This report describes the results of calculations using the NIST Fire Dynamics Simulator (FDS) performed to provide insight on the thermal conditions that may have occurred during a wind-driven fire in a one-story ranch house on April 12, 2009 in Houston, Texas. The FDS simulations represented the building geometry, material thermal properties, and fire behavior based on information gathered from multiple sources. The simulation results are provided in this report. The FDS simulation that best represents the witnessed fire conditions indicate that fire spread throughout the attic and first floor developed a wind-driven flow with temperatures in excess of 260 C (500 F) between the den and front door. The critical event in this fire was the creation of a wind-driven flow path between a large span of failed windows on the upwind side of the structure, and the open front door on the downwind side of the structure. Floor-to-ceiling temperatures rapidly increased in the flow path, in which members were performing interior operations. In a simulation without wind, the flow path was not created after the large span of windows failed, and the thermal environment surrounding the location of interior operations improved.

The purpose of this report is to update calculations, originally performed in 1993, that predict the downwind extent of smoke particulate from hypothetical in situ burns of spilled crude oil in Alaska. The reason for the update is that the National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) have changed since 1993. These standards formed the basis for establishing, safe distances for separating potential burning sites from populated areas in Alaska."

This report documents a set of 9 full scale ISO 9705 room under-ventilated compartment fire experiments for the purpose of guiding the development of the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) computer fire model - Fire Dynamics Simulator (FDS). The gas species composition and temperature throughout the interior of the compartment was mapped during quasi-steady burning conditions using movable measurement probes. In conjunction with the gas species and temperature measurements, global heat release rate, global burning mass rate, and local heat flux measurements were taken. The tests yielded detailed maps. From the data collected, the mixture fraction (with and without soot included in the calculations), local equivalence ratio, carbon monoxide and soot yields, fractional carbon monoxide and soot ratios, and combustion efficiency for each test were determined. Results from ethanol (a low sooting fuel) and heptane (a mildly sooting fuel) are presented. The results collected in this set of experiments were also compared and contrasted to the results of similar tests done in the previous report in this series of testing, NIST Technical Note 1603: Experimental Study of the Effects of Fuel Type, Fuel Distribution, and Vent Size on Full-Scale Underventilated Compartment Fires in an ISO 9705 Room.

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 fourth 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 5660-1 / ASTM E 1354 cone calorimeter, modified to have an enclosure and a gas delivery system allowing variable oxygen concentration. The test specimens was 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. Subsequent variation in the procedure included reducing the supplied oxygen volume fraction to 0.18, 0.16, and 0.14, reducing the incident heat flux to 25 kW/m2, and reducing the gas flow rate by half. 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, performing the tests at the reduced oxygen volume fraction led to small increases on the toxic gas yields. The exceptions were an increase in the CO yield for the bookcase at 0.14 oxygen volume fraction. Reducing the incident heat flux had little effect on the toxic gas yields, other than increasing variability. Reducing the gas flow rate reduced the limits of detection by half, but also resulted in reduced gas yields at lower oxygen volume fractions. In none of the procedure variations did the CO yield approach the value of 0.2 found in real-scale post flashover fire tests.

To date, there is no International standard on the methods and tests to assess the verification and validation (V&V) of building fire evacuation models, i.e., model testers adopt inconsistent procedures or tests designed for other model uses. For instance, the tests presented within the MSC/Circ.1238 Guidelines for evacuation analysis for new and existing passenger ships provided by the International Maritime Organization are often employed for the V&V of models outside their original context of use (building fires instead of maritime applications). This document discusses the main issues associated with the definition of a standard procedure for the V&V of building fire evacuation models. A review of the current procedures, tests (e.g. the MSC/Circ.1238 Guidelines), and methods available in the literature to assess the V&V of building evacuation models is provided. The capabilities of building evacuation models are evaluated studying their five main core components, namely 1) Pre-evacuation time, 2) Movement and Navigation, 3) Exit usage, 4) Route availability and 5) Flow constraints. A set of tests and recommendations about the verification of building evacuation models is proposed. Suggestions on simple qualitative validation tests are provided together with examples of experimental data-sets suitable for the analysis of different core components. The uncertainties associated with evacuation modelling are discussed. In particular, a method for the analysis of behavioural uncertainty (uncertainty due to the use of distributions or stochastic variables to simulate human behaviour in evacuation modelling) is presented. The method consists of a set of convergence criteria based on functional analysis. The last part of this document presents a discussion on the definition of the acceptance criteria for a standard V&V protocol.

