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Athletic Surfaces
We were recently dispatched to a call that made us take notice of the material that was involved. An engine, truck and battalion chief were dispatched for a smoke investigation. Engine 18 reported that they could see a large column of smoke from quarters. I was acting BC and also could see the smoke while I was heading up Fillmore Ave.
Upon arrival I found a fire in a chain-link fenced-in playground. The playground was about 20 feet by 20 feet with a slide and swing set. We had fire about fifteen feet in the air that was covering about half the playground area.
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“First engine company arriving on scene.” Photo by Mike Lombardo |
The fire was quickly extinguished with a single 1¾-inch line. The fire had burned an electric line that goes to a building nearby, and it was on the ground and arcing. The amazing part was that this was not a wooden play set. It was constructed primarily of metal with the exception of the slide, that was plastic. The ground, or in this case, the artificial floor surface, was feeding the majority of the fire.
| “Fire at its peak intensity. First attack line stretched.” Photo by Mike Lombardo |  |
After doing some research, we found that the surface consisted of a 2-3-inch layer of rubber. This is not solid rubber but rather a chopped-up version that allows for air pockets. This gives more of a cushion effect to people running upon or using this type of surface. On top of the rubber is a polyurethane material that is sprayed on. It can be any color, and inscriptions or designs can be added to the surface at this time. This provides a heavy fire load for a rather innocent looking area.
Children using a small amount of lighter fluid started this particular playground fire. The material was very easy to ignite.
What concerned us more was that we began noticing this type surface in indoor areas also. A common use is school athletic facilities, both indoor and outdoor. When we look at a large gym building, we normally would not associate a large fire load with one of these occupancies. With this type of track around the inside perimeter of a gym, coupled with wooden retracting bleacher seats, we could be faced with a serious fire with a tremendous smoke condition.
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“Indoor gym with same surface on track. Note combustible retractable seats in close proximity.” Photo by Mike Lombardo |
This is something that we should add to our size-up memory bank. We need to be on the lookout for this type of material on our preplan surveys and when we are doing those “unofficial” preplans every day. This type of surface may be in your school, health club, or on the floor in the play area of your local fast-food restaurant.
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