What We Do

Building and Fire Safety Investigations

National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) is authorized to investigate major building failures in the United States. The NIST investigations will establish the likely technical causes of the building failure and evaluate the technical aspects of emergency response and evacuation procedures in the wake of such failures. The goal is to recommend improvements to the way in which buildings are designed, constructed, maintained and used. (see full program overview)

 

Charlestown, S.C Fire and Building Collapse

On June 19, 2007, NIST sent fire experts to Charleston, S.C., to gather information and examine the site of the previous night’s fire and subsequent collapse of a furniture store/warehouse located near the city’s historic district. Nine firefighters were killed in the collapse.  The NIST experts worked with local officials and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives to learn more about the collapse. Based on that reconnaissance, NIST is beginning a technical study of the June 18, 2007, fire at the Super Sofa Store furniture store/warehouse in Charleston.  (full press release)

Reconnaissance of the Elks Lodge Building Collapse

A three-story un-reinforced brick building in Clinton, Missouri collapsed on June 26, 2006 causing one fatality.  Two NIST structural engineers conducted a reconnaissance of the building collapse on June 29, 2006.  The NIST engineers inspected the collapsed building, which was constructed in the 1880s. They also met with the mayor, the city administrator, and a building official of Clinton to obtain relevant building information and available records. For details on the reconnaissance and its findings, see the report, A Summary of Reconnaissance of the Clinton, MO Elks Lodge Building Collapse on June 26, 2006.

Hurricane Katrina and Hurricane Rita Reconnaissance

Following Hurricane Katrina’s landfall on August 29, 2005, NIST began planning for a two-phase reconnaissance to study and document damage to major buildings, infrastructure, and residential structures. In phase 1, NIST deployed a roofing expert with a team assembled by the Roofing Industry Committee on Weathering Issues (RICOWI) during the week of September 6, 2005 to study damage to roofing systems in Mississippi Gulf Coast region. NIST deployed four structural engineers in cooperation with the FEMA Mitigation Assessment Team (MAT) during the week of September 26, 2005 to study damage in the Mississippi Gulf Coast region. Two NIST members of this team also inspected the breaches in the floodwalls and levees, as well as damage to major buildings, in New Orleans. These phase 1 deployments provided input that was used to plan a broader phase 2 reconnaissance to study damage in the Mississippi coastal area, New Orleans, and Southeast Texas (the area affected by Hurricane Rita). In the phase 2 reconnaissance, 26 experts from the private sector, universities, and federal agencies (including 6 from NIST) deployed during the weeks of October 10, 2005 and October 17, 2005.

Displaced and dropped superstructure spans of US-90 bridge over St. Louis Bay.The report, Performance of Physical Structures in Hurricane Katrina and Hurricane Rita:  A Reconnaissance Report (NIST TN 1476), documents the observations made during these deployments and subsequent analysis of damage data and environmental actions. It also outlines the major findings of the NIST-led reconnaissance team. The report concludes with 23 recommendations for: (1) improvements to practice that will have an immediate impact on the rebuilding of structures damaged or destroyed by the hurricanes; (2) improvements to standards, codes, and practice; and (3) further study or research and development. 

The Station Nightclub Fire Investigation

A fire occurred on the night of Feb. 20, 2003, in The Station nightclub at 211 Cowesett Avenue, West Warwick,  Rhode Island.  A band that was on the platform that night, during its performance, used pyrotechnics that ignited polyurethane foam insulation lining the walls and ceiling of the platform.  The fire spread quickly along the ceiling area over the dance floor.  Smoke was visible in the exit doorways in a little more than one minute, and flames were observed breaking through a portion of the roof in less than five minutes.  Egress from the nightclub, which was not equipped with sprinklers, was hampered by crowding at the main entrance to the building.  One hundred people lost their lives in the fire.  Of the fatalities, 95 were due to the inability of the occupants to evacuate before being overcome by the untenable conditions along the egress path.  On Feb. 27, 2003, under the authority of the National Construction Safety Team (NCST) Act, the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) established a National Construction Safety Team to determine the likely technical cause or causes of the building failure that led to the high number of casualties in that fire.

For further information on the investigation, go to http://www.nist.gov/public_affairs/ncst.htm#Rhode_Island_Nightclub

The World Trade Center Fire and Building Collapses Investigation

The collapse of New York City’s World Trade Center structures following the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, was the worst building disaster in recorded history, killing some 2,800 people. More than 350 fire and emergency responders were among those killed, the largest loss of life for this group in a single incident.

In response to the WTC tragedy, the National Institute of Standards and Technology conducted a 3-year building and fire safety investigation to study the factors contributing to the probable cause (or causes) of post-impact collapse of the WTC Towers (WTC 1 and 2) and WTC 7; expanded its research in areas of high-priority need such as prevention of progressive collapse, fire resistance design and retrofit of structures, and fire resistive coatings for structural steel; and is reaching out to the building and fire safety communities to pave the way for timely, expedited considerations of recommendations stemming from the investigation.

For further information on the investigation, go to http://wtc.nist.gov/

 

Other building fire and structural failure investigations in which NIST has participated or led include:

In addition, NIST conducts damage assessments following natural disasters. Past examples include:

 

For inquires regarding NIST building and fire research investigations, contact investigations@nist.gov.


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Last updated: 2/26/2008