Dangers of Engineered Wood I-Beam Floors National Fallen Firefighter Foundation - Courage To Be Safe So Everyone Goes Home 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 National Fallen Firefighter Foundation - Courage To Be Safe So Everyone Goes Home 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 Definitions: LODD – Line of Duty Deaths NIOSH – National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health Operational Decision Making – Onsite assessment

Dangers of Engineered Wood I-Beam Floors National Fallen Firefighter Foundation - Courage To Be Safe So Everyone Goes Home 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

Dangers of Engineered Wood I-Beam Floors National Fallen Firefighter Foundation - Courage To Be Safe So Everyone Goes Home Dangers of Engineered Wood I-Beam Floors 12 6 6 12 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 Cathedral Ceiling Instructor Notes: When wood I-Beams are used as a roof system it is frequently to create an open planned cathedral ceiling. Interior ceiling pitch will be the same as the roof pitch.

Dangers of Engineered Wood I-Beam Floors National Fallen Firefighter Foundation - Courage To Be Safe So Everyone Goes Home 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

Dangers of Engineered Wood I-Beam Floors National Fallen Firefighter Foundation - Courage To Be Safe So Everyone Goes Home 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.

Dangers of Engineered Wood I-Beam Floors National Fallen Firefighter Foundation - Courage To Be Safe So Everyone Goes Home 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.

Dangers of Engineered Wood I-Beam Floors National Fallen Firefighter Foundation - Courage To Be Safe So Everyone Goes Home 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

Dangers of Engineered Wood I-Beam Floors National Fallen Firefighter Foundation - Courage To Be Safe So Everyone Goes Home 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.

Dangers of Engineered Wood I-Beam Floors National Fallen Firefighter Foundation - Courage To Be Safe So Everyone Goes Home 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. Please note the wood I-Beam (TJI) floor collapse with minimal fire damage in finished room above. Visual and infrared video may not indicate impending collapse The floor temperature may be cool with a failed floor system under it.

Dangers of Engineered Wood I-Beam Floors National Fallen Firefighter Foundation - Courage To Be Safe So Everyone Goes Home 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.

Dangers of Engineered Wood I-Beam Floors National Fallen Firefighter Foundation - Courage To Be Safe So Everyone Goes Home 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

Dangers of Engineered Wood I-Beam Floors National Fallen Firefighter Foundation - Courage To Be Safe So Everyone Goes Home 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.

Dangers of Engineered Wood I-Beam Floors National Fallen Firefighter Foundation - Courage To Be Safe So Everyone Goes Home 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.

Dangers of Engineered Wood I-Beam Floors National Fallen Firefighter Foundation - Courage To Be Safe So Everyone Goes Home 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. Obviously “twice as fast” or faster

Dangers of Engineered Wood I-Beam Floors National Fallen Firefighter Foundation - Courage To Be Safe So Everyone Goes Home Dangers of Engineered Wood I-Beam Floors Hazards & Risks (Risk/Benefit) Adhesive may fail in heat

Dangers of Engineered Wood I-Beam Floors National Fallen Firefighter Foundation - Courage To Be Safe So Everyone Goes Home 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

Dangers of Engineered Wood I-Beam Floors National Fallen Firefighter Foundation - Courage To Be Safe So Everyone Goes Home 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 Firemen should not risk their lives when the floors are collapsing

Dangers of Engineered Wood I-Beam Floors National Fallen Firefighter Foundation - Courage To Be Safe So Everyone Goes Home 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!

Dangers of Engineered Wood I-Beam Floors National Fallen Firefighter Foundation - Courage To Be Safe So Everyone Goes Home 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. Early reports in a study by Underwriters Laboratories (UL) indicate solid floor joists collapse in approximately 20-25 minutes. Early reports by UL indicate wood I-Beams collapse in 6-7 minutes.

Dangers of Engineered Wood I-Beam Floors National Fallen Firefighter Foundation - Courage To Be Safe So Everyone Goes Home 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.

Dangers of Engineered Wood I-Beam Floors National Fallen Firefighter Foundation - Courage To Be Safe So Everyone Goes Home 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

Dangers of Engineered Wood I-Beam Floors National Fallen Firefighter Foundation - Courage To Be Safe So Everyone Goes Home 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.

Dangers of Engineered Wood I-Beam Floors National Fallen Firefighter Foundation - Courage To Be Safe So Everyone Goes Home 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

Dangers of Engineered Wood I-Beam Floors National Fallen Firefighter Foundation - Courage To Be Safe So Everyone Goes Home 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

Dangers of Engineered Wood I-Beam Floors National Fallen Firefighter Foundation - Courage To Be Safe So Everyone Goes Home 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