Fires

Fires usually do not require activation of the Safety Assessment Program for building evaluations. Local building departments usually evaluate the safety of a building that has burned to determine if the structure is a hazard to people and property.

Since the fires often burn structures to the ground, evaluations would be to rapidly determine the safety of standing components such as walls, and to determine if foundations can be re-used. Local jurisdictions may use evaluation results to prepare requirements for reconstruction. In some cases, the owners or insurance companies retain private engineers to determine the appropriate method of repair.

Extreme heat generated by urban-wildland interface fires can cause serious damage to the concrete or masonry in the footings. The expansion of the material from the heat can cause serious cracking and spalling. However, if firefighters reach the scene when a structure begins to burn and they are able to keep the surrounding area cool, the foundation may be re-usable.

Southern California Fire Storms 1993, Malibu (Photograph by Robert A. Eplett, California OES) During the 1993 firestorms, entire neighborhoods burned to the ground. To verify whether the foundation could be re-used, the homeowner would need to retain an engineer to fully evaluate the footings for heat damage.

Although it is uncommon, the Safety Assessment Program has been activated for several fire events.

• After the 1991 Oakland Hills fire, structural engineers from the Bay Area were used to evaluate foundations on destroyed homes. The purpose of the evaluation was to rapidly determine which foundations could be re-used during reconstruction.


• After the fires resulting from the civil unrest in Los Angeles, 1992, building inspectors from the City of Los Angeles began evaluating the safety of buildings as soon as the fires were put out. Again, these evaluations were to determine whether the foundations could be re-used.

If the SAP is activated for a fire event, responding evaluators are under the direction of the local jurisdiction’s building department.