1.    INTRODUCTION

     1.1         Over the years the Borough of Mahanoy City and the Mahanoy City Fire Department has gained a reputation, arguably falsely, of “losing a block” whenever we respond to a fire.  While Mahanoy City has seen its share of large, devastating fires, it is generally no different than any other community that has Row Frame or Row Home type construction.

    1.2          The Mahanoy City Fire Department has diligently trained and educated ourselves in order to help reduce the amount of fire damage in this type of construction.  While we do not claim to be perfect, we have found that a quick and aggressive interior attack combined with rapid ventilation will significantly reduce the amount of fire spread.  In addition, rapid access to exposure buildings greatly aides in suppressing fire spread.

    1.3          However, the one item that be attributed to helping stop the rapid fire spread commonly seen with fires in these types of homes is rapid notification.  Homeowners and residents can greatly help reduce the spread of fire by calling 9-1-1 without delay.  This single item - quick notification - can help keep a small fire from turning into the large, devastating fires we have seen in the past.  

2.    PURPOSE

            2.1.1    To describe Row Frame / Row Home  buildings which comprise a large portion of the dwellings in Mahanoy City.

           2.1.2      To point out the problems and features of such buildings with regard to fires.

           2.1.3      To establish ideas and methods in which residents can significantly help stop the spread of fires in such buildings. 

           2.1.4  While we do not claim nor advertise that these methods will make your home “fire      proof”, they are generally accepted methods in which homeowners can greatly reduce the speed at which fire will travel and grow in size.  ANY  reduction in this speed and growth will assist the Fire Department with a quicker extinguishment.

3.    ROW FRAMES / ROW HOMES

    3.1     DESCRIPTION

            3.1.1  These buildings, as the name implies, are built in rows containing as many as twenty or more buildings. They vary in height from two to five stories, are twelve to thirty feet in width, with depths ranging from forty to sixty feet. When constructed, each builder may have used varying designs, i.e., with porch, similar to brownstones but all wood; with or without cornices. They were constructed over a period of many years in the 1800's and early 1900's and are prevalent throughout Schuylkill County.        

            3.1.2  The room arrangement will vary with design of building.       

            3.1.3  These buildings can be of balloon frame or braced frame construction.

    3.2     CONSTRUCTION

            3.2.1  These buildings can be considered a large rectangular box of dry lumber, capable of generating large amounts of heat when burning. There is danger of fire spreading in all directions.   

            3.2.2  The prominent feature common to all, regardless of variations in design, is the common cockloft spreading over all the buildings in the row. This cockloft may vary in height from one foot to a height tall enough for a man to stand in.       

            3.2.3  The division walls between buildings are quite frequently no more than the equivalent of a partition wall with plaster-lathe or nogging. Because of age, this nogging presents no hindrance to fire. The mortar has disintegrated with age leaving many spaces through which the fire can penetrate.   

            3.2.4  Common cornices may be present, but even in buildings in the same row there may be variations. Owners of some of the row buildings may have altered the original construction. The impression that can result is that the cocklofts were constructed at different times, and are not connected to those burning.

            3.2.5  There are many variations in the construction of these buildings. Light and air shafts are found in some, while not in others.

            3.2.6  Some buildings may have a retail store on the first floor. This may include anything from a grocery to a repair shop.

            3.2.7  Sometimes the cellar runs under more than one building with no separations whatsoever.

    3.3     HAZARDS OF FIRE IN THESE BUILDINGS

             3.3.1  The life hazard is great due to the large number of occupants and the rapidity with which the fire may spread.

            3.3.2  The major defects or faults in the construction are the lack of the fire stops and the vast quantity of combustible material used in the construction. Fire can spread in the following manner:

            A.  Vertically

                1.  Via pipe recesses.

                2.  Via light and air shafts.

                3.  Auto exposure via front and rear windows, and via siding,

                4.  Via interior walls and partitions.

                5.  Via false fronts, bay windows, spaces between sheathing and building.

            B.  Horizontally   

                1.  Via the common cockloft from one buildings to another. As the heat from the    fire on a lower floor increases in intensity, the temperature rises rapidly.  Smoke and heat will then spread laterally throughout the entire cockloft area. An extremely intense fire will develop in short order.

                2.  Fire will spread via the common cornice.

                3.  Thin and flimsy walls between buildings will present no stop to fire spread.

                4.  In those with cellars common to more than one building, fire will involve both if the fire    is of any consequence.   

                5.  Presence of a store, and the type of business, may add to the fire.

                6.  Wood cellar beams in adjoining buildings, resting on a common wall, may spread fire where they butt.

                7.  Fire may also spread from the roof of the fire building to the roof of an adjoining building by ignition of the roof covering.

                8.  Via windows and siding to adjoining buildings.

            3.3.3  The danger of collapse in fires of this type is a factor deserving consideration.

            A.  A heavy fire in the cockloft will burn roof supports and cause the collapse of the  roof into the top floor.

            B.  Rear walls can pull away from the building and collapse in one section into the yard.

            C.  Collapse of side walls is also a danger. This is especially true where buildings within the row have been demolished and removed.

4.     PREVENTING THE SPREAD OF FIRE

    4.1   Residents and Homeowners can help reduce the spread of fire by simply                  PREVENTING the fire before it even starts.  Practice Fire Safety.

    4.2   Place fire stops in areas that the fire spreads rapidly.

        4.2.1      Via The Common Cockloft. 

        4.2.2      Via Adjoining Walls.

        4.2.3      Via the Common Cornice.

    4.3   FIRE STOPS

        4.3.1  Fire Stops are ways in which fire spread is reduced.   Examples of Fire Stops are:

        A.      Insulating between the wall studs and floor joists.

        B.      Nailing a block of wood between two wall studs.

        C.      Replacing the plaster-lathe walls with sheet-rock or some other fire resistive material.

        D.      Placing a sheet-rock wall or other fire resistive material in the common cockloft and common cornice between adjoining homes.

        E.      Placing ANY fire resistive material in the open areas which will impede the fire spread.