Structural Exposure of Steel Frame in Large Fire Incident

Abstract

This paper reviews a large fire loss that occurred at a seasonally operated Canadian food-processing facility. The structure had been constructed over a 10 year period under different permits and contracts, with an exposed steel structural frame and metal cladding. The interior wall and ceiling surfaces were finished with a metal building insulation (MBI) product that incorporated a polypropylene moisture barrier. The fire occurred when the facility was not in production, resulting in limited fuel load that was confined to localized areas of the facility. The fire developed from a rack storage area that was remote from other fuel packages within the facility, and spread to adjacent areas of the building as a consequence of the polypropylene coating on the MBI. The building partially collapsed many hours after the fire started. The fire origin and cause investigation included the use of metallurgical and hardness testing of the structural steel in conjunction with computer simulations to predict the thermal exposure and fire behavior throughout the collapsed structure