Building and Fire Research Laboratory Activities, Accomplishments, and Recognitions 2003.
Building and Fire Research Laboratory Activities,
Accomplishments, and Recognitions 2003.
(2733 K)
Beall, K. A.; Hill, J. E.
NIST SP 838-18; 78 p. February 2004.
Keywords:
building technology; fire research; construction;
building materials; fire losses; building performance
Abstract:
This is the biennial report for 2002-2003 for the
Building and Fire Research Laboratory (BFRL) at the
National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST),
an agency of the U.S. Department of Commerce. It
describes the goals, programs, recent accomplishments,
and recognitions for our staff over these two years.
BFRL and its predecessor organizations at NIST (National
Bureau of Standards (NBS) before 1988) have a rich
history in the building and fire communities dating back
100 years. On February 7, 1904, a fire broke out in the
basement of the John E. Hurst and Company in Baltimore,
Maryland. Fire services responded from Washington,
Philadelphia, and New York; however, each city had its
own unique threads for their fire hoses and they could
not connect to Baltimore's hydrant system. Those fire
services were forced to watch as the fire progressed.
Before it was over, the fire had burned for more than 30
hours and destroyed approximately 2,500 buildings in an
80-block area. As a result, NBS began a study of fire
hose couplings and over 600 couplings were collected and
analyzed from across the country. Based on this
research, the National Fire Protection Association
(NFPA) adopted a standard hose coupling and an
interchangeable coupling device for non-standard hoses
as a national model. That document continues today as
NFPA 1963, Standard for Fire Hose Connections.
Building and Fire Research Laboratory
National Institute of Standards and Technology
Gaithersburg, MD 20899