Fire Protection Research Foundation

Fire Protection Research Foundation and NFPA host Global Research Update seminar

NFPA and FPRF will present a one-day seminar focusing on recent global research that addresses high challenge warehouse storage and the call for improved fire protection strategies. The seminar, “Global Research Update: High Challenge Storage Protection,” will be held June 27, 2012 at the Marriott Rive Gauche, in Paris, France, in cooperation with the European Fire Sprinkler Network conference.

“Many of today’s products including aerosols, lithium-ion batteries, and flammable and combustible liquids increasingly pose storage challenges in warehouses around the world,” said Kathleen Almand, executive director of the Fire Protection Research Foundation. “Participants at this event will explore the latest global research on storage protection and how to improve safety in the future.”  

The program will feature presentations from the insurance industry and global property owners who will provide a perspective on these emerging needs. In addition, global research organizations will highlight recent research works.

Honorary co-sponsors of the seminar are:

• Health and Safety Laboratory (HSL), UK
• Ineris National Institute for Industrial Environment and Risks, France
• SP – Technical Research Institute of Sweden

For more information about the seminar and to register, contact the Fire Protection Research Foundation.

16th Annual Suppression, Detection and Signaling Research and Applications Symposium to be held by the Fire Protection Research Foundation

The FPRF’s 16^th annual Suppression, Detection and Signaling Research and Applications symposium (SUPDET 2012) will be held at the Sheraton Crescent Hotel in Phoenix, Arizona, on Monday, March 5 through Thursday, March 8.

Aimed at fire detection, suppression and emergency communications systems professionals, the symposium provides attendees the opportunity to exchange ideas, innovations and current research information. Attendees have the option to choose between the Detection and Signaling Program or the Suppression Program.

All SUPDET 2012 attendees are also invited to attend a free half-day Emergency Communications Workshop focused on emergency messaging, which will involve the development of emergency messaging templates that serve as the technical basis for explanatory material in the next edition of NFPA 72, National Fire Alarm and Signaling Code.

This year’s agenda will feature 30 presentations featuring the latest developments and current research in key areas including:

• New detection technology
• Approaches and human response to emergency/mass communication with a focus on high risk groups
• New developments in water-based suppression systems
• Environmental regulations and new fire suppression agents
• Applications/case studies
• High challenge commodity protection – new research on lithium ion batteries, aerosols and other hazards

For more information or to register online, contact Eric Peterson at +1 617 984-7271.

SUPDET 2012 to be held March 5-8, 2012 in Phoenix, Arizona

The 16th annual Suppression, Detection and Signaling Research and Applications Symposium (SUPDET 2012) is set for March 5-8, 2012 at the Sheraton Crescent Hotel in Phoenix.  Register now

SUPDET 2012 features 30 presentations and a special workshop on Emergency Communications Strategies.  Keep your knowledge at the leading edge through presentations featuring the latest developments and current research in key areas including:

• New detection technology
• Approaches and human response to emergency/mass communication
• New developments in water-based suppression systems
• Environmental regulations and new fire suppression agents
• Applications/Case studies
• Featured session on high challenge commodity protection  – new research on lithium ion batteries, aerosols and other hazards

A special half-day workshop on Emergency Communications Strategies will be available for all SUPDET 2012 attendees on March 7.

Earn additional CEUs, network with other professionals in your field, and learn about new technologies and advancements from experts in fire detection, suppression, and signaling issues.  Register now.

Home Cooking Fire Mitigation: Technology Assessment report issued

Cooking related fires are a leading cause of U.S. fire loss. Beginning in the mid 1980’s, the National Institute of Standards and Technology, Consumer Product Safety Commission, and the home appliance industry undertook a comprehensive review of strategies to mitigate death, injury and property loss from cooking fires with a focus on cooking range technologies. In February of 2010, a Vision 20/20 workshop on this topic was convened in Washington D.C.  Participants recommended that an additional study be undertaken to identify the barriers to the utilization of these technologies and to develop an action plan towards improving cooking fire safety.

The Fire Protection Research Foundation was asked by the National Institute of Standards and Technology to develop an action plan to mitigate loss from home cooking fires by investigating safety technologies related to home cooking.  Elements of the study include an in-depth assessment of cooking fire scenarios, a review of current and emerging technologies, and development of an assessment methodology to consider the utility and effectiveness of mitigation technologies against a range of fire and use scenarios and other criteria.  

On July 14, 2011 leaders in the fire safety community met together at at workshop in Baltimore, Maryland to review the results of the Foundation study and to develop an action plan for implementation of these technologies. 

