NIST Evaluates Firefighting Tactics in High-Rise Test

March 28, 2008 // Published as a news service by IHS

The experiments on Governors Island, conducted in partnership with the Fire Department of New York City (FDNY) and New York's Polytechnic University, examined the effectiveness of firefighting tactics, such as the use of positive pressure ventilation fans, wind control devices and hose streams to control or suppress deadly heat and smoke from the wind-driven fires.

Between 1985 and 2002, 1,600 civilians died and more than 20,000 people were injured in approximately 385,000 high-rise building fires in the U.S., according to the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA).

Due to temperature differences between the outside and inside of a building on fire, open doors and broken windows far from the actual site of the fire can dramatically increase the movement of hot gases and smoke.

Wind-driven flames, heat and smoke with temperatures exceeding 1500 F can speed across entire floors and around corridors without warning. Smoke and heat entering stairwells often can block the evacuation of occupants and can hinder firefighting operations, experts said.

To develop an understanding of the wind-driven fires and measure the impact of the firefighting tactics, NIST researchers placed cameras, as well as temperature and pressure sensors throughout the building. From a safe ground floor monitoring post, the researchers monitored the progress of intentionally set fires raging through the apartments and public corridors. They recorded the effects of opening or closing doors and windows, both near and far from the blaze.

Positive pressure ventilation fans, prototype wind control devices and prototype high-rise fire suppression nozzles, which were developed by FDNY, all had a positive impact on controlling the effects of wind-driven fires.

Research findings from the Governors Island experiments are expected to help improve fire service guidelines for combating high-rise fires, as well as enhance firefighter safety, fire ground operations and use of equipment. NIST expects to issue a report on the high-rise experiments by November 2008.

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security's (DHS) Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) funded the Governors Island tests under its Assistance to Firefighters grant program.

Source: National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST).