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.

A literature-based study was conducted at the Building and Fire Research Laboratory of the National Institute of Standards and Technology, to compare characteristics and usage of steel, copper, chlorinated polyvinyl chloride and polybutylene fire sprinkler pipe primarily related to residential and light hazard installations. This report addresses key variables such as material properties, usage criteria and limitations, system design, installation requirements, economics, and maintenance.

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 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 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 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 report was developed through a cooperative agreement between the USFA and the International Fire service Training Association (IFSTA) at Oklahoma State University (OSU).

The purpose of this manual is to assist fire service leaders in examining the future, the role of the fire service in that future, and ways to "get there from here." It is designed to provide a fire chief, a public information officer, and other leaders in the fire service with guidance and tips on marketing a department and its services to the local customers: the citizens and organization served gy the department

Experiments conducted in a Toledo Ohio school are used to examine the use of signals from simulated heat detectors by incident command. Two approaches are examined. The first is to use the signal from ceiling mounted thermocouples to deduce conditions in the fire room and hallway. The second approach is to process these signals using the Sensor-Driven Fire Model to provide additional information to incident command.

This report is part of a series of reports on technical rescue incidents across the United States. The investigation report provides detailed information about the magnitude and nature of the incident; how the response to the incident was carried out and managed; the impact of the incident on emergency responders and the emergency response systems in the community; and the lessons learned.

This report is part of a series of reports on technical rescue incidents across the United States. The investigation report provides detailed information about the magnitude and nature of the incident; how the response to the incident was carried out and managed; the impact of the incident on emergency responders and the emergency response systems in the community; and the lessons learned.

This report continues a series of annual studies by the USFA of on-duty firefighter fatalities in the United States. The USFA is the single public agency source of information for all on-duty firefighter fatalities in the United States each year. The unique and specific objective of this study is to identify all on-duty firefighter fatalities that occurred in the United States and its protectorates in 2005, and to present in summary form the circumstances surrounding each occurrence. The study is intended to help identify approaches that could reduce the number of firefighter deaths in future years. In addition to the 2005 overall findings, this study includes information on firefighter accountability programs.

This study analyzed the use of sprinklered and non-sprinklered fire protection options in existing small Board and Care homes.

The purpose of this study is to analyze the circumstances surrounding fire fighter fatalities in the United States in 1987 in an attempt to identify potential means for reducing the number of deaths that occur each year. In addition to the 1987 findings, this study will also include special analyses of particular recurring scenarios, using NFPA's data base of fire fighter fatalities from 1978 through 1987.

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.

"Staring into the Sun" is a firefighter's memoir. You'll shudder with joy (and revulsion) while reading this fiercely honest and humorous romp with career firefighter Nick Brunacini, who vividly chronicles his 30-year fire-service career in the sun-baked city of Phoenix. Brunacini describes his municipal playground and its inhabitants with the aching tenderness and bitter repugnance usually reserved for long-lost lovers. "Staring into the Sun" offers readers a far-too-brief glimpse into the gritty, fun-loving and often sweet-natured soul of a true American Firefighter.

A model is presented that describes the heat transfer through a gypsum wallboard partition assembly incorporating the mass transport effects of water in liquid and vapor form. Sources of water include surface bound (adsorbed) water and hydrated water that is chemically bound with the crystal matrix of gypsum. Liberated water is allowed to migrate through the porous structure through molecular diffusion and pressure driven flow. Evaporation or condensation occurs when the partial pressure of water vapor with the pore space is less than or greater than the saturation pressure, respectively. Results obtained from the model are compared to measurements taken during a standard fire resistance test. It is found that the surface temperatures are typically under-predicted, although qualitatively similar behavior is observed. The analysis implies that the liberation and transport of water in both its liquid and vapor form plays a significant role in the thermal response of gypsum wallboard subjected to fire exposures, perhaps even beyond the extent to which the current model has been developed. The model can be used, under the assumptions through which it was developed, to conduct sensitivity studies of the physical parameters and evaluate the effect upon the fire resistance of the system.

