Worlds Fire History - Coursework Example

Major Events Review Iroquois Theater 1903 The Iroquois Theater fire tragedy of December 30 1903 has and will remain in the mind of many people for a long time. The tragedy occurred in Iroquois theatre in Chicago, which had been newly constructed. The tragedy involved several schoolchildren as well as adults who had attended a performance by Eddie Foy, who was a popular comedian. The fire is said to have been caused by a faulty wiring. The fire ran out of control rapidly and ran out of control mainly because the theater lacked fire alarms and other simple safety factors. About 602 people died in this tragedy irrespective of the fact that the theater’s designer had made every effort to assure people of it safety (Slosson Web). Baltimore, Maryland Conflagration 1904 The Baltimore fire, which occurred on February 7, 1904, stunned the entire world particularly due to its intensity and effect. The fire is said to have been caused by a cast-off piece of cigarette in a warehouse, which kindled a piece of cotton before the fire spread to the entire warehouse and adjacent buildings. Though no one died, the fire destroyed about 80 city blocks, which were mainly firms and other business premises. It is approximated that properties worth $125,000,000 was destroyed, while one firefighter was injured in the course of distinguishing the fire, which had attracted more than a thousand fire fighters (National Fire Protection Association 1-20). Triangle Shirt Waist Fire 1911 The triangle Shirtwaist fire of March 25 1911, which is said to have spread at an alarming speed, raised a lot of question over employee’s security. The fire occurred in The Triangle Waist factory, a company involved in making blouses and killed 146 employees most of whom were immigrant teenage girls. The cause of the fire was not identified but it is thought that a cigarette butt could have been the cause. The fire exit collapsed and the fire spread quickly such that persons in the eighth, ninth and tenth floors of the building were unable to escape. Another factor that contributed to the high death toll was the fact that the doors to the hallways were closed which made escape hard. Additionally, the people did not get the alert in time and learnt of the fire when it was too late. The elevators could only hold a few people thus only a few managed to escape before the elevator collapsed. Additionally, the firefighters lacked adequate facilities to fight the fire. For example, their ladder could not reach further than the sixth floor (Linder Web). New London, Texas Gas Explosion 1937 The New London School Explosion, which killed about 300 people most of whom were students, is still considered the worst disaster to occur in school premises in United States. The gas explosion occurred on March 18 1937 and literally leveled the school. The Consolidated School of New London, where the explosion occurred, was located in a field with numerous oil and gas fields. The actual cause of the explosion is not known, though it is anticipated that static electricity could have ignited it. It is believe that Lemmie Butler turned on a sanding machine in one of the buildings. The explosion occurred after the officials decided to save money by tapping wet gas from waste gas pipes from Parade oil Company. Wet gas is impure gas, which is generally unstable. The sanding machine was filled with gas and air and the mixture became ignited causing a fire that spread to the rest of the building. Additionally, gas had leaked from gas pipes and accumulated under the building. The gas that had leaked into the machine failed to be detected since wet gas has no smell (May Web). Winecoff Hotel, Atlanta GA 1946 On December 7 1946, a fire occurred in Atlanta’s Winecoff Hotel and left 119 out of 280 people in the hotel dead. The people either died of suffocation from the smoke, direct burns while others died from falls as they attempted to escape by leaping through the windows. The exact cause of the fire, which started from the third floor, is not known. However, it is though that it could have resulted from careless smoking. The firefighters were unable to fight the fire fully since their firefighting equipment were incapable of handling fire beyond the eighth floor. Additionally, the hotel lacked fire escapes as well as sprinkler system since the owner of the hotel considered it to be fireproof, as it had been constructed with brick. These factors made it harder for the fire to be extinguished (Denise Web). Ringling Brothers and Barnum and Bailey Circus Fire, Hartford, CT 1944 The Hartford circus fire of July 6 1944 killed 167-169 people while more than 700 