$15 Million Sight and Sound Theater Fire and Building Collapse - (Lancaster County, Pennsylvania - January 1997) » Fire Origin

The theater was scheduled to be closed from January 13th until March 8th, 1997, and was undergoing renovation work to make the stage floor more rigid. This involved removing the existing floor covering to expose the corrugated steel decking, and welding four foot by eight foot sheets of 1/4" thick steel on top of the decking. The Pennsylvania State Police fire investigator who investigated the fire, determined that the fire originated under the stage in the storage area. The fire was caused by a construction worker welding steel plates on the stage floor decking directly above the point of fire origin. During the removal of the floor covering, screw holes were exposed which allowed sparks and/or a molten arc welding rod to fall onto combustible props stored below.

The fire was discovered by two theater employees who went to the storage area for equipment and saw a stored stage prop on fire at three points: near the top of the prop almost at ceiling level, at waist level, and at the floor. All three fires were in a vertical alignment consistent with the showering of sparks from above.

The immediate reaction of the theater employees was to use nearby fire extinguishers to fight the fire. The first extinguisher was used on the two lowest fires. Dry chemical extinguishing agents normally work on ordinary combustibles by smothering the fire with a layering agent and inhibiting the fire’s chemical chain reaction. On vertical surfaces the dry chemical agent may not adhere sufficiently to complete extinguishment. The powdery agent slides off, allowing re-ignition. Unable to completely put out the fire, both employees ran for additional extinguishers. At approximately the same time the welder smelled smoke but disregarded it, thinking it was the welding and the hot steel burning the soles of his boots. After the smell of smoke persisted, he located the foreman and they went below the stage to investigate. The construction employees arrived after the theater employees had used the second extinguisher.

The theater employees then left to call 911 and notify the other employees to evacuate the building. The two construction workers continued the attempt to fight the fire with portable extinguishers (approximately eight were used) until they realized they could not control the fire. They closed the exterior storage room door to limit the air supply, not knowing that another door from the auditorium to the storage room was blocked open by a fire extinguisher.

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