3/14/22 Brooklyn 5th Alarm Box 553

An automatic alarm....a building sprinklered throughout. It goes to a fifth alarm! What did the fire protection engineers fail to take into account? Or, was the system just overwhelmed by something no one could anticipate?
 
entropychaser said:
An automatic alarm....a building sprinklered throughout. It goes to a fifth alarm! What did the fire protection engineers fail to take into account? Or, was the system just overwhelmed by something no one could anticipate?
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Not saying with any certainty but my 2 cents are that it was originally a class 3 that was retrofitted with a sprinkler & alarm system when it became a gym.
 
entropychaser said:
An automatic alarm....a building sprinklered throughout. It goes to a fifth alarm! What did the fire protection engineers fail to take into account? Or, was the system just overwhelmed by something no one could anticipate?
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Was the sprinkler system operational? Were the conditions under which it was designed unchanged?
 
Sprinklers are designed to keep content fires in check. Sprinklers aren't designed for when the structure is involved. If the fire started in or quickly spread to the voids and the building structure itself, the sprinklers have no real effect.
I have had fires in sprinkler building where the fire started in the walls. Sprinklers aren't doing anything to put that out.
 
manlt said:
Sprinklers are designed to keep content fires in check. Sprinklers aren't designed for when the structure is involved. If the fire started in or quickly spread to the voids and the building structure itself, the sprinklers have no real effect.
I have had fires in sprinkler building where the fire started in the walls. Sprinklers aren't doing anything to put that out.
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The Residential Sprinkler (NFPA-13D) Guidelines make very clear that their primary purpose is to allow safe egress of the home's occupants.
 
How about Commercial buildings? I was lowly operations Battalion Chief. Didn't get into NFPA :)
 
manlt said:
How about Commercial buildings? I was lowly operations Battalion Chief. Didn't get into NFPA :)
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No idea Chief. I assume that the cause in this incident was electrical. Electric utility companies are starting to use ground fault predication equipment to allow early identification of failing electrical circuits. I think this being used down to the substation level. As costs come down, this technology will some day be found on your kitchen dishwasher.
 
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