BY MARY JANE DITTMAR
A review of the research- and technology-related activities over the past year shows that represented are many of the areas of concern and topics that have engaged the fire-emergency-EMS services over that time. One example is responder safety. Research in this category is from varied perspectives-line-of-duty deaths, structural firefighting, training, equipment, and biotechnology, for example. Homeland security and all that that has come to encompass since 9/11 has brought into sharper focus concerns such as interoperability, information storage and sharing, occupant evacuation, structural collapse, and flammability issues.
As a point of interest, research pertaining to training has been broadened to include opportunities for “self-instruction.” Much of the information, including modeling techniques, is available for downloading without charge. The Fire Dynamic Simulator (FDS) and Smokeview modeling, used by National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) engineers to simulate incidents, such as fires, in which line-of-duty deaths (LODD) occur, for example, can be used as training tools by the fire service.
FDS is a computational fluid dynamics (CFD) model of fire-driven fluid flow. The software solves numerical equations appropriate for low-speed, thermally driven flow with an emphasis on smoke and heat transport from fires. More information and a free downloadable version of the software, documentation, and examples are at http://fire.nist.gov/fds/.
Smokeview is a visualization program used to display the results of an FDS simulation.
Version 4.0.5 of FDS and Smokeview were released in February 2005. A setup program for Windows installing FDS, Smokeview, documentation, and example files is available for download at http://fire.nist.gov/fds/.
NIST, in conjunction with the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), has recently completed three LODD fire simulations that show the impact of a flashover on fire spread through a structure (NISTIR 6854), the value of ventilating a structure from the top to the bottom (NISTIR 6510), and the potential magnitude of a fire hidden above a ceiling (NISTIR 6923). These simulations are recorded on CD-ROMs, which are made available to fire departments at no charge. You can request them from www.fire.nist.gov.
Synopses of some of the projects and studies that have recently been completed or were in progress at press time follow.
HEALTH AND SAFETY: REDUCING VEHICLE-CAUSED DEATHS AND INJURIES
Considering that within the past 10 years, more than 225 firefighters, about 25 percent of firefighter fatalities per year, were killed in the line of duty as a result of motor vehicle crashes, it is not surprising that numerous initiatives and studies are directed at reducing this number. Motor vehicle incidents, which occurred while the firefighter was responding to or returning from an emergency incident or while on the emergency scene (11 in the past three years), constitute the second leading cause of firefighter fatalities. Among these programs are the following.
 (1) Post-fire damage to a home where three firefighters and three children died. (Photos courtesy of NIST.) |
• Study of Traffic Incident Management Systems (TIMS); Department of Transportation (DOT) Federal Highway Administration (FHA) and U.S. Fire Administration (USFA). These agencies and the International Fire Service Training Association are engaged in developing effective technical guidance and training programs that will foster improved compliance with the DOT Manual of Uniform Traffic Control Devices and the National Fire Service Incident Management System (IMS) Consortium Model Procedures Guide for Highway Incidents. Among the topics covered are placing roadway warning signs, emergency vehicle warning lighting, training, and protective equipment for flaggers. Additional information is at www.usfa.fema.gov/research/safety/vehicle.shtm/.
 (2) FDS/Smokeview simulation of the fire development that resulted in the LODDs. |
• Emergency Services Vehicle Occupant Safety Project; USFA-NIOSH. Data pertaining to crashes of ambulances, EMS vehicles, and firefighter/emergency responder vehicles are continually analyzed. Hazard identification and task analysis, appropriate crash-testing methodologies, and occupant restraint systems are reviewed. Models are constructed of ambulance crash scenarios. NIOSH expects to complete the analysis by the fall and is initiating a three-year study of the effects of human factors on EMS workers as they relate to the various ambulance positions.
• Fire Service Emergency Vehicle Safety Initiative; USFA-DOT Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS) Joint Program Office. The long-term goal of this recently completed project is to reduce the number of firefighters killed responding to and returning from emergencies and struck on the roadway while operating during emergencies. In Phase 1, Study of Emergency Vehicle Warning Lighting Systems, issues involving human performance (driver), technology (vehicle design), and operations (firefighting operations) were examined. A key finding was that the use of emergency warning lights, daytime and nighttime, disoriented motorists. With the Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) as a partner, all emergency lighting systems-including incandescent, halogen, strobe, and light-emitting diode (LED) systems-were examined from the perspective of motorist disorientation caused by the use of emergency warning lights (day and night). This program was transitioning into Phase 2 at press time.
