WestCon Tribune

October 1998

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This Month's Menu

OCTOBER MEETING

Fire investigation, safety and prevention
By Don Pearman

October 21, 1991 was the second worst fire in the century. Westcon member Don Pearman, syndicated columnist, author of The Termite Report, principal expert on seven of the wrongful death cases resulting from the 1991 Oakland Hills fire, will present a slide show and talk about lessons learned from the Oakland Hills Firestorm and other fires.

Don is empowered by credentials from both Alameda County and the Oakland City Fire Department to cross fire lines and to respond to emergency situations. He responds to major fires and has thousands of incredible photos of fires to which he has responded. Using these photosgraphs, Don will illustrate fire issues on the following cases:

• In October, 1997 three houses on Asilomar Avenue in Oakland burned completely because of a PG&E power line which dropped smoldering embers into the grass below the houses; the resulting grass fire ran up the hill and ignited three homes. With the help of neighbors, police, volunteers, six alarms from the Oakland Fire Department and Mutual Aid from other fire departments, this fire was stopped from becoming Firestorm #2.
• The Futon Fire in Oakland in a building off of Coliseum Way was a six-alarm warehouse fire that quickly expanded from a small fire in a bedding factory to a much larger fire that spread to a concrete block building next to the futon factory.
• The six-alarm Amigo plastic bag factory fire on 66th Avenue in Oakland that consumed five structures before it was controlled. It quickly spread from the bag factory to several structures on three sides. One burning structure on the west side was left without significant intervention by the fire department because of the lack of fire-fighting personnel.
• The explosion of a tanker truck at the intersection of Highways 580 and 80 happened because of a large semi, traveling over the speed limit, could not make the turn from 80 to 580 and rammed into the concrete bunker. The tractor went through the concrete guard rail and the tanker trailer blew up with one piece flying west towards the toll plaza and the other piece flying east to the other side of the freeway. The freeway was damaged and had to be shut down for 24 hours.

In addition to these dramatic fire photos, there will be other photos of fires throughout the Bay Area. The audience will have the opportunity to bring up specific questions about fires, safety and prevention.

SEPTEMBER MEETING REVIEW

THE GEOTECHNICAL EFFECTS OF "EL NINO"

Presented by Avram Ninyo, Ninyo & Moore Geotechnical and Environmental Sciences Consultants.

Mr. Avram Ninyo, Principal Geotechnical Engineer with Ninyo & Moore Geotechnical and Environmental Sciences Consultants imparted a vast amount of information and knowledge with regards to geotechnical concerns associated with heavy rainfall and the effects of El Nino. Mr. Ninyo’s presentation agenda included:

Sslides and an actual "play-by-play" video was shown which was being taped of the sinkholes in progress in San Francisco’s Pacific Heights that destroyed many homes in the neighborhood, emphasizing the impact El Nino has had on the Bay Area.

Also discussed were various methods of repairs and alternatives for avoiding landslides and numerous geotechnical problems. Case histories were sited helping to explain how research and investigation helped find solutions and, in some situations, save huge litigation bills using fairly simple and effective methods of repair.

Following is information from a U.S. Geological Survey handed out by Mr. Ninyo:

What Is El Nino?

One of the most important sources of year-to-year climate variation in the Southwest is the El Nino phenomenon of the tropical Pacific Ocean. El Nino is a natural but largely unpredictable condition that results from complex interplay among clouds and storms, regional winds, oceanic temperatures, and ocean currents along the equatorial Pacific.

Under "normal" conditions, the tropical trade winds blow from east to west, ponding up warm water in the western Pacific. In the eastern Pacific, the trade winds pull up cold, deep, nutrient-rich waters along the equator from the Ecuadorian coast to the central pacific. The warmth of the western Pacific results in a particularly vigorous hydrologic cycle there with towering cumulus clouds and tropical storms that "radiate" atmospheric waves and disturbances across vast regions of the globe. Heat and moisture lofted unto the upper atmosphere by the clouds and storms are distributed by high-altitude winds across vast regions of the globe.

During an El Nino, this situation is disrupted and the trade winds weaken, thus reducing the upwelling of cool waters in the eastern Pacific and allowing the pool of warm water in the west to drift eastward toward South America. As the central and eastern Pacific warms, atmospheric pressure gradients along the equator weaken, and the trade winds diminish even more.

The Next El Nino

The warming associated with the most recent El Ninos, has been unusually persistent. The most recent El Nino waxed and waned for over four years in the early to mid 1990’s. Some scientists raise the possibility that heating of the atmosphere by global warming could increase the frequency and duration of El Nino events, creating longer periods of flooding and drought (Trenberth and Hoar, 1996). Such a possibility may undergo initial scrutiny in the near future, because recent observations of wind, water temperature, and fish in the Pacific Ocean suggest the onset of the next El Nino.

