Fire Safety and Concrete Structures
A. Introduction
The tragic fire [1] at Innovation in Brussels in 1967 cost the lives
of more than 250 people. Hindsight shows that this had to
happen sooner or later. In case of fire, several public buildings of
the period would be transformed into death‐traps.
At Inno, for example, there was no
fire detection system and no
sprinklers; no compartmentalisation; no emergency exits; the
metallic structure was not protected, highly inflammable
cardboard panels covered the walls and were used as false
ceilings; the fire services access to the flaming building was
severely hampered by the advertising hoardings that blocked
the windows on
the façade and by the narrowness of the street
congested by heavy traffic and many parked cars.
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