Tip Top Bakery Fire, Fairfield NSW, 2 June, 2002

Case Study: Major fire in Australian food production facility

The following extract from a NSW Fire Brigade Union report on the Tip Top Bakery Fire in Fairfield, NSW on 2nd June, 2002 acknowledges the fire susceptibility of polystyrene foam insulation panels:

“Polystyrene foam is thermoplastic, that is, it softens when heated. Thermoplastic materials tend to melt and shrink away from heat long before ignition. This melting causes voids that reduce the structural strength of the panels. As the panels buckle, the joints tend to open introducing flame and air into the core. This results in internal flame spread between the panels and throughout the structure and there is likely to be a rapid loss of structural strength and subsequent collapse of walls and ceilings. Polyurethane and polyisocyanurate foams are both thermosetting materials, which means that
they do not melt, flow or drip when exposed to fire. Rather, they form a strong carbonaceous char that helps to protect the foam core and prevent flame spread within the panels themselves. It would appear that the insulated sandwich panels utilised in the construction of the Tip Top factory were constructed with polystyrene insulation. Construction using polystyrene insulated sandwich panels presents several major difficulties for fire fighting:
• The loss of adequate structural integrity and subsequent likelihood of significant building collapse;
• The combustibility of the insulation material adds substantially to the fire load and results in the production of large amounts of heat, smoke and toxic products;
• Fire spread can be hidden within the panels, and
• This fire spread can be rapid, leading to conditions that favour flashover.

There have been incidents in other countries where firefighters have lost their lives whilst engaged in offensive firefighting tactics in structures constructed with insulated sandwich panels. Firefighters need to be aware of the inherent dangers of this type of lightweight construction. Incident commanders must be aware that firefighting in these conditions can be extremely hazardous with early collapse, high fire load and massive smoke production being major factors affecting firefighter safety.”

Fonterra Dairy Factory Fire, Takaka NZ, 22 JUNE 2005

"Takaka, in Golden Bay, will count the cost today of a spectacular blaze that destroyed the town's dairy factory, its biggest employer," reported The Press in June 2005.
"The fire broke out at the Fonterra factory about 5pm and flames soon engulfed large parts of the building. Firefighters spent several hours battling huge flames as thick, black smoke, fed by polystyrene in the building's construction, billowed from the rapidly disintegrating factory," said the press report.
The factory, which employed 100 people, was the backbone of the town's economy.
More than 500 residents were evacuated, according to the Nelson Bays police area commander, Inspector Brian McGurk, because of the "potential for poisonous gases to be released" from combustible plastic material.
"It's a very spectacular blaze. I haven't seen one like this for a long, long time. Huge flames," McGurk said.

Westgate Cold Stores, Melbourne VIC, 20th June

Westgate Cold Stores is an abattoir and meat processing complex, situated on a triangular shaped block, eleven hectares in size located in an industrial park just ten kilometres west of Melbourne’s CBD. The rendering plant building, where the $67million fire started, is north of the meat processing plan.

Panorama, the official journal of the AIRAH reports: "The Fire Brigade was called while staff tried unsuccessfully to extinguish the blaze with a fire hose. The building was evacuated when the fire spread to polystyrene sandwich panels lining the ceiling and became too large to fight.... A strong northerly wind blowing through an open roller door in the north wall of the rendering plant building and the volume of polystyrene sandwich panels helped the fire spread quickly to an amenity block on the first floor of the meat processing plant building. It then spread quickly within the meat processing plant but because it had not breached the roof to any extent, it was difficult for fire crews to fight the fire from above using aerial appliances. Instead, they were forced to fight the fire internally using hose reels from fire brigade vehicles. Their task was made more difficult by limited visibility caused by thick black smoke and the complex internal layout of the building."


The final report (Post Incident Analysis & Fire Investigation Report, Post Incident
and Analysis Unit, Metropolitan Fire & Emergency Services Board, Melbourne, 2001) made some broader recommendations in respect to fire safety and risk management. They
included:

"Building regulators and manufacturers are urged to recognise the fire hazards associated with the use of sandwich panels, containing a core combustible insulation, as a building material in non-sprinklered buildings..."

"Australian Standards developed in respect to the fire characteristics of building materials should pay special attention to materials such as sandwich panels containing a core of combustible insulation. In doing so, testing methods similar to those used in the US and Europe should be adopted to determine how such products perform under more realistic fire conditions."