In Phase 2, issues of lighting color and emergency vehicle visibility/conspicuity will be considered, including the effects of the various colors used by different agencies and features such as retro-reflective striping, chevrons, and high-visibility paint colors.
Findings from both studies may be forwarded to national-level consensus standards organizations, such as the National Fire Protection Association, to be used to develop relevant/related standards. Additionally, the SAE’s Emergency Warning Lighting and Devices Standard Committee may use the findings to develop standards.
• Safe Operations of Fire Tankers. Fire tanker crashes that caused firefighter deaths or injuries were analyzed from the perspective of avoiding such crashes in the future. The project was coordinated by IOCAD Emergency Services; numerous representatives of fire service agencies, associations, manufacturers, and fire departments participated. The detailed report, “Safe Operation of Fire Tankers,” may be downloaded at www.ufsa.fema.gov/downloads/pdf/publications/fa-248.pdf/.
BUILDING SAFETY
In the United States, fire annually takes 3,600 lives, causes 22,000 serious injuries, and is responsible for $10 billion in direct property loss. NIST’s core research mission is to significantly reduce fire loss, primarily through research and testing in its Building and Fire Research Laboratory (BFRL).
 (3) Station Nightclub comparison of full-scale experiment with FDS simulation. |
The terrorist attacks of 9/11, the fires in public-assembly facilities and high-rises, and the natural disasters that have occurred in our country in recent times have made improving building safety for occupants and first responders a research priority. Under the NIST-directed public-private response program, the National Construction Safety Team (NCST) is analyzing factors that most probably contributed to the collapse of the two World Trade Center (WTC) towers and the 47-story WTC 7 on 9/11 and the extensive loss of life and property damage incurred in many of these types of tragedies.
 (4) Chicago-Cook County (IL) High-Rise Fire full-scale experiment and FDS simulation. |
(Author’s Note: On April 5, 2005, NIST released its analysis of how the WTC towers collapsed after two aircraft were flown into the buildings on 9/11. Reports related to the analysis are downloadable from www.nist.gov/public_affairs/releeases/wtc_briefing_april0505.htm/.)
NIST considered factors including fire growth and spread, the impact or potential impact of fire safety systems or changes in egress arrangements, and the conditions building occupants and firefighters encountered. Physical fire experiments and computer simulations created with the FDS and visualizations using Smokeview provide insight into the fire growth and smoke movement and enable researchers to gauge what difference the presence of working sprinklers might have made.
 (5) (Left) The visualization of the PPV fan flow. (Right) The Smokeview visualization of the simulated PPV flow pattern. |
Examples of projects recently completed in this category of research include the Cook County (IL) High-Rise Fire (October 17, 2003) and the fire in The Station nightclub in Rhode Island on February 20, 2003. (See “NIST releases report on W. Warwick, RI, nightclub fire,” News in Brief, page 46.) The nightclub report can be downloaded at www.nist.gov/public_affairs/ncst.htm#Rhode_Island_Nightclub/. The Cook County Administration Building Fire, SP 1021, can be downloaded at www.fire.nist.gov/bfrlpubs/NIST_SP-1021.pdf.
Prevention of Progressive Structural Collapse
It is evident now that building design and construction must be revised to provide for explicit resistance to progressive collapse. In addition, there is a need for techniques that will make existing buildings more resistant to progressive collapse. These statements were taken from NIST’s description of this research project.
The focus is on developing and implementing performance criteria for codes and standards and tools and guidelines that can help to prevent progressive structural collapse (the spreading of a structural failure, by a chain reaction, that is disproportionate to a localized triggering failure). Abnormal loads generally cause such failures. As of now, NIST explains, there is no accepted science-based or design practice for maintaining overall structural integrity within a multihazard (blast, explosion, impact, fire, wind, and earthquake) context that considers both design loads and abnormal loads. U.S. building codes have attempted to incorporate structural redundancies to mitigate progressive collapse by introducing prescriptive requirements for structural integrity.
