# Firefighter safety threatened by floor joists



## GAP (29 Apr 2012)

Firefighter safety threatened by floor joists
Some first responders refuse to enter burning new homes
CBC News Posted: Apr 13, 2012
Article Link

Firefighters across Ontario have a new hazard to deal with right below their feet.

Pre-engineered floor joists, made from wood chips and glue, burn twice as fast as traditional wooden joists and can suddenly collapse from beneath the first responders.

According to Tim Beckett, fire chief of the Kitchener fire chief and president of the Ontario Association of Fire Chiefs (OAFC), traditional floor joists burn in 15 minutes. Pre-engineered joists do so in approximately six.

Beckett said the average response time of a fire department is between four and six minutes, depending on the area of Ontario.

"What we’re finding with the new joists ... is that you can failure in as little as four to seven minutes," Beckett said. "We’re looking at floor failure before we even arrive on scene."

Beckett called the use of the new joists "widespread."

Citing a study by the National Research Council of Canada Institute for Research in Construction, Barry Malmsten, the executive director of the OAFC, said the joists have changed the way firefighters attack a fire and rescue people from burning homes.

"When you arrive and it's fully engulfed, there's not a lot you can do," Malmsten said.

He said some departments have stopped entering the front doors of newer burning homes to rescue people and attack fires. Instead, they choose to rescue people through windows, using ladders.
More on link


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## Good2Golf (29 Apr 2012)

Is the problem with the building code, or are builders using materials that don't meet code?


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## Norris_Like_Chuck (29 Apr 2012)

Good2Golf said:
			
		

> Is the problem with the building code, or are builders using materials that don't meet code?



It's an issue with the code.  The way the beams are constructed, even heat from a fire in another area of the building can cause the glue to lose integrity and compromise the load rating of said beams.
They are widely used because of their low cost.


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## Loachman (29 Apr 2012)

http://www.homeadditionplus.com/framing-info/Engineered-Wood-I-Beams-vs-Sawn-Lumber.htm

Actually, they are more expensive according to the link. They save costs overall, though.

I had never thought of the fire hazard that they constitute until now. Worth avoiding for that few extra minutes that real wood gives one to get out, I think.


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## Good2Golf (29 Apr 2012)

That said, finishing the basement ceiling will gain a fair bit of time...


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