Tag Archives: Fire wall

by | December 5, 2012 · 7:34 am

Hospitality Industry Property Risks: California Restaurant Kitchen Fire Caused By "Commercial Gas Grill" Igniting Wood Inside Wall; Repairs Estimated At $10,000

Restaurant Fire

“…Firefighters were hampered by multiple concealed spaces caused by past remodeling. Firefighters located the seat of the fire in the wall and extinguished it with a small amount of water, but found that the fire had traveled through the wall and in to ceiling spaces between layers of roofing materials above…”

Humboldt Bay Fire responded to a reported structure fire at Pho Thien Long Restaurant, 615 F St. Upon arrival fire personnel were directed to the kitchen area where light smoke was seen coming from a hole in a wall and the wall was extremely hot to the touch. Fire personnel directed restaurant customers and staff to exit the building. Power and gas was secured to the building as firefighters began cutting in to the wall to locate the fire.

Humboldt Bay Fire spent about 90 minutes ensuring that any remaining pockets of fire had been extinguished. The restaurant was turned back over to the business owner. The fire caused about $10,000 damage, and the business will need extensive repairs before it will be able to reopen. The cause of the restaurant fire appeared to be accidental. The fire was caused by heat radiated from a commercial gas grill igniting the wood in the wall.

For more:  http://www.times-standard.com/breakingnews/ci_22121723/updated-pho-thien-long-restaurant-will-need-extensive

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by | June 26, 2012 · 6:16 am

Hospitality Industry Property Risks: Missouri Hotel Fire Causes Significant Exterior, Smoke And Heat Damage To Rooms; Fire Wall And Favorable Winds Spares Structure

“…Firefighters were initially concerned the blaze would spread deep into the hotel, but the unusually heavy-duty firewall and a fortunate south wind spared the brick-faced structure from catastrophic damage…The fire also did significant damage to the exterior of the hotel, and also destroyed the hotel swimming pool’s pumping apparatus…”

Interior demolition and clean-up at the Maryville Comfort Inn Motel, damaged May 19 when an adjoining empty restaurant building was gutted by fire, is nearing completion, paving the way for renovation of four smoke- and heat-damaged rooms later this summer.

Chuck Hetrick, general manager of the hotel, located at the south end of Business 71, said crews were wrapping up removal of smoke-impregnated insulation from the attic above the damaged rooms in preparation for installation of fresh insulation and new sheetrock.

A concrete-block firewall that separates Comfort Inn from what is left of the restaurant is to be torn down, which will allow a north-end interior stairwell to be widened.

Though Comfort Inn has remained in operation in the weeks since the blaze, Hetrick said occupancy is down. In an attempt to let potential customers know the lodge is open for business, a large sign visible from Main Street bears the message, “We are open.”

For more:  http://www.maryvilledailyforum.com/news/x1805322006/Repairs-underway-at-fire-damaged-hotel

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by | April 22, 2012 · 7:20 am

Hospitality Industry Property Risks: Texas Motel Damaged By "Wind-Fueled Fire" That Momentarily Traps Firefighters; Firewall Proves Useless In Windy Conditions

“With the winds, even if you have firewalls, if somebody puts a cable hole — every little breach of a firewall for cable, electric, whatever is going to be a void. That firewall’s not intact anymore.”

San Antonio firefighters had a close call Friday afternoon when the rear of a burning motel collapsed on them. Crews responded to the fire reported at the Studio 6 motel at Highway 281 and Rhapsody to find flames shooting through the structure, according to WOAI-TV.

The wind-fueled fire originated on the first floor of the hotel, extended to the attic and then spread to a neighboring building. Fire Chief Charles Hood said that his firefighters had to rely on their training when the blaze quickly became out of control and a Mayday was called.

“That’s one of those moments when your heart just goes to your feet because we have reports of firefighters trapped,” he told the news station. Luckily, all of the firefighters made it out safely and no injuries were sustained.

Hood said that winds played a big role in helping the fire grow, and that if the building did have firewall, they wouldn’t have stopped it. Around 100 firefighters were on the scene and after the collapse, crews switched to a defensive fire attack to put out the blaze.

