12988497 - Laserfiche WebLink

Home Browse Search

The hangar was closed for the night when airport firefighters responded to a 10:30 p.m. call from a passerby reporting smoke coming from the structure. City firefighters arrived soon after to support airport crews, and they entered the structure from opposite sides, forcing open doors where they saw smoke coming from the eaves. They found fires in units near both points of entry. In one, flames were consuming cardboard boxes and other combustibles; in the other, flames had involved an aircraft and a travel trailer parked in the corner. Firefighters controlled the blaze, but not before it damaged five planes and four units. Investigators believe that the fire began when a refrigerator in the travel trailer malfunctioned. Damage to the building, valued at$1 million, and its contents, valued at$2 million, was estimated at$100,000 and$650,000 respectively. No one was injured. Kenneth 1.Tremblay, 1999. 'Tirewatch".NFPA Journal,March/April,35. Man Dies in Aircraft Hangar Fire, California A blaze in an aircraft hangar spread quickly before firefighters could control it, killing a man who was working in the building. The unprotected, metal-frame building, which was covered by a metal shell and measured 100 by fir I00 feet, contained the main hangar, offices, workshops, and storage areas, which were located on the ground floor and in the attic. The fire separations among these areas were inadequate, and there were no sprinkler or detection systems. The hangar was in limited operation before business hours when an occupant noticed a fire in an aircraft that was being repaired. After delaying for 5 minutes, the man called the fire department at 6:37 a.m. Firefighters arrived 7 minutes later and stretched attack lines and a master stream through two exterior doors. Fearing that the building would collapse because flames were venting through the roof, firefighters operated outside a collapse zone. The absence of a detection system and a heavy fuel load in the attic apparently allowed the fire,once established in the attic,to burn undetected until it vented through the roof. When the blaze was brought under control at 8:00 a.m., firefighters found a 48-year-old man dead in the hangar. He had died from smoke and soot inhalation, but he also sustained burns that may have hampered his escape. Damage was estimated at$1.75 million. The fire's cause was undetermined. Kenneth J.Tremblay, 1995. 'Tit-match".NFPA Journal'September/October.36. L