Incendiary Fire Analysis and Investigation

In West Warwick Rhode Island, on February 20th, 2003, during the performance of the band Great White, a fire broke out that eventually claimed the lives of 100 people and injured an additional 200. The band’s tour manager arranged for, and ignited pyrotechnic props, large fireworks designed to display a shower of sparks. The sparks ignited foam soundproofing near stage. The fire spread quickly. Most were killed either in the crush to exit the building or overcome by fumes while trying to find an exit. The immediate cause was well documented due to witness reports and a videotape that was taken during the concert. In the period that followed the tragedy there were many attempts to fix blame. Following a Grand Jury

This tragic fire demonstrated how the fire inspections and precautions were noticeably lacking safety for these workers even though “a little more than five months before the tragedy Firemen Edward F. O’Conner made a routine inspection and said the Asch Building was ‘good’ and the building was ‘fireproof’”(28). The fire finally died down with over one hundred dead bodies piled along the streets. Sunday morning “thousands of people began to form into a slowly moving parade around the city blocks”(89). The people were walking in honor of these workers and would go around trying to identify the bodies and confiscate any items the bodies my have possessed for reminiscences. On the other hand, the departments felt immediate quilt for not stepping in to fix the Asch building before, because the departments knew of the horrible safety and health precautions the Asch building had but nobody emphasized the problems. “But who was to blame?” (113). Chief Croker was quick to blame

If you went out one day and out of nowhere you find yourself in a life-or-death situation would it be your fault? People in a life-or-death situation should be held accountable for their actions because most of the time people know that if they do something that can put them in a life-or-death situation then something bad will happen but they still do it willingly. Another person might not agree with this claim and say that people should not be held accountable for their actions. The reason he or she might think this is because if when a person does face a life-or-death situation it might not be entirely their fault. The following reasons are examples of why my claim is stronger.

The Station nightclub fire occurred on February 20, 2003, in West Warwick, RI. The fourth deadliest nightclub fire in U.S. history, a blaze at The Station nightclub in W. Warwick, RI, on February 20, 2003. The fire was caused by pyrotechnics set off by the tour manager of the evening 's headlining band Great White, which ignited flammable sound insulation polyurethane foam in the walls and ceilings surrounding the stage. By this time, the nightclub 's fire alarm had been activated, and although there were four possible exits, most people headed for the front door through which they had entered. The rapidly moving fire with intense black smoke engulfed the club in less than 6 minutes. Video footage of the fire shows its ignition, rapid growth, the heavy smoke quickly made escape impossible, and the exit blockage that further hindered evacuation. The ensuing stampede led to a crush in the narrow hallway leading to that exit, quickly blocking the exit completely and resulting in numerous deaths and injuries among the patrons and staff. The toxic smoke, heat and the stampede of people toward the exits killed 100; 230 were injured and another 132 escaped uninjured. A total of 462 people were in the club, even though the club 's official licensed capacity was 404

The Local, State and Federal agencies were called to investigate the Station Nightclub fire incident and they found many issues. The polyurethane foam that was on the interior walls was the major factor in the Station Nightclub fire. It was easily ignited and also contributed to a faster fire spread within the building. According to NFPA 101, Life Safety Code, the interior finish is required to be Class A or B for general assembly areas with occupant loads of more than 300. It has been calculated that the number of occupants at the Station Nightclub was around 440-458 people, obviously well over this limit. The ignition of polyurethane foam gave out a magnitude of smoke and heat in such a short period of time and created mass chaos, thus resulting in a crowd-wide panic towards the initial entry point. Also NFPA 101, Life Safety Code, section 13.2.3.6.1 states that the main entrance/exit shall be of a width that accommodates one-half of the total occupant load and shall be at the level of exit discharge or shall connect to a stairway or ramp leading to a street. If the owner of The Station Nightclub would have

Barn Burning is a story by William Faulkner, a native of Oxford, Mississippi. The story starts off in a small town court which is also a store. Mr. Harris who owns a barn, is blaming Mr. Snopes for burning down his barn. The judge asks Mr. Harris what proof he has, but he doesn’t have proof that he actually did it. Instead he thinks Mr. Snopes has it out for him because one time Mr. Snopes hog got out in Mr. Harris cornfield. He demands a dollar for his return, but instead Snopes sent someone to get it and warned him that wood is capable of catching fire. And that night Harris barn caught on fire. But this isn’t enough to convict him of this. But this doesn’t stop Mr. Harris, he calls Mr. Snopes son to see what he knows. Nothing happens, but the judge wants Mr. Snopes to leave because he has had nothing but trouble. The family heads home and later that night Mr. Snopes wakes his son Sartoris and claims that he was going to throw him under the table and say he did it. The family then settles in a new location, where they will work for Major de Spain. Snopes being the person he is, walks into Major's house with mud on his boots making a mess. Later that day Snopes is asked to clean the rug he pretty much destroyed. Snopes cleans it like someone that has never cleaned before, making it worse. He returns the rug and the next day is confronted by Major. Major wants to be payed for his destroyed rug. Snopes denies paying and is taken to court. He loses in court and this makes him very mad. Snopes then tries to burn down Majors barn. But Sartoris runs and tells Major. Major comes and kills Snopes before he could do any damage.

