NPS Fire & Aviation Blog - Dan Mizrach

Last Weeks at CAHA

Fri, 07 Dec 2012 15:50:05 -0600

During the last few weeks of my internship, I’ve been working on a couple of projects. Last week, I finished up my performance based analysis of the Cape Hatteras Double Keepers’ Quarters. Some of the issues I addressed were the design of the sprinkler system, a headroom obstruction over both stairwells, and door swing direction. After doing both the prescriptive and performance based analyses of the same building, it is interesting to see how the code addresses certain issues in comparison to how I see them. I don’t have a lot of experience in performance based review and design, but I was able to use what I’ve learned in other areas to influence my recommendations for the DKQ.

For the most part, the areas I identified as issues mirrored the issues as defined by NFPA. A few were different, in that I discussed another aspect of a certain element than what NFPA 101 considered to be the main life safety hazard. For example, NFPA prescribes a certain headroom height over stairs so that occupants don’t have to uncomfortably descend a staircase, slowing evacuation time. The obstructions in this case are a 90° corner over each stair, and I am worried about an occupant sharply striking his head in a hurried attempt to exit the building from the second floor.

The most interesting and intellectually challenging aspect of this report was trying to find a balance between life safety/property protection and preserving the historical integrity of the building while correcting the hazards. I identified 9 areas or features of the building that were the backbone of its historical significance, such as the exterior and interior siding, floors, porch, and staircases. As much as possible, my goal was to avoid altering these 9 features. However, for a few of the issues that I identified as “Major Hazards” or “Moderate Hazards,” I did recommend some slight alterations to these features. Whenever this occurred, I tried to tailor my recommendation to preserve at least some of these features’ character to give visitors and staff a feeling of what the original was like.

This week, I went back down to Hatteras to do a demonstration on hydrant flow testing. The park purchased a Hose Monster Flow Test Kit that we used to prevent water damage to the surrounding area. During the test, a few employees noted that in the many years they have been employed by CAHA, they have never seen a hydrant being flow tested. Though this is somewhat alarming, the newfound interest in hydrant testing echoes the park-wide effort to make major improvements to fire and life safety systems. The segment of piping that we did flow test had a very low flow rate, roughly 270 gpm, but did not spit out any large debris and the water cleared of any rust and dirt in only a few seconds.

As I finish out my last few days in the Outer Banks, I’m uploading all the fire protection systems information that I got from my inventory into a spreadsheet for upload into FMSS. The most notable trend that I noticed through all of my “inventorying” was the overly complicated sprinkler systems protecting park buildings. Both the Outer Banks Group HQ (where I work) and the Fort Raleigh Visitor Center have pre-action sprinkler systems installed. Neither has any exposure to the elements and both are fully heated. As a result, the Visitor Center has been having some issues with the alarm system falsely activating and the sprinkler system charging. Both buildings, in my opinion, are perfect candidates for a common wet-pipe sprinkler system, so I’m curious as to the reasoning behind the pre-action systems.

I’ve thoroughly enjoyed my time here at CAHA, and I’m proud to have helped jump start what will hopefully be a nationwide increase in Park Service fire protection professionals. I’ve both learned a lot about practical fire protection and been able to educate staff on how to improve the protection of visitors and resources. I want to thank Brian Johnson at NIFC for giving me this opportunity, Jon Anglin at the Outer Banks Group for being a great supervisor, Jim King and Andy Wilson for teaching me a lot about protecting important structures and their occupants, and all of the welcoming CAHA staff who helped me out along the way. I look forward to the continuing partnership between the University of Maryland and the National Park Service giving FPE students a chance to contribute what they know at the Park and Regional level, increasing fire safety nationwide.

NCTC

Mon, 23 Jul 2012 06:34:18 -0600

Of these last two weeks at Cape Hatteras, I only actually spent half of the time in North Carolina. The week of July 9^th, my supervisor and I spent a week taking part in the Park Structural Fire Coordinator seminar at NCTC in West Virginia. As anyone familiar with the most recent installment of A123 can tell you, every park in the country had to appoint a Structural Fire Coordinator to oversee day to day structural fire protection activity. Unfortunately, the furthest extent of many of these appointees knowledge of structural fire protection is calling the alarm company to find out why they got five TROUBLE SIGNAL emails at 3 o'clock in the morning. While a few PSFCs do have a firefighting background, the majority are LE and Facilities Management personnel who have taken on the PSFC job as a collateral duty.

This 3-day long class helped to expand this knowledge of fire protection, essentially a crash course in structural fire protection. Teachers included Jim King, Brian Johnson, Donna Baumgaertner, Andy Wilson of the Smithsonian, Don Boucher, Matt Kim, and myself. These FP professionals gave lessons on everything from alarm systems to the Life Safety Code to on-site inspections.

Matt and I did a lesson on portable fire extinguishers during the second day of class. The major issue country-wide when it comes to PFEs is that they are simply not inspected. For the most part, they are installed, just not kept up to date on monthly and yearly inspections. As with everything, ITM is critical with PFEs, so we explained the required steps during a monthly inspection. It could be catastrophic to run up to a trashcan fire only to find that the extinguisher's hose is blocked or the gauge is busted and no suppressant comes out. We had some PFEs as props and had two of the students do a mock inspection to demonstrate.

Additionally, we gave some insight into how extinguishers work, the different classifications for which they are designed, and proper placement/spacing of extinguishers. As for the latter, we have an issue here at HQ that is totally the opposite of what one would expect; next to the break room, we have 4 extinguishers within a 40 ft. span.

