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Page 3
Fire Safe Structures Tests for the UWI
Sample of home deck construction burning after exposed to flames from an 80 kW gas burner at the Forest Products Laboratory. Urban-Wildland Interface (UWI) fires are a great concern in California and elsewhere. The resistance of decks, windows and outside surfaces to fire spread can make the difference between homes that survive and those that perish. Today, many different man-made and natural materials or combinations are being introduced for use in home construction. The behavior of these materials to fire exposures varies greatly.
Professor Frank Beall at the University of California Forest Products Laboratory in Richmond is addressing these issues by developing fire test protocols to evaluate the behavior of decking, windows, wall and roof assemblies using simulated wildland fire exposures.
With the exception of the roof tests, the exposure is flame contact, which is similar to that caused by fuels in proximity to structures. The protocol for decks uses a 610 millimeter square sample of deck materials exposed to an 80 kilowatt gas fire flame impinging on the underside. As in previous studies for the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and the California Office of Emergency Services (OES), the emphasis is put on evaluation of the resistance to fire penetration of the structure, not simply ignition of materials. The testing protocols are being developed for use in performance building codes and standards for structures in the UWI.
To aid local officials and consumers, performance measurements for specific products and systems are posted at http://www.ucfpl.ucop.edu/ WDFireResearch.htm. Background information for these studies including a history of wildfires and fire safety guidance is found at http://www.ucfpl.ucop.edu/FMIZone.htm.
For further Information contact: Frank C. Beall, 510-215-4233, frank.beall@ucop.eduEuropean Partners Study Extinguishing Tank Fires
A 140 m2 (1500 ft2) full scale burn performed to validate the foam spread model under fire conditions.
The suppression of large scale tank fires is complex and offers unusual challenges to fire fighters, the petroleum industry and the environment. A consortium of European government and industry partners is addressing the problem of understanding the limitations of the extinguishing mechanisms and fire fighting foams for tank fires. The consortium's FOAMSPEX project includes practical
scale characterizations of foam jets, laboratory and small-scale characterization of properties of various foams, modeling of foam spread on the burning fuel surface to enable prediction of extinguishing in full scale applications. Nearing completion, FOAMSPEX will be summarized in a book and at a seminar on Sept. 20, 2001, in connection with the INTERFLAM ’01 Symposium in Edinburgh, Scotland.
For additional information view the summary at http://www.sp.se/fire/eng/protection/
foamspex.htm or contact one of the following: Dr. Bror Persson at the SP National Testing and Research Institute, bror.persson@sp.se; Dr. Antonio Lancia at TRI – Tesca Ricerca e Innovazione srl, antonio.lancia@mediacom.it; Mr. Dave Mulligan at ANGUS FIRE Ltd., dave.mulligan@angusuk.co.uk.
