Interstate Bank Building Fire;

SALVAGE AND PROPERTY LOSS

The floors below the fire received massive water damage, and those above were heavily damaged by heat and smoke. During the fire, no efforts were directed toward property conservation as all available firefighters were committed to stopping the progress of the fire. After the fire, the building remained closed for several months while the structure was inspected, and a large force of clean-up contractors worked through the building. The efforts to save property were conducted on a very large scale as virtually every part of the building was damaged by flames, heat, smoke, or water. (As part of the cleanup, 250,000 cloth diapers were used.) The property loss has been estimated at over $200 million, without taking into account the business interruption loss.

In spite of the total burnout of four and a half floors, there was no damage to the main structural members and only minor damage to one secondary beam and a small number of floor pans. Although there was concern for structural integrity during the incident, post fire analysis indicates that there was no danger of major or minor structural collapse. It was noted that quality control in the application of the sprayed-on fire protection was unusually good.

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