Overall, the class was a great success in my opinion. I was glad to be able to help where I could, and I learned as much, if not more, than I taught. The NCTC campus is fantastic as well, there are lots of great hiking trails and exhibits (see below) and the food was quite a few steps above the UMD North Campus diner. Students and instructors alike took advantage of this opportunity and went for walks, ate together, and talked over "just one" beer at the NCTC pub.

In addition to a great training campus, NCTC is home to some great exhibits and trails that allow you to see some of West Virginia's (and elsewhere's) natural beauty.

Upon returning to CAHA, I put some of what I learned to use almost immediately. I started putting together flip-style emergency/evacuation plans for our HQ and have made up several evacuation diagrams for the buildings around Fort Raleigh.

I'm continuing to inventory the fire protection systems around the park. I've started compiling all of the deficiencies I've found thus far into a spreadsheet, and I will be hopefully turning them into work orders within the next week. My prescriptive analysis of the Cape Hatteras Double Keepers Quarters is coming along as well.

View of the DKQ from the nationally recognized Cape Hatteras Lighthouse

I've gotten the floor plans from our Facilities Management folks and have the square footage and NFPA 101-calculated occupancies on paper. Monday I will be making the hour and a half trip down to the Hatteras Lighthouse area to get a few more specifics on the structure, then I will be spending time during the rest of the week compiling a comprehensive, code-based report.

Systems Inventory and Hatteras DKQ

Fri, 06 Jul 2012 17:28:34 -0600

I'm writing this blog entry a little bit earlier in the pay period than the last one because next week I will out of the office, attending the Park Structural Fire Coordinator Conference in West Virginia.

Recently, I've been continuing to take inventory of the Park's fire protection systems. One of the questionable trends that I've noticed is that maintenance areas are pretty cluttered, and do not typically contain any fire protection other than portable fire extinguishers. As some of these areas are going to be used for welding and cutting, this ties right in with the hot work policy that I have been developing. As I continue to look around the Park, I will be submitting groups of work orders to correct some of these critical deficiencies.

For our analysis of a historical structure, I will be using the Double Keeper's Quarters down near Buxton, on Hatteras Island. Originally built in 1854, the ex-living quarters are now used as a visitor center and exhibit hall for visitors who come to see the famous Hatteras Lighthouse. The building was retrofitted with concealed sprinklers, but their placement is dubious and the stairs and exits are still the originals, so their code compliance will be interesting to look at. The building is roughly an hour and fifteen minute drive from HQ. It is hard to believe that the National Seashore extends another 30 miles from that down to Ocracoke, with a ferry ride thrown in for good measure.

This is an old photo of the DKQ found on the InsideNPS Historical Structures page, most likely taken pre-sprinkler system.

In 1999, the lighthouse, Double Keeper's Quarters, Principle Keeper's Quarters and four other buildings were all moved a few hundred yards down the seashore in one piece. They were put onto steel beams, placed on wheels, and rolled down to the new area. This was done because of the growing threat of erosion. The ocean has been slowly eroding away the beach, and the decision was made to make the move. I only wish I had been there to see it, below is a picture I found on Google.

Credit: http://www.mytripolog.com/2009/05/buxton-home-of-cape-hatteras-part-2/

We got in our Hose Monster Flow Test Kit last week (below), so I am excited to get out and flow test some hydrants in the next few weeks. It's starting to feel like summer here, so the hydrant flowing will be a welcome task.

Like I said above, next week I will be at the Fish and Wildlife Service's National Conservation Training Center in West Virginia. Jim King, the SE Region's Structural Fire Manager, set up a conference for PSFCs to learn a little more about the various fire protection strategies that they will be employing. From the rough schedule put out a few weeks ago, it looks like Matt and I may be helping with some of the instruction. Though it is not the typical SFPE or NFPA conference that many FPEs may think of, it should be a good learning experience and will give me good exposure to how continuing education plays a critical role in the evolution of fire protection. And the lodging/campus looks pretty nice too.

I'll be sure to post pictures in my next entry.

My First Week at Cape Hatteras

Wed, 06 Jun 2012 13:00:09 -0600

My name is Dan, and I will be a senior in the University of Maryland's Fire Protection Engineering department this fall. Before visiting Maryland during my senior year of High school, I had no idea that Fire Protection was even an engineering discipline. As a kid, I loved fireworks, campfires, really anything to do with fire, but I'd always been told not to play with matches. After watching a short presentation by an FPE professor during my first tour of UMD where the main theme was the exact opposite of that rule, I knew then and there what my profession was going to be. Growing up in Richmond, VA watching UVa and VCU games for the first 16 years of my life, I quickly transferred my loyalty and am currently a die-hard fan of all things Terps.

I've been down at the NPS Outer Banks Group Headquarters for 5 days now as this summer's Structural Fire Intern, working with Jon Anglin, the Park's Operations Chief and Structural/Wildland Fire Management Officer. This week, I've already been involved in some really interesting, hands-on Fire Protection work. I performed a Life Safety Code analysis of a Lost Colony building and some proposed plans for it. Unfortunately, it did not quite meet NFPA 101's standards, but I look forward to discussing further plans for it next week with Jim King, the South-East Region's Structural Fire Management Officer. Since taking a Life Safety Code course sophomore year, I have really enjoyed this sort of work, and I know I will be able to put what I've learned to good use here in the Outer Banks.

As far as getting familiar with the area, I moved in Sunday afternoon to Park housing on Roanoke Island. I'm living right down the street from where I'm working, so gas costs are luckily not going to be a problem this summer. Tuesday, I was able to take a ride in the Park Service's 6-seater Cessna single-prop plane down to Ocracoke Island, giving me a great view of the area that I was going to be working in. It was an awesome opportunity, the only step left to take is finally signing up for that skydiving lesson that I've always wanted to try.