Forsyth Barr Building earthquake fire

22/02/2011 Christchurch, New Zealand

Forsyth Barr Building earthquake fire

What happened to the Forsyth Barr Building?

On 22 February 2011 a small fire of relatively short duration broke out at the Forsyth Barr Building in Christchurch, New Zealand. The fire did not lead to any casualties but did disable the building's access and egress paths.

The building is now known as the Crowne Plaza Christchurch.

 

What caused the Forsyth Barr Building fire?

The small fire was caused by the 2011 Christchurch earthquake. The intensity of the earthquake and subsequent aftershocks were more than the building was designed to accommodate, even though the stair arrangement was fitted with seismic gap supports. 

The central staircase collapsed on one side rendering all floors up to the 14th incapacitated on one side and up to the 15th the other side, trapping occupants inside a damaged and disabled building. Some people escaped the building by abseiling down the façade using the fire hose reel pipes

 

What can the industry learn from the Forsyth Barr Building fire?

An investigation highlighted the following issues:

 

  • Egress stairs must be designed to maintain their structural integrity until the building structure is on the point of collapse
  • Scissor stairs inherently have less reliability than other stair systems because the loss of one flight can result in the loss of the entire egress route
  • Gap and ledge support arrangements are problematical
  • Seismic gaps must remain completely clear and must not be reduced by construction tolerances, debris etc
  • Ledges must be generous and evaluated according to expected demand at the point of collapse of the building
  • Emergency access and egress paths and passive and active protection must be available for the purpose intended in any event arising in emergency and fire situation

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