The dispersion and loss of helium inside a single-car residential garage attached to a single-family house was experimentally characterized by recording time-resolved helium concentrations at multiple locations in the garage and at a single location in the house during and following helium releases near the floor of the garage. Helium served as a surrogate for hydrogen for safety reasons, and helium release rates were adjusted to provide the same constant volume flow rate as that required to release 5 kg of hydrogen over a four hour period. Supporting measurements included compartment leakage, temperature, and atmospheric wind conditions. Helium was released upwards either as momentum- or buoyancydominated flows. Experiments were performed with the garage empty or with one of two conventional mid-sized automobiles parked over the release location. Six tests with the garage naturally ventilated and six tests employing forced ventilation with a fan are described. A variety of parameters were used to characterize the mixing behavior. Conclusions emphasized include: a) the role of Froude number on helium mixing behavior, b) the development of upper and lower helium concentration layers in the garage during a release, c) the measurable, but limited, effects of atmospheric wind on the results, d) the relatively efficient transfer of helium from the garage into the house during the releases, e) the ability of a vehicle to trap a high helium concentration in the engine compartment and, particularly, the undercarriage during a helium release and the relatively rapid drop in these levels to those of the surrounding garage at the end of the release, f) the relatively slow buildup of helium in the passenger compartment and trunk of a vehicle during a helium release and subsequent slow decay following cessation of the flow, g) the effectiveness of active ventilation in reducing helium concentrations in the garage to levels below those corresponding to flammable concentrations of hydrogen, and h) the trapping of helium/air mixtures corresponding to highly flammable hydrogen mixtures inside the vehicles even when active garage ventilation was employed.

Although these agents are typically employed in unoccupied sections of an aircraft, the possibility of human exposure still exists during handling, storage, and transport. Thus, it is important to know if the accidental release of the 12 agents in areas of typical occupancy would result in differing threats to life safety. At least two topics are important in assessing the impact of a potential release of an agent: 1) how does the agent distribute in an occupied space upon an accidental release, and 2) how does this release affect personnel who may be exposed? For the former, a series of tests was conducted to study the release of four of the twelve agents in a sealed compartment to measure the airborne concentration of agent that results from complete venting of containers of typical size into spaces of typical volume. These tests were augmented with field modeling to extend the range of the test results to other compartment geometries. For the latter, published toxicological results for chronic or acute exposure are summarized. It is important to note that in these tests, no humans were exposed.

This report examines fire and alcohol studies performed by medical scientists, fire investigators, and social theorists. The physiological effects of long and short-term alcohol use are described. Alcohol's effect on behavior and its role in unintentional injuries is examined. The demographics of alcohol use and abuse as well as societal factors influencing alcohol use are noted. Caretakers who are under the influence of alcohol are also studied in regards to how their impairment may affect a dependent individual. The demographics of fire and fire fatalities are described. The leading causes of fire fatalities are also discussed, specifically how and to what extent they are affected by alcohol.

This guide is intended to offer both small and large, career and volunteer departments, specific recommendations and example for applying ergonomics. The guide's contents includes an introduction to ergonomics, ergonomic-related disorders, developing an ergonomics program, ergonomic hazards, preventing and controlling ergonomic hazards, training, medical management, procedures for reporting injuries, implementing the ergonomic program, and evaluating program effectiveness.

The purpose of this manual is to provide the training officer and those who ar responsible within the department to train their vehicle operators with a better understanding of the seriousness of driver training.

This manual presents guidance for the managers of emergency medical services (EMS) organizations in the recruitment and retention of volunteer personnel.

This report analyzes emergency vehicle visibility and conspicuity with an eye toward expanding efforts in these areas to improve vehicle and roadway operations safety for all emergency responders. Emphasis in this report is placed on passive visibility/conspicuity treatments.

