The Drury Inn hotel and Jojo’s Restaurant were located in separate
buildings which occupied a common parcel of land at the intersection of
Lynch Road and U.S. 41 less than one mile south of Evansville Dress
Regional Airport. A large undeveloped agricultural tract was situated east
and south of the crash site.
The 4-story guest room portion of the hotel was completed in July
1980. The building was of noncombustible, Type 2 one-hour construction
as classified by the Uniform Building Code, 1988 edition, upon which the
Indiana Building Code is based. The restaurant was of unprotected Type 2
construction. In 1989, the motel was renovated and a 4-stay atrium lobby
was added at the west end, separated from the guest wing by a 2-hour fire
wall with automatic closing fire doors.
Guest rooms were separated from the corridors and from one
another by one hour fire-resistance rated walls. Guest room doors were
self-closing 20-minute fire rated doors in fire rated door frames. Where
doors remained closed during the incident, they prevented the fire from
spreading into the corridor.
The motel was protected throughout by an automatic fire alarm
system. Smoke detectors and manual stations in the corridors initiated
horn/strobe evacuation signals also located in the corridors. The activation
of the fire alarm system caused the automatic closer-s to release the doors
protecting the atrium fire wall openings at the west end of the corridors.
Mechanical air handling equipment was designed to shut down upon
detection of smoke in the supply or return air. Consequently, recirculation
of smoke did not appear to be a significant problem during this fire.
Single station 110-volt ac powered smoke detectors were installed in
each guest room. They had little impact on the outcome of this incident
since the first detectors activated were in the corridors, probably on the
fourth floor.
A standpipe system was provided for both occupant and fire
department use. Risers with fire department hose outlets were located in
each of the three exit stairways. Occupant-use hose stations were provided
outside the stairway enclosures. Firefighters used standpipes during the
incident to battle the fire inside the hotel. However, initial attack lines
were drawn directly from the pumpers.
Automatic sprinklers connected to the domestic water system
protected designated hazardous areas, i.e. workshop, laundry room, and
storage rooms, on the first floor. The atrium was also protected by a
partial automatic sprinkler system. None of the sprinklers activated during
this incident.
Emergency lighting and internally illuminated exit signs were
installed in the corridors to assist occupants in locating exits. However,
dense smoke from the burning aviation fuel probably obscured the signs
and impeded the usefulness of the emergency lighting.
Next » The Crash and Fire
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