Industrial plastics fire: major triage operation, Flint Township, Michigan (November 29, 1988)

Original publisher: Emmitsburg, Md. : Federal Emergency Management Agency, U.S. Fire Administration, National Fire Data Center, [1989?]. OCLC Number: (OCoLC)71439149 Subject: Fire investigation -- Case studies. Excerpt: ... USFA-TR-025 / November 1988 5 Two 4-inch supply lines were connected to the fire hydrant near the front of the building and one to the next hydrant to the east. The two lines from the front hydrant supplied operations on the east side of the building, and the third 4-inch line served operations on the west side along with tanker supply. Water supply was generally adequate. A 16-inch water main served the hydrant directly across the street from the factory. The fire was prevented from spreading significantly into the original building. Later in the incident, when it was feared that the wind might shift and affect other populated areas, a stronger effort was made to extinguish the fire in the addition. The fire was under control about midnight, over four hours after being detected. It is believed that the main contribution to the fire was the finished polyurethane bumpers and pack-ing materials. The bumpers were stored in steel racks stacked vertically in the addition. Even though many of the drums were later discovered with bulges, the materials in the drums within the build-ing may not have been significantly threatened due to the venting of the fire through the roof and the operation of hose streams. The lack of major structural deformation other than in the southeast corner of the addition, which collapsed, supports this theory. DAMAGe All of the contents of the addition were either consumed or heavily damaged by the fire except for materials that were recovered from the 55-gallon drums. The original building suffered heat and�ame damage primarily in the ceiling area and near the addition. The remainder of the building suffered considerable smoke damage. enVIROnMenTAl MOnITORInG No samples of smoke were taken during the incident. Water ru...