Read the Catastrophic Multiple-Death Fires in 2012 feature in this issue of NFPA Journal.
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2012 Multiple-Death Fires by Type
RESIDENTIAL
West Virginia
Date, Time of Alarm, Number of Deaths
March, 3:23 a.m., 9 (5 under age 6)
Number of Stories, Occupancy Type, Construction Type
This was a two-story, single-family home of unprotected wood-frame construction. The floor area was not reported.
Smoke Alarm and Other Protection Devices
Smoke alarms were present, and they operated. No reason was given as to why the occupants were unable to flee. There was no automatic suppression equipment.
Fire Origin and Path
A fire of undetermined cause broke out in the first-story living room.
Contributing Factors and Victim Locations
Of the 10 occupants in the house at the time of the fire, only one survived. The fire department did not report whether the survivor was rescued or escaped on his own.
New Jersey
Date, Time of Alarm, Number of Deaths
February, 3:09 a.m., 5 (2 under age 6)
Number of Stories, Occupancy Type, Construction Type
This was a two-and-a-half-story, two-family duplex of unprotected wood-frame construction. No information was reported on the ground floor area.
Smoke Alarm and Other Protection Devices
The fire department is unable to report information due to an ongoing investigation.
Fire Origin and Path
The fire department is unable to report information due to an ongoing investigation.
Contributing Factors and Victim Locations
The fire department is unable to report information due to an ongoing investigation.
Arkansas
Date, Time of Alarm, Number of Deaths
March, 7:30 a.m., 5 (1 under age 6)
Number of Stories, Occupancy Type, Construction Type
This was a one-story, two-family duplex of unprotected ordinary construction. The ground floor area was not reported.
Smoke Alarm and Other Protection Devices
The house had an ionization-type smoke alarm, but its operation was not reported. There was no automatic suppression equipment.
Fire Origin and Path
The only information reported on the cause and origin was that the fire started on the stove with a pot of cooking oil.
Contributing Factors and Victim Locations
No information was reported.
New Jersey
Date, Time of Alarm, Number of Deaths
July, 1:41 a.m., 5 (3 under age 6)
Number of Stories, Occupancy Type, Construction Type
This was a three-story, six-unit apartment building of unprotected wood-frame construction. The floor area was not reported.
Smoke Alarm and Other Protection Devices
The building had no automatic detection or suppression systems.
Fire Origin and Path
A fire of undetermined cause broke out on the second-story of a vacant three-story, six-unit apartment building of unprotected wood-frame construction, and spread to an occupied building of similar construction, where the victims lived.
Contributing Factors and Victim Locations
No information was reported.
Maryland
Date, Time of Alarm, Number of Deaths
October, 1:58 a.m., 5 (3 under age 6)
Number of Stories, Occupancy Type, Construction Type
This was a two-story, single-family home of unprotected wood-frame construction that covered 1,224 square feet (114 square meters).
Smoke Alarm and Other Protection Devices
There were no smoke alarms or automatic suppression equipment.
Fire Origin and Path
Heat from the furnace ignited paper products in the basement near the furnace. The fire then spread to the furnace and the rest of the basement before spreading up a stairway to the first and second floors.
Contributing Factors and Victim Locations
At the time of the fire, this house was occupied by nine or 10 people, five of whom died. The five victims were all found on the second story, four in a bedroom and one just outside the bedroom door. One resident was injured when he jumped from a second-story window after being burned. Three firefighters were also injured.
Missouri
Date, Time of Alarm, Number of Deaths
November, 3:20 a.m., 5
Number of Stories, Occupancy Type, Construction Type
This was a two-story, eight-unit apartment building of unprotected ordinary construction that covered 3,645 square feet (339 square meters).
Smoke Alarm and Other Protection Devices
The building had smoke alarms, although their coverage and operation were not reported. There was no automatic suppression equipment.
Fire Origin and Path
The fire broke out in a second-story apartment behind a sofa. The cause was not reported.
Contributing Factors and Victim Locations
Plastic blinds above the area of the fire’s origin helped fuel the fire.
