NFPA Journal - November/December 2019 - 53

Fire Development
The cause was undetermined.
The fire began in the basement
of the restaurant and spread to
several stores. The fire spread
upward and throughout the
building, eventually venting
through the roof and causing
roof collapses and a wall collapse.
Firefighters went to a defensive
attack on the fire.
Contributing Factors and Other
Details
On arrival, first responders evacuated several occupants in the
block of stores. A total of six businesses and 10 apartments were
destroyed in the blaze.
SPECIAL PROPERTIES
California
Month, Time of Alarm,
Dollar Loss
April, 12:55 a.m., $60,500,000
Property Characteristics and
Operating Status
This was a four- and sixstory, 369,724-square-foot
(34,348-square-meter), 180-unit
apartment complex of unprotected wood-frame construction
that was under construction. No
one was on the site at the time of
the fire.
Fire Protection Systems
Full-coverage detection equipment was installed, but the type
was not reported. Due to the
ongoing construction, the system

had not yet been activated. There
was a full-coverage automatic
suppression system of unreported type installed, but due to
the construction, it also had not
yet been activated.
Fire Development
This was listed as an incendiary
fire that started in a first-floor
apartment that was in the framing stage, but the incident is still
under investigation.
Contributing Factors and
Other Details
The loss was listed as $55 million
to the structure and $5.5 million
to the contents.
New York
Month, Time of Alarm,
Dollar Loss
February, 4 a.m., $15,100,000
Property Characteristics and
Operating Status
This was a two-story,
22,000-square-foot
(2,044-square-meter) former
hotel of unprotected wood-frame
construction that was under
renovation to be used as an independent living facility.
Fire Protection Systems
There was a detection system
installed but it was not yet
operational. There was also an
automatic suppression system,
but the system was also not yet
operational.
Fire Development

The cause of the fire was listed as
undetermined due to the amount
of damage, but it is known to
have started on the first floor.
Contributing Factors and Other
Details
The damage was listed as $15
million to the structure and
$100,000 to the contents.
Texas
Month, Time of Alarm, Dollar
Loss
April, 5:01 p.m., $10,607,756
Property Characteristics and
Operating Status
This was a two-story,
57,618-square-foot
(5,353-square-meter) motel that
was being renovated at the time.
No one was on site at the time.
Fire Protection Systems
There was a smoke detection
system present that did operate.
There was no automatic suppression system present.
Fire Development
The cause of the fire was undetermined, but it did start on the
first floor.
Contributing Factors and Other
Details
This was the second fire in the
same structure that day. The loss
was listed as $7,857,597 to the
structure and $2,750,159 to the
contents.

Texas
Month, Time of Alarm,
Dollar Loss
June, 2:20 p.m., $10,000,000
Property Characteristics and
Operating Status
This was a two-story boiler/
mechanical building of protected
noncombustible construction
that was under construction at
a hospital. The ground floor area
was not reported.
Fire Protection Systems
There was an automatic detection system and suppression
system installed. Neither system
was operational due to ongoing
construction.
Fire Development
A natural gas buildup from an
unreported source was ignited by
an undetermined ignition source,
causing an explosion and fire.
Contributing Factors and Other
Detail
There were three deaths in this
explosion and fire. One victim
was found on the roof of the
structure and died at the scene,
and two victims were removed
from the debris inside, one in
the boiler room and one in the
mechanical room.
MANUFACTURING
PROPERTIES
Illinois
Month, Time of Alarm, Dollar
Loss

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NFPA Journal - November/December 2019

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