As part of the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) technical staff program to determine the effects of emissions from imported drywall on residential electrical, gas distribution, and fire safety components, the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has generated data to aid assessment of whether there has been a loss of functionality of fire smoke detectors exposed to those emissions. NIST tested four sets of smoke detectors in the Fire Emulator/Detector Evaluator (FEDE) and the UL 217 test apparatus. Set 1 (ionization only) detectors were provided by CPSC staff and described as having been installed in homes with imported drywall; Set 2 (ionization only) detectors (same models as Set 1 but different batches) were described as coming from contemporaneous homes without the presence of imported drywall; Set 3 smoke detectors were purchased new by NIST and tested as received; and Set 4 comprised detectors from Set 3 that had been subjected to an accelerated aging protocol to simulate 10-year exposure to the effluent from imported drywall. Detectors from Set 1 and Set 2 activated within UL 217 sensitivity test parameters. Tests using the FEDE found differences in sensitivity between Sets 1 and 2 and between the ionization detectors in Sets 3 and 4 that were numerically small compared to the allowable performance range. An even smaller improvement in sensitivity was found for photoelectric smoke detectors between Sets 3 and 4. Two of the Set 1 smoke detectors sensed the presence of smoke, but would not send the signal to activate interconnected alarms. Two other Set 1 smoke detectors failed to operate under AC power, but operated properly under the required 9V battery back-up. It could not be determined whether the observations of Set 1 detector performance could be attributed to exposure to the emissions from imported drywall or to other factors.

The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) is concerned about the hazard of acute residential carbon monoxide (CO) exposures from portable gasoline powered generators that can result in death or serious and/or lasting adverse health effects in exposed individuals. As an initial approach to characterizing these hazards, CPSC measured the emissions from generators by testing them in a small test chamber (Brown 2006). CPSC subsequently contracted with the University of Alabama (UA) to develop and construct low CO-emission prototype generators using off-the-shelf technologies installed on commercially-available portable generators. Under an interagency agreement with CPSC, NIST conducted a series of tests to characterize the indoor time course profiles of CO concentrations resulting from portable generators operating in the attached garage of a home under various use and environmental conditions, to evaluate the performance of low CO-emission prototype generators, and to provide model validation data. The data was also used as input to a simulation analysis conducted to examine the potential performance of the low CO-emission prototypes under a wider range of operating conditions.

This body of work provides detailed information on the nature of the $15 Million Sight and Sound Theater Fire and Building Collapse in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania on January 28, 1997. It will assist policymakers who must decide on allocations of resources between fire and other pressing problems, and within the fire service to improve codes and code enforcement, training, public fire education, building technology, and other related areas.

This report on the Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, One Meridian Plaza fire documents one of the most significant highrise fires in U.S. history. This body of work provides detailed information on the nature of the fire problem for policymakers who must decide on allocations of resources between fire and other pressing problems, and within the fire service to improve codes and code enforcement, training, public fire education, building technology, and other related areas.

This handbook is designed to serve as a compendium of basic information about the tools and techniques of fire investigation.

The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) initiated a program to determine the effects of emissions from problem drywall on residential electrical, gas distribution, and fire safety components. As part of this program, the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) generated data to help determine whether there has been degradation in the activation performance of automatic residential fire sprinklers exposed to those emissions, as manifested by changes to sprinkler activation time. NIST tested three sets of sprinklers in the sensitivity test oven (plunge test apparatus), according to the oven heat test section of UL 199 / UL 1626. Set 1 (bulb type) residential sprinklers were provided by CPSC staff and described as having been installed in homes with problem drywall; Set 2 sprinklers (bulb and fusible types) were purchased new by NIST and tested as received; and Set 3 comprised new sprinklers, of the same models as Set 2, after they had been subjected to an accelerated aging protocol, the Battelle Class IV corrosivity environment. Sprinklers from all three sets were installed and tested in the UL 199 / UL 1626 plunge test apparatus.

The use of halon 1301 for fire fighting is being phased out due to its deleterious effects on stratospheric ozone. This report summarizes the findings of a three year study designed to characterize and identify super-effective thermal fire-fighting agents as possible replacements for these widely used compounds. Four distinct aspects related to the effectiveness of potential thermal agents have been considered. First, existing thermodynamic databases maintained by NIST have been searched in order to identify chemical compounds which are predicted to extract large amounts of heat from a combustion zone. Second, two liquids that were identified as being particularly interesting during the database search were tested experimentally for their extinguishing effectiveness. Third, detailed chemical-kinetic modeling and experimental studies of extinguishing volume fractions in simple flame systems were employed to improve the understanding of the effects of thermal agents on diffusion flames. Fourth, empirical heat transfer correlations for spray cooling of a surface were used to estimate the efficiencies of surface cooling by thermal agents. The database searches used two primary sources -- the Design Institute for Physical Properties database containing 1458 compounds from 83 family types and a smaller database, REFPROP, containing 43 compounds which is tailored to refrigerant applications. Additional substances were included that are not well represented in these databases. Compounds having high 1) heats of vaporization, 2) liquid-phase heat capacities, and 3) total heat absorption due to phase changes (if applicable), heating of a liquid (if applicable), and the heating of the gas phase to combustion temperatures were identified. The results are reported in tables of compounds ordered in terms of their ability to extract heat. The following recommendations are made based on the findings of the study: 1. The effectiveness of HFE7100 as a fire-extinguishing agent should be tested on full-scale simulations of aircraft fires. 2. Additional studies of the effectiveness of fire extinguishing agents released as liquids should be performed with a focus on confirming and understanding their enhanced performance relative to that expected based on simple heat extraction. 3. Experiments should be designed and performed with a goal of better understanding the interactions of liquid agent droplets with heated and reacting surfaces. Such an understanding is needed to better predict the effectiveness of liquid agents and could lead to improved approaches for delivering such agents to a fire.