Study components focus on the following interrelated activities:
1 The system design concept. Evaluate different structural system design concepts for their vulnerability to progressive collapse, and develop new system concepts that can effectively mitigate progressive collapse under multiple-threat scenarios.
2Retard collapse after the triggering event. Once a localized failure event occurs, it is critical that there be sufficient time and egress paths to evacuate the building. Each type of threat (blast, fire, wind, earthquake) may necessitate different solutions. Better connection details that ensure continuity of load-carrying capacity and that require that minimum levels of strength and ductility be provided can help to achieve this objective. In the case of fire, more durable and longer-lasting fire protective coatings may delay the loss of structural strength and stiffness in load-carrying systems.
3Built-in redundancy through alternate load paths. Redundant structural systems can provide alternate load paths to bridge across the localized damage after an initial event. Redundancy can be incorporated with minimal increase (few percent at most) to construction costs.
4Retrofit and design to “harden” structure. Hardening may be used to fill the mitigation needs remaining after the other three approaches have been incorporated. Hardening relies on designing more massive (thicker, stronger, stiffer) structural elements to directly resist the threats, or retrofitting an existing structure to achieve the same objective.
Using recommendations from a national workshop, a coordinated national plan is being developed for a problem-focused study on mitigating the progressive collapse of buildings. The work required depends heavily on developing and using advanced modeling and simulation tools to evaluate the vulnerability of structural systems, including new system design concepts, to progressive collapse under different types of threat (blast, impact, fire, wind, and earthquake). Although high-performance computational tools for predicting structural response because of abnormal dynamic loads are available, experimental validations of these predictions are needed to establish confidence in these tools.
Among the challenges in this type of research is that high-performance computation tools are not suitable for the design of low to mid-rise buildings, which constitute more than 90 percent of new buildings built in the United States. Design professions have to rely on commercially available design/analysis tools, but none can predict the potential for progressive building collapse. One of the main reasons for this is the lack of verified post-elastic (or plastic) models to represent structural joints subjected to abnormal loads. NIST proposes to develop experimentally verified analytical models of generic structural connections that can be used with readily available structural analysis software for analyzing progressive collapse potential and develop performance criteria and methods for cost effectively mitigating progressive structural collapse for new and existing structures. http://www2.bfrl.nist.gov/projects/projcontain.asp?cc=8612101000, accessed March 9, 2005, revised Jan. 12, 2005
Occupant Behavior and Egress
Giving building occupants and first responders enough time to evacuate a building is a primary research objective. Its realization depends on ascertaining answers to questions such as the following: What design features in large buildings will enhance evacuation? What are the most common behavioral characteristics of occupants? What are the needs of specific populations of occupants (physically handicapped, overweight and obese, elderly, for example)?
The project will update the evacuation model developed in 2004 (under a Director’s Reserve project) by incorporating behavioral rules distilled from the WTC evacuation study. NIST is developing a node network-based evacuation model that will simulate occupant movement and use Smokeview to achieve 3-D visualization capability. WTC data-telephone interviews, face-to-face interviews, focus groups, and 911 tapes, for example-will be analyzed to detect trends in gender, age, role, and condition-related (disabled occupants) behaviors and movement patterns.
The exiting evacuation data and any new data developed during this project will be archived. A database will be established to facilitate long-term, systematic collection of evacuation data. With the General Services Administration, a baseline of federal buildings that have or can be made to have video surveillance of sufficient quality to enable the collection of first-order statistics (variables that can be directly observed at a distance, without contact with the occupant) will be established. Variables such as flow speeds, preevacuation activities, exit discharge rates, and occupant densities will be observed. Second-order statistics (risk perception, reasoning and rationale, and other nonobservable data) will also be monitored. These data will be organized and made available through the BFRL Digital Library so the entire world can use them to evaluate occupant egress and develop improved codes and standards for building egress. These data are expected to be available during this fiscal year. http://www2.bfrl.nist.gov/projects/ article 9664102000, revised Jan. 4, 2005, accessed March 9, 2005
STRUCTURAL FIREFIGHTING – Evaluation of Structural Ventilation Techniques
Improving firefighter safety through a better understanding of structural ventilation techniques, including positive-pressure ventilation (PPV) and natural venting, was the objective of this USFA/NIST research project. Structural fire ventilation was observed and analyzed using full-scale fire experiments with and without PPV using computational fluid dynamics. The findings can be used as a technical basis for improving training relative to the effects of ventilation on fire behavior. Full-scale experiments characterized a PPV fan in terms of velocity in an open atmosphere and in a simple room.
