NFPA Journal - September/October 2017 - 27

puts it at the greatest risk for fire, rather than what it's made
of. In other words, the risk of a fire starting in a steel building under construction is equal to the risk of a fire starting
in a wood-frame building under construction, Fraser said.
The best evidence of this are the devastating fires that have
occurred in non-wood buildings under construction or being
renovated or demolished. In 2007, two New York City firefighters died battling a blaze in the Deutsche Bank building,
built in 1974. The steel-frame building was being torn down
as a result of severe damage it received in the September 11
terrorist attacks.
When fires do start in wood-frame buildings under construction, though, the inherent strength differences between
wood and a material like steel are what fuel the fire service concerns. During the early stages of construction, all
buildings are vulnerable because most of the fire protection
systems and code-required design features to isolate and
contain fire have not been installed, said Ken Willette, first
responder segment director at NFPA. "When firefighters are
called to fight a fire in these buildings, they are confronted
with a tremendous volume of fire that is attacking the skeleton of the building that keeps it upright," Willette said.
"When the building is wood-framed, and in particular lightweight wood-framed, the skeleton fails much quicker than
in a steel-frame building, and this concerns firefighters-a
collapse can occur suddenly and with little warning, possibly
trapping them."
In response to the recent fires in wood-frame buildings
under construction, the AWC, a trade association representing the majority of wood products manufacturers in North
America, intends to drive traffic to constructionfiresafety.
org, its website on construction fire safety. The site, which
includes videos, fire safety manuals, and more, was launched
a couple of years ago for builders, regulators, and the fire
service. Integral to those efforts is the recent creation of the
Construction Fire Safety Coalition, which was formed to help
increase education and awareness around potentially valuable tools including NFPA 241.
"The wood products industry recognizes the significance of
these fires, and we feel that education is the best approach-
getting everybody to be aware of the threat of a construction
fire and making it a priority every day for everybody on the
job site," said Kenneth Bland, vice president of codes and regulations for the AWC.

GETT Y IMAGES

Under construction, on fire
Wood or not, buildings under construction have a tendency
to burn. A recent NFPA report, "Fires in Structures Under
Construction, Undergoing Major Renovation, or Being
Demolished,"
found that from
2010 to 2014, there
was an annual
average of 8,440
Ú
fires in buildings
Average annual
under construction
civilian deaths
or being renovated

'24/7 If Necessary'

Taking steps to protect buildings under construction
against arson
IN JULY, A FIRE RAZED a massive apartment complex under
construction in Waltham, Massachusetts, about 10 miles
west of Boston. Five separate apartment buildings containing
more than 260 units were nearing completion when they were
leveled by the blaze. Damage was estimated at $110 million.
In August, investigators
announced the fire had
been intentionally set.
A couple of weeks before
the Waltham blaze, a fire
destroyed a building under
construction in Oakland,
California. It was the fifth
fire the city had seen in
buildings under construction in recent years. Accord- Massachusetts Fire Marshal
ing to the San Francisco
Peter J. Ostroskey announcing
Chronicle, the first four were arson as the cause of a $100
million fire in July.
all deemed arson, and early
news reports suggested the most recent blaze was "suspicious."
Arson is a chief concern for the fire service and other stakeholders when it comes to fires in buildings under construction,
as well as for fires in buildings being renovated or demolished.
In fact, according to a recent NFPA report, "Fires in Structures
Under Construction, Undergoing Major Renovation, or Being
Demolished," the lion's share of fires in buildings being demolished from 2010 to 2014 were caused by arson-42 percent, on
average. For fires in both buildings under construction and being
renovated, the percentage of those that were intentional was
significantly smaller, at 13 percent.
A lack of fire protection systems like sprinklers and firewalls,
along with an abundance of potential fuel sources, can make
an arsonist's job quite easy at construction sites. News reports
suggest the motives for torching a building under construction
can be political-namely, frustration over gentrification, a
phenomenon that by some accounts has increased in the United
States since 2000.
To address the concern, NFPA 241, Safeguarding Construction, Alteration, and Demolition Operations, includes a section on
keeping construction sites safe from arson. It outlines measures
to take such as hiring guards, putting up fences, and securing
entrances. "Twenty-four-seven if necessary," added Allan Fraser,
senior building code specialist at NFPA and the staff liaison to
NFPA 241. -A.V.

100+
Average annual
civilian injuries

$300m

Average annual amount of
direct property damage

Source: NFPA, "Fires in Structures Under Construction, Undergoing Major Renovation, or Being Demolished"

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Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of NFPA Journal - September/October 2017