Colorado Firecamp, Fire Instructor I

The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) was contracted by the National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) to conduct a series of fire experiments. The measurements obtained in these experiments would be used to determine fuel load data in relation to the fuel load that was present at the Osceola Fire & Rescue Division (OCFRD) training fire incident on July 30, 2002, located at the Florida Bible College (FBC) campus in Kissimmee, Florida. This data would be utilized as input into the NIST Fire Dynamics Simulator (FDS). FDS is a computer model program that will provide insight on thermal conditions that may have occurred during the FBC fire incident. Additional measurements were incorporated into the full-scale tests to provide additional insight into the incident. These additional measurements were heat transfer to PPE fabric; thermal imaging comparisons; and PASS device temperature thresholds were conducted as part of on-going United States Fire Administration (USFA) research programs.

On September 20, 2002, Mr. Daniel Madrzykowski of NIST sent a letter of invitation to the State Fire Marshal Bureau of Fire & Arson Investigation (BFAI) to attend one of the experiments being conducted at the NIST Large Fire Laboratory facility in Gaithersburg, Maryland. Mr. Madrzykowski is a registered Professional Engineer with the NIST Fire Fighting Technology Group, Fire Research Division.

I traveled to the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) in Gaithersburg, Maryland on Tuesday, October 1, 2002. Upon my arrival to the NIST facility, I met with Mr. Madrzykowski, who briefed me on the three previous experiments conducted and what was planned for the next two experiments. I would be witnessing the fourth experiment along with other invited representatives from NIOSH, Orlando Fire Department Training Bureau, Osceola County Fire & Rescue Division Training Bureau, and the International Association of Fire Fighters.

All of the invited representatives met at the NIST Large Fire Laboratory for a briefing on Wednesday, October 2, 2002, at 1:30 p.m. A review of the three previous experiments was presented along with a description of how the next experiment would be conducted and how the measurements would be utilized in the FDS model. Review of video recordings showed that flashovers occurred in all three of the previous experiments. The invitees were also given a tour of the NIST Fire Research Laboratories.

On Thursday, October 3, 2002, at 10:00 a.m., invitees met at the NIST Large Fire Laboratory to observe the fourth experiment. The configuration of the test structure was the same as the previous three experiments. The test structure is constructed with dimensions of the northeast bedroom (fire room) of the FBC fire structure that included the closets and adjacent hallway and laundry room. Each test used the same configuration with new sheet rock walls, molding and paint that was replaced after each test. The fire load in the FBC fire was carpet and foam carpet padding covering the floor area, including five wood pallets, one bale of hay, and a 28” hollow-core luan closet door that was situated inside and outside the closet in the northwest corner of the northeast bedroom. There was a ¼” plate glass window on the northeast corner of the east wall of the FBC bedroom. The first four experiments at the NIST laboratory utilized a ¼” plate glass window insert in the window opening and was broken out after three minutes and thirty seconds after the initial ignition of the fire during each experiment. The fifth experiment did not have glass in the window opening.

The following table describes the differences of each of the experiments:

EXPERIMENT:	DATE:	CARPET & PAD:	PALLETS:	HAY:	LUAN DOOR:	FOAM MATTRESS:
#1	09/24/02	YES	YES	YES	YES	NO
#2	09/26/02	YES	YES	YES	YES	YES
#3	10/01/02	NO	YES	YES	YES	NO
#4	10/03/02	YES	YES	YES	YES	YES *
#5	10/04/02	NO	YES	YES	YES	NO

*Foam mattress obtained from the FBC training site.

The test structure was equipped with instrumentation to monitor and record measurements from various parameters including video, thermal imaging, heat flux and air temperatures. Swatches of firefighter protective bunker gear and two plastic tiles (simulate protective face shield) were mounted on the wall approximately two feet off the floor inside the fire room and in the hallway just outside the fire room. There were two Personal Alarm Signaling (PASS) devices that were mounted on a stand inside the fire room. A hand-held remote temperature monitor was held in the safe observation area approximately forty feet in front of the window outside of the fire room.

The hay inside the closet was ignited with a remote electronic match and road flare. After the initial ignition of the hay inside the closet, flames progressively built into free burning involvement of the other fuels in the room with heavy production of smoke that banked down across the room and eventually filled the room with a thick blanket of smoke from ceiling to floor. During this time the glass in the window opening began to crack from the increase in room temperature.

The remote hand-held temperature monitor reading rose to 700 degrees Fahrenheit. After three minutes and thirty seconds from the initial ignition the window glass was broken out with a pike pole. Within five to 10 seconds the temperature monitor registered 1,780 degrees Fahrenheit. During this time a flashover occurred in the fire room before water was applied to extinguish the fire.

CONCLUSION

In review of my observations, notes and information obtained from the experiments conducted at the NIST Fire Research facility and the conclusions of the investigation of the FBC fire training incident, there are several remarkable factors that are comparable to each event.

The configuration of the fire room allowed for a flashover in every fire load scenario including the fifth experiment where the glass was absent from the window opening.

It appears that the major contributing element of the fuel load was the carpet and foam pad floor covering. The foam mattress was not that significant.

It appears that ventilation was the one major factor in which hot gases and unburned products of combustion were allowed to build up in the fire room. On each of the first four experiments the glass was broken out of the window opening allowing the replenishment of oxygen to support combustion causing the flashover.

Examination of the test building presented burn patterns similar to the FBC fire training incident. It is understood that it is impossible to re-create the exact fire behavior of any particular structure fire because there are too many known and unknown variables. That is why it is important to conduct several experiments and obtain many measurements for data input into the fire modeling computer program. This process will give us a close understanding of the fire dynamics involved in the FBC fire training incident. Data collected from the experiments will be reflected in the forthcoming NIST report.

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Fire Instructor I

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IFSTA “Fire & Emergency Services Instructor”

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Equivalency to M-410, Facilitative Instructor

Poinciana, Florida Live-Fire Training Deaths — July, 2002

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FLORIDA DEPARTMENT OF INSURANCE
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Supplement Report #5