The results of the experiments were compared with FDS output. The measurements of both sets of experiments compare favorably with the FDS model results. With the correct geometry, vent placement, and boundary location, FDS predicted velocities within 10 percent for the open atmosphere and 20 percent for the simple-room geometry. The Smokeview visualization of the FDS results of the PPV fan’s flow pattern and the flow out of the window also correlated well with those measured experimentally. The NIST technical report, NISTIR 7065, Characterizing Positive Pressure-Ventilation Using Computational Fluid Dynamics, may be viewed or downloaded at http://fire.nist.gov/bfrlpubs/fire03/PDF/f03082.pdf/.
Firefighters can use this model as a training tool, to increase their understanding of the capabilities and limitations of their protective garments under a variety of thermal conditions, and to train in firefighting tactics.
Effect of Positive-Pressure Ventilation on a Room Fire
The pressurization or PPV tactic can assist in venting smoke and high-temperature combustion products. However, this tactic also provides additional oxygen to the fire and can increase the rate of heat and energy being released. PPV has not been characterized carefully enough to establish specific guidelines for optimum use.
This study examined gas temperatures, gas velocities, and total heat release rate in a series of fires in a furnished room. The use of the PPV fan created slightly lower gas temperatures in the fire room and significantly lowered gas temperatures in the adjacent corridor. The gas velocities at the window plane were much higher in the PPV case than in the naturally ventilated scenario. This higher velocity improved visibility significantly. PPV caused an increase in heat release rate for 200 seconds following initiation of ventilation, but the heat release rate then declined at a faster rate than that of the naturally ventilated experiment. The NIST technical report, NISTIR 7213, Effect of Positive Pressure Ventilation on a Room Fire, may be viewed or downloaded at http://fire.nist.gov/bfrlpubs/NIST_IR_7213.pdf/.
Beam and Vaulted Ceiling Fire Tests-Investigation of Sprinkler Activation Under Sloped Ceilings
The effect of ceiling geometry (beamed, sloped, or sloped beamed) on the residential sprinkler’s activation time was determined. The test data were compared with the predicted results from the NIST computational fluid dynamics FDS fire model.
A series of 72 experiments compared the effects of beamed, sloped, and sloped beamed ceilings on the activation times of a quick-response residential pendent sprinkler. Six different geometries were studied: a smooth horizontal ceiling, a horizontal beamed ceiling, a smooth ceiling with a slope of 13°, a beamed ceiling with a slope of 13°, a smooth ceiling with a slope of 24°, and a beamed ceiling with a slope of 24°.
For each configuration, the fire source, a computer-controlled methane gas burner, was placed in three different locations. Additionally, for each burner location, the flow of methane gas to the burner was supplied in a manner that provided two different fire growth rates. Two experiments were performed for each ceiling configuration and fire growth rate. The following measurements were taken: the time to sprinkler activation, temperature and velocity of the ceiling jet at the sprinkler of activation, and temperatures at various other locations and elevations within the fire compartment.
All geometries were modeled using the NIST FDS to compare predicted results with the test data obtained. In a majority of cases, simply sloping the ceiling to an angle of 13° or 24° decreased the sprinkler’s activation time when compared with a smooth horizontal ceiling. However, adding beams to the ceiling caused an increase in sprinkler activation time in all but three cases.
For the FDS model, the best prediction was the beamed ceiling sloped at 24°, where model predictions were within an average of 4 percent of measured times. The worst case for model prediction was the smooth ceiling sloped at 13°; in these cases, the FDS predicted activation times within an average of 26 percent of measured times. The complete report can be downloaded at http://Fire.nist.gov/bfr/pubs/fire03/pdf/ fo3131.pdf/.
INFORMATION PROCESSING, STORING, SHARING
The Information Age existed long before 9/11, but the threat terrorism poses for our homeland has given that appellation new meaning. The World Trade Center and Pentagon attacks especially have highlighted how vital information is to our survival and emergency response activities. It is crucial, first of all, that we have all the information we need. Then, it must be processed and stored so that we can access it quickly when it is needed-and, of course, we must be able to share it every day and during emergencies when ordinary means of communication may be interrupted and destroyed. Moreover, the information must be secured so that it does not get into the hands of our enemies. Technology in the information area, therefore, covers a broad spectrum of applications and operations. A few examples follow.
