Firm’s manuals help firefighters save buildings
High-rise fires can get out of hand while firefighters try to figure out how to turn off the power in sophisticated office tower controls rooms.
The result can be a disaster such as the Meridian Plaza fire, which resulted in three deaths and a record $325 million in damage to the 38-story building Philadelphia in February 1991.
Curtis Massey, a fire safety consultant based in Norfolk, Va., says the remedy lies in a manual housed in a steel vault on the site.
“The manual, which we tailored for each building, tells firefighters all that they need to know about the structure, its contents and special features,” he said.
Massey provides the service for the Hancock Tower in Chicago and other buildings across the nation and is negotiating with Houston landlords such as the Hines Interests Limited Partnership and Metropolitan Life Insurance Co.
His first contract in the Houston area involves Bank One Center, a 24-story office building operated at 910 Travis in downtown Houston by Rubloff Inc. for Aetna Life Insurance Co.
“The Star Wars equipment in the control room for a modern office tower can simply overwhelm a fire chief who can easily become confused by a bewildering array of high-tech signals,” Massey says.
“It can contain so many bells, lights whistles that we can’t understand what the panels are trying to tell us,” says the ex-fire official.
The Massey system helped the fire department minimize damage in some of the basement property threatened by river water that penetrated an underground tunnel system in Chicago in April.
The thick manual also is used for retail malls and apartment and condominium buildings as well as office and hotel towers.
“There are two keys to the success of our fire plans,” Massey says. “One is to educate the people in the building. The other is to educate the firefighters on how the building works.”
The manual includes complete diagrams of floor plans, stairwells, elevators, power sources, sprinkler systems and other building features, notes Jack Lillienthal, Massey project supervisor.
The number of people working in the building is provided as a clue to how many may need rescuing. Crucial directions are provided for rescue crews.
“Our system … also reduces liability for the owner because it exceeds the code in every city in the United States,” Massey said.