In Gilbert, a massive fire at an apartment complex under construction raged for hours on Saturday.
 

The 5-alarm fire at Gilbert and Warner roads was battled by 120 firefighters using 40 trucks to beat back the blaze.
 

The flames destroyed seven of eight apartment buildings in the complex and caused a nearby neighborhood evacuation.

 

 

Massive Fire Destroys New Jersey Lightweight Wood-Frame Apartment Building
BY Thomas Jacobson, Patrick Chevalier, and Thomas M. Quinton Sr.

 At 1621 hours on January 21, 2015, a fire broke out at the Avalon River Mews apartment in Edgewater, New Jersey, located near the Hudson River waterfront across from upper Manhattan in New York City. 

The ensuing fire consumed the entire block-long structure, consisting of 240 units. It took three days to finally extinguish the fire. Ironically, in 2000, the building had been completely destroyed in a fire when it was under construction. The Fire Building The fire building was four stories in height. The upper four floors of living area were of Type 5 lightweight wood-frame construction, which used wood trusses in the floors ...     Read more

 

 

 

Some Fire: Safety Experts Question Lightweight Wood Construction
 

It’s hard to miss the raw material forming the skeletons of new apartment buildings going up around Charlotte: wood.
Lightweight construction materials – beams formed of wood fibers and wooden floor assemblies built in factories allow for faster, easier construction, advocates say.

But there’s a potential downside: Some experts say these materials burn faster than traditional lumber and can collapse 
more quickly in a fire, endangering firefighters.

The Charlotte Fire Department inspects new apartment projects when they are under construction, and officials say that mandatory sprinklers protect residents and the department’s personnel.

“We’re equipped, we’re trained, and we’re aware of the hazards,” said Rob Kinniburgh, the Charlotte Fire Department’s fire marshal.

Wood construction advocates say their buildings must meet the same fire and safety codes as any other building before they’re occupied.

A lawmaker in New Jersey has called for changes to that state’s building code, including stricter sprinkler requirements, after a 
massive apartment fire in January displaced hundreds.

In North Carolina, sprinklers have been required in all apartment buildings constructed under state building codes since 2006, 
said Kerry Hall, a spokeswoman for the state insurance department. Earlier codes had requirements based on height or number of units.  Read More

 

​