The Canadian Forest Fire Behavior Prediction (FBP) System is a systematic method for assessing wildland fire behavior potential. This field guide provides a simplified version of the system, presented in tabular format. It was prepared to assist field staff in making first approximations of FBP System outputs when computer-based applications are not available. Quantitative estimates of head fire spread rate, fire intensity, type of fire, and spread distance, elliptical fire area, perimeter, and perimeter growth rate are provided for eighteen fuel types within five broad groupings (coniferous, deciduous, and mixedwood forests, logging slash, and grass), covering most of the major wildland fuel types found in Canada. The FBP System is intended to supplement, not replace, the experience and judgment of fire personnel.

A review is presented of the state of the art of smoke production measurement, prediction of smoke impact as part of computer-based fire modeling, and measurement and prediction of the impact of smoke through deposition of soot on and corrosion of electrical equipment. The literature review on smoke corrosivity testing and damage due to smoke deposition emphasizes (despite extensive research on smoke corrositity) the lack of validated and widely applicable prescriptive or performance based methods to assure electrical equipment survivability given exposure to fire smoke. Circuit bridging via current leakage through deposited smoke was identified as an important mechanism of electronic and electrical equipment failure during NPP fires. In the near term, assessment of potential damage can reasonably be based on the airborne smoke exposure concentration and, perhaps, the exposure duration. Hence, models that can predict the airborne smoke concentration would be sufficient to suit short-term analysis needs. In the longer term, it would be desirable to develop models that could estimate the deposition behavior of smoke, as well and specifically correlate the combination of deposited and airborne smoke to component damage.

Research funded under the Fire Safe Cigarette Act of 1990 (P.L. 101-352) has led to the development of two test methods for measuring the ignition propensity of cigarettes. The Mock-Up Ignition Test Method uses substrated physically similar to upholstered furniture and mattresses: a layer of fabric over padding. The measure of cigarette performance is ignition or non-ignition of the substrate. The Cigarette Extinction Test Method replaces the fabric/padding assembly with multiple layers of common filter paper. The measure of performance is full-length burning or self-extinguishment of the cigarette. Routine measurement of the relative ignition propensity of cigarettes is feasible using either of the two methods. Improved cigarette performance under both methods has been linked with reduced real-world ignition behavior; and it is reasonable to assume that this, in turn, implies a significant real-world benefit. Both methods have been subjected to interlaboratory study. The resulting reproducibilities were comparable to each other and comparable to those in other fire test methods currently being used to regulate materials which may be involved in unwanted fires. Using the two methods, some current commercial cigarettes are shown to have reduced ignition propensities relative to the current best-selling cigarettes. *] This is one of six volumes in the Final Report, Fire Safe Cigarette Act of 1990. VOLUME 1. Overview: Practicability of Developing a Performance Standard to Reduce Cigarette Ignition Propensity by Jones-Smith, J., et al. VOLUME 3. Modeling the Ignition of Soft Furnishings by a Cigarette by Mitler, H. E., et al. VOLUME 4. Cigarette Fire Incident Study by Harwood, B., et al. VOLUME 5. Toxicity Testing Plan by Lee, B. C., et al. VOLUME 6. Societal Costs of Cigarette Fires by Ray, D. R., et al.

New technologies and research are redefining the state-of-the-art in building evacuation. The time is right to rethink the entire infrastructure of egress from buildings in light new opportunities to address the economic and life-safety issues. Approximately 40 experts from a variety of disciplinary background assembled in Warrenton, VA from April 1-3, 2008 in order to consider building evacuation, starting with a blank sheet of paper. Structured around the principles of Value-Focused Thinking (a text authored by workshop moderator Ralph Keeney), the participants were encouraged to consider values, objectives, alternatives, and metrics. This process combined the benefits of free-thinking brainstorming with a formalism which encouraged evaluation of the potential for new ideas. By the conclusion of the third day, over 400 ideas had been developed, along with metrics for future evaluation of the ideas.

This report reviews the literature on metal inhibition of flames and identifies metal species with potential as fire suppressant additives. To provide a basis for discussion, the detailed mechanism of inhibition of iron is reviewed, and the reasons for its loss of effectiveness are described. The demonstrated flame inhibiting properties of other metals is then discussed, followed by a description of the potential loss of effectiveness for these other metals. The production ban on the widely used and effective halon fire suppressants due to their ozone depletion potential, has motivated an extensive search for replacements. Metal containing compounds have attracted attention- especially for unoccupied spaces-because of their extraordinary effectiveness in some configurations. For example, Fe(CO)5 has been found to be up to eighty times more effective than CF3Br at reducing the overall reaction rate in premixed methane-air flames, when added at low concentration. Unfortunately, it has also been found to produce condensed-phase particles which reduce its effectiveness for co-flow diffusion flames. Hence, it is of interest to identify other metal compounds which may be strong flame inhibitors and then to assess their potential for loss of effectiveness through condensation. To achieve this goal, the present report provides background on current understanding of metal inhibition of flames, identifying metals with fire suppression potential. The inhibition mechanism of the iron is described, and the followed by a description of the reasons why it losses its effectiveness in some flame systems. The equivalent flame inhibiting species of other metal agents is then discussed, and evidence for any potential loss of effectiveness for these other metals is assembled and discussed.