• The National Library of Medicine (NLM), a component of the National Institutes of Health, has released a PDA (personal digital assistant) software tool designed to help first responders arriving at a hazardous-materials incident, such as a chemical spill. Known as WISER (wireless information system for emergency responders), it provides the responder with information such as the physical characteristics of the agent, human health data, and containment and suppression procedures. A user can specify the role he is performing at the incident scene, and WISER will organize the information in a sequence most relevant to the role of first responder, haz mat specialist, or emergency medical specialist.
WISER is available, without cost, for Palm OS and Pocket PC applications. It can be downloaded to PDAs at http://WISER.nlm.nih.gov. A desktop version will be available later this year; a Web-based version is being developed.
The NLM is using feedback from regional and local emergency response organizations as input for further enhancements of the program. WISER is being incorporated into the training curricula of the Baltimore County (MD) Hazmat Team training program, the Illinois Fire Service Institute, and the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s Chemical Stockpile Emergency Preparedness Program. The NLM, the world’s largest library of the health sciences, is in Bethesda, Maryland. http://www.nih.gov/news/pr/mar2005
• A University of Buffalo Center for Multisource Information Fusion research project involves transforming a chaotic flow of reports received from the field early in an emergency into information decision makers and emergency responders can use to form action plans. The project’s principal investigator is Peter Scott, Ph.D., associate professor of computer science and engineering in the University’s School of Engineering and Applied Sciences. In January, the system was undergoing beta testing. Scott said it should be completed and available for use within one year.
The project was funded with a $2.5 million grant from the Air Force Office of Scientific Research. Software being developed is based on data collected by FEMA during the Northridge Earthquake and similar earthquakes and include characteristics of the disaster, such as building and roadway damages and how they correlated to casualties.
The computer program also simulates and “fuses” reports typically received from observers such as police and civilians, who may be providing redundant or contradictory information. A critical goal of the project is to discover an unpredicted and unexpected secondary event that occurs in the midst of a primary incident. A secondary event related to an earthquake might include the collapse of a highway bridge that causes a tanker truck full of chlorine to fall and rupture, spreading a toxic plume and causing a spike in respiratory casualties.
The program suggests likely scenarios and provides confidence measures associated with each scenario. www.emsnewwork.org, article 13436, Jan 16, 2005.
BIOTERRORISM
Terrorist attacks, infectious diseases such as SARS and the avian flu, and the anthrax episodes of recent years have increased our nation’s awareness of the potential for large-scale exposures to pathogens and chemicals that can simultaneously kill or make very ill many people, including first responders. Detecting the presence of these harmful agents as quickly as possible, therefore, is critical to saving lives.
Technology in detection equipment has been growing. A few examples of the equipment are listed below.
• Affymetrix in Santa Clara, California, is using gene-chip technology to develop a test that can detect the presence of anthrax or plague in about four hours. The chip, or “microarray,” holds millions of strands of DNA. The company intends to build a chip with DNA strands of the 26 bacteria and 10 viruses the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have identified as threats. The technology would also detect if a pathogen had been inserted into an otherwise harmless bacteria and would be able to determine if a pathogen is resistant to antibiotics.
