1.
The Threats of Lightweight Construction
and Modern Furnishings to Firefighters
© National Fire Protection Association. All rights reserved.

2.
2
Lightweight Construction: A Visual Depiction
> Mouse over this video and click the play button
© National Fire Protection Association. All rights reserved.

3.
3
Lightweight Construction: A Visual Depiction
 Firefighter/Paramedic Jo Brinkley-
Chaudoir lost her fire department
partner, Arnie Wolff
 Home built in 1999 of lightweight
construction model
 Jo and Arnie entered home, floor
quickly collapsed, engulfed in
flames
 Chief Brower supervised a
firefighter crew endangered in a
lightweight construction home
 Intense flashover; crew was
trapped upstairs, hose line was
burned in half
 Chief Brower’s crew escaped the
burning home, but not without
severe injuries
© National Fire Protection Association. All rights reserved.

4.
4
LIGHTWEIGHT CONSTRUCTION
BY THE NUMBERS
 More than 60% of roof structures in the
U.S. are constructed with lightweight
wood truss construction techniques
 Used in approximately ½ - ⅔ of all new
(built after the mid-1990’s) 1 and 2
bedroom homes
 Average escape time in dimensional
construction: 15 minutes
 Average escape time in lightweight
construction: 2 minutes
Source: UL, FireEngineering.com
Defining Lightweight Construction
 Lightweight construction
began to appear 25 years
ago
 Widely used by residential
builders to cut costs
 Burns quicker, fails faster,
collapses without warning
Cost source: Probuilder.com
© National Fire Protection Association. All rights reserved.

5.
5
Threats to the Firefighting Community
 Lightweight construction increases hazard to
firefighters
 Smaller time window to save lightweight construction
homes
 Out of 61 on-duty firefighter deaths in 2011, 22
firefighters died at structure fires
Source: UL, NFPA report “Firefighter Fatalities in the United States, 2011”
© National Fire Protection Association. All rights reserved.

6.
6
Threats to the Firefighting Community
 Observations from the Underwriters Laboratories video (Thermal Imaging Camera)
of a fire test in a lightweight construction assembly
Activity Lightweight
Construction
Legacy
Construction
Subfloor Reaches
200°
5 min. 30 sec. 12 min.
Surface
Temperature:
5 Min.
85° 73°
Visible Smoke 2 min. 30 sec. 13 min.
Visible Flames 5 min. 50 sec. 17 min. 50
sec.
Collapse Time 6 min. 18 min. 30
sec.
© National Fire Protection Association. All rights reserved.

7.
7 Lightweight Construction:
Firefighter Fatality Case Studies
 February 2011 (California): Career Firefighter/Paramedic Dies From Injuries
Following an Unexpected Ceiling Collapse
 April 2008 (Ohio): Career Captain and Part-Time Firefighter Die in a Residential Floor
Collapse
 August 2007 (Texas): Volunteer, Mutual Aid Captain and Firefighter Die in a
Remodeled Residential Structure Fire
 May 2007 (Georgia): Career Firefighter Dies and Captain is Injured During a Civilian
Rescue Attempt at a Residential Structure Fire
 April 2007 (Virginia): Career Firefighter Dies in Wind-Driven Residential Structure Fire
The full case studies are available at:
www.firesprinklerinitiative.org/firefightersafety
© National Fire Protection Association. All rights reserved.

8.
8
Defining Modern Furnishings
 Uses synthetic materials, such as polyurethane; increased damage in home
fires, burn more quickly than legacy furnishings
 Non-survivable conditions occur sooner, causes accelerated flashover
and severely reduced escape time
 Underwriters Laboratories video: Side-by-side comparison of two living room fires
(left side: legacy room; right side: modern room)
© National Fire Protection Association. All rights reserved.

9.
9
Modern Furnishings: A Visual
 Polyurethane significantly reduces the time it takes for a room
to burst into flames
Legacy Furnishing Fire
(leather furniture)
4 minutes, 25 seconds
1 minute, 50 seconds
Modern Furnishing Fire
(synthetic furniture)
4 minutes
1 minute, 50 seconds
© National Fire Protection Association. All rights reserved.

10.
10 Lightweight Construction and Modern Furnishings
Underscored in NFPA Journal
> “It’s Not Lightweight Construction.
It’s what happens when lightweight
construction meets fire.”
> “Today’s furniture…contributes
to fires burning bigger and faster
than ever before.”
> “‘Green building elements can
present fire and life safety
challenges.”
© National Fire Protection Association. All rights reserved.

11.
11
Furniture Flammability by the Numbers
Fires involving upholstered furniture have annually accounted
for…
 The largest share of fire deaths of any first item ignited in U.S.
homes
 8,900 home structure fires
 610 deaths (nearly a quarter of all home fire deaths), 1,120
injuries, and $566 million in property damage when
upholstered furniture was the principal item contributing to fire
spread
Source: NFPA’s “Upholstered Furniture Flammability” report
© National Fire Protection Association. All rights reserved.

12.
12 Home Fire Sprinklers:
Creating a Safer Environment for Firefighters
 Home fire sprinklers lessen the dangers posed by
lightweight construction
 Increases structural stability/collapse time of
lightweight construction homes
 Respond quickly to reduce heat, flames, and smoke
from a fire
 Reduce chance of death by fire by 80%
 Reduce property loss by 70%
Source: NFPA’s Fire Sprinkler Initiative
© National Fire Protection Association. All rights reserved.

13.
13
Threats to Home Fire Sprinkler Requirements
 Opposition from homebuilders
 Legislative prohibitions against sprinkler requirements
 Lack of consumer awareness
 Lack of knowledge by important stakeholders
© National Fire Protection Association. All rights reserved.

14.
14
Action to Advance Home Fire Sprinklers
 Become an advocate
 Support fire sprinkler requirements in the IRC
For more information, please visit:
www.firesprinklerinitiative.org
www.nfpa.org
© National Fire Protection Association. All rights reserved.

15.
15
Sources
 Slide 4:
-Bullet #1: Wood Truss Council of America/Fire Engineering Magazine:
http://www.fireengineering.com/articles/print/volume-161/issue-5/departments/training-notebook/structural-
collapse-under-fire-conditions.html
-Bullet #2: Underwriters Laboratories - http://content.learnshare.com/courses/73/187716/player.html
-Bullet #3 & 4: Underwriters Laboratories - http://content.learnshare.com/courses/73/187716/player.html
-“Widely used by residential builders to cut costs”: http://www.probuilder.com/wood-vs-engineered-lumber
 Slide 5:
-NFPA report “Firefighter Fatalities in the United States, 2011”: http://www.nfpa.org/newsandpublications/nfpa-
journal/2012/july-august-2012/features/2011-firefighter-fatalities-in-the-united-states
-”Lightweight construction increases hazard to firefighters:” UL reports referenced in Slide 4
 Slide 11:
-NFPA’s “Upholstered Furniture Flammability” report. For excerpts of the report visit nfpa.org/furniture_analysis.
 Slide 12:
-http://www.firesprinklerinitiative.org/resources/fact-sheets/about-home-fire-sprinklers.aspx
 OTHER SOURCES:
 The Dangers of Lightweight Construction as Related to the Highland Heights Fire Department by Jeremy Smelcer,
University of Cincinnati
 Firerescue1.com: Dangers of Lightweight Construction
 MyFOX9.com: Investigators: Sounding the Alarm
 Firesprinklerinitiative.org
 NFPA Journal (cover story on lightweight construction)
© National Fire Protection Association. All rights reserved.