Analysis of the Happyland Social Club Fire With HAZARD I.
Analysis of the Happyland Social Club Fire With HAZARD
I.
(607 K)
Bukowski, R. W.; Spetzler, R. C.
Fire and Arson Investigator, Vol. 42, No. 2, 36-47,
March 1992 AND Journal of Fire Protection Engineering,
Vol. 4, No. 4, 117-131, 1992,
Keywords:
hazard assessment; building fires; fire hazard; computer
programs; hazard analysis; sprinklers; stairways; exits;
costs; tenability limits; temperature; energy transfer;
layer heights; oxygen concentration; carbon monoxide;
fire investigations
Abstract:
In the early morning hours of March 25, 1990 a tragic
fire took the lives of 87 persons at a neighborhood club
in the Bronx, New York. A few days later, the New York
City Fire Department requested the assistance of the
Center for Fire Research (CFR) in understanding the
factors which contributed to this high death toll and to
develop a strategy that might reduce the risk of a
similar occurrence in the many similar clubs operating
in the city. It was not the purpose of the CFR work to
examine cause and origin, nor criminal or negligent
actions which may or may not have taken place before or
after the incident. In responding to this request, CFR
staff visited the fire scene on March 29 to obtain
information needed to perform an analysis with the
HAZARD I Fire Hazard Assessment Method. Physical
measurements taken on site along with floorplan drawings
and newspaper accounts provided the only data on which
this analysis was based. No material samples were taken
and no testing was performed.
Building and Fire Research Laboratory
National Institute of Standards and Technology
Gaithersburg, MD 20899