Thessaloniki

Birthplace of Ghazi Mustafa Kemal Atatürk in Salonika, Greece

2012-06-09:  Thessaloniki, Greece’s second largest city … still commonly referred to as Salonika by local people … is a very nice commercial city and an important city of culture, but not really a tourist city.  One of the highlights of my recent stay there was a visit to the house where Ghazi Mustafa Kemal Atatürk (1881-1938) was born … later to become an outstanding Turkish military commander during the ill-fated British and ANZAC Gallipoli (Turkish: Gelibolu) Campaign of the First World War, and afterwards First President of the modern Turkish State.  The three-storey house is also a small museum, containing exhibits of his personal effects, many photographs, and documents.

Located at 17 Apostolu Pavlou … the Atatürk House is accessed through the Turkish Chancellery, which is around the corner on the main street called ‘Agiou Dimitriou’ …

Colour photograph showing an exterior view of the House and Museum from the Garden at the rear. Photograph taken by CJ Walsh. 2012-04-24. Click to enlarge.
Colour photograph showing an exterior view of the House and Museum from the Garden at the rear. Photograph taken by CJ Walsh. 2012-04-24. Click to enlarge.

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Colour photograph showing an interior view of the House and Museum ... the Room where Ghazi Mustafa Kemal Atatürk was actually born. Photograph taken by CJ Walsh. 2012-04-24. Click to enlarge.
Colour photograph showing an interior view of the House and Museum … the Room where Ghazi Mustafa Kemal Atatürk was actually born. Photograph taken by CJ Walsh. 2012-04-24. Click to enlarge.
Colour photograph showing an interior view of the House and Museum ... room with Exhibits of his Personal Effects. Photograph taken by CJ Walsh. 2012-04-24. Click to enlarge.
Colour photograph showing an interior view of the House and Museum … room with Exhibits of his Personal Effects. Photograph taken by CJ Walsh. 2012-04-24. Click to enlarge.
Colour photograph showing an interior view of the House and Museum ... the Family Kitchen. Photograph taken by CJ Walsh. 2012-04-24. Click to enlarge.
Colour photograph showing an interior view of the House and Museum … the Family Kitchen. Photograph taken by CJ Walsh. 2012-04-24. Click to enlarge.
Colour photograph showing an interior view of the House and Museum ... the Guest Reception Room. Photograph taken by CJ Walsh. 2012-04-24. Click to enlarge.
Colour photograph showing an interior view of the House and Museum … the Guest Reception Room. Photograph taken by CJ Walsh. 2012-04-24. Click to enlarge.

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Colour photograph showing a general exterior view of the House and Museum from the street. The three-storey house is located within the grounds of the Turkish Chancellery. Photograph taken by CJ Walsh. 2012-04-24. Click to enlarge.
Colour photograph showing a general exterior view of the House and Museum from the street. The three-storey house is located within the grounds of the Turkish Chancellery. Photograph taken by CJ Walsh. 2012-04-24. Click to enlarge.
Colour photograph showing the exterior view of the Front Door and Large Commemorative Plaque from the street. Access to the house is through the Turkish Chancellery around the corner. Photograph taken by CJ Walsh. 2012-04-24. Click to enlarge.
Colour photograph showing the exterior view of the Front Door and Large Commemorative Plaque from the street. Access to the house is through the Turkish Chancellery around the corner. Photograph taken by CJ Walsh. 2012-04-24. Click to enlarge.

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CIB W14’s Newly Updated Aims & Objectives – A Dynamic Text

2012-05-03:  Yesterday, I mentioned that the Aims & Objectives of CIB Working Commission 14: ‘Fire Safety’ had been substantially updated.  More than that … this text is to be regarded as being dynamic … kept under continual review … in order that it will remain fresh, vibrant, and relevant to the needs of the time.

Our discussions in Thessaloniki (Salonika), last week, were a continuation of a process which began in Zurich, during 2010.

Just to remind everyone … this is CIB W14: ‘Fire Safety’

Working Commission 14 is an international, multi-stakeholder, trans-disciplinary, pre-normalization forum for discussion and action, on research and innovation in Fire Science and Engineering for the design, construction and operation of a Safe and Sustainable Built Environment.

