Sprinkler Age A Publication of the American Fire Sprinkler Association
All of us involved in the fire protection profession have a common cause—to protect life and property from the dangers of fire. As I travel the country presenting, whether the topic is standpipe systems or ITM, I often ask the attendees if anyone has heard of the One Meridian Plaza fire. To my surprise, very few people have heard about this tragedy.
The One Meridian Place fire taught our industry some valuable lessons. A building was destroyed, and more importantly, three firefighters lost their lives. The building was a 38-story high-rise office building located in Philadelphia, Pa. The approximately 500-ft tower caught on fire on February 23, 1991, at approximately 8:23 p.m. It began on the 22nd floor and raged out of control for 19 hours. Firefighters fought the blaze but struggled due to a lack of power in the skyscraper and insufficient water pressure from the building standpipes. It was only brought under control once it reached the 30th floor, which was one of the few floors that had been retrofitted with sprinklers. Ten sprinklers held back the 12-alarm fire until it started burning itself out.
The blaze killed three firefighters and seriously damaged One Meridian Plaza, destroying eight floors and damaging neighboring buildings in the Center City district. An investigation of the fire, led by the Office of the Fire Marshal of the City of Philadelphia with aid from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) national investigative response team, determined the blaze started after woodworkers left a pile of rags soaked in linseed oil on the floor. The linseed oil oxidized and generated enough heat to ignite the rags, which then set fire to other solvents nearby. Below are some key takeaways from the reports:
- The hose connections on the standpipe system were equipped with pressure-reducing hose valves (PRVs). These were designed to limit discharge pressure to a residual pressure of 65 psig. This was the “normal” value at the time. However, many fire departments had changed their equipment and response tactics to use higher residual pressures. In fact, the Philadelphia Fire Department had changed its equipment, but the building’s standpipe system was not redesigned for the higher residual pressures.
- The PRVs were only adjustable using a factory-provided tool, so the firefighters could not make any field adjustments to the system. Factory set PRVs are still manufactured and permitted.
- The PRVs were ordered for each specific floor and stairway as the location determined the manufacturer’s factory setting. Unfortunately, some of them were installed in the wrong locations. In some cases, this resulted in residual pressures much lower than the 65-psig design pressure.
- At the time, it was uncommon to perform a full flow test of each PRV during acceptance tests. This is now a requirement of NFPA 14, Standard for the Installation of Standpipes and Hose Systems, and NFPA 25, Standard for the Inspection, Testing, and Maintenance of Water-Based Fire Protection Systems.
- This tragedy helped push the need for NFPA 25, Standard for the Installation, Testing, and Maintenance of Fire Protection Systems, which was in development. The first edition of NFPA 25 was in 1992. Up until then, ITM of standpipe systems varied widely and was often left undone. NFPA 14A, Recommended Practice for Inspection, Testing, and Maintenance of Standpipe and Hose Systems, was available, but since it was not a standard, it was not enforceable. Over the years, NFPA 25 has increased the ITM of standpipe systems and specifically pressure-reducing devices.
“Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.” — George Santayana
What we do is important. It can mean the difference between life and death. The equipment we install must be designed, installed, commissioned, inspected, tested, and maintained to ensure it works as designed. Let’s not forget our past—let’s learn from it.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR: John August Denhardt, P.E., ET, CWBSP, FSFPE, is the vice president of engineering and technical services for the American Fire Sprinkler Association (AFSA). He is responsible for strengthening AFSA’s engineering and technical approaches to meeting member, industry, and operational priorities, with an emphasis on service, quality, and integrity. Denhardt is a registered professional engineer (P.E.) in the District of Columbia and the states of Delaware, Maryland, Pennsylvania, and Virginia. He is NICET Level III certified in water-based systems layout, NICET Level III certified in inspection and testing of water-based systems, and a certified water-based system professional through NFPA. Denhardt is a member of the NFPA 13 technical committee on sprinkler system discharge criteria, a fellow in the Society of Fire Protection Engineers (SFPE), a member of the SFPE Board of Directors, a member of the Board of Trustees for NFPA’s Fire Protection Research Foundation and sits on the University of Maryland Department of Fire Protection Engineering’s Board of Visitors. A native of Maryland, Denhardt holds a Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Maryland College Park in fire protection engineering. Prior to this role, Denhardt was employed by Strickland Fire Protection in Forestville, Maryland, since 1994, overseeing large-scale projects and assisting with design and installation technical issues.