Ohio
Date, Time of Alarm, Number of Deaths
November, 3:17 a.m., 5
Number of Stories, Occupancy Type, Construction Type
This was a two-story, single-family home of unprotected wood-frame construction that covered 2,820 square feet (262 square meters).
Smoke Alarm and Other Protection Devices
There were smoke alarms, but their coverage and effectiveness were not reported. There was no automatic suppression system.
Fire Origin and Path
This fire began in a first-floor living room, but the cause was undetermined.
Contributing Factors and Victim Locations
The house was fully engulfed when firefighters arrived, and an exterior attack was initiated. Two victims were found on the first floor, and the other three were found in the basement.
Oklahoma
Date, Time of Alarm, Number of Deaths
December, 6:33 a.m., 5 (2 under age 6)
Number of Stories, Occupancy Type, Construction Type
This was a one-and-a-half-story, single-family home of unprotected wood-frame construction. The ground floor area was not reported.
Smoke Alarm and Other Protection Devices
There were no smoke alarms. No information was reported on automatic suppression equipment.
Fire Origin and Path
This fire began when a portable electric heater was placed too close to combustibles in the living room. Burn patterns indicated full room involvement with smoke traveling up the stairwell and throughout the structure. At least five electric heaters were being used throughout the house as the primary heat source.
Contributing Factors and Victim Locations
Arriving firefighters found the home fully involved in fire. All the victims were found in bedrooms on the second level. A bystander saw one of the victims appear at a second-floor window, but she disappeared back into the smoke. Four children were found on the floor in one bedroom, and the woman was located in a different bedroom on the floor near a window.
NON-RESIDENTIAL
Texas
Date, Time of Alarm, Number of Deaths
August, 10:40 p.m., 4
Number of Stories, Occupancy Type, Construction Type, Operating Status
This was a two-story residential care facility for physically disabled residents. It covered 3,000 square feet (279 square meters) and was of unprotected wood-frame construction.
Detection Systems and Suppression Systems
Smoke detection equipment was present. The type and coverage was not reported, but they did not operate; the reason why was not reported. There was no automatic suppression equipment.
Fire Origin and Path
No information was reported.
Contributing Factors and Victim Locations
Firefighters initiated an offensive attack to allow for search and rescue for the occupants who were reported missing. In addition to the four residents who died, nine others evacuated uninjured.
Pennsylvania
Date, Time of Alarm, Number of Deaths
January, 4:44 a.m., 3
Number of Stories, Occupancy Type, Construction Type, Operating Status
This was a two-story mixed occupancy of unprotected ordinary construction with a barber shop on the ground floor and an apartment on the second. The barber shop was closed, but the apartment was occupied.
Detection Systems and Suppression Systems
No information reported.
Fire Origin and Path
The fire, of unreported cause, broke out in a back room of the first-floor barber shop.
Contributing Factors and Victim Locations
None reported.
NON-STRUCTURAL
Florida
Date, Time of Alarm, Number of Deaths
January, 3:50 a.m., 11
Setting
A series of vehicle crashes and fires occurred on an interstate highway while visibility was reduced by fog and smoke from a nearby wildfire.
Climate
No information has been reported.
Fire Origin and Path
Six crashes involving 25 vehicles resulted in several vehicles erupting in flames.
Factors Hindering Occupant EscapeVehicle crashes trapped victims in their vehicles, several of which caught fire. To read more about the incident, visit media.cmgdigital.com/shared/news/documents/2012/04/26/Interstate_75_Investigation_Final_Report_1.pdf.
North Carolina
Date, Time of Alarm, Number of Deaths
March, 1:51 p.m., 4
Setting
An aircraft overturned next to the airport runway and caught fire.
Climate
At the time of the crash, the sky was clear, wind was at 3.5 mph (6 kph), visibility was 10 miles (16 kilometers), and the temperature was 73°F (23°C).
