Historical Survey of Multi-Story Building Collapses Due to Fire

by
Beitel, J. J., Hughes Associates, Inc
Iwankiw, N. R., Hughes Associates, Inc.

Introduction

This project was conducted for the National Institute for Standards and Technology
(NIST) under Contact Number NA1341-02-W-0686. It was commissioned to assess the
needs and existing capabilities for full-scale fire resistance testing of structural
connections under the direction of NIST Program Manager, William Grosshandler. The
Scope of Work consisted of three separate Tasks, one of which was to conduct a survey
of historical information on fire occurrences in multi-story buildings, which resulted in
full or partial structural collapse. The results of this individual Task are the subject of
this paper.

Either partial or total failure of the structural framing, members, and/or connections was
considered to have met the definition of “collapse.” A multi-story building was defined
to consist of 4 or more stories.

Methodology

The historical search for catastrophic multi-story fires included incidents dating
back to the 1950’s, or earlier, with emphasis on those which occurred in North America.
In addition, similar events that occurred throughout the world were also solicited and
captured as available. The search for this data was conducted using three principal
sources: news databases, published literature, and direct inquiries to key individuals and
organizations. Information sought included:

• Date and location of fire;

• Type of building, its occupancy use, construction type, number of stories, etc.;
• Cause and extent of the fire event;
• Description of the structural collapse;
• Additional information concerning the event, as available; and
• Reference for the fire event information to include literature citations, etc.

To supplement the broad and extensive news and literature searches, direct
contacts were made with individuals and organizations that were expected to have
authoritative information on historical fire-induced collapses. The list of domestic and
international professional organizations, companies, and/or governmental agencies
contacted included:

ABS-EQE
American Concrete Institute (ACI)
American Institute of Steel Construction (AISC)

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 American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI)
American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE)
Arbed Steel
British Constructional Steel Association (BCSA)
Canadian Institute of Steel Construction (CISC)
Construction Technology Laboratory (CTL)
Corus-British Steel
CTICM, France
Disaster Prevention Institute, Kyoto University, Japan
Factory Mutual Research Corporation (FMRC)
Institute for Business and Home Safety
International Association For Fire Safety Science (IAFSS)
Isolatek International
Mexican Institute of Steel Construction (IMCA)
National Fire Protection Association (NFPA)
National Institute for Fire and Research (Japan)
National Research Council of Canada (NRCC)
Nucor-Yamato Steel Corp.
Society for Fire Protection Engineers (SFPE)
Victoria University of Technology, Australia

In addition, a survey request for information was sent to several prominent engineers and
consulting firms.

In order to have been included in this incident tabulation, fire needed to have been judged
the proximate cause for the building collapse (partial or total). Hence, any collapses due
primarily to explosions, impacts, earthquakes, wind, and other construction or design
factors were beyond the scope of this survey, even if fires had developed during the
course of these events. It was equally difficult to evaluate the separate effects of the
many fires in buildings that are known to have occurred after major earthquakes.

Survey Results

In summary, a total of 22 cases from 1970-2002 are presented in Table 1, with 15 from
the US and two from Canada. The number of fire-induced collapse events can be
categorized by building construction material as follows:

• Concrete: 7
• Structural steel: 6
• Brick/masonry: 5
• Unknown: 2
• Wood: 2

Three of these events were from the 1970’s, three were from the 1980’s, four
were from the 1990’s, and twelve occurred in 2000 and beyond. This temporal
distribution was skewed towards more recent occurrences both due to the magnitude of

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the WTC collapses (4 collapse events) and the enhanced availability of computerized
news media data.

The collapse distribution by building story height was as follows:

• 4-8 stories 13
• 9-20 3
• 21 or more 6

Almost 60% of the cases occurred in the 4-8 story building height range, with the
remainder affecting much taller buildings. Six collapses occurred in buildings over 20
stories, with three of these occurring at the World Trace Center complex (WTC 1,WTC 2
and WTC 7).

