Characterization of Fires in Multi-Suite Residential Dwellings

Objective

To contribute to the development of methods for use in fire safety engineering analysis and design, and to aid in the development of codes and standards.

Background

Fires in residential buildings result in substantial property losses and are often fatal.  Designing buildings to minimize impact of fires requires the use of computational tools that rely on suitable quantitative characteristics of fires, or design fires, which must be realistic to produce credible results.

Researchers are drawing information from fire experiments such as this one conducted in NRC-IRC's test facilities to establish realistic simulated fires to use in their studies of fire safety issues

 Progress to Date

The study involves computer simulations and full-scale fire experiments in realistically furnished rooms.  The experiments are instrumented to measure the heat release rate, products of combustion such as smoke, soot and gas species, and other parameters.  The first phase of the project in which typical residential furnishings, such as sleep sets and clothing, were individually tested in a simulated residential room, has been completed.

Work Remaining

During the next phase, fire experiments will be conducted in realistically furnished simulated residential rooms to gather information on the nature of fires  that involve several items of furniture.

Expected Outcomes

This project will provide a comprehensive analysis of fire characteristics in various areas within multi-suite residential dwellings and a greater understanding of the main features of these fires.  The design fires and calculation methods that will be developed may be used in the development of design guides, codes and standards by industry, regulatory authorities, and other agencies.  A database of experimental results will also be developed.

Partners

Canadian Automatic Sprinkler Association, Canadian Concrete Masonry Producers Association, Canadian Furniture Manufacturers Association, The Canadian Wood Council, City of Calgary, FPInnovations - Forintek Division, Gypsum Association, Masonry Worx, Ontario Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing, Régie du Bâtiment du Québec, Ontario Ministry of Community Safety and Correctional Services (Office of the Fire Marshal), Heath Canada

Start/Expected Completion Dates

This project began in 2006 and is expected to be completed in 2010.

Private Website

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Related Information

Institutes:

• NRC Institute for Research in Construction