Chicago Fire Review - Book Report/Review Example

Chicago High-rise Fire Reveals Benefits of Lessons Learned The Chicago High-Rise Fire Reveals Benefits of Lessons Learned is an article comparing twofire incidents and the differences in responses on the part of firefighters. The earlier fire reported occured in October 2003 involving the Cook County office building. The recent fire incident transpired in the 70-year old LaSalle Bank building and was caused by accidental fire in the buildings insulation system. Reports indicate that the fire was fuelled by flaming debris that originated from a void space among insulated acoustical tiles and wrapped insulated piping.

There was no cited design flaw on the part of the building concerned. However, it was mentioned that a sprinkler system was currently being retrofitted, indicating that its absence aggravated fire. The role of this aspect in the LaSalle building fire is underscored by the consequent city ordinance proposal requiring Chicagos old buildings to install sprinkler systems. There were no specifically cited issues in building design or maintenance that hindered fire response. For this reason, it is difficult to make any change recommendations to the building design.

It must be noted, however, that a renovation was being instituted at the time of the fire. Therefore, the building must adopt new safety measures when conducting similar projects in the future. The Fire Protection Association (2014) is a good resource for this, particularly its Fire Prevention on Construction Sites: Joint Code of Practice, with its stringent system of protection and best practices standards for buildings that are being constructed and undergoing renovation (p. 250). All in all, the report on the fire incident was positive and no structural or building design flaw was cited that hindered response and rescue.

Hence, a recommendation in this area is no longer called for. A more detailed report of the fire might yield new insights but the current data showed no cause for more action or more changes on the part of building design.ReferencesFire Engineering. (2005, February). Chicago High-rise Fire Reveals Benefits of Lessons Learned. Fire Engineering, 54-56.The Fire Protection Association. (2014). Fire Safety and Risk Management: For the NEBOSH National Certificate in Fire Safety and Risk Management.

New York: Routledge.