At least four of these fire-induced collapses occurred during construction or

renovations, when the usual architectural, structural and fire protection functions were
incomplete or temporarily disrupted. Partial collapses (14 events) were the most frequent
occurrences, and the three World Trade Center complete collapses dominated the full
collapse event total of eight cases. Office and residential were the primary occupancy
types in these 20 buildings, as would be expected in multi-story construction. The
occupancy distribution is as follows:

• Office: 9
• Residential: 8
• Commercial: 3
• Combined commercial/residential: 2

The events related to the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks on the World Trade
Center (WTC) complex in New York were the dominant fire and collapse events of this
survey (represented as 4 separate incidents). The extent of the tragedy and devastation on
this day were unprecedented. The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA)
report (FEMA 403) published in May, 2002, is a notable reference that provides an
excellent overview of the day’s chronology and each of the directly affected structural
steel buildings (WTC 1, WTC 2, WTC 5, WTC 7). On September 11, 2001 the 5-story
Pentagon building in Washington, DC, was also struck by a hijacked aircraft, resulting in
extensive damage and fire. The Pentagon was constructed between 1941 and 1943 of
hardened, cast-in-place reinforced concrete. The Pentagon Building Performance Report
was released in February, 2003 by ASCE/SEI.
Among the other prior fire events of interest, Sao Paulo experienced one of the
biggest fires in Brazil on May 21, 1987, which precipitated a substantial partial collapse
of the central core of the CESP Building 2, see Figure 1. This was a 21-story office
building, headquarters of the Sao Paulo Power Company (CESP). Buildings 1 and 2 of
this office complex were both constructed of reinforced concrete framing, with ribbed
slab floors.

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 Figure 1 CESP 2 Core Collapse in Sao Paulo, Brazil

A fire-initiated collapse of a 6-story reinforced concrete textile factory occurred in

Alexandria, Egypt on July 19, 2000 (Reuters News, 2000; BBC News, 2000). The fire
started in the storage room at the ground floor. Fire extinguishers were non-functional,
and the fire spread quickly before firefighters arrived. Approximately nine hours after
the start of the fire, when the blaze seemingly was under control and subsiding, the
building suddenly collapsed, killing 27 people. Figure 2 shows a photograph of this
collapse.

Figure 2 Collapsed Textile Factory in Alexandria, Egypt

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 Among the general observations from this survey of fire-induced collapses of
multi-story buildings was that while they are relatively few in number, the consequences
were significant, and could have been even worse in terms of human fatalities and
economic losses. The fire risk appeared to be slightly higher during building construction
and renovation work. Of the 17 fire incidents in the US and Canada, only the Santana
Row development collapse in San Jose, CA, occurred outside the northeastern quadrant
of North American (North and East of Missouri).

This data demonstrated that buildings of all types of construction and

occupancies, in North America, and abroad, are susceptible to fire-induced collapse,
particularly older buildings. The annual fire occurrences in the US, according to Hall,
(2001), exceeded 10,000 in buildings that were 7-stories or taller. Those that were
undergoing repairs or renovations appeared to further increase the fire and collapse risk.
If the fire could not be quickly contained and suppressed by sprinklers, firefighters, or
other fire protection measures, it posed a serious life safety hazard for any of the building
occupants present. Continued fire spread can lead to a partial or total collapse in a multi-
story building, compounding occupant losses, as in some of the cases described above.

Difficulties were encountered during this survey in readily identifying news, and other
credible sources, of historical and technical information on the fire-induced collapses of
buildings. The potential data sources were fragmented, often incomplete, and sometimes
conflicting. This lack of data and information significantly hampered the development of
a more complete understanding of the magnitude and nature of fire-induced collapse. A
centralized reliable body of catalogued information on fire-induced building collapses is
needed.

To complement the fire-induced collapse cases described previously, a summary of

selected major recent fires in high-rises that did not suffer collapse, but did incur
significant structural fire damage, are presented in Table 2. The significance of the
selected 7 major fire events in Table 2 was that even though there was no associated
structural collapse, numerous casualties had occurred in some cases (MGM Grand Hotel,
Las Vegas, 1980 and the Joelma Building, Sao Paulo, 1972 fires), and there was
generally significant fire damage and enormous property loss in every instance.

