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Harvey Mudd College has been working on the development of a sensor
which can be used by the fire service to monitor the structural
integrity of a building during a fire. The sensor would alarm to provide
a warning for firefighters to evacuate the building prior to collapse.
Another step forward was made during some recent burn tests in an
acquired structure. The structure tested was a classroom-type structure,
approximately 35 feet wide and 165 feet long, constructed using wood
frame members covered with stucco and brick veneer. The anticipated
collapse events included the collapse of the cantilevered overhang along
the east side of the building and the collapse of two locations on the
roof loaded with approximately 1200 pounds. Roof loading was achieved
using five 30 gallon steel trash cans filled with sand. |
Instrumented classroom burned to collect data on fire-induced
vibration. Sand filled cans provide mass load on roof during burn
experiment on classroom structures.
Cont. on page 2 |
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The potential benefits of thermal imaging or infrared (IR) imaging to
fire fighters became evident in the early to mid 1990s. Since then IR
technology for first responder applications has matured to the point
that most emergency response organizations either have purchased or are
considering the purchase of thermal imaging cameras (TICs.) Thermal
imagers are a significant tool for the fire service, enabling fire
fighters to locate fires and |
victims, find their way out of burning structures, provide guidance to
fire attack teams, and perform overhaul operations and fire
investigations more effectively. The National Institute of Standards
and Technology (NIST) held a workshop to provide a forum to discuss
strategies, technologies procedures, best practices, and research and
development that could greatly improve thermal imaging technology for
the first responder community. |
The goal of the workshop was to identify barriers that impede advances
in the application of thermal imaging technology to emergency response.
Four communities were represented: experts from the first responder
community, thermal imaging camera and component manufacturers,
firefighter trainers, and those doing research on thermal imaging.
Cont. on page 2 |
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