others were injured. The fire occurred when Ringling brothers and Barnum & Bailey Circus had organized a performance in a tent that collapsed with many people inside. The cause of the fire is not known burned rapidly due to the canvas tent, which had been tarnished with gasoline and paraffin. However, the number of fatalities is believed to have escalated due to blocked passages out of the tent. The circus fire was a learning experience since codes for circus tents was changed. Ideally, circus tents were banned for some years. However, when finally the circus tents were allowed again, the size was considerably reduced to prevent such an overwhelming catastrophe to happen again (Kimball Web). SS General Slocum Ship Fire, New York City 1904 On June 15 1904, the SS General Slocum steamboat, which was carrying 1358 passenger who was members of St. Mark’s Lutheran Church, caught fire. The boat was sailing along New York East River and the fire is said to have been probably cause by a discarded burning cigar or matchstick. The life jackets were nonfunctional and all those who tried to use them died. Additionally, lifeboats were unavailable. It was sad that all fire safety guidelines for the ship were considerably overlooked. The crew had overlooked fire drills, fire extinguishers, and there were reports of dilapidated fire hoses. Worse still is the fact that fire inspection standards had been overlooked. Following the incident, the federal government improved the fire standards and regulations on marine transport machines (Kornblum Web). Ohio State Penitentiary Fire, Columbus 1930 The April 21 1930 evening turned out to be a historic disaster when Ohio State Penitentiary fire killed about 322 prisoners. The fire is said to have been caused by prisoners who were attempting to escape and planned to use fire to cause confusion. Most of the prisoners burned to ashes when the warders refused to open the cells while preventing prisoners escape. Arguably, the prison wardens were unsure of fire codes and were probably confused on whether to set free the prisoners or try putting out the fire with the prisoners still in their cells. This and gusting winds hampered the fire fighters activities. An additional contributory factor was due to overcrowding since the prison held more than 1500 prisoners it was supposed to hold. Following the incident, the codes for construction of prison facilities were reviewed whereby, heavy use of combustible materials such as wood was heavily discouraged (Beitler Web). Cocoanut Grove Nightclub Fire, Boston, MA 1942 The Cocoanut Grove Nightclub fire that occurred on the night of November 28 1942 left unforgettable damages. The fire was caused by a busboy who lit a match as he tried to fix a light bulb. The ornamental palm trees caught fire, which spread, rapidly through the ceiling. About 492 people perished in this fire. Escape was hard since the exit door was shut and people had to use the revolving door. Due to the stampede, people tried to push the door from both sides thus it could not open trapping them inside to burn while others suffocated to death (Thomas Web). Texas City, Texas Explosion 1947 The Texas City Explosion that occurred on April 16, 1947 is still considered one of the deadliest industrial calamities in US. The fire erupted after a cargo ship, SS Grandcamp, which was carrying ammonium nitrate, blew up at the dockside, left 600 people dead, about 180 went missing, and over 3,500 were injured. The high death toll resulted when debris from the explosion cause fire in adjacent companies, warehouses and other chemical and oil storage tanks. The explosion also destroyed other building as far as Port Arthur in addition to causing another docked ship, SS High Flyer carrying ammonium nitrate to explode. The explosions destroyed fire fighters equipment (Alfred Web). Our Lady of Angels School Fire, Chicago One of the worst school fire in US history occurred on December 1, 1958 at Our Lady of the Angels school. The fire whose cause was not identified started in the basement and killed 92 children in addition to three nuns while more than a hundred others were injured. The high death rate was due to the unpreparedness for fire since the school lacked automatic fire alarm systems, inaccessible fire extinguishers, sprinklers, heat indicators and had a single fire exit. Additionally, the floors and wall were heavily coated with flammable waxes. The windows in the second floor were also too high for any students who would have opted to leap (Cunningham Web). Beverly Hills Supper Club, Southgate KY 1977 The May 28, 1977 Beverly Hills Super Club fire which left 165 dead and about 70 injured which is