Six months after an explosion and fire destroyed a grid-connected energy-storage battery facility in Surprise, Ariz., investigators are still trying to figure out all that happened.
As wildfire warnings continue to race through California, utility giants PG&E and Southern California Edison (SCE) are stepping up their fire-risk mitigation plans for workers to harden infrastructure and manage vegetation.
Predicting wildfires and combating them, smart building sensors, 3D-printed building materials, building integrated fire safety systems that go beyond sprinklers and clean-room protection were among the topics discussed Oct. 13-15 at the Society of Fire Protection Engineers’ annual conference and exposition at the Sheraton Grand Resort at Wild Horse Pass near Phoenix.
Two unstable tower cranes at the site of the New Orleans Hard Rock Hotel collapse were brought down on Oct. 20 in a controlled demolition, but work to stabilize the structure is far from over.