Fall - 2005
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NIST Releases Rhode Island Nightclub Report
PDA Hazmat Data for First Responders
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NIOSH/RAND Study for Protecting First Responders
Remembering the World Trade Center Disaster
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Radio
Systems Safety Project – Phoenix Fire Department
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GSA Presents Firefighter Forcible Entry Training
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FRIENDLY VERSION (PDF format)
February 20, 2003, was to be a fun-filled evening at The Station in West Warwick, Rhode Island. As a band began to perform on the platform, stage pyrotechnics were used to enhance the festive atmosphere. Unfortunately, the pyrotechnics ignited the polyurethane foam insulation lining portions of the walls and ceiling of the platform and the fire raced along the ceiling and wall areas over the dance floor. In less than two minutes, the smoke filled the volume over the platform and dance floor, dropped to within two feet of the floor, and began to vent from exit doorways. Flames were observed breaking through the roof in less than five minutes. Egress from the non-sprinklered building was slowed down by crowding at the main entrance. One hundred people lost their lives in the fire.
On February 27, 2003, NIST launched an investigation into the fire. There were four objectives of the investigation: To establish the likely technical causes of the building failure; to evaluate the technical aspects of the evacuation and emergency response procedures; to recommend, as necessary, specific improvements to building standards, codes, and practices based on the findings made pursuant to the duties listed above, and to recommend any research and other appropriate actions needed to improve the structural safety of buildings, and to improve evacuation and emergency response procedures, based upon the findings of the investigation.
As part of the investigation, NIST studied the polyurethane foam. A non-fire retarded foam sample purchased by NIST ignited within 15
seconds when exposed to a pyrotechnic device (see photo) in a experimental configuration similar to the setup on the nightclub’s platform. (No foam samples from The Station were obtained by NIST for testing.)
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Still frame taken from video of full-scale mock-up experiments (unsprinklered) at 50 seconds.
When first responders arrive at a hazmat (hazardous materials) incident, they need to know exactly how hazardous a material or substance may be and what problems may develop as a result. The U.S. National Library of Medicine (NLM) has released a Personal Digital Assistant (PDA) software tool designed to help first responders gather that kind of information when they arrive at a hazmat incident such as a chemical spill.
The software tool, WISER (Wireless Information System for Emergency Responders) provides the emergency responder with critical information on hazardous substances such as the physical characteristics, human health data, and containment and suppression information for that substance. WISER was customized for easy navigation and quick access to critical information required by first responders.
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WISER displayed on PDA.