There is nothing more devastating than receiving news that your store is on fire. On Wednesday, October 14, 2015, a fire burned through the Turner MFG Co. Building in Kokomo, Indiana. Unfortunately, three businesses within the facility- Hearn Construction Inc., Kling’s Computers, and City of 1st Glass- fell victims to the fire. The building burned uncontrolled for hours, while firefighters tried their best to put out the flames as quickly and safely as possible. But all anybody could do for a while was watch as the building continued to burn. However, one thing that help contain the fire by preventing it from spreading any further was a fire wall.
According to the Fire Chief that was on site, “A two-hour fire wall between the shop area of City of 1st Glass and the former music hall prevented the flames from spreading further”. The fire had apparently started just before noon, but was not able to be put out until about 2:30 PM. The building burned for about two and a half hours. And as wild as the flames may have been, having the two-hour fire wall in place helped to contain the flames to one specific area. This allowed for the other facilities that were near the building to be protected from catching fire.
This article proves that, although a fire was able to start, having a fire wall works. Since the Turner MFG Co. Building had a working two-hour fire wall, the fire was contained in one place while firefighters worked to put out the fire completely. However, just because you have a fire wall doesn’t necessarily mean that you are completely safe. This is a perfect example as to why it is critical that a building’s fire walls must be maintained to ensure that it will contain a fire by preventing flames from spreading. If you leave a fire wall unattended, cracks and holes from pipes or wire penetrations can make an easy pathway for fire and smoke to travel through.
Both the 2006 & 2009 International Fire Code, require a routine maintenance of fire barrier walls. And according to NFPA 101, all penetrations that pass through a wall, floor or floor/ceiling assembly constructed as a fire barrier should be protected by a fire system or device. It is important that a building’s fire walls be properly repaired when they have become damaged, altered, breached or penetrated. Any holes and gaps found from penetrations should be repaired with the appropriate devices capable of helping to prevent the spread of fire and smoke. Otherwise you run the risk of fire and smoke spreading, causing more harm to the building and putting lives in danger.