Just as for other natural hazards (wind or earthquake), the time, location, and
characteristics of the fire are critical in determining the resulting human and property
losses. The total deaths reported for the events in Table 1 were over 3,000. Over 2,800
occurred in the recent 2001 collapses of WTC 1 and WTC 2.

A fire-induced collapse in a multi-story building can be classified as a low

frequency, high-consequence event. Modern society draws much attention to these and
attempts to prevent them, much as it does for earthquakes and windstorms. Given that
there can be no guarantee that a fire will not occur in a given building, or that it will be
successfully contained and suppressed, the fire resistance of the building structure must
be duly assessed in its design in order to avoid local and progressive collapses. Since

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several of these documented cases demonstrated various member and structural
connection failures, a better understanding of the response of various building
connections to fire is needed. The effects of elevated temperatures on the strength of
connectors themselves and on their ductility, as well as how thermal expansion of
adjacent heated members affects the stress redistribution in a floor and framing sub-
assemblage through its connections, are important issues yet to be resolved for all
building materials. Connections are generally recognized as the critical link in the
collapse vulnerability of all structural framing systems, whether or not fire is involved.

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 Table 1 Summary of Multi-Story Building Fires With Collapses
(4 or more stories)

Building Name Location Type of Construction, Material, and Fire # Of Floors and Date, Approximate Time of Collapse, and Nature and Extent of Collapse
Resistance Occupancy References (Partial or Total)

Santana Row, Bldgs. San Jose, CA, Wood frame, still under construction, fire 5 August 19, 2002 Total collapse and destruction
7 USA protection and sprinklers not
completed/functional Commercial/residential Chui; Gathright
Apartment block St. Petersburg, Concrete l9 June 3, 2002, starting at 1 hour fire duration Total
Russia
Residential BBC News Online
Jackson Street Hamilton, Ontario Concrete 21 February 8, 2002, Partial collapse of concrete floor-
Apartments Canada ceilings
Residential
News
WTC 7 New York, NY, Steel moment frame with composite steel 47 Sept. 11, 2001 Total
USA beam and deck floors; fire resistive with
sprinklers Office FEMA 403
WTC 2 New York, NY, Structural steel tube lateral system with 110 Sept. 11, 2001, after 1 hour of fire Total
USA composite floor truss system; fire resistive following jet impact and damage
with retrofitted sprinklers Office

FEMA 403
WTC 1 New York, NY, Structural steel tube lateral system with 110 Sept. 11, 2001, after 1.5 hours of fire Total
USA composite floor truss system; fire resistive following jet impact and damage
with retrofitted sprinklers Office

FEMA 403
WTC 5 New York, NY, Steel moment frame with composite steel 9 Sept. 11, 2001, unknown time, fire burned Partial collapse of 4 stories and 2
USA beam and deck floors; fire resistive with uncontrolled for more than 8 hours bays
sprinklers Office
FEMA 403
Pentagon Washington, DC, Reinforced Concrete 5 Sept. 11, 2001, 30 minutes after jet impact Partial collapses of floors and
USA members
Office Official report release pending
Faces Nightclub and Motherwell, Unknown 4 February 27, 2001, after 2 hours Total
Memories Lounge Bar Lanarkshire
UK Commercial/residential News
Textile Factory Alexandria, Egypt Reinforced Concrete. no sprinklers 6 July 21, 2000, after 9 hours of fire Total

Commercial Reuters News

 Building Name Location Type of Construction, Material, and Fire # Of Floors and Date, Approximate Time of Collapse, and Nature and Extent of Collapse
Resistance Occupancy References (Partial or Total)

