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)

164 In reviewing the situation in building A on the day of the incident, the following items were noted with regard to a potential spontaneous combustion situation. One, "short cycling" of the air-conditioning system reportedly caused a low level of the cooling agent resulted in the air-conditioning system turning on and off frequently. It was noted in the report of Lt. D. J. Malberg of the Prince Georges County Fire Investigation Division that, "on the morning of the fire, eyewitne&ses related that the suction and discharge line for the Freon gas and liquid were both hot." A hot outlet line from the air-conditioning compressor could, in fact, cause the air-conditioning unit's outlet to the recirculation fan to be in excess of the building ambient temperatui'e. This situation could cause a temperature rise in the vaults. Moreover, it was reported that this short cycling situation had existed for at least 3 to 4 weeks. Two, Kocharian employees reported that normally it was necessary for them to wear jackets while working in building A. However, on the day of the incident, it was warm enough to go without jackets. Three, it is noted that the film stored in building A w^as in the range of at least 30 to 35 years old. In other words, time alone could have contributed to decomposition, thus placing it in a category of higher probability for spontaneous combustion than for fresh nitrate stock. With the general information concerning spontaneous combustion of nitrate film and the specific situation existing in building A on the day of the incident, the following avenues of investigation are set forth as recommended step to more firmly establish the probability of spontaneous combustion as being the source of that ignition. One, a review of building A nitrate film inspection logs to determine inspectors' evaluation of degree of decomposition ; two, obtain any undamaged film samples that were salvaged from building A for degree of decomposition evaluation and spontaneous combustion laboratory tests; three, obtain film samples of equivalent age from vaults in building C for similar inspection and test; four, conduct a detailed inspection of the air-conditioning system in an attempt to establish the outlet temperature of the unit supplying the vaults. From this analysis, it w^ould be possible to project an estimate of ambient temperature in the closed vaults at the time of the incident. And, lastly, until such time that spontaneous combustion can be established to a high degree of certainty as the source of ignition, other possible sources cannot be ruled out. This would require a thorough sifting of the remains of building A. I might mention that I do not have another source in mind. The current literature and the information available as to the point at w^hich cellulose nitrate film will spontaneously combust does not allow for a very firm conclusion at that point, even though a mass of the evidence points in that direction. As a result of our tests and inspections, with regard to the fire and explosions at the Suitland Federal Center, building A, the following are our conclusions. One, the most pro]>able ai-ea of initial ignition, based on fire, explosion, and burn patterns, and eyewitness reports, is vault 8. Two, a highly suspect source of ignition is spontaneous combustion of the cellulose nitrate film stored in building A, for the reasons I outlined before : The age of the film, the spontaneous combustion