Transcript The Great Fire of London - Monterey County Fire Training

Principles of Fire Prevention
Significant Fires That Shaped Modern
Fire Prevention Techniques
The Great Fire of
London
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Occurred in AD 1666 - a year
after the bubonic plague or
the “black death.”
The fire burned for 5 days and
nights .
Destroyed 13,200 homes, 87
churches, Saint Paul’s
Cathedral, 20 warehouses,
and 100,000 boats and barges.
Following the fire, it took
Parliament 2 years to enact
the London Building Act and
commissioners weren’t
appointed for another 108
years to enforce the
regulations.
The Great Chicago
Fire
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Occurred in October 1871 and
destroyed17,500 buildings.
Over 300 persons killed and
more than 100, 000 persons
left homeless.
Destroyed an area 4 miles long
and ¾ of a mile long.
The fire department gave up
fighting the fire when the fire
burned down the water works
building.
The fire eventually burned out
when the winds calmed and
rains begin to fall.
Almost immediately, reform
began in the city's fire
standards, spurred by the
efforts of leading insurance
executives and fire prevention
reformers.
Iroquois Theatre Fire
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Occurred December 30, 1903
in Chicago during a
performance that held a full
house and standing room only.
Deadliest building fire in
United States history.
At least 605 persons were
killed but not all the deaths
were reported.
Although billed as “Absolutely
Fire Proof,” by the owners, the
building lacked many basic fire
protection systems and
safeguards as discovered by
the fire department just days
before the fire.
The majority of persons
perished due to a lack of
useable emergency fire exits.
The LaSalle Hotel Fire
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When it was opened in 1909 in
downtown Chicago, it was hailed
as the "largest, safest, and most
modern hotel west of New
York.“
On June 5, 1946, a fire broke out
in the hotel, killing 61 people,
many of them children.
The fire quickly spread through
the combustible decorative
furnishings and many victims
perished to due the rapid
buildup of smoke.
The hotel fire was so
devastating, it resulted in the
Chicago city council enacting
new hotel building codes and
fire-fighting procedures,
including the installation of
automatic alarm systems and
instructions of fire safety inside
the hotel room.
Triangle Shirtwaist
Factory Fire
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The fire occurred on March
25, 1911, the deadliest
disaster in New York City until
the destruction of the World
Trade Center 90 years later.
146 persons were killed during
the fire, many unable to
escape due to blocked exits.
Many actually jumped to their
deaths to avoid being burned
by the flames.
The fire was a catalyst for
improving women’s working
conditions and their call to
organize for women’s rights.
As a result of the fire, the
American Society of Safety
Engineers was founded in New
York City on October 14, 1911.
Cocoanut Grove Fire
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Boston, Mass. – Nov. 28, 1942,
burned in what remains the
deadliest nightclub fire in
American history, killing 492
people and injuring hundreds
more.
The nightclub was filled with
approximately 1,000 occupants
that evening, more than twice
its official capacity of 460.
The fire started in a downstairs
lounge and quickly spread up
the stairwells to the floors
above.
Many exits had been locked shut
and others were found to open
inward instead of outward.
Legislation enacted afterward
required outward opening exits
doors and independently lighted
exit signs.
Beverly Hills Supper
Club
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The Beverly Hills Supper Club
fire in Southgate, Kentucky is
the third largest nightclub fire
in US history.
It occurred on the night of
Saturday, May 28, 1977. 165
persons died and over 200
were injured as a result of the
blaze.
As many as 3,000 persons and
182 employees were inside at
the time of the fire.
The resulting investigation
revealed the building was
extremely overcrowded, had
inadequate fire exits for the
amount of people inside,
found to have faulty wiring, a
lack of fire walls, and there
was no fire sprinkler system or
audible fire alarm.
MGM Grand Hotel
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Occurred November 21, 1980
at the MGM Grand Hotel in
Los Vegas, Nev.
The fire killed 85 people, most
through smoke inhalation on
the upper floors.
The disaster led to the general
publicizing of the fact that
during a building fire, smoke
inhalation is a more serious
threat than flames.
The fire was caused by an
electrical ground fault inside a
wall soffit.
Due to faulty smoke dampers
within the ventilation duct
network, the toxic fumes
circulated throughout the
hotel's air circulation system,
accelerating the spread of the
poisonous air.
Station Nightclub Fire
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West Warwick, Rhode Island,
February 20, 2003, the fourth
deadliest nightclub fire in
American history, killing 100
people and injuring 230.
The fire was caused by
pyrotechnics set off by the tour
manager of the band Great
White, which ignited flammable
sound insulation foam in the
walls and ceilings surrounding
the stage.
The flames were at first thought
to be part of the act; only as the
fire reached the ceiling and
smoke began to billow did
people realize it was
uncontrolled.
Built in 1946 and had no
sprinkler system although it was
required at the time.
“The Commission on Fire Prevention and Control has made a
good beginning, but it cannot do our work for us. Only
people can prevent fires. We must become constantly alert
to the threat of fires to our selves, our children, and our
homes. Fire is almost always the result of human
carelessness. Each one of us must become aware – not for a
single time, but for all the year – of what he or she can do to
prevent fires.”
-President Richard M. Nixon
September 7, 1972
America Burning, 1973