Fire Origin and Path
The National Transportation Safety Board Probable Cause report stated that “the nose gear touched down approximately half-way down the runway, followed by the main gear touchdown. The airplane then bounced, and the witnesses heard the engine noise increase. It then banked to the right, and the right wing contacted the ground. The airplane subsequently flipped over off the right side of the runway, and a post crash fire ensued.” Arriving firefighters found the aircraft fully engulfed in fire.
Factors Hindering Occupant Escape
Read the National Transportation Safety Board Probable Cause report at www.ntsb.gov/aviationquery/brief2.aspx?ev_id=20120315X52136&ntsbno=ERA12FA225&akey=1. A fifth person, the pilot, died of traumatic injuries.
South Dakota
Date, Time of Alarm, Number of Deaths
July, 5:30 p.m., 4 crew members
Setting
A military transport plane used to fight wildfire.
Climate
No information was reported.
Fire Origin and Path
No information was reported.
Factors Hindering Occupant Escape
As the aircraft was setting up for a retardant drop, it flew through a microburst, including strong winds, and crashed. Four members of a six-person crew died in the crash. To see the complete report, go to wildfirelessons.net/documents/White_Draw_Fire_MAFFS_%20Report.pdf.
Kansas
Date, Time of Alarm, Number of Deaths
May, 4:36 p.m., 3
Setting
This aircraft crash occurred in a tree line between a grass field and a cornfield.
Climate
No information was reported.
Fire Origin and Path
The aircraft made contact with the ground then collided with a large tree. A post crash fire ensued.
Factors Hindering Occupant Escape
Read the National Transportation Safety Board Preliminary Report at ntsb.gov/aviationquery/brief.aspx?ev_id=20120511X83220&key=1.
In addition, one person died of multiple blunt-force injuries.
Arizona
Date, Time of Alarm, Number of Deaths
May, 12:09 p.m., 3
Setting
This incident involving an RV occurred on an interstate highway.
Climate
No information was reported.
Fire Origin and Path
The front right tire failed.
Factors Hindering Occupant Escape
As this recreational vehicle was traveling on an interstate highway, the front right tire blew out, causing the RV to leave the road and travel through light brush before it came back onto the highway. A fire broke out in the area of the right front wheel well near the main exit door and involved the generator and the fuel and power lines. The fire blocked the exit, forcing the three occupants to the rear sleeping area of the vehicle, where they tried unsuccessfully to escape through a window, with assistance of bystanders.
Arkansas
Date, Time of Alarm, Number of Deaths
May, 3:27 p.m., 3
Setting
This explosion and fire involved piping connected to an obsolete flammable liquid storage tank at an oil well.
Climate
No information was reported.
Fire Origin and Path
This explosion and fire occurred as a worker (one of the victims) used a power rotary saw to cut a pipeline that contained flammable vapors. The pipeline had not been purged, bonded, or blocked before the cutting operations began.
Contributing Factors and Victim Locations
The three victims were engulfed in the fire following the explosion.
Colorado
Date, Time of Alarm, Number of Deaths
March, 1:30 p.m., 3
Setting
Residences burned in the wildland/urban interface.
Climate
On the day the fire started, winds were a steady 15 to 20 miles (24 to 32 kilometers) per hour, gusting up to 55 miles (89 kilometers) per hour.
Fire Origin and Path
This fire began when wind carried ground-level embers across the established prescribed burn control lines.
Contributing Factors and Victim Locations
A 50-acre (20-hectare) prescribed burn took place four days before this fire. The controlled burn was secured the next day and was patrolled and monitored for the next two days. The day before the fatal fire, a red-flag warning was issued for strong and gusty winds. On the day of the fire, winds carried ground-level embers across the prescribed burn fire-control lines, where they ignited three spot fires. Two of the spot fires were quickly contained, but the third became established and could not be controlled by ground crews. It subsequently became a wildfire and spread rapidly to a nearby residential area. The fire killed three people, burned 4,140 acres (1,675 hectares), and destroyed 27 structures. Two of the victims, a married couple, were found at their home, one inside and one outside. The third victim was found in her home.