NFPA Journal - September/October 2019 - 92

Catastrophic Multiple-Death Fires
and Explosions in 2018 (cont.)
then throughout the first floor.
Contributing Factors and
Victim Locations
Eleven people escaped, some
by climbing over and dropping
from a second-story wood
deck. The three victims were
located in the front first-floor
living room. Four occupants
were injured, as were two
firefighters while rescuing
occupants.

Number of Stories, Occupancy
Type, Construction Type,
Operating Status
This was a small trailer fire.
Detection Systems and
Suppression Systems
No details were reported.
Fire Origin and Path
No details were reported.
Contributing Factors and
Victim Locations
No details were reported.

Maryland
Date, Time of Alarm,
Number of Deaths
April, 8:49 p.m., three
Number of Stories, Occupancy
Type, Construction Type
Operating Status
This was a one-and-a-half-story
group home run by a nonprofit
agency for those affected by
mental health and substance
abuse disorders. There were
seven occupants in the home
at the time.
Detection Systems and
Suppression Systems
No details were reported.
Fire Origin and Path
No details were reported.
Contributing Factors and
Victim Locations
No details were reported.

NON-STRUCTURAL FIRES
WILDFIRE
California
Date, Time of Alarm,
Number of Deaths
November, 6:30 a.m., 86
Setting
This was a wildland/urban interface fire.
Climate
Red flag warning day. Hot, dry,
gusting winds of 25 to 35 mph
(40 to 56 kph).
Fire Origin and Path
The fire started when sparks
from electrical transmission
lines ignited dry vegetation.
Factors Hindering Occupant
Escape
This wildfire became known as
the Camp Fire and is reportedly the deadliest and most
destructive wildfire in the
state's history. The fire killed
86 people and injured 12 (five
firefighters and 7 civilians)
and left three people missing
or unaccounted for. It burned
153,336 acres (62,053 hectares) or almost 240 square
miles (622 square kilometers)
and destroyed more than
19,000 structures. The fire
leveled at least one town. The
victims were located in their
homes, yards, in vehicles, and
near roadways.

Texas
Date, Time of Alarm,
Number of Deaths
June, 2:20 p.m., three
Number of Stories, Occupancy
Type, Construction Type,
Operating Status
This was a two-story boiler/
mechanical building at a
hospital. It was of protected
noncombustible construction
and was under construction.
The ground floor area was not
reported.
Detection Systems and
Suppression Systems
There was an automatic detection system and suppression
system installed. Neither
system was operational yet due
to ongoing construction.
Fire Origin and Path
A natural gas buildup from an
unreported source was ignited
by an undetermined ignition
source, causing an explosion
and fire.
Contributing Factors and
Victim Locations
One victim was found on the
roof of the structure and died
at the scene. Two victims were
removed from the debris inside,
one in the boiler room and one
in the mechanical room.
California
Date, Time of Alarm,
Number of Deaths
June, 10 p.m., three (two under
age six)

WILDFIRE
California
Date, Time of Alarm,
Number of Deaths
July, 1:15 P.M., eight (two firefighters and six civilians; two
of the civilians were under
age 6)
Setting
This was a wildland/urban
interface fire-the Carr Fire.
Climate
Extremely hot and dry, with
windy conditions.
Fire Origin and Path
According to CalFire, the fire
began when a blown tire on a
trailer caused the rim to throw
sparks into dry vegetation.
Factors Hindering Occupant
Escape
Firefighters faced steep and
challenging terrain. The
Weather Channel reported that
"a giant fire whirl generated
by the Carr Fire in Redding,

92 | NFPA JOURNAL * S E P T E M B E R / O C T O B E R 2 0 1 9

vegetation. Winds, low humidity, and critically
dry fuel helped the fire spread rapidly into nearby
communities, consuming more than 100,000
acres (40,468 hectares) in the first two days and
forcing the evacuation of tens of thousands of
residents. The blaze eventually burned 153,336
acres (62,053 hectares), or nearly 240 square miles
(622 square kilometers). It destroyed an estimated
19,000 structures, including 13,972 single-family
homes, 276 multi-family homes, 528 commercial
structures, and 4,293 other structures. At least one
town was almost completely wiped out by the fire.

The benefits of smoke detection
equipment and fire sprinklers
Information about automatic detection equipment
was available for 10 of the 21 catastrophic multiple-death structure fires. Two of the homes and
two of the non-home structures had no automatic
detection present. While six structures had smoke
alarms, it was reported that five systems did not
operate and the operation of the equipment in the
sixth fire was not reported. When the reason for
devices not operating was reported, missing batteries was most frequently the cause.
Smoke alarms have been proven effective in
reducing the risk of death in home fires. The most
effective arrangement is interconnected, multiple-station smoke alarms supplied by hardwired
AC power with a battery backup. These should
be located outside each sleeping area, on each
level, and in each bedroom. Homeowners should
routinely test smoke alarms according to manufacturers' recommendations. NFPA recommends
testing home smoke alarms at least monthly.
None of the homes were reported to have had
automatic suppression equipment, and four nonhome properties had no automatic suppression
equipment. One of the non-home properties did
have automatic suppression equipment, but the
system was not yet activated. No information was
reported for the other five non-home structure fires.
It is unfortunate that only one of the 21 structures was known to have suppression equipment,
because sprinklers have been proven to save lives
across many different kinds of properties, including
homes. According to NFPA's Fire Sprinkler Initiative
(firesprinklerinitiative.org), the civilian death rate
associated with home fires is 81 percent lower in
homes with fire sprinklers than in homes without
them. Additionally, sprinklers reduce the average
property loss in home fires by 71 percent per fire,
and the average firefighter injury rate is nearly 80
percent lower when fire sprinklers were present
during fires. When home sprinklers are present, fires
are kept to the room of origin 97 percent of the time.
When fire sprinklers and hardwired smoke
alarms are both present, the home fire death
rate drops by 90 percent. By comparison, when
battery-powered smoke alarms are present but

http://www.firesprinklerinitiative.org

NFPA Journal - September/October 2019

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