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Dangers of Engineered Wood I-Beam Floors

Dangers of Engineered Wood I-Beam Floors. Firefighter Life Safety Resource Kit. Make Everyday a Training Day…So that Everyone Goes Home. c. 2008 NFFF. Dangers of Engineered Wood I-Beam Floors. Overview Engineered Wood I-Beams (Commonly called TJI’s) Case Studies of LODD (NIOSH)

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Dangers of Engineered Wood I-Beam Floors

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  1. Dangers of Engineered Wood I-Beam Floors FirefighterLife Safety Resource Kit Make Everyday a Training Day…So that Everyone Goes Home c. 2008 NFFF

  2. Dangers of Engineered Wood I-Beam Floors Overview • Engineered Wood I-Beams (Commonly called TJI’s) • Case Studies of LODD (NIOSH) • Pre-incident Identification • Hazards & Risks (Risk/Benefit) • Operational Decision Making • Review

  3. Dangers of Engineered Wood I-Beam Floors Engineered Wood I-Beams • Structural components comprising of top and bottom flanges, which may be solid or laminated wood, united with a plywood or Oriented Strand Board (OSB) web of various depths. Top Flange Web Bottom Flange

  4. Dangers of Engineered Wood I-Beam Floors 12 6 6 Engineered Wood I-Beams • Primarily used for floor systems but can be found in some roof applications • Manufactured up to 60’ in length • Cross section resembles the shape of a steel I beam 12 Cathedral Ceiling

  5. Dangers of Engineered Wood I-Beam Floors Engineered Wood I-Beams • First developed in 1969 • Cost and performance drove the development • Designed to provide “open” floor spaces

  6. Dangers of Engineered Wood I-Beam Floors Engineered Wood I-Beam • Used in nearly 50% of today's residential construction • Rising cost of standard dimensional lumber makes the wood I-beam affordable • Ease of installation reduces labor cost.

  7. Dangers of Engineered Wood I-Beam Floors Engineered Wood I-Beams • The collapse potential of engineered wood I-Beams exposed to fire presents an extreme danger to fire fighters.

  8. Dangers of Engineered Wood I-Beam Floors • Case Studies of LODD (NIOSH) www.cdc.gov/niosh/fire/reports/face200707.html www.cdc.gov/niosh/fire/reports/face200626.html www.cdc.gov/niosh/fire/reports/face200624.html

  9. Dangers of Engineered Wood I-Beam Floors On August 13, 2006, a 55-year old male career firefighter died after falling through the floor at a residential structure fire.

  10. Dangers of Engineered Wood I-Beam Floors On June 25, 2006, a 34-year-old male volunteer Deputy Fire Chief died after falling through a failed section of floor in a residential structure fire.

  11. Dangers of Engineered Wood I-Beam Floors On January 26, 2007, a 24-year-old male volunteer fire fighter died at a residential structure fire after falling through the floor which was supported by engineered wooden I-Beams.

  12. Dangers of Engineered Wood I-Beam Floors • Pre-incident Identification • New Construction • Nearly ½ of new construction • All residential construction after 1990 is suspect to some type of truss floor system • Wood I-Beam • Parallel Cord

  13. Dangers of Engineered Wood I-Beam Floors • Pre-incident Identification • Fire Departments should inspect new construction to identify floor construction types. • Identify unfinished basement ceilings or suspended acoustical tile for either provide a fire stop. • The presence of truss construction and engineered wood I-Beams should be recorded. • Computer Aided Dispatch Systems should include information to alert responding personnel.

  14. Dangers of Engineered Wood I-Beam Floors • Pre-incident Identification Fire Departments should work with State and Local Building Code authorities to require markings to indicate the presence of light weight and/or truss construction.

  15. Dangers of Engineered Wood I-Beam Floors • Hazards & Risks (Risk/Benefit) • Engineered wood I-Beams burn rapidly due to a very high surface-to-mass ratio characteristic of kindling.

  16. Dangers of Engineered Wood I-Beam Floors • Hazards & Risks (Risk/Benefit) • Adhesive may fail in heat

  17. Dangers of Engineered Wood I-Beam Floors • Hazards & Risks (Risk/Benefit) • Structural integrity can be compromised by improper cutting or “notching” of structural members during construction. • Typical problem due to plumbers, electricians or non-professional carpenters. • Greater spans then conventional solid sawn construction

  18. Dangers of Engineered Wood I-Beam Floors • Risk/Benefit • Fire fighters will take significant risk to save a known life • Fire fighters will take a calculated risk, and provide for additional safety, to save valuable property or reduce the potential for civilian and firefighter injuries • Firefighters will not risk their safety to save what is already lost

  19. Dangers of Engineered Wood I-Beam Floors • Risk/Benefit • Tactics based on sawn (solid) joist floors will kill fire fighters if used on buildings with truss floors” Brannigan – Building Construction for the Fire Service – 3rd edition • Know Your Enemy, before entering!

  20. Dangers of Engineered Wood I-Beam Floors • Operational Decision Making • No reliable time limit exists for how long fire fighters should operate under or on truss floors or engineered wood I-Beams that are exposed to fire.

  21. Dangers of Engineered Wood I-Beam Floors • Operational Decision Making • “three scenarios can occur ……. while operating at fires involving truss roof or floor systems” [Dunn, 1992} • fire fighters may fall into the fire as the sheathing or the floor truss system collapses below them. • the roof trusses may collapse onto them. • the floor or roof may collapse and cause a secondary wall collapse.

  22. Dangers of Engineered Wood I-Beam Floors • Operational Decision Making • Firefighters should not be on top or underneath structural components that are burning. • When it is determined that the building’s trusses have been exposed to fire, any fire fighters operating under or above them should be immediately evacuated

  23. Dangers of Engineered Wood I-Beam Floors • Operational Decision Making • A thermal imaging camera (TIC) can be a useful tool for initial size up and for locating the seat of or extent of a fire. • Preliminary test results by UL indicate that infrared imaging may not accurately identify temperatures just below the floor where the wood I-Beams are burned through due to carpet padding or multiple floor layers.

  24. Dangers of Engineered Wood I-Beam Floors • Operational Decision Making • Basement fires pose significant risks to firefighters and can be considered a “common denominator” for firefighter death and injuries • Determine the type of floor system before entering

  25. Dangers of Engineered Wood I-Beam Floors “Tactics based on sawn (solid) joist floors will kill fire fighters if used on buildings with truss floors” Brannigan – Building Construction for the Fire Service – 3rd edition

  26. Dangers of Engineered Wood I-Beam Floors Review • Engineered Wood I-Beams • Case Studies of LODD (NIOSH) • Pre-incident Identification • Hazards & Risks (Risk/Benefit) • Operational Decision Making

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