Designer Creates a Fire Escape Tunnel for High-Rise Buildings

A British designer has created a unique life-saving evacuation chute he claims it ‘could have emptied Grenfell Tower in 20 minutes’. Eric Hooper, 72, said watching live coverage of the devastating fire that killed at least 80 people left him ‘frustrated as hell’. He said fitting the escape tube on the 21-floor residential block could […]

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Fire destroys apartments in North Providence

By Shiina LoSciuto and Sarah DoironPublished: October 2, 2017, 10:25 pm Updated: October 2, 2017, 10:28 pm NORTH PROVIDENCE, R.I. (WPRI) – Multiple emergency vehicles rushed to the intersection of Douglas Avenue and Mineral Spring Avenue in North Providence around 6:30 p.m. North Providence Fire Chief Edward Digiulio said one of their first responders was […]

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NFPA Announces Fire Prevention Week Theme: ‘Every Second Counts: Plan Two Ways Out’

Nearly half of all Americans have not developed a home fire escape plan. Of those that have, one-quarter have never practiced it. These and other findings from a recent survey conducted by the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) prompted the official theme for this year’s Fire Prevention Week campaign, October 8-14, 2017: “Every Second Counts: […]

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People Jump From Windows to Escape East Portland Apartment Fire

MULTNOMAH COUNTY, Ore. — Flames forced people to jump from their windows, some from the third floor, after a fire broke out Tuesday morning at the Glendoveer Estates apartments, located on the Portland-Gresham line in Multnomah County. The fire happened about 7:15 a.m. on Tuesday. Brothers Christin and Disean Mann both jumped from the second […]

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Fire Marshal: Discarded Cigarette Causes $1M Cherry Hill Blaze

CHERRY HILL — A tenant’s discarded cigarette outside his third-story apartment sparked a blaze that caused $1 million in damage to the complex and displaced him and 19 other tenants Thursday afternoon, authorities reported. Brinton Davis, the tenant of the top-floor apartment, reported the fire on the exterior deck/fire escape of his apartment about 2:42 […]

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Victim on Fire Escapes Burning Trinity Bar Building in New Haven: FD

Fire broke out in apartments above Trinity Bar in New Haven Friday and one person injured in the fire is in critical condition at the hospital, according to fire officials. Officials received reports of people trapped inside the building just before 2 p.m. after seeing heavy smoke and fire coming from the building on Orange […]

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Bronx Teen Takes Fatal Plunge After Going Out On Fifth-Story Fire Escape To Smoke

A 15-year-old Bronx boy fell five stories to his death Thursday morning after sneaking from his bedroom onto a fire escape, while still in his pajamas, to smoke, police said. Leonardo (Lenny) Marmolejos fell from the fire escape that runs down the back wall of his apartment building on Briggs Ave. near E. 199th St. […]

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Philadelphia’s L&I Needs Your Help Locating City Fire Escapes

PHILADELPHIA (CBS) — Philadelphia’s Department of Licenses and Inspections is asking for your help in a public safety campaign. It’s trying to track down every fire escape in the city. City Council passed a law, last year, requiring building owners to get every fire escape on their property inspected. L&I spokesperson Karen Guss says the […]

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Deadly apartment fire in Brooklyn caused by careless smoking, FDNY says

Authorities say a deadly apartment fire in Brooklyn Thursday night was accidental, caused by careless smoking.

56-year-old Rupert Smith was killed in the blaze that broke out just after 10 p.m. in a six-story apartment building on Kingston Avenue in Crown Heights.

Investigators say the fire broke out in Smith’s second-floor apartment and spread.

When firefighters arrived, the fire was out the second-floor window.

Once inside, firefighters found Smith in an apartment. He was unconscious and had burns all over his body.

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A look inside the apartment where a 56 year old man was killed in a fire last night. The fire was contained to one apartment . @ABC7NY

Smith has a history of setting fires and that is part of the investigation, the FDNY said.

Residents had to quickly rush out to escape.

“I told the kids to go out. By the time I went back in to grab my robe, the kids were coming back up because they were overtaken by the smoke,” said tenant Shatoya Killings. “So we had to make our way through the fire escape. But we couldn’t get down because the ladder wasn’t down so we had to stay at the bottom of the fire escape.”

Four residents in the building were treated for smoke inhalation.

 

NFPA 1: Safeguarding Construction, Alteration, and Demo Operations

Chapter 16 of NFPA 1, Fire Code, requires structures undergoing construction, alteration, or demolition operations to comply with NFPA 241, Standard for Safeguarding Construction, Alteration, and Demolition Operations. NFPA 241 provides measures for preventing or minimizing fire damage during construction, alteration, and demolition operations. (The fire department and other fire protection authorities also should be […]

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