Apartment in Pittsburgh, PA, Wood 6 May 7, 2000, few hours after fire started Back wall fell, initiating
Vandergrift USA progressive
Residential News collapse
Commercial complex Newton, MA, Brick/masonry 4 February 9, 2000, Collapse started at upper story and
(near Chestnut Hill USA after slightly more than a 1 hour fire progressed
Mall) Commercial
News
Effingham Plaza Portsmouth, VA, Unknown Multi-story April 6, 1998, fire started on top floor Roof collapsed in places
Nursing Home USA
. Residential News
Coeur de Royale Creve Coeur, MO, Unknown 4 August 25, 1994 Partial collapses of roofs
Condominium USA
I-270 and Olive Blvd. Residential News
Apartments, Brooke Bronx, NY, USA Brick 5 April 5, 1994 Rear of the building collapsed.
Ave and 138th St.
Residential News
Central Square Apt. Cambridge, MA, Brick 8 October 1, 1993 Collapse of several floors
Massachusetts Ave. USA
and Douglas St. Residential News
CESP, Sede 2 Sao Paulo, Brazil Reinforced concrete frame, with ribbed slabs; 21 May 21, 1987, after 2 hour fire Partial, full height interior core
no sprinklers collapse
Office Berto and Tomina
Alexis Nihon Plaza Montreal, Canada Steel frame with composite steel beam and 15 Oct. 26, 1986, after 5 hour fire, which then Partial 11th floor collapse
deck floors; fire resistive without sprinklers continued for 13 hours
Office
Isner, NFPA Fire Investigation Report
Katrantzos Sport Athens, Greece Reinforced concrete 8 Dec. 19,1980 Partial collapses of 5-8th floor,
Department Store together with various other
Commercial Papaioannou members, during a 2-3 hour fire
Military Personnel Overland, MO, Reinforced concrete, without expansion 6 July 12, 1973 Roof and supporting columns
Record Center USA joints, no sprinklers above 2nd floor partially collapsed 12 hours after
Office 1974 Fire Journal fire began
Hotel Vendome Boston, MA, USA Masonry with cast iron 5-6 June 17, 1972, after almost a 3 hour fire All five floors of a 40 by 45 ft
section collapsed
Residential News
One New York Plaza New York, NY, Steel framing with reinforced concrete core, 50 August 5, 1970 Connection bolts sheared during
USA fire resistive with no sprinklers. fire, causing several steel filler
Office beams on the 33-34th floors to fall
and rest on the bottom flanges of
Abrams their supporting girders.

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 Table 2 Selected Multi-Story Building Fires With No Collapses
(4 or more stories)

Building Location Type of Construction, # Of Floors Date of Fire Nature and Extent of Fire
Name Material, and Fire and Occupancy Incident, and
Resistance References
One Meridian Philadelphia, PA, USA Steel frame with composite 38 Feb. 23-24, 1991 Started Saturday and burned for
Plaza steel beam and deck floors; a total of 18 hours, causing
fire resistive, but sprinklers Office significant structural damage to
not operational (retrofit in Klem, 1991 9 floors
process)

Mercantile Churchill Plaza, Steel frame with composite 12 1991 Fire burnout of 8th to10th floors
Credit Basingstoke, UK floor beams; fire resistive, but
Insurance no sprinklers Office Newman, et al., 200
Building
Broadgate London, UK Steel composite trusses and 14 1990 During construction, 4.5 hour
Phase 8 beams; mostly not fire fire duration and temperatures
protected and without Office Newman, et al., 200 reached 1000 ºC
sprinklers
First Interstate Los Angeles, CA, USA Steel frame with composite 62 May 4, 1988 Lasted for about 3.5 hours,
Bank steel beam and deck floors; causing major damage to four
fire resistive; sprinklers not floors
operational
Office Klem, 1988
MGM Grand Las Vegas, Nevada, USA Mixed, no sprinklers 26 Nov. 21, 1980 Burned for hours
Hotel
Resort and Misc. News &
casino Clark County Report
Andraus Sao Paulo, Brazil Reinforced concrete 31 Feb. 24, 1972 Spalling of exterior walls,
Building joists, and columns, exposing
Office Hall, 2001 reinforcing.
Joelma Sao Paulo, Brazil Reinforced Concrete 25 Feb. 1, 1974 Spalling of exterior walls
Building
(Crefisul Office Hall, 2001
Bank)

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