Case Study: On Thursday, October 10, 1996, around 4 a.m., a five-alarm fire broke out on the 10th floor of the 70-story building located at 30 Rockefeller Plaza in New York City, New York. The fire began around an electrical closet near where construction was being performed. The fire started in the fifth floor electrical room, and moved to five different electrical rooms. Because of the need for more electricity in a building of this size, the electrical cabling continued to be added without removing old cabling. It was squeezed tightly, leaving no clearance between cables or the I-beam. The cables burned through the electrical insulation causing a large flow of current to surge through to other electrical rooms, leading to a fire. The fire took four hours to control due to several hindrances. Renovations were taking place during this fire and electricity was cut off to the fifth floor. This cut off the smoke and fire alarms on that floor as well. They never went off. Everyone was able to evacuate safely but at least 12 firefighters and five other people suffered minor smoke-related injuries.
Key Takeaway: To prevent these accidents from occurring, it is important to follow the guidelines for safe maintenance, safeguards, and operational features for exit routes. Employee alarms systems must be working. Exit routes must be clearly marked and employers are required to install and maintain an operable employee alarm system that has a distinctive signal for warning employees of fire or other emergencies.
