Sticker Will ID Engineered Lumber For Firefighters

JonM

http://www.nhregister.com/articles/2...b2-deald30.txt

By Jean Falbo-Sosnovich, Register Correspondent
DERBY — The Board of Aldermen unanimously approved an ordinance Thursday that could mean the difference between life and death for the city’s volunteer firefighters.

The ordinance will require a small reflective sticker to be placed on the front of new buildings and homes that contain engineered lumber, which fire officials say burns at a much faster rate than conventional stick-built construction.

The sticker would immediately alert firefighters if there is engineered lumber inside a structure, and thus help them have a plan of action. Engineered lumber, which is commonly used in newer construction, includes prefabricated joists, truss joists, truss rafter and laminated beams and studs.

Professional New Haven firefighter Frank Ricci, who was at the center of a recent Supreme Court discrimination case, and who is chairman of the Connecticut Council of OSHA, had said something as simple as a reflective sticker could save precious lives.

New York state was the first to adopt a similar ordinance, and Florida and California followed suit.

Ricci, at a previous meeting, said if Derby, being Connecticut’s smallest city, passed the ordinance, it would set a “huge example” for the state to follow suit.

Ricci had said more than 100 firefighters die each year, and more than 800 are injured, due to rushing into burning buildings where roofs and floors have collapsed. Ricci said if firefighters knew ahead of time if a building contains engineered lumber, they would be able to better assess the situation.

With stick-frame construction, Ricci had said there is about 20 minutes before a localized collapse can occur, but with engineered lumber, he said that same collapse could occur in less than five minutes.

A New Hampshire businessman, Josh Bartlett, who represents the Northeast chapter of the Structural Building Component Association, at Thursday’s meeting said while he’s in favor of protecting firefighters, the ordinance could damage the pre-engineered lumber industry.

“I applaud the goal of enhancing fire safety, but this will put a scarlet letter on any building with engineered wood,” Bartlett said.

Bartlett said this type of wood has unfairly gained a bad reputation, and he cited national fire statistics, saying fatalities due to collapsed roofs are very rare. He said fewer than 25 deaths have resulted from 1980 to 2007 in buildings containing engineered wood.

Building Inspector David Kopjanski disagreed, saying a small sticker won’t have a detrimental effect on the industry.

“There’s nothing wrong with pre-engineered wood, it’s fantastic, and a small sticker should not be considered a scarlet letter, but rather simply an indicator to the Fire Department that we have a building made with pre-engineered lumber,” he said.

Alderman Dave Lenart, who proposed the ordinance, said local businessman Frank Pepe of Pepe Construction has already offered to buy the first batch of stickers.

woodchuck2

Its about time something will be done, now if you can keep the HO from scraping the sticker off . Alot of folks out there including engineers dont think about this kind of thing when building a home, they are only looking into the strength and cost of the build and not what will happen in a fire situation. Anything laminated obviously uses glues that burn and or deteriorate much faster with when exposed to extreme heat and put off obnoxious fumes. So that LVL holding up your roof and the TJI's holding up your floors really have less strength in a fire and the home will collapse that much sooner. Even if the home is saved how badly are these structural items compromised from the heat?

DetailHandyman

Wouldn't it just be safer to assume that ALL buildings are made with engineered lumber and plan accordingly?

Will a FF be assigned to look for a sticker before anyone enters the building? "Hold on a minute guys...maybe it's over here..."

What if the sticker was forgotten or falls off? Will the HO or builder be sued if a FF dies in that building?

Seems like another ill-conceived government "plan".

Always assume the gun is loaded.

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RayGoerdt

Very True

JustaFramer

Sounds like they have the right idea. This sticker is hardly a deal breaker. A few months ago Snohomish County councilman had a hearing to change code to have all new homes be plumbed with sprinks. The cheap hack builders cried it would hurt there profits. However when the math was done it averaged out to be 900 a house to install sprinks. Like they wouldn't pass that on to the buyer.

Greg Di

Look to the left.

Ok now I ca talk.

In NJ, we lost 5 FFs in one night because no one knew they were under a truss roof and on a truss floor.

Al commercial buildings now have a sign on the front of the building that IDs truss roof, floor or both.

Knowing this, we attack the fire differently. You cannot just assume anything. That's ridiculous.

The placards we use are small but easily identifiable. I cannot see how this could do anything but help save lives.

I get a kick from people who have obscured address numbers on their houses. When they call 911, we can't find the house. Whenever I do an estimate and I can't find the house because the nubers are nowhere t be found, I tell the people.

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Tom Struble

maybe one day all that kind of info could be installed on a chip

and be scanned from the fire truck

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Celtic

That's a huge pet peeve of mine.

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Tom Struble

most towns around here now require numbers be placed on the house

after a siding job and want to see it on final inspection

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Celtic

I hope they look for that number during the day

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rayh78

What a stupid idea
How many people would leave the stickers on when they ask why and are told the fire dept will be less likely to rush into their house if a fire.

Celtic

Do new homes ever require exterior paint jobs?
Residing?
Windows ever get swapped out?
Entry doors...swapped or painted?

Where do we put this sticker?

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JonM

I would think you would have to register the house in order to get the sicker and it would be placed in a database...I could always call Ricci and direct him to this thread if you guys are truly interested.

Greg Di

In NJ, they must be aluminum placards. Made the same way as a stop sign with reflective lettering.

The whole "sticker" concept is incorrect. It would be a metal placard.

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Greg Di

Haha! We only got GPS units last year and they are off the shelf Garmins from Best Buy.

That technology is far away from hitting the streets.

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Celtic

That'll go over as well as a turd in the punch bowl.

Some McMansion dweller isn't going to have that placard up very long.....and the hood rats will have no trouble scraping the aluminum.

Don't get me wrong - I do like the concept, but implementation and longevity are a definite concern.

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