Impact of Sprinklers on the Fire Hazard in Dormitories: Day Room Fire Experiments.
Impact of Sprinklers on the Fire Hazard in Dormitories:
Day Room Fire Experiments.
(2762 K)
Madrzykowski, D.; Stroup, D. W.; Walton, W. D.
NISTIR 7120; 87 p. June 2004.
Keywords:
sprinklers; dormitories; fire hazard; experiments;
corridor tests; fire data; flashover; heat flux; large
scale fire tests; temperature measurements
Abstract:
As part of a U.S. Fire Administration (USFA) initiative
to improve fire safety in college housing, the National
Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) conducted
two series of full-scale fire experiments in abandoned
dormitory buildings. The objective of the study is to
compare the levels of hazard created by room fires in a
dormitory building with and without automatic fire
sprinklers in the room of fire origin. One series of
experiments was conducted with the fires initiated in a
dormitory sleeping room. These experiments were
conducted by NIST in cooperation with the University of
Arkansas and the Fayetteville Fire Department. The
results of these experiments will be provided in a
separate report. This report describes a series of
experiments where fires are initiated in a day room area
open to the corridor of the dormitory. These experiments
were conducted by NIST in cooperation with the Myrtle
Beach Air Force Base Redevelopment Authority, the Myrtle
Beach Fire Department, and the Bureau of Alcohol,
Tobacco and Firearms (ATF). This paper will provide a
description of the experimental conditions including a
description of the building construction, the fuel load
in the day rooms, and the location of the
instrumentation used to measure temperature and heat
flux in the day room and the adjacent corridor. Smoke
alarm activation and sprinkler activation times are also
reported. The results from the experiments comparing the
sprinklered and non-sprinklered day room are presented.
The results from these experiments demonstrate the life
safety benefits of smoke alarms and automatic fIfe
sprinkler systems in college dormitories.
For further information on the USF A College Campus Fire
Safety Program contact: www.usfa.fema.gov/publications.
Building and Fire Research Laboratory
National Institute of Standards and Technology
Gaithersburg, MD 20899