Four Alarm Fire Near U.C. Berkeley

A four-alarm fire at a mixed-use building near the University of California at Berkeley took 6 hours to be contained early Saturday morning. No firefighters or other injuries were  reported as fire crews continued to tackle the fire the had spread and become a major fire.
The fire at the five-story building with 39 units on the corner of Telegraph Avenue and Haste Street was first reported at 8:48 p.m. on Friday November18. As of 12:15 a.m. in the morning the fire had spread throughout the entire building and had not been contained according to reports by the Berkeley Fire Department.
A fire unit was at the scene by 9:00 p.m. and the fire progressed to a third-alarm fire by 9:15 p.m. Several local agencies had responded to the fire, including firefighters from Alameda County and Oakland.

The building has commercial space on the first floor and 39 residential units on the other floors. Businesses contained in the building include the long-time Telegraph fixture Cafe Intermezzo and Raleigh's Bar and Grill. Residents were evacuated, many residents found housing quickly, and the Red Cross was on hand to assist those who needed help in finding housing.

No reports if the building had any early warning fire alarm systems and or fire suppression systems
 

California Home Care Facility Fire

A fire at a California home care facility for the disabled has killed four adults and left two others hospitalized, authorities said Sunday.
The fire was reported at around 11:45 p.m. Saturday in Marina, a small coastal community in Monterey County, about 100 miles south of San Francisco.
Three Marina police officers suffered smoke inhalation when they tried to rescue people inside the burning single family home, police watch commander Robin Nowak said. The officers have been treated and released.

The four people who were killed were residents of the home, Nowak said. Nowak didn't know who operated the home.
The cause of the fire was under investigation, but investigators with the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives were on the scene Sunday. ATF officials didn't immediately return a call to The Associated Press seeking information on the investigation.
The fire was reported by a driver on nearby Highway 1 who saw the flames, Bay Area KION-TV reported.

The Associated Press

Published: Sunday, Nov. 6, 2011 - 12:29 pm

Last Modified: Sunday, Nov. 6, 2011 - 2:06 pm

The Scandinavian Star, The Nordic Empress and Fire Protection

The Scandinavian Star was a passenger ship and ferry with a route between Oslo and Denmark in the 1990's. During one of its routine voyages, a fire broke out on one of the decks. 158 people were killed in the blaze.

The Scandinavian Star was built according to fire safety regulations of the time. Unfortunately, these regulations did not require a fire sprinkler system throughout the ship. There was limited fire sprinkler systems installed in certain areas of the ship, including the car garage, the fire sprinkler system did not cover the entire ship. Firefighters later found that the fire sprinkler system had not been properly maintained, and that the sprinkler heads were plugged with rust.

The fire was started deliberately in a hallway. Passengers died taking shelter in cabins and attempting to escape through the halls to safer areas of the ship. The problem, of course, is that there are no safe areas on a ship when a fire breaks out. Passengers have nowhere to go in case of a fire.

That's why effective fire prevention is so important on seagoing vessels. Investigative officials, in charge with discovering the causes of the fire, strongly recommended that all seagoing vessels be fitted with a fire sprinkler system in the future. 

Today, high velocity water sprays combined with low water discharge rates are changing the way shipboard fires are fought.   

The eruption of a fuel fire in the engine room of the cruise ship Nordic Empress was controlled and extinguished expeditiously because of the swift activation of a water mist system designed to protect shipboard machinery spaces. This is the most recent success of high velocity water sprays combined with low water discharge rates.

Known as water mist systems, the technology is being installed on an increasing number of commercial vessels, especially cruise ships, replacing alternatives such as Halon-1301. The Navy is also using a water mist system on its new Amphibious Transport Dock ship, the LPD-17, it was delivered from the Litton Avondale Industries Shipyard in New Orleans in 2003.

 

Water has been the traditional fire-fighting agent for centuries, but too much water combined with inappropriate fire fighting techniques has had disastrous results.

Traditional water fire-extinguishing systems are based on water applied to a fire from straight hose streams or sprinkler systems. Typically, wet pipe sprinkler systems are activated when heat from a fire melts a fusible link in a sprinkler head allowing water to flow and spray into the area. Other systems, known as dry pipe, have open sprinkler heads and an electrically controlled main supply line valve controlling water flow to all sprinkler heads in the system. Both systems are designed to allow for a maximum volume of water to be discharged onto a fire area, effectively drowning the fire. The disadvantages of traditional water systems are that they can cause substantial damage to areas not directly affected by the flames and, for ships, jeopardize their buoyancy.

to be continued. 

www.chabre.net

Residential Fire Sprinklers Saved the Lives of a Father and Daughter

A kitchen fire that started late one February evening could have claimed the lives of a father and daughter--if not for residential fire sprinklers.

The fire started when a burner left unattended ignited in the kitchen that evening. Firefighters discovered smoke, but no fire--the residential fire sprinklers had extinguished it before it could spread to other areas of the house.

Over 70% of fire fatalities happen in the home. Of those, around half start in the kitchen. Leaving a pan of food unattended, even for a minute, is enough to start a serious fire. Burners take a while to cool, even when turned off. It's not safe to leave a pan or anything else flammable near a burner, even when it's not turned on. Fires also start in microwaves when food is left inside too long, or when people use non-microwave-safe utensils and containers.

While many kitchen fires are a result of carelessness or inattention, they can happen even when owners take all reasonable precautions. Modern kitchens contain lots of electrical appliances, any of which could have faulty wiring that causes a spark. Gas leaks are another hazard.

There has never been a fire fatality reported in a home with residential sprinkler systems installed. With a sprinkler head in the kitchen, residents can feel safe--even in the most fire-prone area of the home.