Analysis of the Happyland Social Club Fire With HAZARD I.
Analysis of the Happyland Social Club Fire With HAZARD
I.
(831 K)
Bukowski, R. W.; Spetzler, R. C.
Journal of Fire Protection Engineering, Vol. 4, No. 4,
117-131, 1992.
Keywords:
hazard assessment; building fires; computer programs;
hazard analysis; sprinklers; stairways; exits; costs;
tenability limits; temperature; energy transfer; layer
heights; oxygen concentration; carbon monoxide; fire
investigations
Abstract:
The paper presents the reconstruction of the Happyland
Social Club fire using the HAZARD I fire hazard
assessment method along with an examination of four
potential mitigation strategies: automatic sprinklers, a
door at the base of the stairway to the second floor, a
second means of egress from the second floor, or a
noncombustible interior finish. The paper concludes that
the traditional second means of egress might have not
have eliminated the observed fatalities. and that the
noncombustible interior finish or sprinkler options
would, with the former being the more cost effective
approach.
Building and Fire Research Laboratory
National Institute of Standards and Technology
Gaithersburg, MD 20899