The UL Firefighter Safety Research Institute has just completed a project on the impact of fire attack utilizing interior and exterior fire streams on firefighter safety and occupant survival. This session will provide a discussion of tactical considerations for the fire service. The goal of the project was to analyze the interaction of fire service hose streams with the modern fire environment and study the potential impact on both firefighter safety and occupant survivability. This study is the first of its kind focused solely on the various methods of fire suppression and impact to both victims and firefighters alike. A project update was presented at FRI 2017, however, the project is now complete and full results will be shared here.

The Close Your Door safety initiative comes as the result of over 10 years of research by the UL Firefighter Safety Research Institute (FSRI). After proving that a closed door could potentially save lives in a fire, UL FSRI has committed to share this finding with the world. With the modern fire environment allowing fire to spread much quicker than years ago, it's more important than ever for the fire service community to get this important message out. After all, an educated community is a safer community.

Changes in home construction materials, contents, and geometry have resulted in changes on the fire scene. Today, structure fires are predominantly fueled by synthetic fuels and commonly become ventilation-controlled. How and where the fire receives oxygen impacts the fire dynamics and resulting fire patterns. This presentation will include videos, photos, and data from full-scale fire experiments conducted at the UL Large Fire Laboratory. A one-story and a two-story structure were used for the experiments. The test scenarios ranged from room fires with no exterior ventilation, to room fires with flow paths that connected the fires with remote intake and exhaust vents throughout the structures. Elevated fires originating in the kitchens were also examined. This project was supported by a grant from the U.S. DoJ NIJ.

UL Xplorlabs is an educational platform designed to take middle school students through their own fire forensics investigation and teach them the basics of fire dynamics. Join the interactive workshop to learn more about this free program and get an update on the UL Close Before You Doze public fire safety campaign.

Over the past several years, the UL Firefighter Safety Research Institute has been working with the fire service to examine fire dynamics and firefighting tactics. More than 300 experiments have examined the changes in the fire environment over time, the impact of ventilating ventilation-limited fires, and the implications of flow control and effectiveness in suppression tactics. These experiments were conducted with firefighters from across the country from departments of different types with varying levels of staffing, resources, and operating procedures. The UL studies have produced tactical considerations that have become common themes over several studies that may change the way you view your standard operating guidelines. This presentation will review the Top 20 tactical considerations from the last decade of fire research and discuss how they can be adapted for use in your standard operating guidelines.

More information coming soon...