Use of Portable Fire Extinguishers in Nightclubs: Workshop Summary.
Use of Portable Fire Extinguishers in Nightclubs:
Workshop Summary.
(2410 K)
Grosshandler, W. L.
NISTIR 7419; 36 p. April 2007.
Use of Portable Fire Extinguishers in Nightclubs:
Workshop Summary. Proceedings. January 17, 2007,
Gaithersburg, MD, Grosshandler, W. L., Editor(s), 2007.
Keywords:
fire extinguishers; fire investigations; building fires;
building codes; fire codes; standards; training; fire
protection; effectiveness; fire spread; assemblies;
technology utilization; maintenance; fire departments;
NFPA 10; nightclubs; nightclubs
Abstract:
The National Institute of Standards and Technology
(NIST) technical investigation into The Station
nightclub fire produced ten recommendations to improve
model building and fire codes, standards and practices
(as they existed in February 2003), including a specific
recommendation that a study be performed to determine
the minimum number and appropriate placement (based upon
the time required for access and application in a fully
occupied building) of portable fire extinguishers for
use in new and existing nightclubs, and the level of
staff training required to ensure their proper use. In
furtherance of this recommendation, NIST organized a
workshop for interested parties to identify, among other
things, the relevant issues that should be addressed in
such a study. The workshop was held at NIST in
Gaithersburg, Maryland, on January 17, 2007, and was
attended by representatives from the fire protection
equipment industry, codes and standards developing
organizations, building owners and managers, fire
testing and equipment certifying laboratories, the fire
services, and the federal government. The participants
discussed the following topics: (*) whether or not
reliable data exist on the effectiveness of portable
fire extinguishers, (*) the level of portable fire
extinguisher training that is needed and available, (*)
the size of fire that is reasonable to expect a portable
fire extinguisher to handle, (*) the appropriate spacing
of fire extinguishers for nightclubs and other places of
assembly and (*) the role that new technology might play
in increasing the effectiveness and efficiency of
maintenance of portable fire extinguishers. Actions are
proposed in this summary for the National Fire
Protection Association (NFPA) and the International Code
Council (ICC), for NIST and Underwriters Laboratories
(UL), for the fire protection equipment industry, for
the fire service, and for the end users to help provide
answers to the above five questions.
Selected Papers
Building and Fire Research Laboratory
National Institute of Standards and Technology
Gaithersburg, MD 20899