Category Archives:

Mega Mansions- Insights from the Maryland Childs Point Road Fire
August 7, 2015 | Architectural Design, Building Anatomy, building construction, Building Construction for the Fire Service, BUILDINGSONFIRE, Christopher Naum, construction, decision-making, Fatalities, fire behavior, Fire Flow, firefighting-operations, LESSONS FROM THE FIREGROUND, mass-casualty-incident, Occupancy Risk, Predictability of Performance, Reports and Case Studies, structure fires, THE MODERN FIREGROUND | Christopher Naum | No Comments
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  On Monday, January 19, 2015, a fire occurred at a residential dwelling located at 936 Childs Point Road, Annapolis, Anne Arundel County, Maryland 21401.  The two-story occupied single family dwelling was approximately 16,386 square feet in size and sustained a complete loss to the structure and contents. The damage was estimated to be approximately […]

2004 PA Church Fire and Collapse: Situational Awareness and Collapse Zone Management
March 13, 2013 | "Situational Awareness" assessment, building construction, Building Construction for the Fire Service, buildingsonfire.com, Christopher Naum, Collapse, construction, firefighter, firefighter-safety-health, firefighting-operations, in-the-line-of-duty, LODD, mass-casualty-incident, NIOSH | Christopher Naum | No Comments
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Victim #1 was acting as the Incident Safety Officer and Victim #2 was performing overhaul, when the bell tower collapsed on them and numerous other fire fighters.

Remembrance: Worcester Cold Storage Warehouse Fire and the Worcester Six
December 3, 2011 | "pre-fire planning", "Situational Awareness" assessment, Building Construction for the Fire Service, buildingsonfire.com, Christopher Naum, construction, fire behavior, firefighter-safety-health, firefighting-operations, lessons, LODD, major-incidents, mass-casualty-incident, Mayday | Christopher Naum | No Comments
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Remembrance: Worcester Cold Storage Warehouse Fire and the Worcester Six

1980 MGM Grand Hotel Fire-Thirty Years Ago
November 20, 2010 | "pre-fire planning", building construction, Building Construction for the Fire Service, buildings, buildingsonfire.com, Christopher Naum, Codes, construction, fire suppression, firefighting-operations, fires, high-rise, major-incidents, mass-casualty-incident, NFPA, pre-planning, Sprinklers, structure fires, Uncategorized | Christopher Naum | No Comments
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  Thirty years ago on the morning of November 21, 1980, 85 people died and more than 700 were injured as a result of a fire at the MGM Grand Hotel in Las Vegas, Nevada. This was the second largest life-loss hotel fire in United States history. It was determined during the investigation that the […]

No More History Repeating Events-Remembrance
July 2, 2010 | "firefighter safety", "Situational Awareness" assessment, building construction, Building Construction for the Fire Service, buildings, buildingsonfire.com, Christopher Naum, Collapse, command-leadership, compentencies, construction, decision-making, failures, Fatalities, fire behavior, firefighting-operations, History Repeating Event, honor, in-the-line-of-duty, line-of-duty, LODD, major-incidents, mass-casualty-incident, NFPA, NIOSH, Remembrance, special-operations, structure fires, Trapped, Truss | Christopher Naum | No Comments

As we approach the July 4th holiday period, two significant LODD incidents previously occurred during this time frame that hold a number of lessons learned related to command management, operations, building construction principles and building performance, fire behavior and the ever present dangers of the job. Take the opportunity to learn more about these events, […]

Buffalo Box 191 North Division & Grosvenor Streets; December 27, 1983
December 28, 2009 | "firefighter safety", "Situational Awareness" assessment, building construction, buildings, events, explosion, firefighting-operations, fires, first-due, gas leak, hazards, in-the-line-of-duty, lessons, LODD, major-incidents, mass-casualty-incident, Occupancy Risk, Remembrance, structure fires, Uncategorized | Christopher Naum | No Comments
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December 27, 1983 Buffalo, New York Five Firefighter Line-of-Duty Deaths As Buffalo (NY) firefighters arrived at the scene of a reported propane leak in a three-story radiator warehouse (Type III ordinary and Type IV heavy timber construction), a massive explosion occurred, killing five firefighters instantly and injuring nine others, three of them critically. The force […]