Self-Contained Breathing Apparatus (SCBA) are one of the most important items of personal protective equipment used by firefighters and rescue personnel. SCBA allow firefighters to enter hazardous environments to perform essential interior operations including offensive fire attack, victim search, rescue and removal, ventilation, and overhaul. They are also used at non-fire incidents involving hazardous materials and confined spaces where there is a threat of toxic fumes or an oxygen-deficient atmosphere. There have been several well-documented incidents during the past 10 years where SCBA failure may have been a contributing factor in the deaths or injuries of firefighters . These incidents, coupled with a recognition of the importance of self-contained breathing apparatus to firefighter safety, prompted the United States Fire Administration to undertake this study to address any operations trends associated with SCBA failure incidents, and to identify potential problems requiring correction or further study.

Radio frequency identification (RFID) tags have become widely used by industry, retail sales businesses, and government agencies for tracking materials, products, and inventories. This tracking technology is starting to be applied to the management of emergency responder protective equipment items. This technology has potential for helping to manage the use of emergency apparatus and may become a component of human body worn tracking and locating systems. Current standards governing the application of RFID technology are focused on the industrial sector, and no standards exist for use of the technology in the emergency response community. The Building and Fire Research Laboratory (BFRL) has conducted a series of five large scale fire tests to measure the performance of RFID tags in elevated temperature environments that may be produced by structural fires. Passive and active RFID tag designs were evaluated. Data were gathered from each of these large scale fire tests. Additionally, small scale experiments were conducted to better understand the response of these devices when exposed to elevated thermal challenges. Small scale tests were also conducted to develop a basic understanding of RFID tag performance when exposed to conditions representative of wet personal protective clothing. Results from theses evaluations show that RFID tags are thermally sensitive to elevated temperatures, and they can be destroyed if exposed directly to room fire environments. However, results also show that RFID tags may still function if they are protected by insulating materials. Challenges with wet clothing showed that passive RFID tags would not transmit more than a few millimeters when located in a wet garment. Active RFID tags continued to work while contained in wet clothing with a small loss in communications range.

This planning guide will introduce you to a simple, easy-to-use planning process to develop a fire safety program for your community. Since the planning process is based on the experiences of other rural communities, we know all the steps work. Examples throughout the guide will help you apply each step to your community. These examples, along with the other information, make using the steps straightforward. All of the information in this planning guide is based on the U S Fire Administration's (USFA's) booklet Public Fire Education Planning: A Five-Step Process.

Public Fire Education Planning: A Five-Step Process describes a systematic approach to designing, implementing, and evaluating community safety education programs. This manual will help those of you who are new to community safety education understand some of the basic concepts about how to get started with an organization's community safety education programs. It also will assist you with some hints and techniques on a variety of topics, such as methods for locating partners to assist with community education or techniques for locating resources for your safety programs.

A fire originating in the compactor chute of a 35-story high-rise apartment building in the Harlem area of New York City caused the deaths of seven building residents. Several code enforcement and fire department operational problems may have contributed to the loss. The U.S. Fire Administration had planned to investigate this fire because of its many important lessons but would only do so with the express permission of appropriate authority. The Fire Department of New York (FDNY) requested that the investigation be delayed until a preliminary internal investigation was completed. When the preliminary FDNY report was issued, the Fire Administration found it to be of such high quality and candor that an additional investigation did not seem likely to add much to the lessons of interest nationally. This report summarizes some of the lessons learned on the FDNY report and discussions with members of the investigation team.