Research of Fire Suppression Effectiveness of Hose Streams

This USFA/National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) research partnership conducts research to determine the effectiveness of different methods of applying water on a fire. Methods to be examined would include "straight stream," "fog," and Compressed Air Foam Systems (CAFS). The effectiveness would be examined on "open" burning fires as well as on structure fires. Determining the effectiveness of a range of water application methods could have impact on the tactical decisions, equipment choices, and water supply requirements that affect fire departments across the country. A better understanding of the capabilities of different water application methods could also impact ISO ratings. The impact on firefighter health and safety could also be addressed.

This project will examine drop size and velocity data not developed previously that is needed for further development of the Fire Dynamic Simulator (FDS) to enhance its usefulness and realism to benefit the fire service and allow for further study of fire suppression mechanisms. Further, this research effort will examine the use of the Iowa Fire Flow and the National Fire Academy Fire Flow Formulas commonly utilized in the fire service.

Fiscal Year (FY) 2006 marks the completion of Phase II during which the final full scale fire suppression experiments using fog and smooth bore nozzles were conducted. Measurements similar to the Phase I experiments conducted in previous fiscal years, including water flowrate, temperatures in the enclosure, air flow in and out of the enclosure, mass loss rate of the pallets, and heat flux, were taken. In addition, an automated nozzle was used to sweep the hose stream back and forth over the fuel in a repeatable manner. The development of a draft report that documents the analysis of the data from all the experiments conducted in FY06 as well as previous fiscal years was initiated. Phase III of this project is being planned during which the suppression results from Phase I and Phase II will be integrated into a predictive suppression sub-model that could be used with a fire model, such as NIST's FDS.