NFPA Journal - January/February 2018 - 77

The fire caused an estimated $1,000
in damage to the structure and an
additional $1,000 to its contents.

Mercantile/Laundry
NORTH CAROLINA
Commercial laundry fire blamed on
electrical fault
Firefighters responding to reports of
an afternoon structure fire arrived to
find a working fire in a commercial
laundromat, with heavy smoke showing on one side of the building.
As a search and rescue team was
being organized, incident command
was informed by a laundromat
employee that all occupants had evacuated the building. Crews from an engine
company who entered the building with
an attack line to begin extinguishment
reported that the fire was well-established. A newly arriving ladder

company was directed to perform ventilation operations on the roof, while a
second engine company crew pulled an
additional hose line into the structure
to assist with fire attack.
Amid deteriorating conditions and
the presence of lightweight steel truss
construction, incident command
ordered all crews out of the building
and conducted a personnel accountability report. Crews then conducted
a defensive operation, utilizing an
elevated stream to bring the fire under
control. Crews opened one side of the
building in several locations to assist
with ventilation.
Investigators determined that the
fire originated in a shop area where a
conveyor system transported clothing
wrapped in plastic. The investigators
found that electrical wires supplying power to fluorescent lighting in
the shop had been woven through
metal chains connected to the ceiling
and suspended under the conveyor.

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PITTSBURG
TANK & TOWER
MAINTENANCE CO., INC.

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Contact with the metal chains caused
the outer sheath of some of the wiring
to degrade, resulting in an electrical
arc when the wire came in contact
with the metal chains. The arc and
subsequent overheating ignited the
plastic wrap and spread to clothing.
The facility was a single-story commercial building with framed offices
and an overhead mezzanine. It was
an exposed steel construction, with
metal siding built on a slab foundation and brick veneer on portions of
the exterior. The building occupied a
ground-floor area of 19,500 square feet
(1,812 square meters).
The facility was equipped with
an alarm system that activated and
alerted the building occupants.
Employees also activated alarms at a
manual pull station.
The fire caused an estimated $1.5
million in damage to the structure and
an estimated $5.5 million in damage
to its contents.

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Patrick Heltsley

Don Johnston

(270) 826-9000 x 4601 (270) 826-9000 x 1001

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N F PA . O R G / J O U R N A L * NFPA JOURNAL

| 77
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Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of NFPA Journal - January/February 2018
