Wood Truss test Burn
This video was created to help show firefighters the dangers of wood truss roof assemblies when they are exposed to fire. The video contains excerpts of tests burns that were conducted on a wood truss assembly and also a wood “stick built” roof assembly.
With the help of one prominent local nonprofit organization, town officials are launching a new initiative that’s designed to supply more information to firefighters arriving on the scene of a structure fire in order to help ensure their safety.
L-R: Leo Karl, president of the New Canaan Community Foundation’s Board of Directors, Fire Marshal Fred Baker, Firefighter John Aniello and NCCF President and CEO Cynthia Gorey. Credit: Michael Dinan
Soon, when building permit applications come into the town, a note will be made if the new structure is using what’s known as “lightweight truss construction”—an efficient and increasingly common framework that relies on geometry for strength rather than mass.
A trusted product for homebuilding, truss construction also has far a smaller surface area than typical framed construction, “so when it’s exposed to very high heat, such as in a fire, it fails far more quickly than dimensional lumber,” according to New Canaan firefighter John Aniello.
“In the past, you show up on scene, you go and you put the fire out immediately—it’s that straightforward. But now if we are looking at a fire and it’s been burning for 20 minutes already and everybody is out of the house, and the fire has taken up most of the house, you find out it’s truss construction, the likelihood of a building collapsing inward is highly likely and that might change tactics, offensive and possibly defensive. We also may keep firefighters out of an area that has truss, so if truss is up on a roof and the fire is down in the basement, you don’t have to worry about it, but if there’s truss on the first floor as well, it will come into play with the strategy and tactics of the action plan.”
For new construction where trusses are used, a decal purchased by the fire department with a $360 stipend from the New Canaan Community Foundation will be placed on an electrical meter, Aniello said. That way, when a police officer arrives on the scene of a structure fire and circles the building, he or she can look for the decal to determine whether and where truss has been used.
“It’s important for the firefighters to know what they are dealing with when they get to a building,” Fire Marshal Fred Baker said.
“Many firefighters have been trapped in buildings where normally they would have thought they had time, but now they’re inside trying to put out a fire and all the sudden a floor just gives out from under them.”
According to Aniello, firefighters will do an inventory of commercial buildings in New Canaan to determine which are using trusses. (Residents who are unsure about their own homes may phone the fire marshal at 203-594-3030 or fire department at 203-594-3140 to get help making a determination.)
The fire department was able to purchase the decals thanks to New Canaan Community Foundation, whose president and CEO, Cynthia Gorey, learned of the need through Baker, a fellow Rotarian.
In all, 105 decals were purchased, Aniello said. They include notations such as ‘R’ or ‘F’ to indicate whether truss construction has been used in a building’s roof or first floor.
For Gorey, the New Canaan Community Foundation wants to ensure the firefighters’ safety “and we also want to be a partner with all of the first responders and everyone else that makes this town a special place where we look out for each other.”
To award a $360 stipend that could save injury or even a life is “a no-brainer,” Gorey said.