Fire Dynamics for Fire Investigators (02M)
The Fire Safety Research Institute (FSRI), a part of the UL Research Institutes, has conducted research examining the impact that changes in home construction materials, contents, size, and geometry have brought to residential structure fire growth and development. These changes in the built environment will impact the fire patterns that investigators will find. Today’s fires are predominantly fueled by synthetic contents and commonly become ventilation limited. How and where the fire receives oxygen impacts the fire dynamics and subsequent fire patterns. A section on flow paths has been added into the 2024 edition of NFPA 921.
This workshop conducted in collaboration with the Indianapolis Fire Department will examine the current structural fire environment and the basics of fire dynamics, especially related to ventilation-limited fires and flow paths. Data and videos from full-scale house experiments will be used to enable the understanding of the development of fire patterns relative to the changes in ventilation. The test structures include one-story ranch structures and two-story colonial structures. The colonial had a two-story family room and open foyer. The test scenarios ranged from fires in the homes with no exterior ventilation, to room fires with flow paths that connected the fires with remote intake and exhaust vents throughout the structures. The impact of HVAC systems on fire development in homes will also be presented.
The workshop attendees will explore the basic fire dyanmics and fire effects on materials with table-top fire demonstrations. The fire dynamics in structures concepts will be supported with full-scale fire scenarios conducted at the Indianapolis Fire Academy. The full scale fires will examine the fire patterns generated by flashover, ventilation limited fire conditions, and a low intake/high exhaust flow path fire scenario.
This workshop will also provide an overview of research resources including the FSRI Materials and Products Database and full-scale data repositories which are publicly available for use at no cost. An example of a fire analysis case study using the resources will be shared. Additionally, results from the post-fire exposure risks to fire investigators study wil be discussed. Attendees should bring gloves, work boots, a hardhat, and their respirator if the want to walk into the post-fire scenes.
