Fire-Induced Structural Collapse on Pier 45 at Fisherman's Wharf, San Francisco, California, May 23, 2020

Abstract

On May 23, 2020, a severe fire resulted in progressive collapse of a processing and storage ware-house structure located at Pier 45, Fisherman’s Wharf, in San Francisco, California. This incidentprovided a unique opportunity to study the performance of structural systems exposed to largeopen-compartment fires resulting in progressive collapse. Subsequently, a post-fire investigationwas conducted to collect data pertinent to both fire severity and key structural characteristics, whichwere made available to the Pacific Earthquake Engineering Research Center (PEER) at the University of California, Berkeley. The collected information in conjunction with engineering judgmentis used to qualitatively and, to the extent possible, quantitatively describe the fire-induced failuremodes and damage observed in the structural members. Further, a simplistic sequence of eventsleading to the fire-induced progressive collapse is hypothesized. Preliminary analysis, based onavailable fire resistance verification methods, is carried out to qualify this hypothesis. Findingsfrom this report and data available through PEER will contribute towards improving the collectiveunderstanding of best practices in performance-based structural fire engineering.