Affymetrix received a $2.1 million grant from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institutes of Health, to develop the technology. It is estimated that the technology will not be available for everyday use for about two or more years. Other companies (Agilent Technologies of Palo Alto and Illumina of San Diego, for example) are developing similar technologies. Michael Bazeleyat [email protected] www.miami.com, article 9965437, Oct. 20, 2004; “Microscopic Match, Technology Detects Threat of Pathogens, Michael Bazeley, Mercury News
• A prototype of an “anthrax smoke detector,” developed by JPL and Caltech scientists, is being marketed by Universal Detection Technology (UDT), based in Beverly Hills, California. UDT acquired exclusive rights to the technology from Caltech, which manages the Jet Propulsion Laboratory for NASA. The device initially was conceived to validate the sterility of spacecraft for NASA. Within 15 minutes, the device measures the number of spores in the air. It can continuously monitor an area without human workers. “New technology detects biohazards,” Kimm Groshong, www.pasadenastarnews.com, May 4, 2004
• The Hackensack (NJ) University Medical Center is said to be the first hospital in the nation with the ability to immediately identify anthrax, ricin, and other toxic agents. The medical center has installed a BioVeris M1M Analyzer that can detect biological agents in about 15 minutes. The instrument costs $69,000 and looks like a desktop computer. The instrument previously was sold to the military only. The machine can be used in the field if necessary. It can also test soil, water, food, and air samples. “New device at HUMC can detect toxic agents,” Walter Dawkins, www.bergen.com, North Jersey Media Group Inc., Feb. 10, 2005
• More than 700 fire departments in Georgia are using the Prime Alert biodetection field test kit to screen for all bacterial agents of concern identified by the CDC. It performs broad-spectrum tests in less than 10 minutes and uses a patented fluorescent detection technology. The fire departments are part of the Georgia Mutual Aid Group (GMAG), a statewide consortium. The Battelle Memorial Institute independently evaluated the kit. In addition to Georgia, GenPrime has statewide contracts in Minnesota, Oregon, Washington, and New Mexico. www.dailyinterlake.com, Feb. 1, 2005
HOSPITAL EVACUATION
• Two Rutgers University (New Brunswick, NJ) professors are developing a computer program to help large facilities develop evacuation procedures during a fire, bioterror attack, or natural disaster. Software could be customized to fit any building plan. Once a bioterrorism agent or a fire is detected, the software would give security officials specific steps to take, such as blocking off access to a contaminated building area. The software is being tested at Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital in New Brunswick. Several state hospitals reportedly are interested in the technology.
Rutgers is working with the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, managed by the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, California, and with a private firm to incorporate an anthrax detection technology in the program. The objective is to have the software available by the end of the year. AP, “Software Aims to Help in Case of Bioterror,” Rosa Cirianni, www.udetection.com, Mar. 10, 2005
INCIDENT PLANNING, SECURITY, RESPONSE
The Geographic Tool for Visualization and Collaboration (GTVC) developed by the Georgia Tech Research Institute (GTRI) was used during the G-8 Summit of world leaders at Sea Island, Georgia, in June 2004. The Georgia Emergency Management Agency (GEMA) is funding GTVC development and deployment and has made the tool available to state and federal law enforcement agencies so they could coordinate their resources and responses. The system, originally developed for military use, provided maps with six-inch resolution for G-8 areas of interest. Secure encryption for communications was added. The consequence-management staff used the system to ensure that key resources were at the right place at the right time, and the command staff could immediately get a snapshot of what was going on without relying solely on traditional voice communications.
The Georgia Bureau of Investigation, Georgia State Patrol, Federal Bureau of Investigation, National Guard, and U.S. Secret Service also used the system and were able to share information simultaneously. GTRI researchers provided technical support during the event; they trained users and configured laptop computers for field agents.
GTRI is working with the Georgia Forestry Commission to adapt GRVC to track smoke during planned burns of forested land. Other potential applications include tracking chemical plumes, planning evacuation routes, and tracking human and animal diseases. GEMA also used GTVC for hurricane and flooding evacuation planning and public events. www.bigmedicine.ca/bioscitech.htm, accessed July 16, 2004
According to Kirk Pennywitt, project director for GTVC at Georgia Tech, Version 2.0 of the software is expected to be available this Fall. It will have several improvements over Version 1.1 used during the G-8. These improvements will include support for plug-in feature additions and additional mapping engines, instant playback capability from within the main application, an event log of all incidents added to the map, improved search capabilities, automated software updates, and an easier-to-use and improved user interface.
Robots
Robots are being used to search for victims in debris and can even communicate their location. Some robots have microphones to record sound, digital cameras, and sensors to map the site. At a mock disaster area set up at an artificial intelligence conference in July 24 in San Jose, California, at the McEnery Convention Center, the robots generated a map on the screen as they went around the course slowly. Some of the robots had software programs that recognized the appearance of a human body.