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CIB W14: These are its newly updated Aims & Objectives (2012)

  1. To create an ongoing research and innovation focus for the development of a comprehensive, coherent, rational and empirical basis for a Safe and Sustainable Built Environment, which includes fire science and engineering practices, procedures and design methodologies.
  2. To promote the acceptance of Fire Science and Engineering Practices, Procedures and Design Methodologies worldwide, and to encourage their use in international/regional/national/local building and fire safety legislation, codes, regulations and standards.
  3. To provide Technical Input, from a fire science and engineering perspective, to other relevant CIB Working Commissions and Task Groups.
  4. To facilitate the Transfer of State-of-the-Art Fire Science and Engineering Technology at international level.
  5. To encourage Capacity Building for fire science and engineering worldwide.
  6. To liaise and co-operate/collaborate with Other Organizations having similar or related aims and objectives.

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To Meet CIB W14’s Aims & Objectives …

a)     Research and innovation projects with a specific task, well-defined scope and a limited timeframe may be initiated and directly/indirectly undertaken by the Membership of CIB W14 ;

b)     Output from these projects and the other work of W14 may be placed in the public domain, in hardcopy and/or electronic formats, as CIB publications, as papers/articles in international journals, conference/seminar/workshop proceedings, and discussion/reflection documents ;

c)     Conferences/seminars/workshops and other events which further W14′s Aims & Objectives may be organized by the Membership of W14 ;

d)     CIB may endorse conferences/seminars/workshops and other events planned by organizations having similar or related aims and objectives to W14 ;   and

e)     W14 may circulate its publications, and information on its research and innovation projects, to the membership of other CIB working commissions and task groups.

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Interested in Joining CIB W14: ‘Fire Safety’ ?

The CIB WebSite is located at … http://www.cibworld.nl

The CIB General Secretariat is located in The Netherlands.  Go to the ‘Contact Us’ WebPage for information … http://www.cibworld.nl/site/contact_us.html

Then …

  • Send an e-mail to Dr. Wim Bakens, Secretary General of CIB – a man who likes good Irish whiskey (!) – and him ask for a Membership Application Form.  His e-mail address: wim.bakens@cibworld.nl   Tell him that I sent you, and that you want to join CIB Working Commission 14 ;

or …

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The More Diverse Our Membership … The More Creative Our Output !

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Fire-Induced Progressive ‘Damage’ or ‘Collapse’ ? More …

2012-05-02:  Last week, I attended joint meetings of CIB W14: ‘Fire Safety’ … and ISO Technical Committee 92: ‘Fire Safety’, Sub-Committee 3: ‘Fire Threat to People and the Environment’ & Sub-Committee 4: ‘Fire Safety Engineering’ … in Thessaloniki (Salonika), Greece.

The relationship between these two independent groups is symbiotic … ISO TC 92 develops International Fire Standards, while CIB W14 is the pre-normalization forum for discussion and action on a comprehensive approach to Fire Research and Innovation.

I should add, here, that CIB W14’s Aims & Objectives were substantially updated at our meeting in Thessaloniki … and I presented the CIB Research WG IV Reflection Document: ‘Structural Reliability & Fire-Induced Progressive Damage’ for discussion … which was lively, but far too short !

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While I was away, however, the following question was posed by Mr. Panagiotis Kotsovinos, on the Society of Fire Protection Engineers (SFPE-USA) Page of LinkedIn (http://www.linkedin.com/groups?gid=96627).

” I would like to please explain a bit more why the term ‘Fire-Induced Progressive Damage’ is preferred over ‘Fire-Induced Progressive Collapse’, and what is the confusion that exists widely as you say with the later definition ? “

Firstly, apologies for the late reply.  This was due to my absence from base … I am not continuously ‘plugged-in’ to the virtual environment while travelling.  But, I also wished to respond to this and other queries after some thought.  The issues raised are important.

Very briefly … it was NIST, in its 2005 Report, which introduced the term ‘Fire-Induced Progressive Collapse’ to a wide audience.  No definition, or elaboration, of this structural concept was provided in either the 2005 or 2008 Recommendations.  There is no confusion caused by ‘Fire-Induced’.

The reason I have been so quick to focus in on the distinction between ‘Damage’ and ‘Collapse’ is because we went through this whole debate, in Ireland … starting at the end of the 1980’s and continuing on through to the middle of 1990’s.  Because … in January 1987 … a Multi-Storey Apartment Block, called Raglan House, collapsed as a result of a gas explosion.  Two people were killed.  An examination of records at the time will reveal the same general confusion about technical terminology.  And … following the collapse, the Structural Engineering Profession was in disarray.