Besides the doors being locked there were piles of flammable fabric scraps, over flowed waste baskets and many of workers crammed in multiple floors of the building. In 1977 the fire was ignited by what was said to be a match or cigarette tossed carelessly amid the debris on the eighth floor. The fire quickly spread through the open factory floors above. The actual shirtwaist building was fire proof and still stands today. Located in the West village at the corner of Greene Street and Washington Place one could still pay the original building a visit. Those on the 10th floor escaped to the roof and took the elevator until it stopped functioning. During those days fire engine ladders only reached to the sixth floor. Unfortunately during the fire for some reason workers on the ninth floor were not informed of the blaze, and due to a lack of a building alarm system this floor had the highest number of deaths. The poorly built and unmaintained fire escapes collapsed in the heat, sending a many of the workers on a free fall to their deaths. Which after the initial tragedy, the New York City Fire Chief Edward F. Croke was asked if the fire escapes provided by building in the area were actually adequate in the event of a fire. The chief’s response was “A great many will use

At 2215 hrs, on November 28, 1942, Fire Alarm Headquarters from Box 1514, situated at Stuart and Carver streets, received an alarm. When the responding apparatus arrived they found a small car fire at the corner of Stuart Street and Broadway. After the fire was extinguished the firefighters were about to return to quarters when their attention was called to smoke emanating from the Cocoanut Grove Nightclub a few doors away. Upon their arrival at the entrance of the Broadway lounge on Broadway they encountered numerous people leaving the premises admidst the cries of “fire”. The chief in charge immediately ordered that a third alarm be sounded from Alarm Box 1521 which the alarm was received by fire alarm headquarters at 2223 hrs. A

The Ohio State Penitentiary fire claimed the lives of many in 1930. The fire was set with the intent of causing a distraction to allow a few to escape the prison walls. This did not go to plan and instead, the prison was set ablaze when everyone was locked securely in their cells for the evening. It quickly got out of control and the fire, combined with poor prison conditions, lead to the death of 322 victims becoming the worst prison fire in the world at the time. From this tragedy, new fire codes were developed as well as new measures taken in the prison system to assure such a situation never happen again. The country hasn’t faced a tragedy like this since.

The Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire of 1911 was one of the most lethal workplace tragedies in American history. 141 young women died that day, because of their unsafe work conditions. If they had fire extinguishers and a sprinkler system, or even just a better fire escape, no one would’ve had to die. The girls did not have access to these things however, because they were not required by law.

In today’s time, it is almost impossible to to find a building that does not have exit signs or fire extinguishers here in America. Fire drills are regularly practiced in schools and workplaces to ensure the tiniest amount of fatality would not occur. However, it wasn’t like that in the 1900’s. Neither safety issues nor regulations were taken into thought. “The waist industry was flourishing in New York: there were more than five hundred blouse factories, employing upward of forty thousand workers.” In this time of history, the Triangle Waist Company was the largest manufacturer of women’s shirtwaist in the entire country! On March 25, 1911, one hundred and forty six individuals lost their life to what was one of the biggest events in history

This alone would have help suppress and extinguish the fire before it got out of control. The only other suppression and detection systems to stop the fire either failed or were not present. There were only seven exits, four elevators with only one of them fully functional, two stairways down to the street but one the doors were locked, and one fire escape which was too narrow for a safe exit. The only elevator that was fully functional failed just after a few trips up and down. The one door to the stairway that was not locked was already engulfed in flames. Some of the workers were able to get to the roof but others who were trapped to extreme measure to get out of the fire. As the firefighters arrived, they watched as workers jumped form the eighth floor crashing on the concrete below. They attempted to put out a safety net but it quickly ripped under the weight and force of the falling workers. It only took 18 minutes for the fire to take all 145 workers. This incident caused an outbreak and forced safety measures to be enforced.

The building was constructed in 1946, designed to be a nightclub. The same building had changed ownership and names numerous times, and had been incarnated as not just a nightclub but also a restaurant and pub. Exact numbers of occupants at the time of the fire is unknown, estimated to be between 440 to 458 persons. When the fire started at the Station Nightclub in West Warwick, Rhode Island, the venue was 100 people over capacity, but "even the legal number was based on a bogus standing-room formula," (Seligson, 2013). An estimated 450 people were inside when the fire occurred (FEMA, 2011).

In order to evaluate common fire hazards within a building and the risks presented by these, it is essential to have an understanding of where fires start, and what causes them in varying occupancy types. The best process to fulfil this aim is to review existing statistical data. Existing data is a vital tool in analysing areas or functions of a building which have the greatest risk to occupants. In particular, those functions or areas of a building having higher fatality rates historically in buildings of a similar type should be treated with special consideration (i.e. Class 2, Kitchen). It is important to be familiar with these statistics as they play a key role in predicting outcomes of future fires. Using this knowledge, fire safety engineers can identify patterns and high risk factors; and apply appropriate building fire safety systems in an attempt to reduce fire

Department of Transportation. The fireworks are all of high- quality, so no special storage was required.