said to have resulted from electrical defect. Actually, the electrical system was believed to be so poorly done that inspectors after the fire incident wondered how the system actually worked and whether it was ever inspected. The club officials took time to detect the defect and they lacked fire protection devices such as smoke alarms, which led to the high fatalities. Overcrowding was also blamed for the delayed escape of people from the building. Furthermore, fire exits did not meet the required guidelines and standards since they were so few and not easily accessible. Additionally, the interior of the club was made of combustible finishes, which accelerated the fire (Tubbs and Meacham 70-75). Fitchville, Ohio Nursing Home 1963 Fire The 22 November 1963 Ohio Nursing Home Fire left about 63 elderly patients dead and about 25 more injured. The fire is said to have been ignited by arcing of laden wiring and consumed the entire building. The outrageous death were because most patients remained in bed thus could not be rescued. Additionally, the nursing home lacked sprinkler system, fire detection systems and the three manual fire extinguishers available had no operation manuals (Stu Web). MGM Grand Hotel Fire November 21, 1980 remains a memorable day due to the fire that struck NGM Grand Hotel. The fire killed 85 people while more than 700 others were injured. The fire is said to have been caused by an ignition resulting from electric fault on the wall apportioning The Deli serving station. The fault resulted due to inappropriate grounding and galvanic action. The hotel was not fully sprinklered. Additionally, the hotel did not have a proper alarm system (Best Web). Rhode Island Night Club Fire The February 20, 2003 Rhode Island Night Club Fire claimed the lives of 100 people while 187 others were injured. The fire was caused by the bands pyrotechnic, which ignited the foam sound proofing material used to line the walls adjacent to the stage. The fire spread fast since the ceiling hang low. The high death was due to overcrowding which made escape hard ( Belluck and Zielbauer Web). Bhopal, India Chemical Release The December 2, 1984 Methyl isocynate gas leakage at Bhopal in a Union Carbide pesticide plant left more than 8,000 people death while thousands of others were affected. This was the world’s most disastrous industrial tragedy. The deaths resulted mainly due to cardiac arrest and respiratory complications. Some people died immediately while others sustained injuries and died later due to complications related to the tragedy. The leakage is said to have been caused by nonfunctional valves and substandard safety systems, which led to the leakage from the Methyl isocyanate gas tank (Asia-Europe Foundation 12-18). Works Cited Alfred, Randy. April 16, 1947: Ship Explosion Ignites 3-Day Rain of Fire and Death. 2012. 30 Web. Aug 2012 . Asia-Europe Foundation. Combine or Combust! Co-operating on Chemicals and Hazardous Substances Management. New York: Asia-Europe Foundation, 2005.Print. Beitler, Stu. Columbus, OH State Penitentiary Fire Disaster, Apr 1930. 2008.Web. 30 Aug 2012 . Belluck, Pam and Paul Zielbauer. "Fire In A Nightclub: Overview; 96 Dead in Fire Ignited by Band at Rhode Island Club." New York Times 22 Feb 2003. Web. http://www.nytimes.com/2003/02/22/us/fire-nightclub-overview-96-dead-fire-ignited-band-rhode-island-club.html?pagewanted=all&src=pm. Best, Richard. Investigation Report on the MGM Grand Hotel Fire. http://www.nfpa.org/assets/files/Press%20Room/LasVegasMGMGrand.pdf. Nevada: National Fire Protection Association, 1982. Cunningham, Thomas. Our Lady of the Angels: A historical perspective on school fires. 2000. Web. 30 Aug 2012 . Denise, Noe. The Winecoff Hotel on Fire. 2007.Web. 30 Aug 2012 . Kimball, Warren. Hartford Circus Holocaust. 2000. Web. 30 Aug 2012 . Kornblum, William. The General Slocum Disaster. 2002. Web. 30 Aug 2012 . Linder , Doug. The Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire Trial. 2002. Web. 30 Aug 2012 . May, Irvin. New London School Explosion. 2008. Web. 30 Aug 2012 . National Fire Protection Association. The Baltimore Conflagration: Report of the Committee on Fire-restrictive Construction of the National Fire Protection Association 1904. New York: BiblioBazaar, 2011. Print. Slosson, Frank. Iroquois Theatre Fire. 2007.Web. 30 Aug 2012 . Stu , Beitler. Fitchville, OH Terrible Rest Home Fire, Nov 1963. 5 Nov 2007. Web. 30 Aug 2012 . Thomas , Jack. The Cocoanut Grove inferno. 22 Nov 1992. Web. 30 Aug 2012 . Tubbs, Jeffrey and Brian Meacham. Egress Design Solutions: A Guide to Evacuation and Crowd Management Planning. New York: John Wiley & Sons, 2007. Print. Read More