Fire Effluent, People and Standards: Standardization Philosophy for the Effects of Fire Effluent on Human Tenability.
Fire Effluent, People and Standards: Standardization
Philosophy for the Effects of Fire Effluent on Human
Tenability.
(51 K)
Gann, R. G.
Hazards of Combustion Products: Toxicity, Opacity,
Corrosivity and Heat Release. Proceedings. November
10-11, 2008, London, England, Interscience
Communications, London, England, Babruaskas, V.; Gann,
R. G.; Grayson, S., Editor(s)(s), 1-9 pp, 2008.
Keywords:
combustion products; fire hazards; toxicity;
corrosivity; heat release; standards; human beings; fire
safety; safety standards; life safety; toxic gases;
smoke; survival; risks; fire suppression; escape means;
human behavior; human response; human performance; fire
protection engineering
Abstract:
It has been known for decades that people die from
inhaling fire gases and that visible smoke presents
challenges to people trying to escape from fires in
homes, transportation vehicles, and commercial
buildings. Within the current decade, there has been an
invigorated effort, especially in ISO TC92 SC3, Fire
Threat to People and the Environment, to develop a
oherent and comprehensive set of fire safety standards
and guidance documents for life safety. This paper
provides an overview of the broad role, of fire effluent
(toxic gases, visible smoke, and heat) in affecting life
safety. It examines what aspects of fires constitute a
risk to survival and what elements should comprise a set
of fire safety standards to contain that risk to a level
that a jurisdiction decides is desirable. This paper
serves as a philosophical preamble to the 2008
Conference on Hazards of Combustion Products.
