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Re: Exploding aerosol cans spreading fires
Posted by:
Gerald Hurst (IP Logged)
Date: December 20, 2006 01:39PM
The following is an NFPA synopsis of the paper cited in my previous post.
1982 K-Mart Distribution Center in Falls Township, Pennsylvania (0 killed); $100 million damage; 1.2 million square foot building measuring 1,085 feet by 1,180 feet, divided into 4 quadrants by firewalls; firewall openings protected by deluge system rather than fire doors; unprotected structural steel; fire started in falling carton of carburetor cleaner aerosol cans; quadrant filled with smoke in 3 minutes; roof burned through in 20 minutes; sprinklers overwhelmed by large flammable load; explosions blew flaming aerosol cans through firewall openings spreading fire to other quadrants; building engulfed within 1 hour; firewalls not designed to be free-standing after burnout in 1 quadrant; 225 employees escaped.