After a considerable amount of time witnessing, at close hand, these events … I formed the strong opinion that the proper connection of vertical and horizontal structural elements in a building was, and continues to be, a fundamental principle of all good structural engineering design … no matter what the height of the building.

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Colour photograph showing World Trade Center Building No. 7 in ruins, after 9-11 in New York City ... when Fire-Induced Progressive Damage led to Disproportionate Damage, and finally to total building failure ... a Collapse Level Event (CLE). Click to enlarge.
Colour photograph showing World Trade Center Building No. 7 in ruins, after 9-11 in New York City ... when Fire-Induced Progressive Damage led to Disproportionate Damage, and finally to total building failure ... a Collapse Level Event (CLE). Click to enlarge.

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Tackling the current confusion over technical terminology …

In 1987, Raglan House collapsed in Dublin.  In 2001, World Trade Center Building 7 collapsed in New York City.

In English … the word Collapse can have the following meanings, which are very broadly similar …

  • To fall down or cave in suddenly: the whole building collapsed ;
  • To fail completely ;
  • To break down or fall down from lack of strength ;
  • To fold (furniture, etc.) compactly or (of furniture, etc.) to be designed to fold compactly ;
  • The act or instance of suddenly falling down, caving in, or crumbling ;
  • A sudden failure or breakdown.

[from Latin, from collabi to fall in ruins, from labi to fall]

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Black and white image reproducing Figure 1-1 in NIST Report: 'Best Practices for Reducing the Potential for Progressive Collapse in Buildings' (NISTIR 7396, February 2007) ... showing a bird's eye view of the Disproportionate Damage at Ronan Point, in England, which was caused by a gas explosion in 1968. Click to enlarge.
Black and white image reproducing Figure 1-1 in NIST Report: 'Best Practices for Reducing the Potential for Progressive Collapse in Buildings' (NISTIR 7396, February 2007) ... showing a bird's eye view of the Disproportionate Damage at Ronan Point, in England, which was caused by a gas explosion in 1968. Click to enlarge.

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Please examine the photograph above.  Ronan Point (later demolished) was a 22 Storey Residential Tower Block in London, England.  In May 1968, this building suffered Disproportionate Damage as a result of a gas explosion.  As is clear from the photograph … it did not Collapse.

Disproportionate Damage

The failure of a building’s structural system:  (i) remote from the scene of an isolated overloading action;  and (ii) to an extent which is not in reasonable proportion to that action.

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Let me now return to the CIB Research WG IV Reflection Document: ‘Structural Reliability & Fire-Induced Progressive Damage’ … where I began by stating …

Fire-Induced Progressive Damage in Buildings is distinguished from Disproportionate Damage – a related but different structural concept – by the mode of damage initiation, not the final condition of building failure.  Until this phenomenon is properly understood, and unless it is impeded, or resisted, by building design … Fire-Induced Progressive Damage will result in Disproportionate Damage … and may lead to a Collapse Level Event (CLE), which is entirely unacceptable to the general population of any community or society.

… and, later in the document, provided this definition …

Fire-Induced Progressive Damage

The sequential growth and intensification of structural deformation and displacement, beyond fire engineering design parameters, and the eventual failure of elements of construction in a building – during a fire and the ‘cooling phase’ afterwards – which, if unchecked, will result in disproportionate damage, and may lead to total building collapse.

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Quickly Concluding …

‘Progressive Collapse’ is not the same as ‘Disproportionate Collapse’ … and while total building collapse may be the condition of final building failure, this will certainly not always be the case.  Therefore … ‘Damage’ is the more correct word to use than ‘Collapse’.

To go even further … it should not be necessary to have to use the word ‘total’ in the first sentence above.

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Reminder … Please Read the Reflection Document …

The purpose of the Reflection Document issued by CIB W14 Research Working Group IV is to examine the ‘hot form’ structural concept of Fire-Induced Progressive Damage, and to propose a critical update to fire engineering design practice.  It is also intended to encourage a wider discussion about some of fire engineering’s fundamental tenets, and the future direction of our profession in a rapidly evolving trans-disciplinary approach to the design, construction and operation of a Safe and Sustainable Built Environment.

Let me repeat again … and as I emphasized in Greece … ALL comments on the Reflection Document are most welcome !

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