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On December 1, 1958, a fire broke out in the basement of Our Lady of the Angels Catholic School in Chicago, IL. 1,600 kindergarten to eighth grade students attended the school. Originally built in 1910, the school was remodeled and additions were added several times over the years. The school was provided with one fire escape and fire extinguishers. There were no fire sprinkers, no automatic fire alarms, and no connection to the fire department. The stair towers were not fire resistant and there were no fire doors for heat or smoke separation to help separate the two floors of the school. Construction of the building was wood with brick exterior walls. As was customary for the time, the wood floors were coated with flammable solvent based wax.

December 1, 1958 was a cold day. Sometime between 1400 and 1420 hours, a fire started in a cardboard trash barrel. The fire burned undetected for an estimated 15 to 30 minutes before a window shattered, allowing fresh oxygen to feed the flames. Smoke was filling the building and the fresh supply of oxygen caused the fire to flash up the stairwell. A pipe chase which ran from the basement to the cockloft became an express route for flames to reach the attic. Flames swept through the hallways before the teachers and students on the second floor realized there was a fire in the building. The only way out was the fire and smoke filled central hallway. 329 students and 5 nuns were trapped on the second floor. Their options were to wait for the fire department to arrive, or jump out the windows into the crushed rock 25 feet below. Some of the nuns brought the children together in the classrooms to pray to God for the fire department to arrive in time to save them. Some prayed. Some children jumped. Other children were pushed or fell out the windows.

The firemen arrived within four minutes from being called, but not in time to save many of the children or nuns. The witnessed the unforgettable outcome of the fire. Children were killed in their fall to the ground. Smaller children could not climb over the window sills, and died in the classrooms. Firefighters witnessed the children in the classrooms when the fire flashed over inside the rooms, killing all the souls remaining inside the room.

A calamity of errors plagued the event. The fire burned without being discovered for approximately one half hour. The fire department was originally given the address of the Rectory which was located around the corner from the school. Valuable minutes were lost because engines needed to relocate and hose lines had to be dragged to the school. The gate to the courtyard of the school was locked, preventing firefighters from getting to the children along the south classroom windows.    160 children were rescued from the school, but 87 children and three nuns lost their lives.

The school passed a fire department inspection two weeks earlier. Because the school was built prior to the 1949 Chicago Fire Code for Schools, it was “grandfathered” into the old code and safety improvements were not required to be made.

As a result of the fire and horrendous loss of life, fire codes nationwide were changed to require schools to upgrade their fire safety programs and devices to meet current fire codes. Another sad lesson as to how the fire codes are written in calamity, blood, and loss of life…

Beattie Fire Protection & Risk Consulting, LLC is proud to announce the publication of a new article in the March 2015 edition of Occupational Health & Safety, Vol. 84, No. 3 (www.ohsonline.com). The article, “Implementing a Fire Protection Inspection, Testing, & Maintenance Program for Water-Based Fire Protection Equipment”, was selected as the featured article on the cover. The article discusses issues in implementing an ITM program for water-based fire protection systems covered under NFPA 25. A copy of the article is also posted at https://waltbeattie.com/articles-by-walt/ .

The Katie Jane Memorial Home for the Aged located in Warrenton, MO was the location of a fire which killed 72 people, almost half of the residents, on February 17, 1957. The two-and-a-half story facility was located approximately sixty miles west of St. Louis, and housed 155 elderly people. It had been converted to a nursing home two years earlier after serving as the site for Central Wesleyan College.

The fire began at approximately 2:40 p.m. in a linen closet on the first floor. At the time, a Sunday afternoon religious service was being led by Lutheran minister Walter Schwane, who was leading a hymn, “What a Friend We Have in Jesus.” A scream was heard from one of the visitors who had noticed smoke near her uncle’s room. Soon, she saw intense flames near the closet and screamed “Fire!” as she alerted everyone throughout the facility.

Within 30 minutes, the annex building became an inferno. Local residents attempted to rescue residents, however, the building’s roof eventually caved in It is reported that the flames and smoke were visible from 30 miles away.

A state official had inspected the facility just one week before the fire. After the fire, it was learned that the sister of the Nursing Home’s manager had operated a similar facility in Hillsboro, MO. That facility caught fire in 1952 and 18 people died in the fire.

The fire cause was not determined. It was later learned that the operator was operating without a valid license, was not provided with automatic sprinkler systems, had inadequate fire escapes, no alarm system, and no evacuation plan. Some residents were locked in their rooms, which was a common practice in many homes during that period.

In March, 1957, Missouri governor James T. Blair signed a bill establishing minimum safety standards for nursing homes in the state of Missouri.