Read the new issue of the Fire Protection Research Foundation newsletter

The November/December issue of our Fire Protection Research Foundation newsletter is now available. In this issue:

• Symposium on Alternative Energy Technologies and Electrical Safety Standards, coming to Atlanta on December 6.
• Supdet 2012, our annual conference on the latest developments in research, technology, and applications for the fire protection community, is moving to Phoenix in March.
• New reports, including "Electrical Vehicle Charging and NFPA Electrical Safety Codes and Standards", "Lithium Ion Batteries Hazard and Use Assessment", and "Analysis of Ambulance Crash Data" 
• Our 2012 “National Trends in Delivery of Health and Long Term Care: Implications for Safety Codes and Standards” summit will be held in Baltimore in March.

Subscribe today to automatically receive our bi-monthly Fire Protection Research Foundation newsletter. It's free, informative, and will keep you up to date on new projects and reports, planning developments, upcoming activities

Validation of Modeling Tools for Detection Design in High Air Flow Environments project underway

Background: Information‐technology and telecommunications (IT/telecom) facilities provide critical services in today’s world. From a risk standpoint, the indirect impact of fire loss due to business interruption and loss of critical operations, sometimes geographically very distant from the IT/telecom facility itself, can far outweigh the direct property loss.

In the past few years, there have been dramatic changes in the equipment housed in these facilities, which have placed increased demands on HVAC systems. As a result, airflow containment solutions are being introduced to increase energy efficiency. From a fire safety design perspective, the use of airflow containment creates a high airflow environment that dilutes the smoke, which poses challenges for providing adequate detection, and affects the dispersion of suppression agents.

Annex Section B.4.5 of NFPA 72, National Fire Alarm and Signaling Code, states, “There currently are no quantitative methods for estimating either smoke dilution or airflow effects on locating smoke detectors.” Although tools exist to model fire development, detection time, and suppression agent dispersion, they have not been validated for this application.

Research Goal: The goal of this project is to develop a validated set of modeling tools that can be used for providing reliable analysis of detection performance in IT/telecom facilities. The first phase of the project is currently underway.  For more information, contact Amanda Kimball, Foundation Research Project Manager, akimball@nfpa.org.

Register now for Dec. 6 Alternative Energy Technologies and Electrical Safety Standards symposium

Atlanta Marriott, Atlanta, GA       9:00 AM – 4:30 PM, December 6, 2011

This event offers a dynamic forum for the discussion of the safety aspects of alternative energy technologies and how they relate to the National Electrical Code® and related standards. Dont' miss this opportuntiy to join other leaders in the electrical safety field.  Register now.

New report issued on Electrical Vehicle Charging and NFPA Electrical Safety Codes and Standards

Recent forecasts indicate that almost one million Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicle (PHEV) or Plug-in Electric Vehicles (PEV) charge points will need to be installed in the United States by 2015, with approximately one-third of these being non-residential charging units. The National Electrical Code® addresses the safety of the built infrastructure with respect to charging. In 2011 a Task Force was established to explore this issue and its implications for the NEC. This project was undertaken in support of that Task Force. The report presents the results of a project whose overall goal is to facilitate the safe integration of electric vehicles in the nation’s electrical safety infrastructure. It describes a review of technologies likely to impact electrical safety and presents an assessment of needed changes to codes and standards and a roadmap for needed research on this topic.

Assessment of Powered Rescue Tool Capabilities with High-Strength Alloys and Composite Materials - report issued

Powered rescue tools are commonly used by emergency first responders to extricate trapped victims from crashed motor vehicles, and a large inventory of these tools exists throughout today’s emergency response community. Recent years have seen improved auto manufacturing processes that have resulted in the proliferation of high-strength metal alloys and composite materials resistant to existing powered rescue tools. This report identifies, collects, and assesses various informational aspects of this topic involving high-strength metal alloys and composite materials that are challenging the performance of the present generation of powered rescue tools. This includes consideration of vehicle extrication scenarios, clarification on the use of these high-strength materials, review of the existing field inventory of powered rescue tools, and recommendation to address identified knowledge gaps.

Analysis of Ambulance Crash Data - project report issued

Motor vehicle crashes involving ambulances used for Emergency Medical Services (EMS) pose serious risk to both the crew and the patients. Data collection for ambulance crashes are regularly reported on a local or statewide basis and a need exists to compile and coordinate this data on a national basis. This reporrt provides summary information that identifies available data sources for ambulance crashes, provides a limited analysis of the data, and recommends optimum data formats. Download the report.