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Universal Studios fire illustrates importance of using roofing professionals

The Universal Studios fire accidentally ignited June 1 by two Universal Studios workers and one supervisor is an example of why building owners should insist on using roofing professionals. Workers installing asphalt shingles on the roof of a movie set building façade accidentally ignited a fire that destroyed part of the back lot of Universal Studios in California. The workers, who were using a blowtorch early Sunday to heat asphalt shingles to apply to the roof, finished at about 3 a.m. and stood watch for an hour. At about 4 a.m., the workers went on break, and the fire was reported by a security guard at 4:43 a.m.

NRCA recommends building owners prequalify roofing contractors, which may take some extra work, but the result will be a quality roof system at a fair price. All professional roofing contractors should be willing to provide a building owner with a permanent place of business; knowledge of different types of roof systems; affiliation with an industry organization; a commitment to safety and education of its workers; proof of insurance; evidence they are properly licensed and bonded; financial stability; roof material application expertise; a written proposal; warranty; client references and a list of completed projects; provisions for on-site supervision; and a professional maintenance program.

A list of NRCA contractor members can be accessed by /directory/ class=roll>clicking here.

Roofing contractors performing rooftop torching should be certified through the Certified Roofing Torch Applicator (CERTA) program. The number of serious roofing torch-related fire incidents has decreased significantly since 2004 when the new NRCA/MRCA CERTA program was implemented in the roofing industry. /education/nrca/faqs.aspx class=roll>Click here to view frequently asked questions about the program, including those specific to building owners. For more information about the NRCA/MRCA CERTA program, /education/nrca/certaclasses.aspx class=roll>click here or contact NRCA's Customer Service Department at (866) ASK-NRCA (275-6722) or info@nrca.net.

6/5/2008