Do you have a loved one in a nursing home or assisted living facility? If so, have you checked out the safety features of the facility? Fire is a grave concern for such facilities because many times, the occupants are not able to exit on their own. They may have physical or mental issues which may prevent them from evacuating in a safe manner. There may be limited staff on duty, especially over the nighttime hours.

Some items to note when selecting a care facility include:

• Is the building well maintained? Is the construction substantial and is each wing separated by fire walls and fire door assemblies – or at least smoke separation walls and door assemblies? When was the building constructed or last renovated and to what year’s code? An old building built to 1950’s codes and grandfathered from updates may not be the level of safety you want for your loved ones.
• Are multi-story facilities provided vertical fire cut-offs of substantial fire rated construction. Are the stair towers clearly marked?
• Is the housekeeping maintained in an orderly fashion? Make sure exit routes are not cluttered and every door is clear of obstructions.
• Is the facility equipped with fire sprinklers, fire detection systems, automatic closing doors?
• What is the occupant to staff ratio, especially at night on weekends, and on holidays? Are there enough staff on hand to effect an orderly evacuation?
• Is smoking allowed? If so, what safeguards are in place to supervise smoking activity and ensure smoking controls?
• Are evacuation routes and procedures posted? Are all exits clearly marked? Are drills carried out in a serious manner and supervised by a qualified employee or third party? If a “Defend In Place” emergency response is implemented, was the building built to facilitate this response concept? Has the staff been fully trained in “Defend In Place” procedures and understand the boundaries of each fire compartment?

Talk to the administrators and supervisors about fire safety. Your questions should be addressed thoroughly and completely.

Talk to your loved one about fire safety, what they can do to protect themselves in the event of a fire. Talk to them about closing their door at night to help prevent smoke from entering their room if a fire starts.

For more information, a good publication is U.S. Fire Administration/National Fire Data Center, “Fire and the Older Adult”, FA-300/January 2006. It may be downloaded at: www.usfa.fema.gov/downloads/pdf/publications/fa-300.pdf . Also, NFPA and many other governmental agencies publish information easily downloadable on the internet. Please take the time to research fire safety for your elder loved ones.

PLEASE JOIN ME TODAY AT THIS INFORMATIVE WEBINAR

A webinar presentation with Occupational Health & Safety

Your facilities have fire protection and sprinkler equipment installed, but are you sure that they are providing reliable and adequate protection at this very moment? Have the sprinkler systems installed in your facilities lulled you into a false sense of security? Are you doing what is needed to properly inspect, test, and maintain your water based fire protection systems? Are your sprinkler systems ready for response to fire? Are your fire pumps exercised and flow tested as required? Are trip test and internal inspection frequencies of your equipment adequate? Are your records reflecting the service they represent? Do you have hidden impairments in your fire systems?

Please join Walt on October 2, 2014 at 11:00am ET – 10:00am CT – 8:00am PT when he will review the requirements of NFPA 25, Standard for the Inspection, Testing, and Maintenance of Water-Based Fire Protection Systems. Knowing the minimum requirements will help enable you to verify and evaluate the service being performed on your water based fire protection systems.

DATE: October 2, 2014

TIME 11:00AM ET – 10:00AM CT – 8:00AM PT

Register here or go to:

http://ohsonline.com/webcasts/2014/08/fire-sprinkler-systems.aspx?admgarea=Webinar&tc=page0

View of “fire tornado” demonstration – Photo CSB

On September 3, 2014, another tragic accident during a science demonstration. A flash fire injured nine people – eight of them children – who were viewing a science demonstration. They were transported to the hospital for evaluation of burn injuries, and one child with more serious burns was admitted to the hospital for treatment.

Concerns have also been raised by other entities, such as the Committee on Chemical Safety of the American Chemical Society (ACS). There is a general call for schools and teachers to immediately end all “rainbow” demonstrations involving methanol or other flammable solvents on open benches. Using flammable liquids in improperly controlled situations may lead to catastrophic results. ACS safety experts advise, “The ‘Rainbow’ demonstration performed on an open bench using a flammable solvent is a high risk operation.” There are well-known safer alternatives to the rainbow demonstration where no methanol is used, only wooden sticks soaked in chemical salts dissolved in water.

You may view a compelling video ” After the Rainbow” at http://www.csb.gov/videos/after-the-rainbow/

Are these demonstrations being conducted in your local schools and museums?

Statement of CSB Chairperson Rafael Moure-Eraso Warning Against Use of Methanol During Laboratory and Classroom Combustion Demonstrations, in the Wake of Reno, Nevada, Museum Fire can be found at http://www.csb.gov/statement-of-csb-chairperson-rafael-moure-eraso-warning-against-use-of-methanol-during-laboratory-and-classroom-combustion-demonstrations-in-the-wake-of-reno-nevada-museum-fire/