A standard procedure is needed for obtaining smoke toxic potency data for use in fire hazard and risk analyses. Room fire testing of finished products is impractical, directing attention to the use of apparatus that can obtain the needed data quickly and at affordable cost. This report examines the first of a series bench-scale fire tests to produce data on the yields of toxic products in both pre-flashover and post-flashover flaming fires. The apparatus is the radiant furnace in NFPA 269 and ASTM E 1678. Test specimens were cut from finished products that were also burned in room-scale tests: a sofa made of upholstered cushions on a steel frame, particleboard bookcases with a laminated finish, and household electric power cable. Initially, the standard test procedure was followed, with a variation to reduce the contribution to the effluent of post- flaming pyrolysis. Subsequent variations in the procedure included cutting the test specimen into small pieces and performing the tests at a reduced oxygen volume fraction of 0.17. The yields of CO2 CO, HCl, and HCN were determined. The yields of other toxicants (NO, NO2, formaldehyde, and acrolein) were below the detection limits, but volume fractions at the detection limits were shown to be of limited toxicological importance relative to the detected toxicants. In general, dicing the test specimen and performing the tests at the reduced oxygen volume fraction had little effect on the toxic gas yields, within the experimental uncertainties. The exceptions were an increase in the CO yield for diced specimens at reduced oxygen, a decrease in the HCN yield from the intact sofa and cable specimens at reduced oxygen, and an increase in the HCN yield from dicing the cable specimens. In none of the procedure variations did the CO yield approach the value of 0.2 found in real-scale post flashover fire tests.

A standard procedure is needed for obtaining smoke toxic potency data for use in fire hazard and risk analyses. Room fire testing of finished products is impractical, directing attention to the use of apparatus that can obtain the needed data quickly and at affordable cost. This report presents examination of the second of a series bench-scale fire tests to produce data on the yields of toxic products in both pre-flashover and post-flashover flaming fires. The apparatus is the ISO/TS 19700 controlled equivalence ratio tube furnace. This apparatus uses a mechanical feed mechanism to supply solid fuel into a tube furnace at a pre-determined rate, so that the global equivalence ratio can be adjusted. The test specimens were cut from finished products that were also burned in room-scale tests: a sofa made of upholstered cushions on a steel frame, particleboard bookcases with a laminated finish, and household electric cable. Initially, the standard test procedure was followed for two fire stages, well ventilated flaming and post- flashover. Subsequent variation in the procedure included dicing the specimen, further decreasing the equivalence ratio (well ventilated flaming) or increasing it (post-flashover), increasing the mass loading while maintaining the equivalence ratio, and increasing the fuel feed rate while maintaining the equivalence ratio. The yields of CO2 CO, HCl, and HCN were determined. The yields of other toxicants (NO, NO2, formaldehyde, and acrolein) were below the detection limits, but volume fractions at the detection limits were shown to be of limited toxicological importance relative to the detected toxicants. In general, the largest effects were seen between the two fire stages. The other variations within the fire stage had minor effects on gas yields. Under post-flashover conditions, the sum of the CO2 and CO yields frequently accounted for half or less of the carbon originally in the specimen. As a result, the gaseous combustion products cannot be used to estimate the mass burning rate. Under post flashover conditions, the CO yield for the sofa approached the value of 0.2 found in real-scale postflashover fire tests. However, for the bookcase and cable it did not. Yields of HCl from the cables generally approached their notional yields under well- ventilated conditions, and HCN was most readily detected from the sofa under post-flashover conditions at toxicologically significant concentrations.

A standard procedure is needed for obtaining smoke toxic potency data for use in fire hazard and risk analyses. Room fire testing of finished products is impractical, directing attention to the use of apparatus that can obtain the needed data quickly and at affordable cost. In this work we compare yields of toxic gases generated by four bench scale apparatus to previously conducted room-scale fires. The bench scale apparatus are the radiant apparatus in NFPA 269 and ASTM E 1678, the smoke density chamber in ISO 5659-2, a controlled-atmosphere version of the cone calorimeter (ASTM E 1354), and the tube furnace in ISO/TS 19700. In the bench scale experiments, the test specimens were cut from finished products that were also burned in the room-scale tests: a sofa made of upholstered cushions on a steel frame, particleboard bookcases with a laminated finish, and household electric cable. The yields of CO2 CO, HCl, and HCN were determined. The yields of other toxicants (NO, NO2, formaldehyde, and acrolein) were below the detection limits, but volume fractions at the detection limits were shown to be of limited toxicological importance relative to the detected toxicants. The bench scale and room scale yields are compared, and the bench scale apparatus are assessed for the degree to which they accurately predict room scale yields. The results of this study provide a better basis for obtaining toxic potency input data for fire modeling than currently exists.