JOHN LATIMER
The Lebanon Daily News

There were no serious injuries last week when a fire destroyed Lebanon's China Inn restaurant, but the construction of the building -- and others like it built in the past 50 years -- put city firefighters at risk.

That was the message conveyed Sunday morning by Lebanon Fire Commissioner Duane Trautman to the city's career and volunteer firefighters who were directed to attend a rare meeting to critique the action taken in battling the Wednesday night blaze.

The building at 12th and Maple streets was the former Croce's Cafe. It was constructed in 1965, about the time use of lightweight, prefabricated wood-frame trusses became common, explained Trautman. Although the brick building was solid and met all construction codes, firefighters were at risk because the lightweight trusses, usually made of 2-by-4s, burn quickly and collapse, he said.

"From a safety standpoint, all new buildings are insufficient," Trautman said. "I regard all lightweight-truss buildings as bad from the firefighter's perspective."

Trautman said he intends to propose an ordinance to City Council to require buildings to have a sign at their entrance indicating if they were constructed using lightweight roof and floor trusses.

"We need a policy. If there is a fire in the roof space of a lightweight-truss building, we are not going in," he said. "We are not going on (the roof) or under it."

An exception would be made if someone was trapped in the building, Trautman stated.

The fire at China Inn was reported about 11 p.m. When the first crew arrived, firefighters saw smoke billowing from the building. All the doors were locked, but firefighters were uncertain if anyone was inside because a car was in the parking lot.

A team of firefighters entered the front door carrying a hose with the intent to head to the kitchen, where they suspected the fire had started. That crew did not make it far before the overwhelming heat stopped them, and they retreated.

Evacuation tones where sounded a short time later to order all firefighters out of the building.

Fire Chief Larry Loeper said he took action to make sure no victims were inside.

"It was going bad," he said. "I started going to every door I could on the odd chance that if someone made it to the door we weren't going to let him lay there," he said.

Minutes later the owner of the vehicle arrived at the scene, putting those concerns to rest, Loeper said.

"Crisis averted, but at the start we didn't know," he said.

The cause of the fire was a damaged wire in the walls of the kitchen. The fire climbed the walls and quickly spread to the roof, said Trautman.

A firefighter was directed to climb onto the roof to cut a ventilation hole that channeled the heat and helped firefighters bring it under control spraying water into the building from the outside. But not before the blaze destroyed the building, causing an estimated $250,000 damage to the structure and its contents.

Overall, Trautman said, the firefighters did a good job handling the blaze.

However, he said, he was concerned about confusion over the whereabouts of all the firefighters who had entered the building. He stressed the need for firefighters to place an identification tag on the attacking engine when they enter the building, so their presence can be tracked.

But the major concern was the lightweight roof and floor trusses that are used in new construction. Many of the buildings in the city were built before 1965, with heavy trusses that can bear a load even when burned, Trautman said.

The newer construction uses lighter wood that does a fine job of holding up a roof or floor, but when any part of the truss is compromised, the roof will collapse, he said.

Trautman hammered home the point by demonstrating the strength of a truss he made with a yard stick. When the truss was intact, the yardstick held six 10-pound weights. But when twine that held the truss together at the bottom was burned, the truss collapsed.

"A truss system is geometry in action," Trautman said. "With lightweight trusses, when one fails they all fail."

Trautman said critiques of a fire are unusual, but that he called this one in the interest of his top priority -- the safety of the city's firefighters.

"Nothing happened here (China Inn), and I'm not pointing any fingers," he said. "But what a shame it would have been to find someone injured here. "

Related
LDNews: Smoky Blaze Guts Northside Eatery

Copyright 2011 Lebanon Daily News
All Rights Reserved
April 3, 2011