Breaking Down the June 21st Apartment Fire in Columbia Southern, South Florida
Columbia Southern University
FIR 2303 - Fire Behavior and Combustion
Breaking Down the June 21st Apartment Fire in Columbia Southern, South Florida
There were many factors that contributed to significant fire spread during the fire on June
21st at the Garden Apartments Complex in Columbia Southern, South Florida. Weather, building
construction, and poor pre-planning were all factors that led to a room and contents fire getting
out of control. This led to multiple firefighters becoming injured during the initial fire attack and
command switching from an offensive to a defensive strategy. In this report I’ll be discussing the
stages of fire the apartment building went through, the spread mechanism of the fire, and
, whether the crews encountered any flashovers, smoke explosions, or backdrafts throughout the
scenario.
Stages of Fire
Ignition/incipient, growth, fully developed, and decay are the four stages of every fire
that happens without interference of an outside agency such as the fire department extinguishing
it. The incipient stage of the fire started on the second floor of the Garden Apartment Complex in
room 2-B in the kitchen from an apparent grease fire. This was the initial ignition source for the
unattended stove fire. Unfortunately the occupant was not home to catch the fire in this initial
stage or it could have been put out using a nearby extinguisher. Since the fire was left unnoticed
it entered the growth stage. The fire developed into a kitchen fire at 7:46. As the grease fire
increased in temperature it began igniting other fuels in the kitchen and developed into a kitchen
fire at 7:46. The growth stage continued as the fire began venting through a broken window
adding more oxygen to fuel the previously starving fire. Now with an unlimited amount of
oxygen being fed to the fire and plenty of fuel temperatures throughout the structure continued to
rise. At 8:44 Engine 2 entered apartment 2-B after it had been growing for nearly an hour. As
Engine 2 pushed their way towards the bulk of the fire in the kitchen temperatures reached a
critical level and the crew experienced a flashover. At this time the fire is fully developed as not
11:08:20 GMT -05:00
Columbia Southern University
FIR 2303 - Fire Behavior and Combustion
Breaking Down the June 21st Apartment Fire in Columbia Southern, South Florida
There were many factors that contributed to significant fire spread during the fire on June
21st at the Garden Apartments Complex in Columbia Southern, South Florida. Weather, building
construction, and poor pre-planning were all factors that led to a room and contents fire getting
out of control. This led to multiple firefighters becoming injured during the initial fire attack and
command switching from an offensive to a defensive strategy. In this report I’ll be discussing the
stages of fire the apartment building went through, the spread mechanism of the fire, and
, whether the crews encountered any flashovers, smoke explosions, or backdrafts throughout the
scenario.
Stages of Fire
Ignition/incipient, growth, fully developed, and decay are the four stages of every fire
that happens without interference of an outside agency such as the fire department extinguishing
it. The incipient stage of the fire started on the second floor of the Garden Apartment Complex in
room 2-B in the kitchen from an apparent grease fire. This was the initial ignition source for the
unattended stove fire. Unfortunately the occupant was not home to catch the fire in this initial
stage or it could have been put out using a nearby extinguisher. Since the fire was left unnoticed
it entered the growth stage. The fire developed into a kitchen fire at 7:46. As the grease fire
increased in temperature it began igniting other fuels in the kitchen and developed into a kitchen
fire at 7:46. The growth stage continued as the fire began venting through a broken window
adding more oxygen to fuel the previously starving fire. Now with an unlimited amount of
oxygen being fed to the fire and plenty of fuel temperatures throughout the structure continued to
rise. At 8:44 Engine 2 entered apartment 2-B after it had been growing for nearly an hour. As
Engine 2 pushed their way towards the bulk of the fire in the kitchen temperatures reached a
critical level and the crew experienced a flashover. At this time the fire is fully developed as not
11:08:20 GMT -05:00
