UL Firefighter Safety Research Institute Partners with NIST, FDNY for New Online Training Program

UL Firefighter Safety Research Institute Partners with NIST, FDNY for New Online Training Program 04/15/2014

UL FSRI announced the release of “Scientific Research for the Development of More Effective Tactics”–a free online course that serves as a culmination of the full-scale field experiments performed on Governors Island by the Fire Department of New York, NIST, and UL.

The interactive training takes learners through a research timeline of the previous fire dynamics research conducted by NIST and UL, all of the details that went into the tests, test results, and tactical considerations derived from the test results. This course brings science to the streets by examining two main groups of tactical considerations. The first group looks at the impact of controlling ventilation and flow paths. The second explores the use of exterior fire attack as a means to rapidly reduce the fire hazard inside the structure in order to facilitate interior fire operations. Fires were conducted within numerous three-story residential row houses with ignition occurring in the basement, in the first floor living room and in a second floor bedroom.

“This training program presents the most up-to-date fire dynamics research in a way firefighters at all levels can comprehend,” UL FSRI Director Steve Kerber said. “It builds off of all of the UL and NIST firefighter research to date and provides students with the science they need to examine their tactical approaches. Tactical considerations are presented with video and data in a way that is easy to understand. For the firefighters out there that want all the details, buttons allow access to all of the data graphs, experimental video and relevant FDNY procedures.”

There are many features to this course that will increase fire service knowledge. An initial interactive research timeline provides links to more than 15 years of previous UL and NIST research that led to this series of experiments. Then basic fire dynamics concepts are introduced and linked to tactical considerations that will allow for the students to re-examine their current operating procedures. Finally, students have the opportunity to use interactive examples to develop an in-depth understanding of the impact of ventilation and water application on fire dynamics.

UL’s Firefighter Safety Research Institute is dedicated to increasing firefighter knowledge to reduce injuries and deaths in the fire service and in the communities they serve. For more information on UL FSRI projects, visit ULfirefightersafety.com.

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