Failure Knowledge Database / 100 Selected Cases

The Osaka Sennichi department store building fire.
May 13th,1972

Osaka prefecture

Masahiko Kunishima・Kenichi Horikawa（*１）
The shocking building fire was started half-ten at night on May 13th, 1972 in the busy
quarter of Osaka Minami. It is the Sennichi department store fire. A Fire broke out on
third floor and near the department store clothing counter which was undermodification, and then the second and fourth floor were rapidly damaged throughkindling and escalator part by fire. The smoke rapidly propagated from the elevatorshaft, air conditioning duct, and staircase in the upper floor. Because no caution wasinformed, the customers and employees in the "Cabaret Play town" got panic due to thesmoke, and then they lost the escape way, 118 persons died.
１．Event
Fire broke from the near Nichii clothing counter of the third floor on May 13th, 1972,
around 10:27at night, because of the wiring of the electricity.
The time when the fire broke out, there were 6 electric workers on the 3rd floor , 6
persons of construction modification workmen in the bowling alley of 6th floor, 181customers and barmaid in the Play town of 7 th floor, and 4 house detectives , 2 electricmachine section workmen. The total was about 199 persons in the building.
２．Course
The 119 reports were done at 10:40 p.m. by the store security guard 13 minutes after
the fire broke-out in the Sennichi department store.
The first team of the firemen arrived at the building at 10:43pm. At this time, blacksmoke was rushing from two north windows of 3F and 4F, white smoke was going out
slightly from the north windows of 5F, 6F, 7F.
Afterwards, more and more ambulance and pump cars arrived, the total cars were 85,
and rescue persons and firemen were 596.
The time of fire suppression was 5:43am on 5/14, and the time of fire extinguishment
was 5:30pm on 5/15.The 2nd 3rd and 4th floor were almost burnt; the total burnt place
was 8763 square meter, 118 of dead persons, 81 of injured persons, (27 of firemenincluded). This was the worst case of the building fire.
３.CauseThe cause of the fire break-out was estimated to be a cigarette which a member of the1Failure Knowledge Database / 100 Selected Cases

electric work party of the third floor Nichii had thrown away.

Shutter

Figure１

Sketch of 3F and its damage （ Source ： Kindai-shoubousha

Sennnichi

department building Fire）

Figure２

Sketch of 7F and its damage （ Source ： Kindai-shoubousha

department building Fire）

2

Sennnichi

Failure Knowledge Database / 100 Selected Cases

The discoverer of the fire was also out of the construction party, and "dark-red flameof about 40cm width and about 70cm in height" was recognized.

The superintend-ent

who received the news pushed the button of the fire alarm, and it was confirmed by thesafety foreman in the protection room (around 10:43 p.m.).

Afterwards, the housedetective taught the usage of fire extinguisher to the construction party, and the housedetective drained water using the digestive organ by indoor fireplug of the first floor,
but the thick smoke filled it, and it was not effective at all.
The cause of the fire expansion was thought to be the presence of mass combustibles(ex, clothes). The dead were the people who were in the Play town on the 7th floor. Thereasons of death were 93 persons due to carbon monoxide intoxication, 3 persons due tooppresion, and 22 persons due to jumping off.

Picture１

Sennichi Depart (one night passed)（Source：Kenchiku-BousaiThinking

again about the Sennichi Department building fire.）
４．Immediate Action
The time the first firemen arrived at the building(10:43pm), the house detective
opened the front face shutter, and lead the hose to the second floor, then started tosquirt water(10:46pm).At this time, because 2nd floor was already burnt, it was3

Failure Knowledge Database / 100 Selected Cases

impossible to enter the 3rd floor.
16 minutes between the fire broke-out and the arrival of the first firemen, fire went up
through 2nd and 4th floor, smoke expanded in the 7th floor. The flash overcoat (thephenomenon in which the whole room begins to burn at a stretch, when heat andcombustible gas by the fire filled it, and when someone opened the door,) occurred
within 17 minutes.
５．Countermeasure
The sense of crisis which comes from the delay of the setup of fire extinguishequipments in the hotels was risen up around the 1965.It was clear that especiallyamong hotels, theaters, big stores, and medical buildings, the fire disaster was not todecrease if they do not set up the more effective fire extinguish equipments. Only theenhancement of the firemen was not effective method to cease fire.
The building methods and materials were enhanced day by day, month by month. Thetechnologies to extinguish fire went up, Building standards Law and Fire protection
Law was renewed. But these laws were not executed to the already-existing buildings.
For example, in this fire disaster, there was not a sprinkler in the floor where the fire
broke out.
The way that already-existing building was not to execute the laws was the cause ofproblem. And, there were few people who abide the law.
To stop the big fire disaster as Sennichi department store, and the following severe
Building fire disaster Kumamoto Taiyo Department store, the big revision that law wasto executed retrospectively was done.
６．Sequel
Osaka Prefecture Police Headquarters arrested the responsible person of electric
work on suspicion of gross negligence over accidental fire suspicion, etc., and 6 persons
were documented prosecution by it. In August, the following year, building party and 4
persons of "the play town" party were indicted. One person of the inside and the post
manager of Sennichi department store administration manager in Nippon Dream
Kanko died during the first trial. The ruling of the Supreme Court was issued on
December first, 1990, as following. "Nippon dream kanko" who possesses and controls
the building was accused for the accidental homicide in the business by thecontravention of care duty of the fire defense measures. The accidental homicide wasmade in the business for "the play town" party’s two persons.

2 persons neglected therepair of damaged fire escape apparatus, and the escape way of the customer was made4

Failure Knowledge Database / 100 Selected Cases

impossible.
７. Knowledge
This case is called the worst one in the Fire disasters of Japanese history. The conceptof "Already-existing"(the buildings already existed and regarded as correct by the law at
the time of the completion of building, is not to be regarded illegal due to the law change
after the building completion.) permits the illegal buildings after the various change oflaw. The law is on the basis of the building technologies, so if we do not execute the law
retrospectively, the danger building is to be left forever. The severe fire disaster as thiscase must not be looked down as a “rare exception".

（*１）

Graduate school of Frontier science ,Univ Tokyo＜Reference＞
The fear of high-density urban space – Sennichi department disaster warns
Asahi Journal

Asahi-Sinbunsha

１９７２．０５．２６

Draft circumstance of the Sennnichi department store disasterKazunori Onda

Construction and society

Japan community of construction １９７２．１０
Re-thinking about the Sennnihi department fire disaster
Takao suzuki

Kenchiku-bousai Japan society of disaster prevention.

Worst building fire disaster-118 people died
Kindai-shoubou

Kindai-shoubousha ２０００．０７

Reconciliation and future objects of Sennnichi department disaster
Jurist Yuuhikaku １９７６．０４
An appeal of Sennichi department disaster
Kounan-hougaku Jurisprudence academy of Kounan

5１９９２．０３