Udec Corporation

Historical Moment: 1996 Rockefeller Center High Rise Fire

A predawn fire broke out one early fall morning at 30 Rockefeller Plaza in New York City. Several fires broke out in five different remote locations, filling much of the building with smoke. Since the fire had occurred early in the morning, there were few people in the building, fortunately, and everyone was able to evacuate successfully with no loss of life and minimal injuries.

The New York City Fire Department received a telephone report of the fire and dispatched a full first alarm assignment. When the fire fighters arrived, they could see smoke coming from one of the upper floors of the building. However, according to the first arriving command officer, the on-site building security staff was not even aware of any fire condition within the building, nor were there any alarms indicated on the fire alarm system.

Fire fighters who entered the building received reports from civilians of fire on floors 7 through 10. It was later determined that there were fires in five separate electrical rooms. The fire department ultimately transmitted five alarms, bringing approximately 300 fire fighters to the scene.

In spite of the large amount of resources, the fire had become so deeply entrenched in the electrical wiring system in the five separate electrical rooms on several floors that it took fire fighters over four hours to extinguish the fire.

The building had many safety hazards listed against it. Such as, the lack of smoke detection in the areas of the fire, the lack of sprinkler protection in the same area, and the failure of the building fire alarm system to transmit the alarm. In spite of the severity of such fire hazards and due to the timing of the fire, only five civilians and 12 fire fighters were injured.

It’s impossible to avoid every calamity or accident, but prevention and safety are our top concerns. UDEC Emergency Lighting provides quality lighting when you need it most.

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The Model 14WEN is a 14-watt fluorescent lamp assembly retrofit. It provides emergency illumination when AC power fails and provides night lighting when corridor lights are switched off.

Emergency lighting and exit signs are about saving lives. UDEC Corp. offers powerful, safe, unique solutions and 40 years of experience of emergency lighting and exit signs.