The 36 deaths in the Dec. 2 Ghost Ship warehouse fire in Oakland, Calif., are a grim reminder of why cities need not only effective building codes but also diligent building-code enforcement.
Loss of life inside the 10,000-square-foot building was attributable to lack of sprinklers and alarms, a maze of flammable clutter, illegal occupancy and use, and woefully inadequate means of emergency egress. A wooden stair to and from the second floor was quickly engulfed in flames.
These conditions allegedly existed because of disregard for regulations by the building owner and the tenant who managed and operated the warehouse.
But the city of Oakland was evidently complicit, having failed to carry out required inspections diligently and to close the unsafe warehouse because of obvious code violations and fire hazards.
The Oakland disaster recalls the 1911 Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire in New York City. The deadliest industrial fire in the city’s history, it led to more stringent municipal fire-safety codes.
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Architects, engineers, contractors, property owners and government officials have a legal and ethical obligation to make sure that buildings are safe and compliant with applicable codes.
Codes address many aspects of building design and construction. But three aspects are paramount: structural safety, environmental safety and fire safety.
Structural frameworks and components — foundations, bearing walls, columns, beams, struts, roof and floor slabs or decks, and all-important connections — must deflect or deform minimally when subjected to gravity, wind and earthquake forces.
Of somewhat more pressing concern are palpable environmental conditions and safety. Codes accordingly set forth criteria for adequate ventilation and air quality; for avoiding atmospheric toxicity caused by exposure to gases, fibers or particles; for year-round thermal comfort; and for reduction of energy usage and carbon emissions.
Keeping fires from starting is the first line of defense, and it requires minimizing potential ignition sources. Electrical malfunctions are among the most frequent causes. Improperly shielded or monitored open flames associated with heating or cooking also can lead to a fire, as can natural gas leaks and improper use and storage of volatile flammable liquids.
Using noncombustible materials or materials that resist ignition and the spread of flames is also part of the defense. Based on use, occupancy and size, codes limit combustibility characteristics for certain building types and construction materials.
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When a fire breaks out, the second line of defense is containing and extinguishing the fire, minimizing the generation and the spread of smoke, and warning occupants with audible alarms. A very small fire can release thousands of cubic feet of smoke in a matter of seconds, and people in a burning building often succumb to smoke inhalation before flames reach them.
Automatic overhead sprinklers are by far the most effective way to quickly control and suppress an incipient fire, reduce smoke production, limit fire’s spread and, ideally, put it out. Functioning sprinklers give occupants time to trigger fire alarms, perhaps make use of fire extinguishers and, most important, safely reach building exits.
Indeed, egress from a burning building is the third fire safety goal and strategy. Safe evacuation requires at least two separate — horizontal and vertical — exit pathways from an apartment, office, place of assembly or room within a building. The greater the allowable occupancy of a building, the more exit pathways must be provided.
Consisting of fire-protected corridors, at all levels, and stairways from all upper levels, such pathways must lead directly outside or to a fully fire-safe haven. And all required exit doors and pathways must have readily visible, illuminated exit signs.
Walls and floors enclosing fire-protected corridors and stairs must be fire-rated. Ratings indicate the amount of time — one, two or three hours — during which a fire burning in an adjacent space cannot penetrate the exit pathways. Assemblies of concrete, masonry and layers of gypsum or other fire-insulating materials are rated through approved tests.
GB 8624-2012:Classification for burning behavior of building materials and products