Fire emergency course component
Commercial high-rises, hotels and hospitals require certified personnel as mandated by New York City Local Laws, Rules of the City of New York Fire Department and the NYC Fire Code.
There have been many spectacular high-rise fires in the United States. The Triangle Shirtwaist Company fire in Lower Manhattan in 1911 is perhaps the most defining structural fire in New York City and was a catalyst for legislative reform to protect building occupants. Unfortunately, 146 people lost their lives in this fire.
In 1970, the One New York Plaza fire in Lower Manhattan killed two people and injured 35 occupants. The First Interstate Bank fire in Los Angeles in 1988 claimed the life of an engineer and economic losses of $50 million. In 1991, the One Meridian Plaza fire in Philadelphia resulted in the death of three firefighters.
The Bank of New York fire at 280 Park Avenue in 1993 cost property damage estimated at more than $10 million. In 2003, the Cook County Administration fire in Chicago claimed the lives of six occupants who were overcome by smoke in the stairwells. The attack on the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001 was a focusing catastrophic event that caused the death of 2,753 people and the destruction of the famous Twin Towers.
These fires prove that no one is immune from the devastating personal and economic impact of high-rise fires. Lessons learned from local and national fires are discussed.
The course discusses the theory and design of automated fire suppression systems and their role in the detection and suppression of smoke and fire. The elements and principles of Local Law 5 of 1973 are explored and discussed extensively. The interaction between occupants, fire protection systems and construction technologies are examined.