Hotel Vendome Fire and Collapse

Hotel Vendome Fire and Collapse

Hotel Vendome Fire & Collapse:

The Vendome Hotel Fire is regarded as one of the most significant fires that have occurred in the history of the United States. The fire broke out on June 17, 1972 in Boston, Massachusetts and rapidly became the worst fire-fighting tragedy in the history of the city. The fire became the worst in Boston history because nine firefighters from Boston Fire Department lost their lives while eight others were injured following the collapse of a section of the hotel. These firefighters were killed and injured during the routine overhaul operation conducted by the fire department. Since its occurrence, the Vendome Hotel Fire has provided important lessons about the collapse of structures and the associated risks to firefighters.

Background of the Hotel:

Vendome Hotel was built in 1871 as a luxury hotel with its location in Boston's Back Bay, north of Copley Square. Throughout its initial years, the hotel underwent huge renovations that included the massive expansion in 1881. The hotel experienced about four small fires in its operations during the 1960s. One of the most notable events in its history happened in 1971 when it was purchased during its initial building centennial. Following the purchase, the hotel's new owners opened a restaurant known as Cafe Vendome on the first floor. The opening of the cafe was accompanied by plans to renovate the rest of the hotel into a shopping mall and condominiums (Crombie par, 2).

The Fire:

June 17, 1972 marked a significant event for the hotel and Boston Fire Department as workers noticed a fire that had started in a void space between the 3rd and 4th floors that afternoon. At the Boston Fire Alarm Office, Box 1571 was obtained as an initial alarm for the fire at the hotel. Box 1571 served as the first of four alarms received by the fire department of the need to extinguish an intense fire at the Cafe Vendome, formerly Hotel Vendome. Due to its intense nature, the firefighters took approximately three hours to contain the fire. Moreover, the four-alarm fire necessitated a total of 16 engine companies, 2 aerial towers, a single heavy rescue company, and 5 ladder companies to contain it. There was also a great need for all the companies to operate with a complete accompaniment of personnel staffing.

After three hours of operations, a few crews were left at the scene of the incident to finalize salvage and overhaul. The routine overhaul operation was commenced by the Boston Fire Department after strenuous and extensive suppression duties. As these crews continued with their overhaul operation, there was a sudden collapse that brought down the five floors of the 40 by 45-foot building. The collapse of the southeast corner section of the building took place without a warning and resulted in a fatal tragedy. After the dust settled, it was discovered that the collapse buried a ladder truck and 17 firefighters under a two-story pile of plaster, mortar, brick, wood, and debris ("Learning the Lessons," par, 6). This resulted in the death of nine firefighters and injuries to eight other emergency responders.

Aftermath of the Fire:

Since the fire at and collapse of Vendome Hotel, several investigations were carried out to identify the reasons for the fire and collapse. Based on the reports of survivors, there were no sounds crushing of masonry or cracking of timbers before the collapse. In most cases, experienced firefighters use such sounds as warnings and signs associated with an incipient failure or collapse. Therefore, the experienced firefighters conducting the overhaul operation couldn't think of withdrawal from or abandoning the area since signs of a major weakening or impending collapse didn't occur. The lack of such warnings warranted the need for further investigations regarding the actual reasons for the collapse.

As a result, Walter J. Hickey Associates, Inc. was engaged by the Boston Fire Department to investigate and report on the reasons or cause of the collapse. In order to establish the cause of the collapse of Hotel Vendome, the organization started its investigations on the construction of the building since the collapse was associated with other causes other than the fire itself. The organization mainly focused on analyzing the history of the construction of the building by examining its two main sections, floors, and walls.

Cause of the Collapse:

Following its extensive and detailed investigations, Walter J. Hickey Associates, Inc. presented a report on the possible cause for the collapse of the hotel. After making computations, it was discovered that the load on the cast iron column from the dead load alone was approximately 200,000 pounds in consideration of a minimal allowance for the corbelling action. However, a study revealed that the arching or corbelling effect of the C-Line Wall was only of slight importance. Due to the load, the bearing stress on the wall was estimated at around 7 to 8 times the permissible stress for a wall of good grade brick that has a good line cement mortar ("Investigation of Collapse," p. 45).

While the bearing stress at the opening side was already high, it was greatly intensified and getting to a critical stage as the opening for the air intake duct occurred through the wall. Notably, the computerization of the stresses didn't include the consideration of any live load. The addition of even a minor live load or small moving load could result in or trigger the possible failure through crushing of the masonry in the opening side area. This would in turn cause the column base plate to tilt, column displacement, and the total loss of support. The possible loss of support could be caused by the same effect because of the weakening of mortar following saturation with water. Nonetheless, this is possible in the case of lime cement mortar and saturated situation in the wall.

The investigation into the collapse of the building concluded that the incident started after the loss of support by the 7-inch meter diameter column. This resulted in the failure of the third to fifth story masonry walls along the C-Line. The joists along the a-line and E-Line were pulled from the wall pockets as the floor sections along the C-Line lost support. In contrast, the floors along the C-Line walls exerted very minimal thrust against the E-Line wall to an extent that they started to mount up together with the falling debris in a mass underneath the third story of the building. The vertical collapse of the upper portion of the building was caused by the pushing out of the lower portion of the E-Line wall by the extreme ends of the floor sections. Line 3 Wall at Dartmouth Street partially collapsed as a quick follow up of the collapse of the E-Line wall.