The Social And Geological Impacts Of El Nino:

A Global Reach

The effects of El Nino are widespread, and any El Nino event may touch the lives of more than a billion people around the globe. The impacts can be devastating, as illustrated by some of the effects of the unusually strong El Nino of 1982-83: Drought (sometimes with associated wildfires) in many nations of the western and southwestern Pacific Rim, southern Africa, southern India and Sri Lanka, Spain, Portugal, northern Africa, and parts of South and Central America; severe cyclones that damaged island communities in the Pacific; flooding over wide areas of South America, in western Europe, as well as in the Gulf Coastal states and some Caribbean Islands; and severe storms in the western and northeastern United States (Glantz).

When Weather From El Nino Visits

The Southwest United States

It is not surprising that destructive weather can affect the Southwest during El Nino years, because much of western North America lies in the path of storms that can be carried by the atmospheric circulation patterns spawned by El Nino. In general, El Nino events increase precipitation and landslide activity in southern California and the Southwest. A recent example is the 1992-93 winter in the Los Angeles area and northern Arizona. On the other hand, El Nino may bring drought to the northern Rocky Mountains, part of which lie within the Upper Colorado River Basin.

El Ninos vary widely from event to event, with different sequences and distributions of sea-surface warming and wind-pattern changes. These variations result in large differences in the weather of the Southwest depending on the particular pattern, strength, and timing of El Nino influences on storm tracks. Weather typically differs markedly from north to south during an El Nino event (wet in south, dry in north) but also usually varies greatly within one region from event to event. Areas near the boundaries between regions that receive more rain during El Nino and regions that receive less are especially prone to event-to-event differences. As an example, San Francisco lies near the transition between wet and dry El Nino zones, and thus the El Nino effects can be quite variable.

FEATURES
by James Chung

"CODES: TO OBEY OR NOT TO OBEY"

Although many issues were addressed at the open forum at the September meeting of Westcon, a particular point of emphasis was codes, i.e. Ð any form of regulation used to standardize a particular discipline. Walter Gloskowski, P.E. of Architectural Structural Investigation Systems, discussed the need o organizations to deal with analysis (building) and codification such as those addressed in the Building Standards newsletter. In particular, he stressed the significance of issues that relate to the "useful life" of buildings and / or building components and the implications of its appropriate value.

The lack of a regulatory organization has been most widely felt in the courtroom. Roderic Tosetti, M.A., President of Westcon and of Tosetti Electrical Consultants, illustrated this point using his experience with the Oz Case. As shown in the Southern California 4th Appellate Court District, only when failure occurs due to non-compliance with building codes or standards does any appropriate regulating take place. Mr. Tosetti has been involved in two cases as an expert witness where the inadvertent non-compliance with codes or standards was approached with a "no harm no foul" attitude. Tosetti commented, "People gave been killed due to lack of compliance to building code. I think it is totally asinine the way they are approaching things. I can’t see any logic in this." Although the National Electric Code was initially established in the late 1800’s by insurance companies to avoid such disasters, the enforcement of such by-laws have been very difficult to ensure. Westcon member, Attorney Geoff Wood added that similar problems occur in Northern California and further explained that contractors are not liable for areas not covered by insurance.

Remo Patri, Architect, was involved in a similar case where he was asked to represent a homeowner’s association in a development where all the homes were custom designed and built. In this particular case, one of the homeowners was not building in accordance with the approved plans from the Architectural Control Committee or from the plans for which he obtained the building permit. The homeowner’s association wanted the building department to enforce the codes and not allow the home to be built. Consequently, as seen in previous cases, the building department was only willing to "band-aid" the situation by informing the builder what steps would need to be taken to conform to regulations rather then forcing him to rebuild. This is a prime example of the inability of public agencies to enforce codes or standards that they are responsible for maintaining.

UPCOMING SPEAKERS: .

NOVEMBER

Mr. Gary Hanson will be sharing his experiences with Duratec in applications of lifting, leveling, subsealing, waterproofing and bonding with urethane foam and helical piers. These projects are represented in a number of projects Mr. Hanson has participated in including condominiums, airplane parking ramps, and single family housing.

DECEMBER

As a reminder, there will be no meeting or Tribune in December.

REMINDER A CODE COMMITTEE MEETING WILL BE HELD BEFORE DINNER AT 6:30. ALL MEMBERS ARE WELCOME TO COME TO THE MEETING AND PARTICIPATE.

OCTORBER MENU

A. Grilled Veal Chop - with sweet peppers.

B. Baked Trout - with crab stuffing. Polenta - with Ratatouille.

C. Cheese Tortellini - with artichoke hearts, garlic, olives and tomatoes.

Reservations by:
Phone: (415) 451-4897
Fax: (415) 451-4897
Email: info@westcon.org
PostMail: Westcon, P.O. Box 305, Ross, CA 94957

Please put the names and menu choices of those attending and make a notation if you are bringing a guest or a first time invitee.

The cost is $30 per member or invitee ($35 late fee) and $15 for a first time guest who is a potential member. Reservations are due by Friday, October 16, 1998. Calls or faxes received after Monday, October 19th will be assessed the $5.00 late charge.