Manufacturing Mill Fire (Methuen, MA - December 1995) » Lessons Learned

1. Pre-fire Planning is an Essential Fire Department Function.

   Pre-fire plan information is particularly important for large complex properties. Gathering and reviewing pre-fire information helps fire fighters to become familiar with the locations where they are likely to face challenging situations. The information should be used to evaluate fire department readiness and resource capabilities, identify potential problems and hazards and formulate strategies for predictable situations. At the fire scene, the pre-fire plan information can be used to provide essential information for the Incident Commander to support strategic planning.

   Pre-fire plans for large complexes should identify building and fire protection features which are likely to be significant in a fire or emergency situation and record the information in a format that can be used at the scene of an incident. Although the wind driven flame front spreading from the Process Building to the Main Building prevented access to control valves, detailed information about the arrangement of the sprinkler and water supply systems could have been extremely valuable at this incident. The Incident Commander would have had a better understanding of the fire protection systems and control points.

2. Limited Resources Result in Limited Operational Capabilities.

   The Methuen Fire Department was severely handicapped by the limited resources that were available during the early stages of this incident. This included the number of companies responding on the initial alarm and the number of personnel assigned to each company. While more than 400 firefighters eventually responded, the resources available during the first few minutes, when multiple priorities had to be addressed, were very limited. Search and rescue clearly took priority over fire suppression efforts during those first critical minutes.

3. Protection of Large Fire Risk Properties Depends on Automatic Sprinklers.

   Automatic sprinklers were invented to protect this type of complex and still offer the only reliable and effective means to deal with the tremendous fire risk of mill construction industrial properties. In this incident, the automatic sprinkler system was compromised by the initial explosion and rendered ineffective. Once the fire fully involved the Monomac Building due to the explosion of the flock fibers, the ignition of the heat transfer fluid and the 40 mile per hour winds, it was almost impossible to stop the spread of fire through the remainder of the complex.

4. Fire Departments must take an Active Part in Fire Prevention and Code Enforcement.

   The property owners had taken an active approach to fire protection, with fulltime personnel responsible for maintaining and upgrading fire protection equipment and systems. However, fire department connections were not provided to supplement the water supply for sprinklers and standpipes, as there was no code requirement in the State of Massachusetts requiring mill-type buildings to retrofit their systems with fire department connections. In addition, storage in trailers blocked access to fire hydrants and limited apparatus access to the fire area. Fire Departments should take an active part in verifying that all of the installed fire protection systems meet code requirements. In this case, the insurance companies performed several fire safety inspections each year and the fire department relied heavily on these inspection reports.

5. An Effective Incident Management System is Essential for Large Incidents.

   This incident presented tremendous challenges to the fire departments and other agencies that responded. The need for an effective system to direct and coordinate an operation of this magnitude and complexity is evident. This was particularly difficult during the early stages, when the first arriving command officers had to deal with multiple priorities and rapidly changing conditions. The complexity of the management challenge increased as the huge mutual aid response was assembled, further emphasizing the value of formal ICS practices.

6. Proper Risk Assessment made this Fire Relatively Safe for Firefighters.

   This fire presented the incident commander and senior officers with a monumental risk management problem. After search and rescue had been completed there were no lives to be saved, but there was a huge property value at risk, involving the community’s largest employer. There was an added risk that the high winds could spread the fire beyond the complex to other parts of the city. A series of decisions had to be made to determine where and when to attempt to stop the fire and the degree of risk that was appropriate for fire fighters, considering the limited resources that were available during the early stages.

   The fact that only six relatively minor injuries were reported by firefighters suggests that the risk management decisions were appropriate.

7. Major Incidents Require Expanded Communications Capabilities.

   The size and complexity of this incident, including the huge mutual aid response, overwhelmed the communications systems that were available. The Methuen Fire Department’s radio and telephone capabilities were burdened quickly and the need to obtain additional resources placed heavy demands on the mutual aid coordination center.

   The handheld radios used by Methuen command officers could not communicate with other agencies. The lack of common radio channels was a major problem until command vehicles with all of the different frequencies could be assembled at the command post. The situation delayed utilization of some of the available resources and hampered effective coordination.