Detailed Analysis of the Causes of Bridge Fires and Their Associated Damage Levels
Publication: Journal of Performance of Constructed Facilities
Volume 31, Issue 3
Abstract
Although bridge fires pose a real threat, the topic is not covered in current design codes. This paper analyses information related to 154 cases of bridge fires, proposes classifying the damage levels suffered by a bridge during a fire, and establishes the main factors involved in bridge fire damage, which include: type of vehicle involved in the fire and its position, vertical clearance of the bridge, and the type of material composing the deck. The analysis shows that wooden bridges are the most vulnerable and that a tanker carrying gasoline under the bridge, or that is on the bridge and causes a serious spill under the bridge, is responsible for most of the fires that result in the collapse or demolition of the bridge.
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Acknowledgments
The research presented in this paper is sponsored by the Spanish Ministry of Education (Research Project BIA 2011-27104). The authors also thank Dr. J. Glassman for providing information for the present study and Dr. V. Yepes for his assistance. The authors are also grateful to D. Terrasa Díaz, J. Pérez Armiño, B. Black, and R. Campbell, who kindly gave permission to use the photos of Fig. 1.
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Information & Authors
Information
Published In
Journal of Performance of Constructed Facilities
Volume 31 • Issue 3 • June 2017
Copyright
©2016 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Nov 30, 2015
Accepted: Sep 15, 2016
Published online: Nov 14, 2016
Discussion open until: Apr 14, 2017
Published in print: Jun 1, 2017
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