1. San Francisco Earthquake Fire DisasterBy
Purushotham P

2. Outline Introduction Causes of Fire Affected areas
Behavior of Important buildings of San Francisco
Lessons to be learnt
Conclusions

3. Introduction Major disaster in the world’s history
Simultaneous occurrence of two natural calamities
April 18,1906. Magnitude of 7.8
90% of total destruction by fires

4. Causes of Fire Natural gas mains broken due to earthquake
Arson, campfires set by evacuees
Untrained use of dynamite to create firebreaks (> 50% would have survived)
3 days 2 nights

5. Affected Areas

6. Fire Spread

7. Important Buildings (City Hall)
3 storied building
Floors supported by steel girder & beams
Wood stud and wood lath partitions use to divide floor space into small rooms
Initial damage by EQ followed by fire
Floor beams badly deflected due to wood work in floor finish(10” -15”)
Absence of filling between concrete arch and wood flooring
Little damage to stairways

9. Call Building Nineteen storied
Metal frame is of steel skeleton type, resting on grillage foundations
Beams (bottom side) protected by plaster flush with concrete
Elevator shaft drew fire to top floor and the building burned from top to bottom
Window openings are completely spalled
Steel work was never finished (19th)
Stairways are completely wrecked
Elevators are completely distorted and bulged, framing in the shaft is deflected

11. Parrott Building
Seven storied building occupied as a department store and office building
3 lower stories are fire-proof and upper stories were of wood
Building was of steel frame construction
Hollow tiled blocks laid in the form of segmental arch (3 lower stories FP)
Nothing remained above 3rd floor, huge sections collapsed from roof to the basement (1/3 of entire floor area)
Department store  Large amount of combustibles, fire of considerable duration and intensity
Overall collapse due to collapsed sections due to column failures

12. Sectional Elevation

13. Chronicle Building
None-story building occupied by San Francisco Chronicle
Special reference to fire-resisting qualities
Metal frame consisted of cast-iron columns with steel beams and girders
Floors are fire-proof made up of hard burned, hollow tile, single cell blocks
Roof was of wood construction, supported by steel beams
Subjected to normal fire only
Burning of wood roof increased duration and intensity of fire
Collapse also due to heavy machinery located on the top floor

15. Lessons to be learnt
Roofs, roof appurtenances, and skylights should be given ample protection against fires.
A great excess of fire hose and apparatus, beyond ordinary needs, should be available.
A strong bond for fireproof tiling etc for both girder and column protection is essential
Protection for front windows, as well as for side and rear ones, is very important.
Openings of the outside walls should be protected against Exterior Fire Hazard.
Columns and other important structural members should be should be protected in proportion to the requirements.
Refractory materials should be used for facades.
Concrete floor construction should be selected in such a way that it should have sufficient strength and fire resistance.
Reinforced Concrete should be adopted for partitions.
Avoid pipes inside of column protections.
Metal Treads should be provided for staircases.
Sufficient arrangements should be provided for expansion of steel lintels and mullions.
Filling between fire proof floor arches and the underside of the finished floor should never be ignored.
Lights supports, Plaster ceiling construction should be avoided.

16. Conclusions Initial damage by EQ followed by fire
Water mains were damaged due to EQ  hard to control fire in initial stages
Exteriors of all buildings were damaged
Damage also caused due to interior flames, spalling of windows etc
Need for highly protected windows
Strong bond between fire proof tiling and columns, girders is necessary
Interiors of buildings should be provided with sprinklers, heat detectors etc