Live Oak/Milstar Complex and Carpet Service Center Fire - (LaGrange, Georgia - January 31, 1995) » Building Construction

The complex was generally a single story, noncombustible building with some sections having a mezzanine or two-story offices. The single story sections were almost 30-feet tall and the complex had approximate dimensions of 585 feet (north-south direction) by 885 feet (east-west direction). The total horizontally projected area inside building walls was approximately 536,000 square feet and the total floor area (including mezzanine and 2nd floor) was approximately 580,000 square feet. Except for some small offices, the laboratory and the truck staging/shipping area, the fire caused complete structural collapse of the Complex.

In the Carpet Service Center (original 1968 building and 1970 addition), the roof construction was described as tectum board roof deck supported by unprotected steel bar joists. In the Live Oak/Milstar Complex (1972 addition) the roof construction was metal deck supported by unprotected steel bar joists. Throughout all of the buildings, the roof’s steel bar joists were supported by unprotected steel beams and columns. Firefighters reported that the roof covering was a gray material without a gravel covering; this was most likely a single ply membrane roofing material. Bar joist depth was in the range of 2 to 3-feet under the roughly 30-feet tall roof deck. The mezzanines and second floors were constructed of concrete on metal forms supported by unprotected steel beams and columns.

Exterior walls were predominately non-load bearing brick faced hollow concrete block. Some metal panel walls over the steel supports were used on the east side of the complex and in auxiliary buildings. The former exterior walls, which became fire separation walls between building additions, were often non-load bearing brick faced hollow concrete block with some walls constructed of only hollow concrete block. It is estimated that both 10 and 12-inch thick hollow concrete block was used in wall construction. There was no evidence that any of the block was filled or reinforced to improve structural stability under fire exposure.

Large openings were made in the former exterior walls as the complex expanded. These openings were 10 to 20 feet wide and 10 to 15 feet tall. Opening protection consisted of rolling steel, Class A, 3-hour fire doors. Unverified information suggests that along one of the separation walls most openings had these fire doors on each side of the wall. There were also several large, about 3-feet high by 8 to 10-feet wide, conveyor openings through separation walls. Hooded, automatic deluge sprinklers reportedly protected these conveyor openings although the exact arrangement of this protection could not be documented. Interior sector firefighters said that none of the seven or eight fire doors they were able to reach could be completely closed. They indicated that many would partially close before stopping in the pinched guide tracks. At least one fire door could not be coaxed out of its holder located above the opening.

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