UL FSRI is pleased to release the scientific report for Part III of the 2013 DHS FEMA Grant, Impact of Fire Attack Utilizing Interior and Exterior Streams on Occupant Survival: Full Scale Experiments.
This report details the results and analysis from 26 full-scale structure fire experiments looking to quantify the differences in interior and transitional fire attack. The experiments were analyzed to look at both victim survivability and tactic effectiveness. The following tactical considerations were developed with assistance from the project technical panel, blending their experience with the research results to aid in application on today’s complex fire grounds.
Interior Suppression With Only Smoke Showing
Transitional Attack With Fire Showing Near the Entry Point
Fire Showing Remote from The Primary Entry Point
There Can Be Survivable Spaces on Arrival at a Single-Family Residential Home
Fire Attack and Search & Rescue Can Occur Simultaneously
Search Consideration: Closed Doors Significantly Increase Occupant Survivability
Water in the Fire Compartment Matters, and so Does Timing
If You Can Get Water to Where It Needs to Go, You Don’t Need Much
Water Flow Can Impact Flow Path
Suppression Operations, Both Interior and Transitional, Did Not Increase Potential Burn Injuries to Occupants
Speed of Transition is the Enemy of Re-growth
Water Converted to Steam Expands, Hot Gases Cooled Rapidly Contract
Water Vapor is a Bi-product of Combustion
Flow and Move vs. Shutdown and Move
You Should Cool as You Advance
Understanding the Limitations of a Thermal Imaging Camera Can Increase its Effectiveness
A Short Burst of Water Cannot Tell You Gas Temperature
Large Volume Gas Cooling Requires a Large Volume of Water
Part I and Part II of this project looked at Water Mapping and Air Entrainment.
