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Office Building Fires
1912 January 9th. USA, New York City, Manhattan, Equitable Life
Insurance Society Building, 120 Broadway: the early morning fire started
in the basement and spread through the elevator shaft to other areas of
the multistory building; subfreezing temperatures and water transformed
the scene into gigantic ice sculptures; 6 people died, including a chief
fire officer; the building burned for more than 36 hours and was a total
loss.
1973 July 12th. USA, St. Louis: fire
in a records storagehouse destroyed several hundred thousands military
personnel records
1974, February 1st. Brazil, Sao Paulo,
25-story Joelma office building: 189 people died
2003 October 17th. - USA, Illinois, Chicago: a fire, caused by
a faulty light fixture, broke in a storage room on the 12th floor of
a 35-story Cook County administration building at 69 West Washington
in downtown was reported at 5:03 p.m. on Friday afternoon; the building
was built in 1965 and underwent a $ 1.6 million renovation in the early
1990's. It has an alarm system but no sprinklers and holds as many as
2,500 people during business hours. Chicago's code generally requires
buildings 80 feet and taller to have sprinkler systems if they were
built since 1975. Those that are older, such as the county office building,
are exempt from the city rules.
The building holds as many as 2,500 employees during business hours.
Response: The fire was reported a 5:05 p.m. on Friday afternoon. 13
people overcome by smoke. The first casualties were discovered around
7 p.m. after the fire had been brought under control and a floor-by-floor
search was conducted. 175 fire personnel were dispatched to the scene.
The building search was completed around 10 p.m. Most victims were found
in stairways and hallways between the 16th and the 22nd floor. Many
access doors leading from one smoke-filled stairway to the hallways
were locked for security reasons, which is allowed and standard practice
in many cities throughout the US (i.e., Los Angeles). Some of those
trapped had called 911 on their cellular phones; 6 people died and 12
were injured.
2004 December 6th. - USA, Chicago,
LaSalle Bank Building at 135 South LaSalle Street: a fire raging for
more than 5 hours destroyed the 29th and 30th floor of the 43-story
building, erected in the early 1930's. The building serves as the corporate
headquarters for LaSalle Bank, one of the largest banks in the Midwest.
About 3,000 people work in the high-rise, but only 400 to 500 were in
the building when the fire broke out around 6:30 pm. The 29th had no
sprinklers; 37 people, including 22 firefighters, were injured.
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