Robin Murphy, head of the Center for Robot Assisted Search and Rescue at the University of South Florida, took robots to the WTC in 2001. They searched for victims and for paths through the rubble and also helped determine the structural integrity of damaged buildings. They found bodies and were able to indicate that an area had been searched and a path opened. “Search and rescue robots get attention,” Therese Poletti, www.sunherald.com, article 9399090, Aug 13, 2004
• The University of Michigan College of Engineering has developed the OmniTread “snakebot” that can climb pipes and stairs and roll over rough terrain. It can also span wide gaps. It weights 26 pounds. Moving treads that cover 80 percent of the body prevent the snakebot from stalling or becoming stuck on rough terrain. A human operator controls the snakebot with a joystick and umbilical cord, which also provides electric power that sends commands to specially designed software. The robot can be used for hazardous inspections or surveillance in industrial or military applications. A Web video of OmniTread is at www.engin.umich.edu/research/mrl/00MoRob_.html/. www.physorg.com/ printnews.phy?newsid=3472, accessed April 5, 2005.
EMERGENCY MEDICAL SERVICES
North Carolina’s “hospital on wheels,” Carolinas Medical Center’s (Charlotte) MED-1, consists of two 53-foot tractor-trailers. The unit was displayed at the National Association of EMS Physicians conference in January. It was designed by Dr. Thomas Blackwell, an emergency room physician at Carolinas Medical and medical director of that area’s EMS, and was funded by a $1.5 million Department of Homeland Security grant. A 75-member medical team, which includes surgeons, has been trained to work at the mobile hospital. It is used for response to remote sites of natural or manmade disasters.
The mobile hospital can provide treatment for basic medical problems and for critical and cardiac care. It has digital X-ray and ultrasound equipment and is equipped for minor surgeries. It includes six critical care beds; seven general beds; and one combination dental and ear, nose, and throat chair. The support trailer functions as a dormitory and lounge for medical staff members. The second trailer serves as a dormitory/lounge for medical staff. www.emsnetwork.org, article 3404, Jan 14, 2005
• An adult-size mannequin made of plastic, wires, tubes, and computer panels moans, groans, breathes, and bleeds. And, it is used to train paramedics in San Diego, California. San Diego Fire Rescue Department Battalion Chief Criss Brainard sees “SimMan” (short for Simulated Man) as “the cutting edge in medical care, the first chapter in a whole new book.”
Medical personnel can insert IVs and inject medications in SimMan (a bloodlike liquid squirts out of the arm when a needle is inserted into an arm vein) and can even perform CPR (SimMan’s anatomically correct lungs cause the chest to rise and fall as CPR compressions begin). The mannequin can be attached to monitors to alert caregivers of its status. “It’s Alive! (Or so it seems),” Joe Hughes, Union-Tribune, http://signonsandiego, Jan 22, 2005”! ■
■ MARY JANE DITTMAR is senior associate editor of Fire Engineering, fireEMS, and fireengineering.com and the author of “Health Beat,” a fireengineering.com column. Before joining the magazine in 1991, she served as editor of a trade magazine in the health/nutrition market and held various positions in the educational and medical advertising fields. She has a bachelor’s degree in English/journalism and a master’s degree in communication arts.
NIST/USFA: Performance Test Methods for Thermal Imaging Cameras
Thermal imaging cameras (TICs) employ several types of sensor technology. Currently, there are no standard test methods for comparing the performance of TICs for firefighting applications, making it difficult for a fire department to determine which technology is best suited to its needs.
This program will evaluate and correlate the performance of different detector technologies under laboratory and field conditions. The research results will provide a quantifiable physical and scientific basis on which to develop an industry standard for imaging performance and reporting practices related to TICs.
The photographs from one of the experiments and the images from three different thermal imaging cameras demonstrate the difference in what can be seen. When completed later this year, the results of these experiments will be provided to the NFPA Technical Committee on Electronic Safety Equipment and will also be available on the NIST Web site, http://fire.nist.gov.
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(Left) Early in the experiment, smoke has started to enter the target room, which has a heated mannequein on the floor. (Right) As the experiment continues, smoke obscures the visibility in the target room.
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The three photos above show three different views of the target room taken at the same point in time during the experiment.
Collapse Prediction on the Fireground; NIST/USFA
In technical report NISTIR 7069, Trends in Firefighter Fatalities Due to Structural Collapse, 1979-2002 (based on National Fire Protection Association data), NIST notes, “The number of firefighters lost annually in residential collapses has tripled since the 1980s even though there has been a decrease in the average number of annual fatalities during the same time period.”