Firefighters are the unsung local heroes of every community. They protect our towns and cities, risk their lives, and give up their free time when the alarm sounds. Through beautiful photography and engaging text, take a glimpse into the lives of these men and women, all of them volunteer, including an Emmy-winning songwriter, an arborist, a lawyer, and a topographic mapmaker. Experience a sampling of life at firehouses from around the country: a 100-year-old department in a small New York town, an "Old South" department in one of America's poorest counties, a Midwest department that battled one of the worst fires in Colorado's history, and a California coastline department with only nine members--none younger than 54. Their stories will leave you inspired and thankful for the local heroes we call firemen.

Fire fighters are born to fight. Wherever there may be danger lurking, it is certain there are firefighters standing by ready to engage in the battle. But when firefighters get into trouble, who do they turn to? After completing this text, and the recommended training standards, you can fill that calling.

This report describes the results of calculations that were performed using the Fire Dynamics Simulator (FDS) to examine the effect of wind on the thermal and fire conditions in a single-story residential structure and to provide a visualization of fire behavior representative of what members of the Houston Fire Department (HFD) experienced during the course of their interior operations, to provide insight on the thermal conditions that claimed the lives of two fire fighters during a wind-driven fire in a one-story ranch house on April 12, 2009, in Houston, Texas.

In 2009, the National Institute of Science and Technology and American Fiber Manufacturers Association held a workshop on fire blocking barrier fabrics for soft furnishings. This manuscript discusses the past, present, and future state of the BF landscape based on knowledge obtained from the workshop and the subsequent knowledge gathered from literature and stakeholders. This review is the first part of a three manuscript series stemming from the workshop. The next two manuscripts will review mattress and upholstered furniture. The reviews will include discussions of construction, flammability testing, regulations, and the role of fire blocking barrier fabrics.

Fire fighters are exposed to highly variable environments including elevated temperatures and convective and radiant thermal flux, which can put a significant burden on personal protective equipment. Thermally degraded and melted self-contained breathing apparatus (SCBA) facepieces have been identified as a contributing factor in certain fire fighter fatalities and injuries in the United States. The SCBA facepiece lens is often considered the weakest component of a fire fighter's ensemble in high heat conditions, but the level of thermal performance of the facepiece lens is not well understood. The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), conducted experiments and detailed findings which demonstrated a range of realistic thermal exposures and environmental conditions, which can result in thermal degradation and even catastrophic failure of facepieces.

Predictions of fire plume and ceiling jet temperature and the response of thermal detectors from NIST's Fire Dynamics Simulator(FDS)were compared to data from a series of full-scale tests conducted by Underwriters Laboratory. Findings and conclusions are included.

An assessment of uncertainties for the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) 1016 mm Guarded-Hot-Plate apparatus is presented. The uncertainties are reported in a format consistent with current NIST policy on the expression of measurement uncertainty. The report describes a procedure for detennination of component uncertainties for thermal conductivity and thermal resistance for the apparatus under operation in either the double-sided or single-sided mode of operation. An extensive example for computation of uncertainties for the single-sided mode of operation is provided for a low-density fibrous-glass blanket thermal insulation. For this material, the relative expanded uncertainty for thermal resistance increases from 1% for a thickness of 25.4 mm to 3% for a thickness of 228.6 mm. Although these uncertainties have been developed for a particular insulation material, the procedure and, to a lesser extent, the results are applicable to other insulation materials measured at a mean temperature close to 297 K (23.9 DGC, 75 OF). The analysis identifies dominant components of uncertainty and, thus, potential areas for future improvement in the measurement process. For the NIST 1016 mm Guarded-Hot-Plate apparatus, considerable improvement, especially at higher values of thermal resistance, may be realized by developing better control strategies for guarding that include better measurement techniques for the guard gap thermopile voltage and the temperature sensors.