Final Paper Proposal:

As the population of the United States has grown and business has expanded over the past half century, architects and contractors have devised a faster and more economical way of building. One of the major changes in building technology has been the introduction of the truss, in particular, the three lightweight truss systems. As with many innovations, there is a drawback to the use of lightweight trusses in construction: their propensity to fail under fire conditions.

In this paper, I will expand on my previous work, “Lightweight Truss May Cause Firefighter Death,” to include all three forms of lightweight truss design. Then, using case studies from the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health reports (NIOSH Reports) I will show that this is a life hazard for firefighters and civilians.

I will then discuses some remedies of the dangers posed by the use of the lightweight trusses in building construction. I will also point out some of the actions that have been taken by state governments, building code organizations, and individual fire departments to lessen the hazard posed by the use of trusses.

Finally, I will propose a number of actions that firefighters, local municipalities, building inspectors and state legislatures can do to further lessen the threat posed by the now regular use of lightweight trusses in ordinary building construction.

The audience for this paper is the national fire department community and building code enforcement personnel, as well as those who are tasked with writing building codes. The hopeful outcome of this report is to inform the active firefighter in ways to make his job safer, and provide information to the command structure of fire departments to help them develop “Stander Operating Guidelines” for operations in buildings built with lightweight tresses. Furthermore, I hope to encourage both groups, along with the organizations that are responsible for writing building codes, to strengthen those codes as they pertain to the use of lightweight truss construction.

[This is great. I mean, really great. Your writing is very polished here and this is an incredibly cool idea for a final project. Not to place too much pressure on you, but I'm really excited about this project and look forward to the getting to read it.]

Brannigan,Francis. "The Louisville tragedy." Fire Engineering. Volume 150, January 1997, p. 113-114

• note - Engineering Library, 325 Hammond Bld. University Park Campous

Harwell, Jeffrey A. "More Lessons in Building Construction: Fire in Arlington, Texas." Fire Engineering. Volume 148, February 1995,

Malanga, Robert. “Fire endurance of lightweight wood trusses in building construction.” Fire-Technology. Volume 31, #1 1995, p 44-61

• note- Microfilm F312, Engineering Library, 325 Hammond Bld. University Park Campous

Pressler, Bob. "Bread and Butter Operations: Store Fires; Construction." Fire Engineering. Volume 146, July 1993, p. 57-8+

• note - Engineering Library, 325 Hammond Bld. University Park Campous

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Final Paper Proposal:

As the population has grown and business has expanded over the past half century, a faster and more economical way of building has been devised. One of the major changes in building technology has been the introduction of the truss, in particular, the three lightweight truss systems. As with many innovations, there is a drawback to the use of lightweight trusses in construction, their propensity to fail under fire conditions.

I plan on describing the three main forms of lightweight truss systems. Then, using case studies from National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health reports (NIOSH Reports) I will show that this is a life hazard for firefighters and civilians.

I will then discuses some remedies of the dangers posed by the use of the lightweight trusses in building construction. I will also point out some of the actions that have been taken by state governments, building code organizations, and individual fire departments to lessen the hazard posed by the use of trusses.

Finally I will propose a number of actions that firefighters, local municipalities, building inspectors and or state legislatures can do to further lessen the threat posed by the now regular use of lightweight trusses in ordinary building construction.



NIOSH:"[[http://www.cdc.gov/niosh/face200318.html Partial Roof Collapse in Commercial Structure Fire Claims the Lives of Two Career Fire Fighters - Tennessee]]"

NIOSH: "Preventing Injuries and Deaths of Fire Fighters due to Truss System Failures∞"

NIOSH: "Structural Collapse at an Auto Parts Store Fire Claims the Lives of One Career Lieutenant and Two Volunteer Fire Fighters - Oregon∞"

NIOSH: "Career Fire Fighter Dies Searching For Fire In A Restaurant/Lounge - Missouri∞"

NIOSH: "First-Floor Collapse During Residential Basement Fire Claims the Life of Two Fire Fighters (Career and Volunteer) and Injures a Career Fire Fighter Captain - New York∞"