What happened at the Hermosillo daycare centre?

On 5 June 2009 a fire broke out at the Hermosillo daycare centre. On the day of the incident the building was occupied by 148 children, of which 49 aged three and younger tragically lost their lives.

How did the Hermosillo daycare centre fire start?

The fire started in an A/C unit in an adjacent warehouse building. It spread quickly through the construction material and party walls shared by the premises. Interior walls and linings were combustible and not made from fire retardant properties.

The ceiling tiles melted, producing droplets of flamed molten plastic which ignored the floor spaces below rapidly, producing sufficient radiant heat to flashover.

The building contained no smoke detection or alarms and no means of fighting the fire, such as fire extinguishers. There were no emergency exits, no staff training and no licence upon which to operate the facility.

What can the industry learn from the Hermosillo daycare centre fire?

Investigation into the incident concluded:

• The combustible building construction materials provided a catalyst for flashover
• The construction contained many breaches of building code - fire stopping of holes and services penetrations were not present
• There were no fire exits
• No emergency lighting
• No water sprinkler suppression system
• No fire detection or alarm system
• Parents desperately attempted to rescue their children by driving their vehicles into the building walls, unknown to them the holes penetrated provided a fresh air supply to fuel the flames
• 14 people including a number of officials were arrested and charged under suspicion of manslaughter