Concerned about what it has termed as a “trend,” NIST has embarked on this project, which includes a number of full-scale fire experiments using real structures. Four wood-frame residential-like structures with different roof constructions were used in a series of fire tests conducted in cooperation with the Phoenix (AZ) Fire Department. The primary difference among the structures was roof construction-asphalt shingles and plywood, asphalt shingles and oriented strand board, cement tiles and plywood, or cement tiles and oriented strand board.
Each structure contained an attic space and two furnished rooms: a living room and a bedroom. Multiple fires were initiated in each structure; roof collapse occurred within approximately 17 minutes after ignition.
Another series of experiments was conducted in Phoenix using a brick and block warehouse structure with a “traditional” wood-frame roof assembly. This set of two experiments included measuring temperatures and carbon monoxide inside the structure. Among other instrumentation, vibration sensors were attached to the structure to “listen” for signs of structural collapse. A DVD, Structural Collapse Fire Tests, containing the reports and video clips of some of these fire experiments is available. Contact David W. Stroup at NIST at (301) 975-6564 or by e-mail at [email protected]/.
Ranch-Style Homes
Another set of full-scale experiments was conducted in ranch-style homes with traditional frame roof construction. The objective was to examine the feasibility of measuring changes in the roof’s position during the fire using laser range-finding techniques. All of these tests showed very little or no motion of the roof during the house burns.
Precollapse Vibrations
A final set of experiments involved the USFA and fire engineers from NIST and Harvey Mudd College, Claremont, California, as well as the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms. The ability of highly sensitive motion detectors to detect precollapse building vibrations at an abandoned shopping mall in Woodbridge, Virginia, was tested. Harvey Mudd College conducted building vibration sensing during several of the live-fire tests (Phoenix warehouse, light-frame construction, and shopping mall). Using micro-accelerometers attached to the walls, it is possible to measure the vibrations of the exterior wall caused by the pulsating flames from furniture fires within the structure. This report, NIST GCR 03-846, Early Warning Capabilities for Firefighters: Testing of Collapse Prediction Technologies, describes the methodology and some preliminary test results and may be viewed or downloaded at http://fire.nist. gov/bfrlpubs/fire03/ PDF/f03072.pdf.
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Residential structure burn experiment conducted with the Phoenix (AZ) Fire Department at the point of collapse. (Right) Warehouse structure burn experiment conducted with the Phoenix Fire Department.
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Warehouse structure burn experiment conducted with the Phoenix Fire Department.
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Strip mall fire experiment in Prince William County, Virginia, post-collapse.
Physics-Based Urban Wildland Interface
Fire Modeling
A homeowner, city planner, and other affected parties will be able to determine the relative risk to a discrete structure from burning vegetation on the land parcel with technology being developed by NIST. The project addresses the potential for wildland fires created by the influx of residents moving into the urban wildland interface (UWI). Ultimately, homeowners will have a method to assess the fire safety of their property relative to individual plantings and structures.
Relevant burning parameters for structures and vegetation are being investigated. The fire spread between individual structures, trees, and other fuels is being quantified, and appropriate physical descriptions and burning properties for fuels are being developed. NIST, in cooperation with local fire departments, measured the radiant heat emitted from fully involved burning structures, and the Odenton (MD) Volunteer Fire Department conducted a garage fire with external ignition as part of a training exercise. Measurements from this and other structures are being used to quantify the role of burning structures in the spread of UWI fires.
Many planned communities are being built with minimum separation between structures. Exterior or interior fires that break out of the enclosure pose a threat to adjacent structures, which can be ignited by radiant heating alone. Large fire laboratory burns of wall sections allow further characterization of structural component burning, including the measurement of heat release (HRR) from the fire.
Although the NIST-developed FDS can be used to predict fire spread in the UWI by burning vegetation and burning structures, it is computationally intensive. Therefore, a simpler model based on FDS results is being implemented for the first Web-based applications.
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Selected frames from an FDS/Smokeview simulation of “neighborhood scale” fire spread from a single ignition. The fire spreads from ground fuels through ladder fuels to the tree crowns. Structures are ignited by heat flux from the burning vegetation.
