Balloon Frame Building Research Paper

Balloon frame buildings were considered almost a universal construction method for multistory wooden buildings until the middle of the 1900’s (Corbett and Brannigan, 2015). This would have not been a problem if they would have been built with some fire resistive methods. One will discuss some of the major issues with this type of construction and some solutions and recommendations to resolve the matter. Balloon frame construction was an inexpensive and easy way to build houses, but that came with fire hazards. According to Corbett and Brannigan (2015), “in balloon–frame building, the stubs run two or more stories high from the foundation to the eave line. The channels between the stubs may be opened from the cellar to the attic” (p.195). …show more content…
It can travel from the basement to the attic destroying everything in between. This causes a problem for firefighters because the fire could be anywhere in the structure, requiring lots of manpower to try and keep the fire under control. In this scenario, this Victorian-style balloon frame house is three stories, that’s pretty big. Then, the fire started in the basement and spread to the main floor, the main floor fire was suppressed but because of the balloon frame it was already in the attic and probably in the walls also. As stated by Corbett and Brannigan (2015), “the basement is of a balloon frame building is the worst place for a fire to start. It has unimpeded access to the entire structure because of the unfirestopped walls. The fire will quickly move to the top of the structure” (p.196). Some possible solutions is to make sure one have enough men power and copious amounts of water. One will need the manpower so that they can be placed on each floor …show more content…
Also, safety officers would be assigned to observe the structure from the outside and have truck company ventilate the