongak hotel fire, deadliest hotel fire in history
Andraus Building São Paulo February 24, 1972 16
Rault Tower New Orleans November 29, 1972 6
Joelma Building São Paulo February 1, 1974 179–189 Joelma fire
One World Trade Center New York City February 13, 1975 0
Campbell Shopping Complex Kuala Lumpur April 8, 1976 1 Campbell Shopping Complex fire
Bank Bumiputra Kuala Lumpur November 4, 1980
MGM Grand Hotel Las Vegas November 21, 1980 84 MGM Grand fire
Las Vegas Hilton Las Vegas February 10, 1981 8 Arson
Torre Santa María Santiago March 21, 1981 11 Occurred when carpet glue ignited during carpet installation.[1]
Al Rasheed Hotel Baghdad July 21, 1982 1 Plane crash-Suicide by F-4 Phantom during Iran-Iraq War
Northwestern National Bank Minneapolis November 25–26, 1982 0 Minneapolis Thanksgiving Day fire
KOMTAR Penang, Malaysia January 23, 1983 0
Dupont Plaza Hotel Condado, Puerto Rico December 31, 1986 97 Dupont Plaza Hotel arson
Hotel International Zurich February 14, 1988 6 Deadliest high-rise fire in Swiss history
First Interstate Tower Los Angeles May 4, 1988 1 First Interstate Tower fire
Peachtree 25th Building Atlanta June 30, 1989 1
One Meridian Plaza Philadelphia February 23–24, 1991 3
UNITIC Twin Towers Sarajevo May 28, 1992 Burned after being repeatedly hit by Serbian incendiary tank shells.
Bosnian Parliament Building Sarajevo May 28, 1992 Burned after being repeatedly hit by Serbian incendiary tank shells.
Bijlmermeer Apartment Complex Amsterdam Zuidoost, Netherlands October 4, 1992 43 El Al Flight 1862 plane crash, Partial collapse
One World Trade Center New York City February 26, 1993 6 Bombing which also resulted in 1,042 smoke related injuries
Stratosphere Tower Las Vegas August 30, 1993 0 Occurred during construction
White House (Moscow) Moscow October 8, 1993 unknown Caught fire from tank shelling during the 1993 Russian constitutional crisis
Tower 42 London January 17, 1996 0 Occurred during refurbishment
Garley building Hong Kong November 20, 1996 41 1996 Garley Building fire
Ušće Tower Belgrade April 21, 1999 0 Struck by NATO air strikes during the Kosovo War setting the upper floors on fire.
Immigration Tower Hong Kong August 2, 2000 2 Arson
Ostankino Tower Moscow August 27, 2000 3 Tallest structure in Europe
1 and 2 World Trade Center New York City September 11, 2001 2312 Plane crashes in the September 11 attacks, causing full structural collapse.
7 World Trade Center New York City September 11, 2001 0 Full structural collapse caused by debris from the collapse of One World Trade Center during the September 11 attacks.
90 West Street New York City September 11, 2001 2 Caused by debris from the collapse of Two World Trade Center: September 11 attacks
Pirelli Tower Milan April 18, 2002 3 Plane crash
Al Rasheed Hotel Baghdad 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 October 17, 2004 0 Damage to 34th-44th floors
Windsor Tower Madrid February 12, 2005 0 Partially collapsed; subsequently demolished
Tohid Town Residential Tehran December 6, 2005 116/128 Plane crash: 2005 Iranian Air Force C-130 crash
Transport Tower Astana, Kazakhstan May 30, 2006 0 Fire destroyed upper floors of 34-storey government building
Belaire Apartments New York City October 11, 2006 2 Plane crash
Fortune Tower Dubai January 18, 2007 4 Occurred during construction, 57 injured
Shanghai World Financial Center Shanghai August 14, 2007 0 Occurred on 40th floor during construction
Deutsche Bank Building New York City August 18, 2007 2 Occurred during dismantling, demolished due to damage from the September 11 attacks
Monte Carlo Resort and Casino Las Vegas January 25, 2008 0 Fire affecting top six floors
Abraj Al Bait Towers Mecca October 28, 2008 0 Occurred during construction; fire consumed nine floors
Beijing Television Cultural Center Beijing February 9, 2009 1 Beijing Television Cultural Center fire
Bashundhara City Tower Dhaka March 13, 2009 4
Abraj Al Bait Towers Mecca May 1, 2009 0 Occurred during construction
al buteena fire Sharjah June 6, 2010 0 [2]
Unnamed high-rise apartment block Shanghai November 15, 2010 58 Occurred during renovation; 2010 Shanghai fire
Dynasty Wanxin building complex Towers A and B (Tower C was unaffected) Shenyang February 3, 2011 0 Started from fireworks during Chinese New Year Celebrations.[3]
Unnamed Highrise Hanoi December 15, 2011 0 Fire occurred during construction, 11 workers injured.[4]
Uncompleted high rise block Kuala Lumpur January 18, 2012 0 [5]
Fico Place Bangkok March 3, 2012 0 2 firemen injured[6]
Federation Tower (East Tower) Moscow April 2, 2012 0 Occurred while the building was under construction
Al Tayer Tower Sharjah April 28, 2012 0 [7]
Polat Tower Residence Istanbul July 17, 2012 0 [8]
Tamweel Tower Dubai November 18, 2012 0 [9]
Oko Tower 1 Moscow January 25, 2013 0 Fire occurred on 24th floor during construction, one worker was injured.[10]
Torre Ejecutiva Pemex Tower Mexico City January 31, 2013 33 Gas explosion affecting the main building's 14 story annex Torre Ejecutiva Pemex explosion
Grozny-City Towers Grozny April 3, 2013 0 [11]
Jianye Mansion Guangzhou December 15, 2013 0 [12]
The Strand New York City January 5, 2014 1 [13]
Lotus Park building Mumbai July 18, 2014 1 [14]
Wedgwood Apartments Castle Hills, Texas December 28, 2014 5 [15]
The Marina Torch Dubai February 21, 2015 0 At least 7 people were injured.
One57 New York City March 15, 2015 0 Fire broke out in the loading dock, then spread to the courtyard and a neighboring property.
Wisma Kosgoro Jakarta March 10, 2015 0 Fire destroyed floor 16-20.[16]
Unnamed Highrise Baku May 19, 2015 16 See 2015 Baku residence building fire
Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas Las Vegas July 25, 2015 0 Fire occurred on the pool deck fueled by cabanas and artificial trees, two people were treated for smoke inhalation.[17]
Unnamed Residential Tower Sharjah October 1, 2015 0 Fire burned building facade, 19 treated for smoke inhalation.[18]
John Hancock Center Chicago November 21, 2015 0 A two-alarm fire broke out on the 50th floor. Five injured.[19]
The Address Downtown Dubai Dubai December 31, 2015 1 Occurred on New Year's Eve, 14 injured.[20]

