Wolf Trap Reopens

Wolf Trap Reopens

FIRE PROTECTION

As A Phoenix Rising From Ashes

Photo by Clark O. Martin

April 4, 1982, was cold, dark, and windy in Fairfax County, VA. But at Wolf Trap Farm Park the night was intensely bright and hot as fire swept through the huge Filene Center for the Performing Arts. The Center was gutted by the blaze. There was no detection or suppression system on the premises. Little thought had been given to fire protection in the construction of this “vertical lumberyard,” and this was not the first fire Wolf Trap had fueled. The building had previously suffered major damage from fires in March 1971 and March 1980.

The rebuilding of Wolf Trap, or Filene Center II as it is now called, began quickly. Owned by the United States Department of Interior and operated by the National Park Service, the building was “self-insured,” which meant rebuilding costs had to be covered by donations and a matching grant from Congress. Because of the catastrophic loss from this and the other major fires, it was decided that every effort would be made to install a top-notch fire protection system during reconstruction. The cost of this new fire protection system totaled over $1.7 million.

Were an alarm to go off at Wolf Trap today, it would automatically be transmitted to the United States Park Police Headquarters in Washington, D.C. (about 12 miles to the east). That alarm would immediately be relayed to the Fairfax County Emergency Operations Center (EOC). Simultaneously, the officer on duty in the guard room in the Filene Center II would dial 911 to verify EOC’s receipt of the alarm and to specify which alarm zones have been activated. This information would be obtained from the enunciator board in the guard room.

The first alarm assignment of three engines, two trucks, one heavy rescue squad, one Emergency Medical Service (EMS) unit, and a battalion chief would verify the alarm zones on the guard room enunciator board, then proceed to the main fire alarm panel in the fire pump room on the lower level. While an officer attempted to reset the system, other crews would go to the area in question to investigate.

The water supply engine would be supplementing the automatic sprinkler/standpipe systems, the exhaust fans above the stage would be operating, and a fire curtain and huge fire doors would have compartmentized the entire structure. If the alarm was activated by a fire, it probably would be extinguished by one of the automatic sprinkler systems.

After the fire that gutted the Filene Center at Wolf Trap Farm Park on April 4, 1982, Filene Center II opened July 30, 1984, with $1.7 million invested in fire protection. Inside the center, seven acoustical panels on each side of the audience (photo right) have separate deluge sprinkler systems activated by heat detectors. The third panel from the left has a standpipe hookup. Two additional standpipe hookups are on the balcony level.

Photo by Peter Krogh

The main fire alarm panel (above) in the fire pump room enunciates 51 alarm zones consisting of heat detectors, smoke detectors, pull stations, and 21 waterflow switches.

Photo by Gordon M Sachs

The stage manager's remote panel (below) includes a small enunciator as well as automatic and manual controls for the fire curtain.

Photo by Gordon M Sachs

Photo by Gordon M. Sachs

Shown here is a heat detector/deluge on one of the acoustical panels on each side of the audience seating area.

Photo by Gordon M. Sachs

Filene Center II, which officially reopened July 30, 1984, is a large open-air assembly occupancy with a seating capacity of almost 7,000 people, including 3,000 lawn seats. Every one of these seats is usually filled, as the Center is the stage for performances by some of the world’s top entertainers. It is constructed of fire retardant wood over steel beams and measures at stage level approximately 200 X 150 feet, and is 138 feet high at the highest point. The rear rehearsal hall roof is 66 feet above the parking lot.

The building has two main levels. The lower floor contains the dressing areas and parking garage for stars and dignitaries, and the stage level, which includes the rehearsal hall. The gridiron level, 102 feet above the stage, supports props and lighting equipment during performances. There is a mezzanine level for the stage crew, and on the west side of the building there are three office levels that are occupied year round.

Fire protection ⅛ evident throughout the structure. The wood used on the interior and exterior is said to be able to withstand a blowtorch. Huge sliding fire doors separate both the stage and rehearsal hall from the backstage area. A fire curtain weighing nearly 27,000 pounds is suspended to isolate the main portion of the building from the audience and can be controlled either automatically or manually. Fire extinguishers seem almost as numerous as sprinkler heads.

Shown here is a standpipe outlet with manual valve trip station on an acoustical panel. Each side of the audience seating area has two standpipe outlets, one on the lower level and one on the balcony level. The fire curtain (background) separates the main building from the audience seating area.

Photo by Gordon M. Sachs

The fire suppression system is a complicated, hydraulically designed combination of 21 separate sprinkler and/or standpipe systems. Each of the seven acoustical panels, or fins, on both sides of the audience seating area has a separate deluge sprinkler system. In addition, two standpipe outlets on each side are controlled by a deluge valve. These eight deluge valves for each side of the audience area are located in underground valve pits adjacent to that side of the building. The five remaining systems consist of three preaction systems for the audience area roof, one preaction system for the stage and gridiron level (including two standpipe outlets), and one preaction system for the remainder of the building.

The fire pump is an electrically driven 1,500-gpm pump that boosts the pressure in the sprinkler/ standpipe systems from a normal operating pressure of 90 psi to 185 psi. (The pump has shown that it can deliver as much as 2,300 gpm with 35 psi residual pressure in the main.) The water distribution system, which was previously on a dead-end eight-inch main, has been upgraded by putting a twelve-inch connecting main from the dead end to another eight-inch main to serve the building. Three hydrants on the eight-inch main still exist, and there are three new hydrants on the twelve-inch loop.

When an alarm is activated, the heat, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) system shuts down, and two huge exhaust fans above the stage go into operation. The audience area is, of course, open to the outside.

Although Wolf Trap officials feel certain that another major fire will not occur at Filene Center II, the Fairfax County Fire and Rescue Department is prepared just in case. The first-due engine and truck company from Fire Station 29 in Tyson’s Corner was on-site from time-to-time to observe the Center’s reconstruction. They have developed a 15-page pre-fire plan detailing floor plans, cutaway views, sprinkler system valve guides, and a water distribution system map for the complex.

The officers and fire department personnel worked closely with the contractors, National Park Service representatives, Wolf Trap officials, and the project fire protection engineer. They are extremely familiar with the park complex, the building, and the fire protection systems.

The large number of smoke and heat detectors, manual pull stations, waterflow switches, and nearly 1,300 sprinkler heads at Filene Center II create a tremendous potential for false alarms. However, the Fairfax County Fire and Rescue Department will treat each response as “the real thing.” Any of the 51 alarm zones will trigger a full box alarm response to the complex, as the Center is one of the largest target hazards in the area.

The sprinkler and fire alarm contractors, as well as the project fire protection engineer all agree that Filene Center II was the largest project that they had worked on in terms of size and the number of life and fire safety protection systems.

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