Senior Captain T. Paget from Houston (TX) Ladder 46 sent in these photos of a new style construction they recently found in their first due area. Like any great crew should do, they stopped and walked through the structure to check out the unique style of construction.

As you can see from the photos these are intermodal box (connex box) containers used as housing. These are the same containers commonly used in flashover simulators and other live fire training structures.

This particular example is a residential duplex with one family upstairs and one family downstairs. The structure is made up of a total of four boxes. Two boxes are stacked on top of each other on the bravo side of the building, and two are stacked on the delta side. They leave a space in between the two stacks of boxes that is later built out with conventional building materials to make up the main living area and kitchen. The bedrooms and bathrooms are located in the actual connex boxes. There are no windows on the B or D sides and only one small window on the C side. The only way in and out is on the A side. The upper unit does have an attic access and a corrugated metal roof.

Fortunately most of us have a great deal of experience fighting fires in these structures. We know from experience that they can hold in a tremendous amount for fire, and retain a lot of heat. As a result, fire extension via convention between the floors should not be the primary concern. Keep in mind that the bathroom areas would still be an area of concern of vertical extension via convection due to plumbing chases. Fire extension via conduction is however a greater possibility then we would typically find in conventional construction materials. These boxes could easily conduct heat from two different areas of the building (ie: the front bedroom to the back bedroom.)

While you may not have seen this style of constitution in your first due, don’t be surprised it if pops up. It possesses two of the most desirable characteristics in the construction industry; quick and cheap. When speaking with the builder, the crew from Ladder 46 found that there will be as many as 18 of these structures being built in the area within the next 3 months. So be on the lookout for these connex castles.