Gallery

See also

References

  1. ↑ "30 años del incendio de la Torre Santa María: testigos recuerdan la tragedia | Santiago | La Tercera Edición Impresa". Diario.latercera.com. Retrieved 2016-04-28.
  2. ↑ "YouTube". YouTube. Retrieved 2016-04-28.
  3. ↑ "Fireworks blaze destroys 5-star hotel in China - World news - Asia-Pacific - China". NBC News. 2011-02-03. Retrieved 2016-04-28.
  4. ↑ "Skyscraper on fire, 11 injured in Vietnam capital | Society | Thanh Nien Daily". Thanhniennews.com. 2011-12-16. Retrieved 2016-04-28.
  5. ↑
  6. ↑ "Fico blaze prompts Bangkok City Hall sprinkler initiative | Bangkok". Bangkok.coconuts.co. 2012-03-06. Retrieved 2016-04-28.
  7. ↑
  8. ↑ "Large fire sweeps through Istanbul 42-storey building - BBC News". Bbc.co.uk. 2012-07-17. Retrieved 2016-04-28.
  9. ↑ "JLT's Tamweel Tower fire: Residents recount waking up to nightmare - Emirates 24|7". Emirates247.com. 2012-11-19. Retrieved 2016-04-28.
  10. ↑ Reuters Editorial (2013-01-25). "Blaze hits showcase skyscraper in Moscow". Reuters. Retrieved 2016-04-28.
  11. ↑ "Luxury skyscraper hotel destroyed in massive blaze in Chechnya (VIDEO, PHOTOS) — RT News". Rt.com. Retrieved 2016-04-28.
  12. ↑
  13. ↑ "Fire in Luxury High-Rise Kills One and Displaces Dozens in Hell’s Kitchen". The New York Times. 6 January 2014. Retrieved 28 April 2016.
  14. ↑ "Mumbai fire: Fireman killed in Mumbai high rise blaze | Latest News & Gossip on Popular Trends at India.com". Us.india.com. Retrieved 2016-04-28.
  15. ↑ "Five killed in blaze at senior apartments in San Antonio". CBS News. 2014-12-28. Retrieved 2016-04-28.
  16. ↑ The Jakarta Post (2015-03-10). "Wisma Kosgoro fire subdued, short circuiting possible cause". The Jakarta Post. Retrieved 2016-04-28.
  17. ↑ "Pool Fire at Cosmopolitan Hotel of Las Vegas Fueled by Cabanas, Artificial Plants, Fire Dept. Says - ABC News". Abcnews.go.com. 2015-07-25. Retrieved 2016-04-28.
  18. ↑ "5 Injured in 2-Alarm Fire at John Hancock Building". NBC Chicago. 2015-11-22. Retrieved 2016-04-28.
  19. ↑ Fay Abuelgasim (2015-10-01). "High-rise tower catches fire in Emirati city of Sharjah". Yahoo.com. Retrieved 2016-04-28.
  20. ↑ "Fire engulfs Dubai hotel ahead of New Year celebrations - BBC News". Bbc.com. Retrieved 2016-04-28.

External links

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