5 Alarm Fire during construction of large wood frame apartment

[DanEE]

Commercial building and fire codes are certainly not my forte. I have been watching this structure go up.

https://www.google.com/maps/@35.912...4!1sxE1fW1NBf5omKY_5963Q0Q!2e0!7i13312!8i6656

While the above building is only 4 stories tall, this past Friday a taller similar construction large wooden apartment building under construction caught fire and turned into what is described as the most disastrous fire in the city in the last 100 years.. 10 nearby buildings damaged, 5 severely.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LlHP8pOiOtY

Local TV news...

http://abc13.com/news/huge-five-alarm-fire-burns-in-downtown-raleigh/1804832/

photo of portion of building before fire.
News Conference

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3gxfvjUVjVI

fairly good detailed questions at 4:30 minutes into video on many topics including the "stick built controversy across the country"

I guess once the building is firewalled off with sheetrock and sprinkler systems installed, it's OK. High rise concrete/steel structures have their limits, in that typically if the fire isn't brought under control within 2 hours, even structural steel starts to fail.

 

[berkshire]

I am surprised at the number of wood frame buildings that are constructed where plumbers use open blow torches, with no hot work permits or fire watches. A fire watch as simple as a helper with a squirt bottle, for a few bucks an hour more would prevent many multi million dollar blazes.
B.E.

You are judged not by what you know, but by what you can do.

 

[BrianPetersen]

There was a fire a few days ago not far from where I live, in an area where houses are being constructed a whole neighborhood at a time. The fire was at a stage where the wood frame was up, the wood sheathing was in place, but nothing that would serve as any form of fire protection was in place.

The helper with that squirt bottle, and making plumbers take out hot-work permits and the relevant precautionary measures that go along with them, would cost something. Fire? "it'll never happen here" ... Oops.

 

[berkshire]

Having done work in sugar mills where flammability was at its highest, and paranoia was at its greatest, it would take an act of congress to even get a hot work permit, If you got one, you had to get the floor vacuum cleaned, then water soaked, then you had to have not one but two fire watchers. Contrast that with construction on a wooden building where people don't even sweep up sawdust,Plumbers do not use heat blankets ,and have no fire watchers. If you say anything they look at you like you are a small child , and say" Don't worry it will be all right.". Then they look surprised when they do have a fire.
B.E.

You are judged not by what you know, but by what you can do.