National Archives and Records Service film-vault fire at Suitland, Md. : hearings before a subcommittee of the Committee on Government Operations, House of Representatives, Ninety-sixth Congress, first session, June 19 and 21, 1979 (1979)

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149 [Soo p. 153. 1 Mr. Preyer. That is quite a wliolesale indictment of fire safety standards tliero. I assume from it tluit you do not feel the GSA investigating committee did a thoi'ough, adequate job on this investigation. Mr. Degenkolb. It bothers me that they completely overlooked the matter of the vents. The vents are a key issue in a nitrate film vault. I think that possibly there is a little confusion on semantics about a deluge system. To me, a deluge system is such as would be placed in an aircraft hangar so that, when a rate of rise detector goes off, massive quantities of water are dumped over a sizable area. I am told that GSA's interpretation of a deluge system is one in which all of the heads in the vault would have gone off in a spray pattern. If that is so, if that is the intent of a deluge system, I have no disagreement. From the film valut fires that I have been involved in previously — three of them — the standard sprinkler system with the baffles between the heads has worked acceptably. So, I cannot criticize the GSA report if their intent of the spray application and the meaning of the deluge system is obviously different from my interpretation of that term. Mr. Preyer. Do you have any other suggestions as to how GSA could improve its fire investigative procedures? You mentioned the baffles. Mr. Degexkolb. I think that if they followed the NFPA 40 requirements, without getting mixed up on semantics, to get the proper venting of the vault so that the decomposition gases could be dissipated and not stay within the vault, we would have a safe situation. I do not think it is necessary to relocate these vaults to some other location. In Los Angeles we have film vaults on Santa Monic Boulevard and Melrose — busy streets, commercial areas — and we have had no ill effects from them. Some of our vaults are not even air-conditioned, but they are not archival vaults; they are standard storage vaults where film comes in and out every day. I do not think it is necessary to relocate the vaults to some other location. Mr. Preyer. Do you agree with Chief Estepp that the fire was caused by selfignition, by the increasing heat from degenerating nitrate film within the cans ? Mr. Degenkolb. I think it was selfignition — auto-ignition. I do not think it was accomplished by the workmen. Mr. Preyer. You mentioned that you disagree with punching holes in the film cans in order to allow gases to escape. If you did not punch holes in the cans — and I am a rank amateur asking you this question — it would seem to me that that would allow gases to build up and create a higher risk of self-ignition. Is that not the case ? Mr. Degenkolb. No. The containers are not airtight. The fibei'board ones particularly are quite loose. The conventional tin can, while it seems to fit tightly, does allow the gases of combustion to escape — or the offgases from the decomposing film. If we now punch a quarter-inch hole, as was suggested, in each of these containers, that will provide a much easier way for decomposition gases to get into the other cans, therefore speeding up the decomposition.