Sprinklers control hotel fire

WASHINGTON-Four sprinklers controlled an unintentional fire in a large hotel ballroom, limiting damage to the building and alerting the fire department.

The wood-frame hotel, which measured 200 feet (61 meters) by 100 feet (30 meters), had a flat, built-up roof supported by wooden trusses and covered with asphalt and tar. The unoccupied ballroom was protected by a wet-pipe sprinkler system, as was the attic above it.

A 911 call from a passerby at 9:56 p.m. alerted firefighters to a column of smoke coming from the hotel ball-room. The call was followed shortly afterwards by a call from the monitoring company, reporting a water flow alarm. Responding fire crews noted light-colored smoke coming from a corner of the ballroom roof when they arrived on the scene, and the incident commander sent a ladder and engine crew to the roof to locate the source. As firefighters began opening up the roof near an HVAC unit, interior I crews pulled down ceilings located the seat of the fire.

Sprinklers in the concealed space were keeping the fire under control, but attic insulation blocked some of the water spray, allowing the blaze to continue burning. Eventually, the entire space was opened from the ceiling to the roof, and the fire was extinguished.

Investigators determined that the rooftop heating equipment was involved in the ignition of the hotel's framing materials, but they couldn't determine the exact ignition sequence.

Damage to the building, valued at approximately $15 million, was estimated at $100,000. Damage to its contents was estimated at $60,000. There were no injuries.

Copyright National Fire Protection Association Jan/Feb 2005
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