Blog of Aaron J.: sprinkler fail

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Doorway to Hell - an Analysis of Potential Sprinkler Performance

In 1984 tragedy struck the Great Adventure theme park when 8 teenagers were killed in the Haunted Castle attraction. The fire, believed (not proven) to have been started by a an individual playing with a lighter, has seen a great deal of controversy, and differing of opinions, through out the years. The resulting code changes created the special amusement requirements in NFPA 101.

In the video below, Jack Fairchild, a certified fire protection specialist with Ballinger A/E, discusses the history and impact of this fire, and guides us through his analysis of the potential effectiveness of fire sprinkler systems, he answers the question, "Would sprinklers have saved these kids?"

Show Notes

NFPA Journal, May/June 2014 - Haunted By Fire
NFPA Conference and Expo Presentation, handouts - Revisiting Analysis of Potential Fire Sprinkler Performance in the Great Adventure Fire of May 11, 1984
Russel Fleming, 1985 report - Analysis of Potential Fire Sprinkler Performance in the Great Adventure Fire of May 11, 1984
Jack Fairchild analysis - Water Delivery Time Tables
Ballinger Architects and Engineers - ballinger-ae.com

Doorway to Hell - the documentary film

Doorway To Hell?? The Mysteries and Controversies Surrounding the deadly Haunted Castle fire at Six Flags Great Adventure. - the book

Backtracking on Fire Safety

Fire Engineering magazine recently published an article entitled, Should Healthcare Fire Safety Backtrack on 60 Years of Improvement. This article clearly outlines where healthcare fire safety started, what it has evolved to, and the decreases in fire safety that are currently being proposed.

Read the whole article here --> http://www.fireengineering.com/articles/2013/07/should-healthcare-fire-safety-backtrack-on-60-years-of-improvement.html . This article calls for code officials to get involved and speak out at the ICC Public Comment Hearings being held October 2-10 in Atlantic City.

An organization involved in preventing these changes, is the Patient Fire Safety Coalition.
I would encourage you to visit their site for more information and to get involved. You can also contact them directly at, info@patientfiresafety.org.

Move America's Healthcare Fire Safety Forward

Speak out for Healthcare Fire Safety!

Are you attending the ICC Committee Action hearings in Dallas?

Download important information about proposed changes to the International Fire Code that seek to reduce safety in hospitals.

The International Firestop Council has published a brochure, Move America's Healthcare Fire Safety Forward, to bring attention to the potentially harmful code change proposals to be presented by the healthcare industry. At the International Code Council Fire Code Action Hearings, the hospital industry, through the ICC AHC, will introduce code change proposals to the IFC designed to simplify and streamline the constraints under which healthcare facilities operate. We believe that most of them are very good and will assist code enforcement in healthcare facilities. Unfortunately, among those other worthwhile proposals, there are a few that would be quite contrary to the goals of a fire safe hospital environment. Download, MOVE AMERICA'S HEALTHCARE FIRE SAFETY FORWARD, brochure now. The International Firestop Council is confident that the various stakeholders can better work together to provide optimized solutions that balance healthcare operational considerations with patient and worker fire safety. Code change proposals F212-13, F218-13, and F239-13 are flawed ideas which concerned individuals need to speak out against at the Committee Action hearing. The International Firestop Council, along with the Patient Fire Safety Coalition, is calling all code officials dedicated to public safety to step up to the mic and let your voice be heard in Dallas, on April 23-25.