For more:  http://www.firehouse.com/news/10704188/san-antonio-firefighters-have-close-call-at-motel-blaze

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by | · 7:20 am

Hospitality Industry Property Risks: Texas Motel Damaged By "Wind-Fueled Fire" That Momentarily Traps Firefighters; Firewall Proves Useless In Windy Conditions

“With the winds, even if you have firewalls, if somebody puts a cable hole — every little breach of a firewall for cable, electric, whatever is going to be a void. That firewall’s not intact anymore.”

San Antonio firefighters had a close call Friday afternoon when the rear of a burning motel collapsed on them. Crews responded to the fire reported at the Studio 6 motel at Highway 281 and Rhapsody to find flames shooting through the structure, according to WOAI-TV.

The wind-fueled fire originated on the first floor of the hotel, extended to the attic and then spread to a neighboring building. Fire Chief Charles Hood said that his firefighters had to rely on their training when the blaze quickly became out of control and a Mayday was called.

“That’s one of those moments when your heart just goes to your feet because we have reports of firefighters trapped,” he told the news station. Luckily, all of the firefighters made it out safely and no injuries were sustained.

Hood said that winds played a big role in helping the fire grow, and that if the building did have firewall, they wouldn’t have stopped it. Around 100 firefighters were on the scene and after the collapse, crews switched to a defensive fire attack to put out the blaze.

For more:  http://www.firehouse.com/news/10704188/san-antonio-firefighters-have-close-call-at-motel-blaze

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by | September 26, 2011 · 7:39 am

Hospitality Industry Fire Risks: Older California Hotel Suffers "Severe Fire Damage" Due To Lack Of "Fire Stops" In Walls

“…Damage to the 15,000 square-foot hotel and 4,000 square-foot bar was so severe that no one was allowed in the buildings due to the possibility of a collapse. An engineer was called to come out and assess the building’s structural integrity….”

Fire ripped through the Traveler’s Hotel and The Knockout Bar at the 200 Block of C Street early Saturday morning.

According to CAL FIRE spokesperson Bob Eicholtz, one reason that aided in the fire spreading was that the buildings were old and there were no fire stops in the walls.

CAL FIRE dispatched five engines, three ladder trucks and approximately 35 firefighters to battle the fire.

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by | March 17, 2011 · 6:27 pm

Hotel Industry Credit Card Security: "Cyber Criminals" Steal Credit Card Data On Hotel Computer Systems That Lack Critical Firewalls

Cyber criminals are systematically attacking systems that store credit card data, including Point-of-Sale and Property Management Systems. The criminal organizations are highly structured and integrated with the world’s organized crime rings.

Detailed forensic analysis by law enforcement agencies and specialized private-sector security practices, as well as by security departments at major hotel groups around the world, leave little doubt that the attacks on hotels are highly targeted and effective.

Many hoteliers believe they are not vulnerable because they use Point-of-Sale and Property Management Systems that have been validated as conforming to the latest PCI security standards. Unfortunately this is far from the case. Even such validated systems can be vulnerable if the hotel operates them in an unsecured manner. Leading forensics firms agree that the most important security measures are those that keep cyber criminals from getting inside the hotel network in the first place. Once inside, there are many ways for them to steal the data, even if the PMS or POS system itself is secure.

  • Eliminate EVERY default password on EVERY machine on your network – server, workstation, router, firewall, and any other device that has a password. The most important machines to check are the ones you think are NOT vulnerable, such as a PC on an engineer’s desk for monitoring building systems, or the PC in the parking garage attendant’s office, or the one in a closet running your keycard system.
  • Eliminate holes in remote access to systems inside your network. Remote access by vendors is an essential part of support for many hotel systems. The data thieves know this, and they know how to use it to get inside your network. They know all the default passwords, and they have even been known to steal master customer lists, complete with current passwords, from vendors.
  • If you were to store stacks of money in plain sight in an exit stairwell, you would expect to be robbed. Operating without an Internet firewall is just as risky. Yet many hotels, especially smaller ones, don’t have a firewall. If you are connected to the Internet without one, then people you don’t know, from around the world and many with malicious intent, are reaching into your network.

For more:  http://www.traveldailynews.com/pages/show_page/42199-Hotel-associations-issue-joint-statement-on-credit-card-security

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